The Complete Review Of iPage Hosting
iPage is among the leading web hosting service providers that have gained a lot of popularity over time. The company is owned by the Endurance International Group (EIG) that is also associated with top brands such as Bluehost, VPS Link, Dot5 Hosting, and FatCow among others.
Though iPage is more than ten years old, the popularity started growing rapidly after relaunching in 2009. After the 2009 re-launch, the company focused on offering budget hosting that has given it the current lead in the market. Today, it boasts of more than 2 million domains.
The hosting packages
iPage hosting does not have multiple plans like other companies such as SiteGround and Bluehost. It only has a single plan that provides clients with unlimited bandwidth and capability to make as many subdomains as possible. All clients are also assured of ample disk space of 50GB and MySQL.
iPage hosting allows users to create multiple databases. The unique thing about the option is that you can run different programming languages. This means that you will find it very helpful to work with multiple websites that have different programming languages.
The pricing at iPage
The hosting price of iPage starts from $1.99/month while the package ranges from $3 to $50 per month. The hosting company encourages its clients to pay for more months to enjoy lower hosting services. With the low pricing plan, many enterprises find it very easy to set and start running their sites. For example, you only need $1.99/month to get a running site.
In 2015, iPage hosting raised the price to $3.25/month before reverting to the older rates. Today, their piece remains $1.99. This makes it an ideal starting point especially for startups and even businesses joining the digital space for the first time.
It is crucial to note that starters joining iPage enjoy a lot of discounts, special promotions, and special deals. You only need to sign-up for the hosting service to start enjoying the promos. Therefore, if you are looking for an economy hosting that comes with lots of goodies, iPage fits the definition.
Security
iPage provides users with advanced security features that target enhancing the security of clients’ sites. They provide the SiteLock security feature that helps to keep clients away from unsolicited breach of security. The feature helps to secure your data through regular scanning of malicious files and the site.
The hosting service further provides backup to clients’ sites and files so that they can have a fallback option in the case of damage or hacking of the main files at home. Though the cost of the service is very low, the security is admirable.
The iPage server speed
The speed is a critical factor that contributes to enhancing or damaging user experience as well as conversion rates. The server speed determines the time that websites take to load when clients send requests. If the server is slow, the website will load slowly and cause high exit rates. You should, therefore, always pick the hosting service that guarantees faster server rates.
The loading speed at iPage is 866ms which is remarkable. Though other hosting services such as SiteGround and Kinsta have faster loading speed, the rate at iPage is considered satisfactory as a budget solution. In the beginning, this speed might be ample. However, you will need to shift to a faster hosting provider when the visits per month reach about 15000.
The iPage customer support
You can always tell the type of a firm by looking at its customer support. Now, the support is even more important when it comes to hosting service providers. If your website is down for one reason or another, the support should be there to pick the signal or complain and speedily fix the issue.
iPage support is very reliable. It has multiple lines of support that ensure all clients’ issues are picked easily and fixed professionally. Whether you prefer a live chat, direct phone call or email, expert support at the company support centers is very friendly. They always take clients through every step to diagnose issues and ensure they are fixed professionally.
Notably, iPage provides 24/7 uptime monitoring such that they will be the first to know when your website is down. This means that they will even pick some issues with clients’ site and fix them before they realize.
The main features of iPage hosting
As more hosting companies enter the industry, iPage has shifted its focus to enhancing its features. The hosting service provider has particularly trained its focus on speed and security for better performance. Here are the main features to expect in iPage.
(a) Diskspace and bandwidth
iPage does not limit the bandwidth or diskspace provided to clients. The management of the hosting service indicates that the main target is helping clients maintain a great online presence. However, this bandwidth is monitored on a fulltime basis to ensure that clients always comply with set terms and conditions. For example, it discourages users from malpractices such as file sharing and accounts for storage.
(b) The operational uptime
Reliable uptime for a website is an important factor that helps to define the customer experience on a site. While getting a hosting service provider with 100% uptime is impractical, you need the highest possible level possible. Besides, the hosting provider should have experts ready to assist you promptly in case the site goes down.
iPage is one of the hosting firms with very reliable uptime. Despite their services being offered at very low rates, they have a very high uptime of about 99.9%. This is actually higher than other more expensive providers.
(c) The user interface
The user interface is very crucial for any hosting service provider because it gives the client access to all the features and settings. iPage preferred to use vDeck though it is more complicated compared to the common cPanel. Some of the key features you will access through the user interface include;
(i) FTP management panel.
(ii) The file manager.
(iii) Mojo marketplace.
(iv) Free 1GB cloud storage.
(v) Visitor statistics.
(vi) Shopsite.
(vii) Website creator.
Pros of using iPage hosting
(a) It is one of the cheapest web hosting services.
(b) The hosting service allows users to create many databases and make it possible to operate programming languages.
(c) It provides special promotions and unique offers to users.
(d) It provides experts who are ready to assist clients when a website goes down.
(e) It offers SiteLock security suite to help avoiding an unsolicited security breach.
(f) They provide a 30-days money-back guarantee to allow users test the services and only buy when satisfied with the services.
Cons of using iPage hosting
(a) The company only allows users to host one main domain and provide a single email account.
(b) Though iPage indicates that it provides unlimited hosting, there are many limitations on what you can do. They actually monitor the services on a full-time basis.
(c) iPage uses vPanel for the user interface that makes it very complicated especially for first-time users.
Conclusion
iPage is one of the best hosting services providers in the market because of its unique operational model. Its commitment to offering all the services at the lowest possible cost makes it irresistible especially for startups. However, bigger enterprises or those that are experiencing rapid growth should compare the site with other top providers for more advanced services. Note that shift to other sites is likely to cost more than iPage.
