Resources - Hosting Reviews

Hostgator.com

Written by Marco Conti Sunday, 26 October 2008 10:24

In my opinion Hostgator.com is the best host for Joomla and any other Open Source, LAMP based website script. They have the best Cpanel I have worked with. They have modern and fast servers, but above all, their support people are the best around. They are by and large helpful and caring of your issues. With hostgator you'll never hear "it must be your PHP script" whenever there is a server issue (something that usually happens at every other company). They are prompt and they never (well, rarely) talk to you like you are an idiot.

To be sure, they are not perfect and I have had to deal with the occasional moron myself, but day in and day out, their tech people are knowledgeable, courteous, and patient. All qualities you want in a host. The best way to obtain tech support from Hostgator is by email.

How to buy a hosting plan from Hostgator.com

If you purchase hosting with Hostgator, make sure to follow these simple steps:

Click here (well, not yet. Read the rest first)
You'll find yourself on their home page. Look for the discount code, usually in a banner, and make a note of it.
Now, click on "Buy now" and the Cpanel purchasing screen appears.
If you already have a domain name, enter it here and choose "I have my own domain name". Don't worry if your site is hosted elsewhere. You can still use your domain without adverse effects. The change will happen only after you enter the new DNS at your domain control panel.
Click continue and choose the business plan
Choose the yearly payment option. It costs less on a per month basis (at the time of this writing $12.95 Vs. $14.95)
enter the coupon code from the home page for an additional 20% savings (if you buy monthly you'll get 20% off the first month only)
Enter your credit card and make a note of the username and password
IMPORTANT: Do not use an email on the same domain your are buying hosting for. Should something happen that email will go down as well. This is true for any host.

That's it. Now wait for the confirmation email and when you are ready change your DNS to the new one by going to where you bought your domain name. remember that purchasing a domain and purchasing your hosting plan are very different things.

One of the greatest perks in hosting your domain at Hostgator is the willingness of the staff to help you transfer your existing website from another server, whether it is already on Hostgator or with another host. If it's technically possible they will move your files, databases and even try to reconnect and test your main website to make sure it works. Naturally, there are limits to what they can do but I have used that service often and I found it invaluable. I once had them move my websites from a low end plan to a better one. After a week I decided to buy a reseller account and once again they moved all my files and databases without complaint. A month later, I purchased a dedicated server and once again they moved and reconfigured all my websites. Not a single complaint throughout.

Compare that with the experience I had with another host,m where they forced us to move all out file through FTP (as they didn't support creating archives [.zip files] on the server directly) and when that proved to be too cumbersome because of the dropped connections it took me hours on the phone to beg them to do it for me.

Hostgator offers shared, reseller and dedicated server plans. They do not have VPS plans.

Disclaimer: things tend to change rapidly in this business. Please do your homework before investing time and money in purchasing a hosting plan from any of the vendors we suggest. If in doubt, Conticreative can set you up with a domain name and a suitable hosting plan as well as moving your files and database for a very reasonable fee. We can usually set up a new server in less than an hour. email us for more information.

Set as favorite

Bookmark

Email this

Trackback(0)

TrackBack URI for this entry

Comments (1)

Subscribe to this comment's feed

Show/hide comments

Open an account.

okay, you convinced me. I am going to open an account with them, I hope that I can pay one month for testing.

Meanwhile, it would be good to put the date this article was written.

Thanks for your time in this post that supports those who seek information.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Admin Response

I apologize. I had turned off the dates globally as part of a redesign I am doing. I am hoping to make the site easier to navigate and keeping it more frequently updated.

I have a feeling you are going to be happy with Hostgator. About 50% of my clients use them and I have my dedicated server there. As I said in the article, you get a moron now and then everywhere, but my ratio of helpful Vs. useless tech support operator on Hostgator has consistently been superior than with other companies.
One trick to use with any host, is to escalate a problem to Level III support whenever you feel they are not taking you seriously. Level I folks are very Junior and essentially read back to you the same stuff that's on their help websites.
Level II and III are more experienced technicians and some at HG are truly outstanding.
Once one of them went into a Zen Cart shop I managed, backed it up, fixed the problem and emailed me with the result. I never asked for it, but I was pleased. It saved me a bunch of time.

Good luck and I have turned on the dates.

Home page , June 14, 2009