Pros
- 99.9% uptime guarantee
- Dedicated hosting, dedicated IP, and managed hosting options
- Unlimited everything – sites, storage, bandwidth, emails, databases
- $100 in ad credits
- Helpful phone, chat, email support 24/7
- Excellent reputation in designer community
Cons
- No Free domain with hosting plans
- A little more expensive than other options
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Get your first month of hosting from HostGator for just a penny by using the promocode ’1cent’ at checkout! An exclusive Geeky Reviews offer! |
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The Geek’s Take
HostGator is the little engine that could in the web hosting world, putting itself up against titans like Go Daddy and using a fraction of the with a fraction of their budget and actually gaining some momentum on the behemoth. HostGator had taken some market share for the most part by providing an easy to use, no nonsense web hosting solution that has developed a nice following from indie developers. HostGator offers everything the competition does and then some, albiet at a slightly higher price. We’ve always been willing to pay a little more to get a little more, so we’re naming HostGator an Editors’ Choice in the web hosting category.
Full Review
**For the sake of comparison, we chose each web host’s least expensive unlimited plan which in HostGator’s case is the Baby Plan. Unless otherwise noted, details and features listed below are those of this plan.
Ease of Use
HostGator prides itself on being easy enough to use for novices, but robust enough to appeal to the more advanced crowd. Their hosting control panel is especially impressive with a nice intuitive interface and a list of features that include the following:
- Latest cPanel Control Panel
- Website Statistics: AWStats, Webalizer, Raw Log Manager, Referrer and Error Logs
- Instant Shopping Carts, Blogs, Portals, Forums, Counters, and Formmail
- Password Protected Directories and Custom Error Pages
- Web Based File Manager, Hotlink Protection, IP Deny Manager, Redirect URL
Reliability, Bandwidth & Storage
HostGator’s Baby plan provides you with even more unlimited than Go Daddy’s comparable unlimited plan. Whereas Go Daddy limits you on databases (25) and email addresses (500), HostGator limits you on essentially nothing, including as many emails and databases you can handle along with unlimited bandwidth, storage, and domains. Trust us, you may not think that you need unlimited everything right now, but the day will come when you’ll be glad you have it.
Just as with Go Daddy, HostGator provides a 99.9% uptime guarantee, meaning they’ll provide store credit if your site is down more than just a few moments a month, which provides a nice bit of peace of mind.
For a fully itemized list of what HostGator’s Baby Plan offers, check out this chart.
Add-Ons & Features
In addition to the standards, HostGator offers a handful of specials and add ons to try and separate it from the hosting pack a bit.
- One Click WordPress Installation – Start your WordPress site or blog in just minutes. HostGator also offers one click install apps for dozens of other popular platforms.
- $100 Ad credits – Get ad credits for Facebook, Google Adwords, and Bing Ads totaling $200, a great way to jump start your site.
- Weebly Site Creator – Like much of its competition, HostGator offers a simple to use, drag and drop style site creator.
Support
HostGator offers 24/7 US-based phone support with all plans along with next day email, an extensive knowledgebase, and active user forum. This support is one major source of the good will that Host Gator has generated – it’s known for promptness and helpfulness. In addition to the stellar phone and email support, HostGator also provides live chat support available 24/7, a nice bonus over the competition and an appealing option for the introverted developers of the world.
Value 
HostGator’s Baby plan comes in at $7.96 a month with a 1-year commitment, putting it at over $95 for the year, and a bit more expensive than the other hosting solutions in our roundup, at least when comparing introductory rates. For that price though, remember that you get unlimited everything, a very easy to use and reliable interface, and some of the best support anywhere for any product. Yes, it’s a little more expensive, but there is quite a bit of value there. If only HostGator included a free domain with their plans…
*Geeky Review Protip – always spring for a full year of hosting. You’ll lock in the intro price for a year and save some dough in the long run. You’ll need at least a year to get your site in its feet (and all of the hosting plans in this comparison offer money back guarantees anyway).
Get your first month of hosting from HostGator for just a penny by using the promocode ’1cent’ at checkout! An exclusive Geeky Reviews offer! |
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