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HostGator is a debt-free privately owned company which came into being in the year 2002 and has since been highly profitable. Today, they provide shared and reseller hosting solutions to more than 200,000 websites across the globe and are hence considered a major player within the affordable web hosting industry. They are also the leaders in the reseller hosting business in that their servers, network and support to date have been used by more than 10,000 resellers to start a thriving affordable web hosting business.
The feature set offered by HostGator is without doubt one of the most comprehensive within the industry and their slogan "We Eat up the Competition" comes true to this fact as a number of other affordable web hosting companies have tried to imitate the features of their web hosting plans but have failed to do so. The surprising thing is that their website, as opposed to the flashy multimedia websites of other affordable web hosting providers, is very simple. The main reason they claim behind this is that they don't want to allure the customer with these petty tactics, but instead focus on delivering what they promise to deliver. They say that it does not waste the precious time of their potential customers and the speed with which their website loads testifies to this fact. Their customer support department has more than 40 personnel dedicated to providing continued support throughout the year by e-mail, telephone and life chat.
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Added: June 22, 2006
Updated: September 16, 2008
Disclaimer: The editorial review of HostGator may not be reflective of its current ranking on WHL. The quality of HostGator may have improved or deteriorated since it was reviewed. To find out the latest user ratings and reviews about HostGator, please read HostGator user reviews.
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Website Administration - Control Panel |
HostGator
uses CPanel which is a very common control panel with a user-friendly interface. CPanel features about 35 different functions which are quickly accessible. These functions include file management, e-mail management, disk usage, forums, web statistics, additional domain management, search engine submission, system security and a host of many other options.
Webalizer (a common application used by many Web hosts) runs in parallel with the web site statistics function. It gives a clear image about your web site stats. You can find out exactly where your site visitors are coming from (including country name), the OSs and browsers being used by those visitors, their landing and exiting pages on your web site with tracking on a daily/hourly basis.
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Packages Offered |
HostGator offers Shared Linux Hosting, Dedicated Hosting and Reseller Hosting packages. Starter plans for each hosting type are listed below.
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Shared Hosting
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HostGator's Shared Hosting plans include Hatchling, Baby and Swamp. Their most popular Baby plan includes the option to host unlimited web sites for a monthly payment of only $9.95/month.
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Package Summary |
Disk Space |
350 GB |
| Bandwidth |
3000 GB |
| E-Mail Accounts |
Unlimited |
| Control Panel |
CPanel |
| Domains Allowed |
1 |
| Subdomains |
Unlimited |
| FTP Accounts |
Unlimited |
| MySQL Databases |
Unlimited |
| Uptime Guarantee |
99.9% |
| Money Back Guarantee |
45 Days |
| Purchase Price (1 Year Sign up) |
$9.95/month! (monthly @ $9.95 + FREE setup) |
| Free Setup |
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Dedicated Hosting
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HostGator's Dedicated Hosting plans include Basic, Standard, Elite and Pro.
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Package Summary |
CPU |
2.4 GHz Pentium 4
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| Hard Disk |
80 GB SATA |
| RAM |
1024 MB
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| Bandwidth |
1500 GB |
| Control Panel |
Latest cPanel |
| IP Addresses |
5 |
| Managed |
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| Domains |
Unlimited |
| Subdomains |
Unlimited |
| E-Mail Accounts |
Unlimited |
| MySQL Databases |
Unlimited |
| FTP Accounts |
Unlimited |
| Price |
$174/month |
| Free Setup |
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Reseller Hosting
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HostGator's Reseller Hosting plans include Aluminum, Copper, Silver, Gold and Diamond.
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Package Summary |
Disk Space |
24 GB |
| Bandwidth |
250 GB |
| E-Mail Accounts |
Unlimited |
| Control Panel |
CPanel |
| Domains Allowed |
Unlimited |
| Subdomains |
Unlimited |
| FTP Accounts |
Unlimited |
| MySQL Databases |
Unlimited |
| Private Name Servers |
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| Free Billing system |
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| Free Templates |
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| Uptime Guarantee |
99.9% |
| Money Back Guarantee |
45 Days |
| Purchase Price (No minimum contract) |
$24.95/month |
| Free Setup |
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Features vs. Cost Analysis |
HostGator's prices are not the lowest as compared to the other web hosts but they're certainly about average with their shared hosting Hatchling plan starting at $6.95 per month. At this cost you get more value for your money than you would ever ask for, i.e. a generous 350 GB of disk space combined with a huge 3000 GB of bandwidth. You also get unlimited MySQL databases, an unmatched 99.9% uptime guarantee plus all of this backed by a 45-day moneyback guarantee. However the only obvious limitation of this plan is that you can host only one web site with it. This is removed in their Baby Plan priced at $9.95 per month with which you can host unlimited web sites sharing the same space and bandwidth resources. All their plans come loaded with countless features that are seldom offered by other affordable web hosting providers making HostGator undoubtedly “competition eating” as they claim it.
HostGator specializes in reseller hosting and their reseller plans are very reasonably priced ranging from $24.95 to $99.95 per month. Their Dedicated Server plans are also very attractive with prices ranging from $174 to $374 per month.
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Customer Support Channels |
HostGator
has all the essential support channels needed to completely satisfy its potential as well as current customers. They understand what "customer support" means for a highly competitive business like affordable web hosting. They are also aware of the importance of the multiplicity of support channels because different customers have varying needs and one support channel may be sufficient for one customer but not for another. HostGator offers 24/7/365 phone support, online chat, fax, peer support forums, and a wide variety of CPanel flash movies. A great majority of customers have positive reviews about their support and agree that they are very responsive and helpful, fixing problems pretty easily. Their great customer support system and high quality affordable web hosting services result in a high level of customer satisfaction and retention.
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Money Back Guarantee |
HostGator
offers a 45-day unconditional money back guarantee stating that if you decide to cancel with HostGator within the 1st 45 days, you will be issued a full refund within 24 hours, no questions asked.
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Speed & Reliability |
HostGator
has chosen The Planet to provide its customers with superior network connectivity with minimal required downtime. Choosing HostGator means that your sites will be accessible via a fully meshed and redundant Certified Cisco Network featuring 10 backbone GigE and 2xGigE providers including UUNet, Sprint,
Level 3,
Global Crossing,
Verio, AT&T,
Time Warner,
Allegiance Telecom,
Broadwing and
AboveNet.
Keeping in view the superior network facilities and the fact that all web sites are hosted on Dual Xeon Servers and benefit from instant backups with these servers, HostGator's customers have a total peace of mind regarding security and reliability and can rest assured that they benefit from a highly reliable network with very little downtime.
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Conclusion |
HostGator
offers great value for your money with its web hosting packages loaded with countless features that other affordable web hosting providers can only think of. In fact, HostGator has been able to achieve the position of a top web host in such a short while only because of its commitment to provide top notch reliable services and prompt support. Whether you want your business or personal web site hosted for the 1st time or just want to switch to a better web host, HostGator is definitely the ultimate solution for all your needs. Their network is highly reliable and that's why they are able to guarantee a 99.9% uptime. Their support options are also second to none, including live telephone support, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They also offer an unconditional 45-day money back guarantee, so you have nothing to lose. Sign up today! |
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