2. HostMonster Hosting Review

Posted on April 21, 2008
Filed Under cheap web hosting, business web hosting, e-commerce web host, HostMonster Hosting, webhosting reviews, web hosting review, web hosting, web hosting company, web hosting deals, web host |

Click the following to go directly to the HostMonster Web Site.

HostMonster is a premium host with a good hosting plan for a decent price, and makes my list as first runner-up for the Best Web Hosting Company. As we approach the top of this list, my concerns with each company decrease, and HostMonster really only has a few things that separate it from the top host. Basically, this company meets all of my minimum requirements for a great host. They offer 24/7 support, with a choice of email ticket, live chat or phone support, and a 30 day money back guarantee. They give you a good sized account, with all of the basic tools and scripts you’ll need, a free domain name with hosting, and the ability to host an unlimited number of domains.

HostMonster does offer quarterly and semi-annual payment options, but these aren’t very attractive to the spammers or phishers that simply want to set up an account that they know will be canceled (or to anyone else, for that matter). Both of these options require a $30 non-refundable set-up fee, and cost $8.95 a month. When there are really cheap web hosts offering these low-lifes a throw away account for $1-$4, they aren’t going to want to spend almost $70 to get one here.

My main concerns about HostMonster are;

1. The fact that they only offer one hosting plan
2. Their pricing, and the advertising they use to promote it
3. Although their support is relatively quick and has been reliable, they don’t offer any kind of support response time guarantee.

Their main page lists all of the features for their one hosting offer, and shows the price as $6.95 a month. This price applies only if you sign up for 2 years, paid in advance. The price for a standard one year contract is actually $7.95 a month. This is a decent price, and I’d feel better about them if they advertised it right up front, and then offered the discount for the 2 year term. Signing up for a year or more also eliminates the $30 set-up fee, which is another of my requirements. Additional domain names are a good deal, at only $10 each. Here are the basics of the HostMonster hosting package;

• Free domain name for life with hosting purchase
• Additional domain names are $10.00 a year
• Unlimited domains hosted, up to your space limitations
• 1,500 GB of space
• 15,000 GB of bandwidth per month
• 24/7 ticket, live chat and phone support
• No support response guarantee, but calls it the “Best Support in the Industry”
• Online searchable help database and FAQ
• 99.9% uptime guarantee (excellent)
• Unlimited email accounts, up to the 1,500 GB combined space limit
• 100 MySQL databases, up to the 1,500 GB space limit
• Free online “Drag and Drop” Site Builder
• Fantastico one click scripts (blogs, Joomla, Drupal, forums, etc.) included. Multiple versions of many common scripts for certain functions (like blogging and shopping carts)
• E-commerce shopping carts included
• Free shared SSL server
• Custom control panel combining both cPanel and WHM functions (my favorite choice for ease of use is this type of configuration)
• Basic search engine submission service included
• $100 in PPC Ad credits at Yahoo! and Google ($50 at each)
• Cost - $95.40 a year ($7.95 a month) for a one year contract. Price drops to $83.40 a year ($6.95 a month) if you sign up for two years, paid in advance.

HostMonster is a really good choice for your web hosting. I’d prefer some kind of support guarantee, and I wish they were more “up-front” about their true cost. But, overall, they are an excellent choice for hosting your web site. You can keep reading to find out about my Top Hosting pick, or click this link to find out more about HostMonster Hosting.

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