HostGator Review: Is It the Web Hosting Provider for You?

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You can get a website up and operate in minutes with HostGator. It’s a well-known web host that millions of people use to host their business or personal websites.

What is it about HostGator that makes it so popular?

It’s easy to use, even for beginners, and it’s inexpensive.

You get a free domain name when you sign up, and hosting starts at $2.75 per month. HostGator also comes with many tools to help you get up and running quickly.

Sign up with Hostgator here with our discount code “VENTURER” to enjoy 65% OFF!

Read our HostGator review to determine whether HostGator is the right web hosting company for you. 

About HostGator

HostGator is one of the most popular web hosting providers in the market, hosting over 2.5 million domains. It’s a wise choice for every website owner, with free domain, one-click WordPress installation, unmetered bandwidth, 99.9% uptime guarantee, and 24/7 support. In our opinion, they are the best web hosting for personal and business websites. 

hostgator review

Their most basic shared hosting plans include unlimited storage, bandwidth, a free name for the first year, and an SSL certificate. They also had excellent customer service, which connected promptly via live chat and answered each inquiry in seconds.

HostGator Web Hosting Pricing and Plans

HostGator is one of the world’s largest and most well-known hosting providers. They provide shared hosting, managed WordPress hosting, virtual private servers (VPS hosting), and dedicated servers.

Shared Hosting

Shared hosting is the most basic type of hosting; it has a lot of limitations, but it’s also incredibly cheap. The main advantage of shared hosting is its low cost; your website shares a server with other websites, so resources are shared among all of you.

HostGator offers three different shared hosting plans. All plans come with the following:

  • Free domain name for one year 
  • One-click WordPress installation
  • HostGator website builder
  • Unmetered bandwidth and disk space
  • Free SSL certificate 
  • Free email 
  • US$150 Google ads spend match credit
  • US$100 Microsoft advertising credit 

The main difference is the number of websites you can host. Here are the pricing and the details of each plan:

  • Hatchling Plan: starts at US$2.75 a month. You can host one website with this plan.
  • Baby Plan: starts at US$3.50 a month. You can host unlimited websites with this plan.
  • Business Plan: starts at US$5.25 a month. You can host unlimited websites and enjoy free dedicated IP and a free positive SSL upgrade.  

Sign up with Hostgator here with our discount code “VENTURER” to enjoy 65% OFF!

Managed WordPress Hosting

The fastest and most comprehensive option to host a WordPress site is managed WordPress hosting. In addition, it offers additional perks such as advanced security, a simplified control panel, and free site migration. 

HostGator offers three tiers of managed WordPress web hosting: Starter, Standard, and Business. All plans come with the following:

  • Unmetered bandwidth
  • Free migration
  • Free domain name
  • Free email
  • US$150 Google ads spend match credit
  • One-click WordPress installs
  • 99.9% uptime guarantee
  • 45-day money-back guarantee

The main difference is the number of websites you can host and visits per month. Here are more details of each plan:

  • Starter Plan: starts at US$5.95 a month. You can host one website for up to 100k visits a month.
  • Standard Plan: starts US$7.95 a month. You can host two websites for up to 200k visits a month. 
  • Business Plan: starts at US$9.95 a month. You can host three websites for up fro 500k visits a month. 

VPS Hosting

VPS (Virtual Private Server) hosting costs more, but you get what you pay for. More server resources are dedicated to your site and give you full root access. Small and medium businesses can consider VPS, while personal sites do not need to invest the extra money.

HostGator offers three tiers of VPS hosting: Snappy 2000, Snappy 4000, and Snappy 8000. All plans come with the following VPS features:

  • Full root access that allows you to choose your own CMS and use custom code
  • Host unlimited domains, email addresses, databases, FTP accounts, and more.
  • Site templates, a powerful scribe installer, site development tools, and more. 
  • Weekly backups
  • Unmetered bandwidth 

The main differences lie in the RAM, CPU, and SSD. Here are more details:

  • Snappy 2000: starts at US$23.95 a month for 2GB RAM, 2 core CPU, and 120GB SSD.
  • Snappy 4000: starts at US$34.95 a month for 4GB RAM, 2 core CPU, and 165 GB SSD.
  • Snappy 8000: starts at US$54.95 a month for 8GB RAM, 4 core CPU, and 240 GB SSD.

Again, for beginners and those starting a personal site or blog, you do not need VPS hosting. 

Dedicated Hosting

Dedicated hosting is the most expensive yet powerful type of hosting. If your website receives tens of thousands of visits each month or requires a robust server, a dedicated server is the best option. You’ll have your server with no one else sharing its resources.

HostGator offers three tiers of dedicated server plans, which start at US$89.98 a month. We don’t feel like we need to get into details for this hosting because it’s getting more technical, and honestly, we do not recommend HostGator for a dedicated server. 

If you require a dedicated hosting server for better server performance, you’d be better off with other hosting providers like Cloudways.

Overall, we recommend HostGator for beginners who are more likely to benefit from its affordable shared hosting plan, which starts at US$2.75 a month only. Its shared hosting plan is one of the cheapest in the market and offers enough features for anyone starting a website.  

Pros of HostGator

Here we cover what we think are the advantages of HostGator shared hosting plans:

  • More than enough storage: All plans include unlimited storage.
  • Flexible hosting plan terms: You can subscribe to their hosting plans for one, three, six, twelve, twenty-four, or thirty-six months.
  • Unmetered bandwidth: They don’t impose any restrictions on the amount of traffic your site can receive.
  • Outstanding uptime: HostGator offers a 99.9% uptime guarantee. 
  • Rich features and benefits: HostGator’s shared hosting plans come with more features and perks than most other hosting companies, such as Google ads spend match credit, free website builder, and Microsoft advertising credit. 
  • Affordable prices: HostGator offers one of the most affordable shared hosting plans in the market, starting at US$2.75 a month only. 
  • Excellent for beginners: with one-click WordPress installs and many other user-friendly web hosting features, HostGator is excellent for new website owners. 

Sign up with Hostgator here with our discount code “VENTURER” to enjoy 65% OFF!

Cons of HostGator

  • Limited free website security tools. 
  • Extra fees for site backups and other addons.
  • Aggressive upselling in the dashboard 

HostGator Alternatives

HostGator is great for beginners who want to start a personal website or blog. However, if you’re looking for better website performance, here are some alternatives:

  • Kinsta: one of the best managed WordPress hosting providers. We use Kinsta to host this blog you’re reading. It’s much more expensive, but we like the high website speed it provides. 
  • Bluehost: another popular shared hosting choice for beginners. Plans start at US$2.95 a month. Its customer support is outstanding. 
  • Cloudways: one of the best flexible cloud hosting providers. It’s more for web professionals as the setup is more complicated. 

HostGator Review: Conclusion

Is HostGator is right for you? Now that you’ve read our in-depth HostGator review, you’ve probably learned that HostGator is best for beginners and new website owners. 

We recommend its shared hosting plans, which come with three tiers to suit all budgets and needs. In addition, they provide you with all of the user-friendly tools you’ll need to create a website.

Sign up with Hostgator here with our discount code “VENTURER” to enjoy 65% OFF!

Further read:

How To Start A WordPress Blog On Hostgator (Step-By-Step Tutorial)

Bluehost Review: Is It The Best WordPress Web Hosting Provider?

Top 8 Web Hosting Providers: Best Value And Cheapest

Cloudways Review: Is It The Best Managed Cloud Hosting?

The 8 Best WordPress Hosting Companies Of 2022 (Compared And Reviewed)

Namecheap Tutorial: How To Buy Domain From Namecheap

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