About HostGator

HostGator is one of the prominent hosting providers in the market today. It was born in 2002 in Florida. Within a span of 10 years, the brand became a household name with it’s unmatched performance, packages, features, and pricing. Seeing it’s an incredible performance, Endurance International Group (EIG) picked and acquired it for $225. EIG already owns popular hosting brands such as Constant Contact, iPage, Bluehost, etc.

PROS

• Extensive features
• Feature-loaded hosting plans
• Effective for starters
• Helpful site-building software and platform
• Rich e-commerce tools
• User-friendly customer support
• Amazing uptime
• Free Migration
• Offers a free domain for one year

CONS

• A Windows Server option is not available with every plan

What Type of Hosting Products Does HostGator Offer?

HostGator is a one-stop for all your hosting requirements. It has a rich catalog of products such as:

Shared Hosting and it’s packages

HostGator offers shared hosting to host multiple sites on a single server. It is an apt choice for people looking for an affordable hosting option. The company offers month-to-month and yearly shared hosting options.

It also offers Windows and Linux-based shared hosting packages to give enough room for growth to small and mid-sized businesses. If you are a Linux user then you can go with the Hatchling plan which starts at $11.95/month. However, it costs $3.95 per month with a yearly plan that comes with a set of privileges such as unlimited disk space, email addresses, and monthly data transfers. Along with that, it offers a free SSL, Plus support for one domain and 3rd party applications.

The next plan is the Baby plan which starts at $12.95/month. However, with a yearly plan, it costs $5/month. Along with that, one can get all the Hatchling offerings with an additional feature of unlimited domains.

However, the top plan is the Business plan which starts at $17.95/month. However, it costs only $7.25/month with a yearly plan. It offers advanced features and options such as free dedicated IP, special SEO tools for businesses, and super-fast Cloudflare CDN.

When it comes to Windows-based shared hosting, the brand offers the Personal Plan that starts at $7.96/month and with an annual subscription, $6.36. It offers unlimited disk space, free SSL, unlimited monthly transfers, and full support for one domain.

However, the more solid is the Enterprise plan which costs $15.96 a month with all the Personal plan features. But, it additionally offers support for 5 domains.

In short, HostGator offers the best and most rich shared hosting plans for Windows and Linux-based users unlike other hosting providers in the market.

VPS Web Hosting and it’s Packages

HostGator offers impressive VPS web hosting plans to people who want more server power than shared hosting plans. It also hosts various sites on a single server. However, the number is lesser than the shared hosting server. However, one has to pay more for VPS web hosting plans to get more power in return.

If you are a Linux-based user then HostGator offers 3 VPS hosting plans. The starting plan is Snappy 2000 which starts at $29.95/month. However, it costs $23.95/month with a yearly plan. Here, one gets 2GB RAM, 120GB SSD disk space, monthly data transfers, and unlimited email.

The second plan is Snappy 4000 which starts at $59.95/month. It costs $34.95/month with a yearly plan. It comes with 4GB RAM and 165GB SSD storage.

The third plan is Snappy 8000 which starts at $119.95/month and costs $59.95/month with a yearly plan. It offers 8GB RAM along with 240GB SSD storage respectively.

The best part is that all plans are pretty flexible. However, HostGator doesn’t offer Windows-based VPS hosting plans.

Dedicated Hosting and it’s Packages

It is the most powerful hosting plan that offers complete ownership of a server. Hence, it’s the most expensive hosting plan meant for traffic-intensive websites. When it comes to HostGator’s dedicated hosting packages then the brand offers 3 plans.

The first plan is the Value that starts at $159.99/month. However, it costs only $108.98 with a yearly plan. It offers 8GB RAM, 1TB HDD storage, and unlimited monthly data transfers and mails.

The second plan is Power Server which starts at $208.98/month, and costs $139.99/month with a yearly package. It offers 16GB RAM and 2TB HDD storage.

The third plan is Enterprise Server which starts at $249.98/month and costs only $159.99/month in a yearly subscription. It comes with 30GB RAM and 1TB SSD storage.

The best part is HostGator offers both Linux and Windows-based dedicated hosting plans with overall good performance and rich features.

Cloud Hosting and it’s Packages

HostGator offers only Linux-based cloud hosting. However, if you want Windows-based cloud hosting then you need to go somewhere else. Despite having only Linux-based cloud hosting, the brand offers an impressive lineup of plans that are worth every penny.

The first is Cloud Hatchling costing $12.95/month. It costs $7.95/month in a yearly subscription. It offers 2GB RAM, monthly data transfers, unlimited email, and storage.

The second plan is Cloud Baby which starts at $13.95/month and costs only $9.95/month. It comes with unlimited domains, 4GB RAM, and some additional offerings.

The third cloud hosting plan is Cloud Business which starts from $19.95/month and $11.95 with a yearly subscription. It comes with 6GB RAM, a dedicated IP address, and free SEO tools.

WordPress Hosting and it’s packages

When it comes to WordPress hosting then HostGator offers three managed WordPress hosting plans.

The first plan named Starter costs $14.95/per month and $7.95/month with a yearly subscription. It offers 100,000 visits every month, unlimited email, and the privilege to host one WordPress website.

The second plan named Standard starts at $20.95/month, and $9.95/month with a yearly subscription. It comes with 2 WordPress sites, unlimited storage, and 200,000 monthly visits.

The third plan is Business which starts at $27.95/month and $11.95 with a yearly subscription. It offers 3 WordPress websites, unlimited storage, and 500,000 visits.

The best part is that every plan offers page caching and a conducive WordPress atmosphere.

Reseller Hosting and it’s packages

If you are planning to start your own hosting business without getting into the infrastructural issues then it’s meant for you. HostGator offers an impressive lineup of reseller hosting packages starting from $19.95 a month. Every plan comes with an unlimited email feature. There are 3 plans namely, Aluminum, Copper, and Silver. Every plan is designed for both Windows and Linux.

HostGator Offers a Drag-and-drop Website Builder Tool

Unlike other hosting platforms, HostGator has it’s own user-friendly and seamless website builder that offers pixel-perfect control along with an immersive guide for proper spacing and customizations. It has a rich gallery of over 200 contemporary, visually enticing, and mobile responsive templates across various categories.

While customizing and designing the website or a page, one can easily switch between mobile and desktop views to come to know how the website is going to appear for users. The site builder Gator also allows you to add a store, a blog, or social media page.

In fact, it comes with a free domain name and an SSL certificate. The drag-and-drop feature makes it easier for users to pick any look, style, and design without beating around the bush. In short, it’s an all-around user-friendly tool helping users to create their own designs effortlessly. On top of that, it has an analytics feature that helps users to check the website’s performance.

HostGator Features

HostGator comes with several enticing features, including:

Smart website builder

HostGator is the only web hosting brand that offers an incredibly functional, useful, and smart website builder.

Popular for shared hosting plans

HostGator is known for it’s shared hosting plans to offer an incredible customer experience and true value for money.

Round the clock Support

It offers round-clock support to assist users anywhere and anytime. One can reach out to the support team via phone, chat, and ticket system.

Money Back Guarantee

HostGator offers a 45-day money-back guarantee to keep users on the safer side.

Impressive Uptime

It offers a 99.99% uptime guarantee that has become a new normal for most of the hosting providers in the market.

The Latest cPanel

The brand offers the latest cPanel software to empower users’ administration consoles. One can easily collect essential statistics and logs by using Webalizer, Raw Log Manager, and Error Logs through it’s backend account management panel.

HostGator vs Other Hosting Providers

If you want to know how HostGator performs in comparison with other hosting providers, then here are some of the comparisons.

HostGator vs Network Solutions

Here, HostGator is a clear winner with a big margin. With HostGator, one gets a money-back guarantee, unlimited disk space, rich features, high performance, round-the-clock support, and much more. However, Network Solutions offers only limited features. In fact, HostGator has an overall rating of 4.5, whereas Network Solutions has only 3.0.

HostGator vs Hostinger

Here, there is stiff competition between these two prominent hosting providers, Both are respected, leading, and feature-loaded web hosting solutions. However, Hostinger beats HostGator due to it’s beginner-friendly features and packages and all-around performance. However, HostGator is meant for those who want advanced hosting plans and features. Hostinger enjoys an overall rating of 4.8, whereas HostGator enjoys 4.5.

HostGator vs Liquid Web

If you are looking for the best hosting provider without worrying a little about money then Liquid Web is slightly better than HostGator. However, both are almost falling into the same category of performance. Liquid Web is known for it’s incredible VPS and dedicated hosting plans and over 100% uptime speed with blazing fast speed. HostGator is known for it’s prudent infrastructure and shared hosting plans at affordable rates and for better value for money. Liquid Web’s rating is 4.8 and HostGator’s is 4.5.

FAQs

What’s the average page load time of HostGator?

This year, it’s average page load time was not impressive. As per the reports, it’s 2.72 seconds.

What’s it’s Uptime?

HostGator’s uptime is quite good. It offers 99.98% which makes it quite consistent and reliable.

Can it be recommended to everyone?

Overall, HostGator offers good value for money. However, if you clearly want blazing-fast speeds then you should move to some other hosting providers. The speed is not bad, but if your requirement is entirely the speed then you must pick anyone else.

When should one use HostGator?

If you are looking for unlimited storage and bandwidth then it’s meant for you. It doesn’t crib and generously offers storage and bandwidth. On top of that, if you are planning to use different programming languages to PHP, you can also use it

When should you avoid HostGator?

HostGator struggles to offer blazing-fast speeds which may be a big problem for speed-seeking users. Also, they don’t offer a backup system.

Final Verdict

HostGator is an impressive and powerful hosting provider that offers affordable shared hosting plans, it’s own website builder, and impressive features to cater to all types of users. It’s meant for all small businesses, bloggers, etc. However, if you are simply a speed seeker and don’t want any type of lag and can spend a lot of money then you can simply join any other hosting provider.