Hostgator Introduction
Hostgator was founded by brent oxley in 2002. initially, the operations were managed from boca raton; then moved to toronto, canada, before settling at the present headquarters in austin and houston, texas. hostgator offers shared, reseller, vps a...
HostGator was founded by Brent Oxley in 2002. Initially, the operations were managed from Boca Raton; then moved to Toronto, Canada, before settling at the present headquarters in Austin and Houston, Texas. HostGator offers shared, reseller, VPS and dedicated hosting services to individual and corporate clients. In 2012, HostGator was acquired by the Endurance International Group and operates as a subsidiary of the group.
Customer Service
HostGator offers comprehensive customer support through a variety of communication channels. The company has customer portal where customers can post inquiries. A separate Support Portal offers a ticketing system for technical queries by current customers. In addition, HostGator offers several video tutorials that contain helpful information about using its services. There are forums where clients can meet to discuss problems and help each other out. Direct support to the client is available through Live Chat support. HostGator also offers a 24/7 toll-free number to support customer queries and complaints. Corporate clients can also use the Business Tapp feature through which the company offers professional consultation on how to leverage HostGator’s services for business growth.
Networks and Data Centers
An interesting feature of HostGator is that it does not own any of its servers. The Company operates server resources from third party data center partners Ace Data Centers and CyrusOne who own and manage HostGator’s data resources on their servers. The Houston data center owned by CyrusOne is supported with its own UPS power, Diesel generator and Fuel tanks. HVAC, fire alarms and physical security are provided. The Provo data center owned by Ace Data Centers is spread over 8500 square feet and also has segregated transformers to ensure redundancy along with UPS, generator, HVAC, and fire protection support.
HostGator is also a partner with CloudFlare, which gives it access to 23 data centers distributed worldwide. For its part, HostGator claims that all the third party servers are compliant with PCI standards, which basically helps with making online payments and data sharing secure. One drawback of the data servers is that they are not HIPAA standards.
Special Features
- One of the most interesting features of HostGator is the range of e-commerce tools that clients are offered. Mojo Marketplace is one such service through which clients can send e-mail newsletters to their subscribed customers. Another attractive e-commerce feature is Magneto which basically helps clients to create their own online store without any professional help.
- Simplicity is a key feature of the HostGator experience. The company offers a Quick Link interface to facilitate clients in setting up their own website. This is in contrast to the prevalent practice among hosting companies where installation packages do the work for the client. The Quick Link interface is so simple that it makes the task of setting up a website a breeze.
- Another feature that is extremely simple to use is HostGator’s email management tool. Clients can set up any number of email accounts right from the Customer Portal once they have subscribed to a hosting plan. Clients can also establish a quota for their mailbox limit which helps to use server resources efficiently.
Packages and Plans
HostGator offers several hosting plans to suit the volume and budget needs of clients:
HostGator Shared Hosting Plans
HostGator offers three shared hosting plans.
- The Hatchling plan starts at $3.95 per month and offers a single domain hosting.
- The Baby plan starting at $5.95 a month offers unlimited domain hosting
- Business plan starting at $5.95 a month includes free toll-free number and private SSL and IP along with unlimited domain hosting.
HostGator Reseller Hosting Plans
Three plans are offered under reseller hosting.
- The Aluminium plan starts at $19.95 per month and includes 60GB storage and 600GB bandwidth.
- The Copper plan starting at $24.95 offers 90GB disk storage and 900GB bandwidth.
- With the Silver plan starting at $24.95 per month, clients get 140 GB disk space and 1400GB bandwidth.
HostGator VPS Hosting Plans
VPS hosting also includes three plans offering the following features:
- Snappy 2000 offering 2 Core CPUs, 2GB RAM, 120GB disk space, 1.5TB bandwidth and two IP addresses starting at $19.95 a month
- Snappy 4000 offering 2 Core CPUs, 4GB RAM, 165GB disk space, 2TB bandwidth and two IP addresses starting at $29.95 a month
- Snappy 8000 offering 4 Core CPUs, 8GB RAM, 240GB disk space, 3TB bandwidth and two IP addresses starting at $39.95 a month
HostGator Dedicated Hosting Plans
Dedicated hosting consists of the following four plans:
- Basic dedicated hosting includes 100Mbps, 4GB RAM, 10TB bandwidth and 500 GB RAID-1 drives starting at $79 per month
- Standard dedicated hosting includes 250Mbps, 4GB RAM, 15TB bandwidth and 1000 GB RAID-1 drives starting at $89 per month
- Elite dedicated hosting includes 500Mbps, 8GB RAM, 20TB bandwidth and 1000 GB RAID-1 drives starting at $109 per month
- Pro dedicated hosting includes 1Gbps, 16GB RAM, 25TB bandwidth and 1000 GB RAID-1 drives starting at $129 per month
We compiled a detailed comparison among few of the best web hosting companies, for a complete comparison chart, please visit Best Dedicated Server Hosting page at AllHostsReviews.com
Uptime/Downtime
HostGator performs excellently when it comes to uptime, delivering uninterrupted service 99.9% of the time. At times, the service uptime is as high as 100%. In fact, the company also has a 45-day money back guarantee if uptime is less than promised.
Drawbacks
There are some drawbacks with HostGator’s services:
- There are no built-in antivirus or spam protection tools.
- There are no email security tools and PINs can only be up to 8 characters long, making them easy to hack.
- Plan features often change without prior notification.
- It is possible to experience some problems with the control panel.
- One of the disadvantages of the CloudFlare system is that the client has no control over which server their website and data is being hosted on. However, regular caching takes place to maximize data security and protection for the client at all times.
HostGator Coupons 2016
HostGator offers discount coupon hgc25 on all new package subscriptions which takes $9.94 off any new hosting plan purchase by a new customer.
HostGator Awards
HostGator has won several accolades and awards for its service quality:
- In 2011, HostGator was awarded the Best Small Business Hosting Provider award and the Editor’s Choice award by Findmyhost.com.
- In 2009, it was included as the 239th fastest growing Company in the United States.
Social Links
HostGator has a vibrant presence on social media where it interacts with clients regularly:
- HostGator can be found on Twitter at @HostGator.
- HostGator can be found on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/HostGator
- The company is also on Google Plus at https://plus.google.com/+hostgator
