Navigating the world of web hosting can be daunting, with so many providers vying for your attention. One such provider that stands out is HostGator, known for its wide array of services and competitive pricing. For over 15 years, HostGator has been one of the leading web hosting providers for small businesses, bloggers, online entrepreneurs, and Affiliate Marketers.
In this comprehensive HostGator review, we will break down their current hosting plans, pricing, features, and limitations. You’ll learn what they offer for both basic and advanced users and the pros and cons of using them as your hosting provider. Whether you’re just starting your first website or handling multiple domains and large traffic volumes, this HostGator review will help you determine if HostGator is still the right choice to meet your hosting needs today and into the future.
HostGator Features
From our research for HostGator review, we found that HostGator offers a wide array of features that make it an appealing choice for many. Here are some of the key features identified:
- Variety of Hosting Options: HostGator provides various hosting services including shared hosting, VPS hosting, dedicated servers, and WordPress hosting.
- Free Website Builder: They offer a free website builder with drag-and-drop functionality and numerous free templates.
- One-Click Installs: With HostGator, you can easily install popular web applications like WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, and Magento with just a single click.
- Unmetered Bandwidth: Most of their plans come with unmetered bandwidth meaning you don’t have to worry about traffic limits on your site.
- Free SSL Certificate: Every hosting plan comes with a free SSL certificate which is crucial for website security and SEO.
- 24/7/365 Support: HostGator offers round-the-clock customer support through live chat and phone.
- 45-Day Money-Back Guarantee: Unlike the industry-standard 30-day guarantee, HostGator gives you 45 days to try out their services risk-free.
- cPanel Control Panel: You get a user-friendly cPanel control panel for managing your hosting account and website.
- Free Email Accounts: HostGator provides unlimited email accounts with its hosting plans.
- 99.9% Uptime Guarantee: They guarantee a 99.9% uptime, ensuring your website remains accessible at all times.
Remember, the exact features can vary depending on the specific hosting plan you choose.
HostGator Hosting Plans and Pricing
HostGator offers various hosting plans to cater to different needs and budgets. Here is an overview of the types of hosting plans offered by HostGator that we thought would be important to share with you in the HostGator review:
- Shared Web Hosting: This is the most basic and affordable type of hosting, ideal for small websites or blogs that are just getting started. HostGator’s shared hosting comes in three tiers:
under the shared hosting plan there are three plans to choose from, they are
- Hatchling Plan: Single Domain at $2.75 per month
- Baby Plan: Two Domains at $3.95 per month
- Business Plan: Three Domains at $5.95 per month (source)
shared hosting plan specifications are:
| Hatchling Plan | Baby Plan | Business Plan |
| 1 website | 2 websites | 3 websites |
| 10GB SSD Storage | 20GB SSD Storage | 40GB SSD Storage |
| Chat support | Chat & Phone support​ | Chat & Phone support​ |
| Unmetered bandwidth | Unmetered bandwidth | Unmetered bandwidth info_outline |
| Basic email included | Basic email included | Basic email included |
| Free domain 1st Year | Free Domain for 1st Year | Free Domain for 1st Year |
| Free SSL for 1st Year | Free SSL | Free SSL |
| WordPress pre-installed | WordPress pre-installed | WordPress pre-installed |
| Malware Scanning | Malware Scanning | Malware Scanning |
| Cloudflare CDN | Cloudflare CDN | |
| Increased performance (2 vCPU’s) | Increased performance (3 vCPU’s) | |
| Daily Website Back Up – Free 1st Year | ||
| Domain Privacy – 1st Year |
- Cloud Hosting: This type of hosting is more secure and scalable than shared hosting, making it a good choice for websites that need more resources. HostGator provides a list of cloud hosting plans on their website (source). under cloud hosting there are three tiers to choose from namely, Hatchling Cloud, Baby Cloud, and Business Cloud:
- Hatchling Cloud: Single Domain, 2GB memory, 2 core CPU at $4.95 per month
- Baby Cloud: Unlimited domains, 4GB memory, 4 core CPU at $6.57 per month
- Business Cloud: Unlimited domains, 6GB memory, 6 core CPU at $9.95 per month
- Managed Hosting for WordPress: This is a specialized hosting plan designed for WordPress websites. It includes features like automatic updates and backups.
4. Virtual Private Servers (VPS): VPS hosting gives you a dedicated portion of a server’s resources, offering more power and control than shared hosting. HostGator offers three VPS hosting plans: Snappy 2000, Snappy 4000, and Snappy 8000. These plans have different specifications such as RAM, CPU cores, storage space, and bandwidth. The prices for these plans start at $36.99 per month and can go up to $95.99 per month (source).
5. Gator Website Builder Hosting: This is a user-friendly hosting option for individuals who want to build a website quickly and easily. The pricing starts at $12.95 per month for the express plan (source).
Please note that the prices listed are promotional and may increase upon renewal. Also, HostGator no longer offers some hosting types like Reseller, Optimized WordPress, and dedicated hosting plans according to the recent update on their website (source). Always check the official HostGator website for the most accurate and up-to-date information aside from our HostGator review.
HostGator Security Features
HostGator provides several security features to ensure the safety and integrity of your website. Here are some of the key security features offered by HostGator, that we felt to bring to your attention while conducting research for this HostGator review:
- Free SSL Certificate: All HostGator’s hosting plans come with a free SSL certificate that encrypts data between your website and its visitors, ensuring secure transactions (source).
- Spam Protection: HostGator uses Spam Assassin to automatically filter spam from your emails (source).
- DDoS Protection: HostGator has measures in place to protect your site from Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks.
- 24/7 Server Monitoring: HostGator continuously monitors its servers for issues or potential threats.
- Automatic Backups: HostGator provides automatic weekly off-site data backups for their shared and reseller servers (source).
- Firewall Protection: HostGator uses firewall protection to block unauthorized access to your website.
- Hotlink Protection: This feature prevents other sites from directly linking to files on your website.
- IP Deny Manager: This allows you to block specific IP addresses from accessing your site.
- Secure Control Panel: You can manage your website through a secure control panel (cPanel).
Please note that the availability of these features may vary depending on the hosting plan you choose. Always check the official HostGator website for the most accurate and up-to-date information.
What is HostGator best known for?
HostGator is best known for its affordable web hosting services, but it also offers a variety of other features and tools to help you get your website up and running. Whether you are just starting out or looking to upgrade your existing website, HostGator has something for everyone.
One of the key strengths of HostGator is its excellent uptime, which ensures that websites hosted on their servers are consistently accessible. They also offer a range of powerful tools to help website owners manage and optimize their sites according to Pcmag reviews.
Additionally, from our research for the HostGator review, we realized that HostGator provides a suite of services designed to support website creation and management. This includes automatic daily backups via CodeGuard to ensure data safety and easy recovery (source), as well as resources for beginners to learn about web hosting and setting up their accounts.
Despite some criticism regarding its customer support, HostGator remains a popular choice for many due to its affordability and wide range of services. For instance, they are among the cheapest providers of dedicated hosting services, with prices starting at $89.98 per month according to Cybernews.com.
HostGator Customer Service and support
In recent years, HostGator has faced some criticism for its customer service and support. Some users have reported long wait times for live chat and phone support, as well as difficulty getting issues resolved (source).
However, HostGator has also made efforts to improve its customer service and support, including offering a knowledge base with articles and tutorials to help customers troubleshoot common issues (source).
Here are some of the key support features offered by HostGator that we came across in our HostGator review research:
- 24/7/365 Support: HostGator provides round-the-clock support via phone, live chat, and email/ticketing system. This means you can reach out to them at any time if you need assistance with your hosting (source).
- Knowledge Base: HostGator has an extensive online knowledge base with articles, guides, and video tutorials covering a wide range of topics. The knowledge base provides information on a variety of topics, including account setup, domain management, email setup, website security, and more. This is a great self-help resource for finding quick answers to common questions or issues (source).
- Community Forum: HostGator’s community forum allows users to interact with each other, share experiences, and find solutions to common problems.
- Website Tutorials: HostGator provides a series of website tutorials for beginners on various topics like website building, cPanel usage, and more.
- Billing Support: For queries related to billing and account management, HostGator has a separate support team that can be reached via phone and email (source).
Please note that while HostGator strives to provide quality customer service, the response times and quality of support can vary depending on the volume of requests they’re handling at any given time.
HostGator Pros and Cons
Based on our research from various sources for the HostGator review, here are the pros and cons of HostGator that make it a good fit for those building out their businesses online:
Pros:
- Good Speed: HostGator’s hosting services are known for their good speed, which is crucial for website performance and user experience (source).
- Unlimited Resources: HostGator provides unlimited disk space, bandwidth, and the ability to host unlimited domains (except for the Hatchling Plan). This makes it a flexible choice for growing websites.
- Affordable Pricing: HostGator offers competitive pricing for its hosting services, which can be a significant advantage for small businesses with tight budgets (source).
- Excellent Customer Service: HostGator is praised for its customer service, offering support via phone and live chat (source).
- Intuitive System: The platform is known for its user-friendly and intuitive system, making it a good choice for beginners or those not as tech-savvy according to a tooltester.com review.
- Great for Blogging: According to websitebuilderexpert.com. HostGator’s performance scores and unlimited resources make it a great choice for bloggers
Cons:
- Lack of Dedicated Speed Features: While HostGator performs well overall, some users have noted that it lacks dedicated speed features, which could potentially improve its performance even further (source).
- Uptime Concerns: Some users have reported concerns about HostGator’s uptime, which can impact a website’s availability and accessibility (source).
Please note that these pros and cons can vary based on individual needs and experiences. It’s always recommended to do thorough research and consider your specific requirements before choosing a web hosting service.
Is HostGator reputable?
HostGator is a reputable web hosting provider that has been in business since 2002 and hosts 2 million plus websites. It is known for its affordable prices, excellent customer service, and user-friendly platform. However, like any company, it may have some shortcomings that may not work for everyone. It’s important to carefully research and consider your specific needs before deciding on whether HostGator is the right choice for you. Additionally, reading reviews and comparing it to other web hosting services can also help determine its reputation in the industry. Overall, HostGator has a solid reputation and remains a popular choice among website owners.
Which is better Bluehost or HostGator
Based on our research results, both Bluehost and HostGator have their own strengths and weaknesses, and the choice between the two largely depends on your specific needs.
Bluehost:
- Bluehost is often praised for its affordable hosting plans. It also constantly upgrades its offerings, which can benefit users looking for the latest features (source).
- Bluehost offers shared hosting plans starting from $2.95/month in its latest pricing.
- However, it’s worth noting that Bluehost only uses Linux servers, which might not suit everyone’s needs (source).
HostGator:
- HostGator stands out for offering unmetered storage on all shared plans, which can be a significant advantage if you have a lot of data to store.
- HostGator’s plans start at $3.75/month, and they offer coupons on more robust pricing options that bring the price down (source).
- HostGator supports both Linux and Microsoft servers, providing more flexibility in terms of server environment (source).
In conclusion, if you’re looking for affordable hosting plans and primarily use Linux servers, Bluehost might be the better option. On the other hand, if you require more storage and server flexibility, HostGator could be the better choice. Furthermore, in our review of the best web hosting services for small businesses, Bluehost tops the chart and comes in first place with a rating of 4.5, while HostGator comes in second place with a rating of 4.3.
HostGator review: Can I recommend it?
Based on the information provided in the above HostGator review, it is safe to say that HostGator has many positive aspects that make it a strong contender for the best web hosting services, Therefore I strongly recommend it. Its affordable prices, user-friendly platform, and excellent customer service are all attractive features for website owners. However, some concerns such as lack of speed features and uptime issues should also be taken into consideration before making a final decision. It’s important to thoroughly research and compare different options before deciding on the best web hosting service for your specific requirements.
What are the limitations of HostGator?
Based on the information gathered from various sources for the HostGator review blog, here are some of the limitations of HostGator :
- Bandwidth Limit for Reseller Accounts: The bandwidth limit for Reseller hosting accounts varies by plan According to an article on the HostGator website.
- Mail Policy and Limits: Any mailing list larger than 5,000 email addresses will require a VPS or Dedicated Server. This means that users cannot send more than 12,000 emails a day According to the mail policy limits article on the HostGator website.
- CPU and RAM Limits: While HostGator does not impose any limits on the number of visitors your website can receive, there are practical limits associated with the CPU and RAM, which could affect site performance if exceeded according to an article on their website.
- CPU Resource Restriction: HostGator allows a maximum of 25% CPU usage limit on their shared and reseller servers. If a hosting account exceeds this limit for longer than 90 seconds, it may face restrictions (source).
- Processes Limit: Shared and Reseller plans are limited to 25 simultaneous processes per cPanel (source).
- Email Limitations: For e-mail, certain limitations apply to the respective hosting plans (source).
- Upselling of Additional Services: HostGator tends to limit the amount of included features and chooses to upsell additional products and services instead (source).
- Uptime Concerns: Some users have reported issues with HostGator’s uptime (source).
These limitations should be taken into account when considering HostGator as a web hosting provider.
Conclusion
As we come to a close of our HostGator review, we want to take a moment to highlight some of the key features and benefits of using HostGator for your website hosting needs. HostGator is one of the most popular web hosting providers in the market, with over 2 million websites hosted on their platform. They offer a wide range of hosting options including shared, cloud, VPS, and Managed hosting for WordPress.
One of the main reasons why HostGator is so widely used is due to its affordable pricing plans. Their shared hosting starts at just $2.75 per month, making it accessible for individuals and small businesses with tight budgets. But don’t let the low price fool you – HostGator also offers reliable performance and great customer support as we have realized during our research for the HostGator review.
Ultimately, finding the best fit for your website and business goals might not be as easy as it sounds. So take the time to carefully evaluate your options and choose a reputable web hosting provider that meets your specific needs. HostGator may be a good choice for some, but it’s important to do your due diligence before making a decision. And if you do decide to go with HostGator, remember that their customer service team is always available to help with any questions or concerns.