When you set out looking for a hosting services provider, the chances are that top brands to come up will include renowned brands such as HostGator and Bluehost. However, there are other hosting services providers that are equally effective. One such company is A2 hosting. A2 hosting was started in 2001 and has its data centers spread across the globe. In this post, we comprehensively review A2 Hosting to gauge its performance, user plans, and pros & cons.
The A2 hosting services performance
The most important thing when selecting a hosting service is the good performance. Your hosting provider’s main role is serving your company information to clients as fast as possible when a request is made. Though it is impossible to provide a 100% uptime, it is advisable to pick a company with highest possible uptime. A2 hosting has a high uptime rate of 99.92% which is sufficient. However, they should consider raising it to higher levels to compete with other top brands in the industry.
Another crucial performance indicator is speed. A faster loading site guarantees visitors with better user experience, higher ranking in SERPs, and more conversions. A2 hosting boasts of being faster than the top providers in the industry. Their hosting services renders your content at 392ms which is 200% faster compared to the industry average. They achieve this by limiting the number of sites per server and including additional caching on servers. If you are looking for excellent performance for your website, this is one hosting service that will not let you down.
The A2 customer experience
To maintain a highly satisfied client base, A2 hosting has redefined its user interface for easy access to all features, tools, and management options. By adopting the standard cPanel, A2 hosting makes it easy to access every related component easy and seamless. In addition to delivering all the features at the same dashboard, the following also make the user interface very appealing.
(a) It is free of clutter.
(b) Provides direct access to the company support.
(c) Easy installation of third-party plugins.
Whether you are new to A2 hosting or have been with other companies, the A2 dashboard will make it easy to learn and optimize every tool.
The customer support services
The best way to comprehensively tell that a hosting service provider is reliable is looking at its support services. In addition to great uptime and speed, A2 provides great customer support for all clients. They provide multiple lines of support so that clients can get help anytime that their sites or services have issues.
You can reach A2 hosting on a 24/7 basis through their ticket submission, live chat, email, or direct phone line. Over time, the A2 hosting team has created a customer based culture that ensures all resources are directed to sorting problems promptly and enhancing customer satisfaction.
The security at A2 hosting
The security provided by a hosting company to clients sites and files and info is very important when picking a hosting company. You want a hosting provider who is committed to securing all the business details to prevent unauthorized access and damage from malware. At A2 hosting, the company has implemented a number of security measures that target guaranteeing the highest level of security. They use KeneCare extension and HackScan to secure the site and customer accounts from attack by malware.
One thing you must appreciate when it comes to security when using hosting services is that both the hosting provider and client must do their parts. This means that you cannot leave the task entirely to the A2 hosting provider. A2 guides users with specific details on helping them operate more securely on its servers. For example, you are assisted to learn about installing updates, maintaining strong passwords, and hardening the server with fail2ban.
The hosting plans and costs at A2 Hosting
To help more clients join and host their sites, A2 Hosting has three hosting plans. Here are the main facts about these plans.
(a) The Lite plan. This is the lowest plan at A2 hosting. The plan goes for $3.92/month and supports 25 email accounts, five databases, five subdomains, and one domain name. This is considered good for small businesses or individual sites that do not handle a lot of data or expect huge traffic.
(b) The Swift Traffic. This plan is sold for $4.90/month and comes with support for unlimited domain names. You also enjoy unlimited email accounts and domain names.
(c) The turbo plan. This the highest plan at A2 hosting that is priced between $9.3/month and $143/month. When you go for this plan, you get unlimited domain names, email accounts, and database support. The plan also comes with SPDY and HTTP/2 support for faster website speed.
To make your experience more enjoyable, the A2 hosting team has made the process of signup easy and also allows clients to use multiple payment methods such as PayPal, Credit Cards, PayULatam, and direct bank transfers.
Pros of using A2 hosting
(a) The process of signing up and using the A2 hosting services is easy, direct, and seamless.
(b) They have a very stable uptime of 99.94% and offer faster loading speeds compared to standard hosting providers.
(c) They allow 30-day money back guarantee.
(d) Their services are green with a focus on buying carbon offsets, using clean energy, and cutting emissions.
(e) They provide regular offers to all clients to assure them of higher value for money.
The cons of using A2 Hosting
(a) Their pricing is higher than the average in the industry.
(b) There are major restrictions on the cheapest user plans.
(c) Unlike other competitors in the industry, A2 Hosting tags a price for clients who want to move their sites to other data centers.
The final take
From the review, A2 hosting comes out as a great option for all clients no matter the level of their businesses. They have everything that one would expect from quality web host to great uptime and good support. Though the A2 hosting plans are relatively pricey compared to other competitors, do not hesitate to join the list of other highly satisfied clients using its services.
