For this web host review, we will be reviewing one of the veterans in the web hosting industry, HostMonster. HostMonster is a web hosting company who’s in the business since 1996, making them one of the oldest hosting company in the industry that still operates to this day. Another interesting fact is that HostMonster is owned by the same management that operates BlueHost, another well known web hosting company. At the time of this writing, HostMonster has been managing around 1.7 million websites.
Tabel Of Contents:- Introduction |
HostMonster.com Overall Rating
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Why We Think HostMonster is Good?
| cPanel Hosting |
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| SimpleScripts |
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| Free Google Marketing Credits |
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- Unlimited Domains
- Unlimited Web Hosting Space
- Reliable Servers with 99% Uptime
- Unlimited Addon Domains
- Unlimited Gigs of Site Transfer
- Nice website marketing extras
- 24/7 Network Monitoring
- Free Website Builder
- Simple and direct approach to their hosting plan
- Support for a number of simple scripts
- Unlimited Email Accounts
- Support for International Domain Names
- Anytime Money-Back Guarantee
Reliable Servers and Uptime
We have been using HostMonster for quite some time now and we can confidently say that it is one of the most reliable web hosts in terms of server uptime. Sure I could recall several instances when there’s a server outage but it lasted for only a couple of minutes. This is due to the fact that the server is being monitored on 24/7 basis. This is the type of feature that we won’t simply settle with anything less. HostMonster guarantees 99% uptime.
Offers a Simple and Easy Hosting Plan
HostMonster offers only a single shared hosting plan for $5.95 a month. Simple and straight to the point. Some users will certainly the appreciate this no-nonsense approach of HostMonster with their hosting package. If what you need is the most basic web hosting, then HostMonster’s one and only basic offering would certainly be enough for you.
Free Website Marketing Credits
HostMonster Hosting Plan
| Package | Includes |
| Web Hosting Space | Unlimited |
| Domain Hosting | Unlimited |
| Site Transfer | Unlimited |
| Email Accounts | Unlimited |
| Subdomains | Unlimited |
| cPanel | Yes |
| Sitebuilder | Yes |
| 99% Uptime | Yes |
| Price | $5.95 |
Upon signing with HostMonster, you will automatically be granted a $75 Google credits for no additional cost. Aside from that, HostMonster will help with your website’s promotion by submitting it to various search engines, again for no additional charge. These are nice extras that significantly helps with the growth of your website, especially if you are just starting out.
The Best Money-Back Guarantee
This is a feature that I certainly appreciate for any web hosting site I subscribe to. It is always a pleasant thing to know that you can get your money back anytime in case things don’t exactly work out. And this is the case with HostMonster. I can’t help but feel more confident towards their web hosting service because of their anytime money-back guarantee. A definite plus for me.
Why We Think HostMonster is NOT so Good?
Just before this, I cited the simple and straightforward approach of HostMonster with their hosting plan, a positive quality. But also I do think that for some people, this simple no-nonsense approach might be too limiting. Websites and online businesses grow, that’s a fact, especially if you know what you are doing. And along with its growth, inevitably your hosting needs will certainly grow as well. And this can be problem with HostMonster since they offer no other upgrade options. So you are forced to switch to another hosting service if you want either VPS or dedicated hosting.
Customer Support:
Customer support is one aspect of web hosting service that you shouldn’t ignore. A good customer support should be one of your main criteria when choosing the best web hosting company. Below is a chat log of HostMonster’s customer support:
Nathan: [11:10:55 AM] Thank you for contacting our sales team! My name is Nathan. What domain name are you looking to set up with us today?
FIRST TIME SALE..: [11:11:50 AM] Hello Nathan.. I’m interested in setting up a new account, so it would be great if you could answer some of my inquiries..
Nathan: [11:12:45 AM] i will be happy to answer every single one of your questions
[11:12:56 AM] what domain name will you be setting up with us?
FIRST TIME SALE..: [11:14:26 AM] I think my client wants to set up a few.. but I have to confirm that with him..
[11:15:23 AM] I’m particularly concerned about data loss, so do you guys automatically backup your data?
Nathan: [11:15:57 AM] about once a week
[11:16:21 AM] we also provide a free backup wizard so our clients can backup their account whenever they wish
FIRST TIME SALE..: [11:17:29 AM] so how about website buidling tools? does the account comes with one?
[11:17:36 AM] *building*
Nathan: [11:17:58 AM] yes, it comes with a few dozen sitebuilders and various helpful tools
FIRST TIME SALE..: [11:19:29 AM] that’s good.. are search engine submissions included in your hosting plan?
Nathan: [11:19:45 AM] yes
FIRST TIME SALE..: [11:20:43 AM] how about emails? How will my emails be handled? What features do you offer with regards to email accounts?
Nathan: [11:21:02 AM] we provide email services
[11:21:12 AM] you may have unlimited addresses
[11:21:20 AM] you can check your mail online
[11:21:37 AM] or you may use a mail client such as outlook or thunderbird
FIRST TIME SALE..: [11:22:26 AM] Ok thanks.. so I assume you guys accept paypal?
Nathan: [11:22:39 AM] yes we do
[11:22:48 AM] have you thought of the domain name you will be hosting with us?
FIRST TIME SALE..: [11:26:02 AM] I’ve yet to confirm that.. but thanks Nathan for responding to my inquiries.. 
Nathan: [11:26:12 AM] you are welcome
Customer Reviews
I did not expect such good service for $5.95 per month.
” Finding them was no problem (google ad), but I was hesitant at first to try them out. But after careful consideration, I gave them a try. I have some huge MySQL and I was worried if I could host them within my account with them. Thankfully, everything is there. I have no problem so far. I’ve never had the chance to use their customer support, so I can’t really comment on that. Excellent uptime and reliability.” – Kenelm Eddy
Rating: 
If you want a cheap and affordable Linux hosting, you will never find anything better than HostMonster.
” When I thought of getting a Linux hosting for my online shop, I had little idea of whether HostMonster will be able to do it properly. Now after one year with HostMonster, I understand that none other than HostMonster will be able to do this. High uptime and better performance are the main attractions of HostMonster.” – Fawn Bryant
Rating:
Stay away if you have a business website.
” I have three accounts with HostMonster and all three of them are having several issues with site loading and the server. Just for today, my account has been down for almost 3 hours. Now I’m really thinking about switching to HostGator. It can really hurt a business.” – MAD King
Rating: 
Down once a week.
” I am with HostMonster for almost 2 years now and I think I am going to switch over to another web hosting service. All of my websites are down for at least once in a week and even during the day when my sites generate the most traffic. They seem to always have with their servers or network. I’d avoid them if I were you.” - Myusedscubagear.com
Rating:
HostMonster UptimeMonitored since: 20 January 2008 |
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HostMonster Uptime Chart
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Conclusion:
Based on my experience so far, HostMonster is a very solid choice for your web hosting solution. I never really encountered any problems with regards to their network uptime and the price is reasonable enough for a shared hosting plan. Although based on my research throughout the internet, there are clearly many users who are not fortunate enough to have the same experience like I did. Constant server downtimes and rude customer support seems to be the most common complaints about HostMonster. Based on my experience alone, I would certainly recommend using HostMonster, but be wary though because there are webmasters out there that do not share the same opinion as me. So take it for what it is and it is up to you to decide whether HostMonster is worth your time and money or not.
