Should You Choose HostGator's Web Hosting?

HostGator’s web hosting services are frequently recommended in hosting reviews and on line comments by their users are overwhelming positive but there are a few other companies about which the same can be said.

Many people struggle with choosing a web host, firstly wondering if a free service will meet their needs or whether they should get a paid service. In either case there are a large number of providers competing for business which makes the process very confusing.

Of course a free service will never match a paid service and one of the key areas where this is always true is with support. This is expensive to provide and with a free service will probably be restricted to email. However if you just want to put up a personal site and performance is not critical this may be a good way to start.

Conversely, if your site is for business purposes or it is non-commercial but you want to attract visitors and have a good search engine ranking, then you would be wise to invest in a paid service straight away. You can then expect fast page loading, 99.9% uptime and 24/7 support if you have any problems.

However, paying for hosting still does not guarantee that you will get a good service so it is a mistake to start by looking at prices. HostGator’s service started in 2002 and they now host over 4 million domains so they must be doing something right.

HostGator’s cheapest price is obtained by paying for 3 years in advance but they are one of the few hosts that actually allow you to pay monthly (albeit at a higher rate) without any contract, so you can cancel at anytime. Using a coupon code you can get the first month for $0.01 and in any case there is a money back guarantee. They also provide a guarantee of at least 99.9% uptime.

In addition to the entry level shared hosting plans HostGator can provide VPS (Virtual Private Server) and Dedicated Server Hosting. As a result they can support a range of customers and, if you are expecting your site to grow, a future upgrade path is available.

The key benefit of using HostGator is their support. The first level is provided by their website which offers a wide ranging Help section and an FAQ section. Support is available 24/7 by phone (free in US), live chat, and email. My own experience is that the support staff are helpful and will give advice even if the problem is outside their control. They claim that despite their growth you can still ask for an issue to be referred to the founder and Chairman if you are unhappy.

If you are looking to choose a web host Hostgator would be a good choice. It will provide a good reliable service with help on hand if you have any problems. It is no co-incidence that many internet marketers use HostGator.