SiteGround Web Hosting Reviewed by BestHostsDirectory.Com

Professional and cheap Web Hosting by SiteGround!
Rating: 5/5

We have made our choice to rank SiteGround first on many criteria. Our specialists have revised each aspect of their service and the results were more than good. Below you can read more about the hosting package provider by SiteGround.

Pricing & Getting Started with SiteGround

Starting up with SiteGround is easy and intuitive. The main benefit is that they actually sell you a web hosting account for the price they advertise – only $3.95. Despite other hosting companies you can buy your account for one, two or three years at the same low price.

After your account creation is complete, you should receive an e-mail with everything you need to know about your web hosting account in it. It is well structured and informative. Last but not least they have a nice Getting Started tutorial that will show you how to begin crating your website.

Uptime and Server Reliability

We have an account on a SiteGround server that one of our editors is using to host a personal website. He maintains it for more than 3 years now. During that period he has experienced downtime twice, for less than 30 minutes each. In those cases there were scheduled maintenance and he was warned three times for it – week before the date, three days before and three hours before the actual downtime. SiteGround stated that they are migrating their servers to a faster platform which was the cause of the downtime in both cases. Other than that we did not experience any other server related problems with them.

Technical Support

SiteGround advertises outstanding technical support. This is why we decided to test this. We have installed a WordPress blog and broke its configuration – changed the password for the database username which broke the site completely.

Since they don’t have phone support we had to test how efficient the company Help Desk is. Right after you login, you should go to the Get Support page and select one of the categories to post your ticket in.

After you select the appropriate category you will be asked some questions depending on the category. If you report an e-mail issue they will ask you for your address etc. Make sure you have Java installed on your computer because in some cases there are automatic checks that rely on it to work. When you post a ticket for the first time the entire process may seem a bit confusing and long. Actually, the questions and auto checks make sence and allow the technical person to reply faster to your question. So once you get used to the Help Desk you will find it quite useful and easy to use.

Once we have submitted our ticket we started timing how long it will take SiteGround to respond.

We have to admit that we were really amazed. From our experience with other hosting companies we expected response time between half an hour and 45 minutes. Amazingly, they managed to respond in 2 minutes and 46 seconds!

Initially, when we saw the short responce time we thought that we will get some runaround or a question asked. To our surprise our problem was actually solved and the ticket was closed. The support person had not only fixed the problem, but prevented it from happening in the future. Additionally, everything he did was explained in a proper manner.

In conclusion, after you spend few minutes explaining your problem it will be solved fast and professionally. SiteGround indeed provide the outstanding technical support they advertise!

SiteGround has received the “Top 10 Best Hosts Award 2010″

In 2010 the Best Hosts Directory has once again selected the best hosts and SiteGround is one of the top performing hosts that we have reviewed and compared. SiteGround.com offers premium web hosting services and have one of the best technical supports in the industry.

You can find more SiteGround Reviews here: Siteground Review at WebHostingStuff.com, SiteGround Review at Webhostingjury.com, SiteGround Review at HostSearch.com, SiteGround Review at RatePoint.

HostGator Reviewed by BestHostsDirectory.Com

Fast and reliable hosting by HostGator!
Rating: 5/5

Pricing & Getting Started with HostGator

We have purchased an account with HostGator with the sole purpose to test their billing practices, pricing, refund policy and of course technical support.

HostGator advertise very low and attractive price – $3.96/mo. However, if you have only four dollars in your credit card you will not be able to buy a month of hosting from HostGator. First thing first – the price of $3.96/mo is for their “Hatchling” plan which is limited in many ways – you can have only one domain name associated with it, no toll-free support phone, etc. In addition, you get the price of $3.96/mo only if you signup for 3 years ahead. This means that you will have to pay $142,56 which is not a small sum to pay in advance for a “Hatchling” website.

After you decide the hosting plan and billing period that is most suitable for you, your account will be activated immediately. Note that a phone verification may be required after you signup. Once this step is completed too, you will receive and e-mail with everything you need for your hosting account in it – Control Panel URL, username, password, nameservers info etc. A well-structured, plain text e-mail – exactly as it should be. In addition, your web hosting account comes with a default index page for your website. It is really helpful and if you are looking for a place to start, your own domain is a good choice. The default page has a lot of useful links to your cPanel, Knowledgebase and tutorials section, Billing section, quick link to the support system, etc.

Technical Support

HostGator provide few ways to get help: toll-free phone number, live chat and a ticketing system. First, we have tried the chat system for a relatively easy question. We got an answer to our question precisely three minutes after we asked which is good response time for that kind of service:

(06:04:57 AM) Me: Can I use my cPanel logins to connect to my databases?
(06:05:01 AM) System: There are currently 5 people in front of you and 81 chat technicians assisting customers.
(06:07:40 AM) Courtney Ba: No you cannot.
(06:07:47 AM) Me: thank you.
(06:07:54 AM) Courtney Ba: Databases have their own username and password.

The response itself, however could have been much better. We didn’t even receive a ‘Hello’ which is not the best customer service you can receive. This is one of the reasons we haven’t ranked HostGator first in our website.

Next, we have performed the standard support test – we have installed a WordPress application and broke the database connection by setting a wrong password in the configuration files. This time we used the ticketing system to request assistance. The answer we received was nicely structured and the support person has solved the problem. The only issue is that we have received a reply after 1 hour and 40 minutes. Compared to SiteGround’s 3 minutes response this is way too much to wait for an answer. Another thing that attracted our attention is the fact that we got a response from a “Linux Systems Administrator” for such a simple question. Does this mean that the regular support can handle such cases?

In conclusion, HostGator provide good technical support to its customers even to the cheapest hosting plans. This is one of the main reasons we have ranked them in second place in our website.

Conclusion

To wrap it up we can say that HostGator is a quality web hosting provider with good technical support team. They have a well-structured customer area with easy access to the control panel. However, the high prices, covered by misleading advertising and the slower response time of their technical support has stopped them from ranking first in our website.

Hostgator has received the “Top 10 Best Hosts Award 2010″

In 2010 the Best Hosts Directory has once again selected the best hosts and HostGator is one of the top performing hosts that we have reviewed and compared. HostGator operates since 2002. It offers affordable web hosting services and relatively high features. Their hosting plan does not include free Site builder and e-commerce functionality.

GreenGeeks Reviewed by BestHostsDirectory.Com

Eco-friendly Web Hosting by GreenGeeks !
Rating: 5/5

Pricing & Getting Started With GreenGeeks

First, we would like to bring your attention to the actual GreenGeeks pricing policy. They advertise low prices ($4.95/mo) but this price is valid only if you signup for 3 years ahead. If you prefer a shorter period they prices go way up

Once you get pass all steps, you may receive a standard verification call on the phone you have entered. After you should receive an e-mail with information about your hosting account. In it you will find everything you need to start working on your site.

Technical Support

GreenGeeks provide to their customers support via live chat, tickting system and phone. However, you cannot receive real technival support via the live chat – you can only get answers to sales-related questions.

As usual, we have performed our standard technical support test – we have installed a WordPress application, changed the username password to break the connection and asked for help. Their response time turned out to be good – only 6 minutes, but the answer we received was useless. The support team member wrote “Please try to re-add the database user in your cPanel usning MySQL Database option”. This reply is really unprofessional compared to the answers we have received from SiteGround and HostGator support team members. First, the technician stated only one of the few possible reasons for the issue. Second, he didn’t actually do anything but just suggested a decision. Even if we suggest that this is the reason for the brokn MySQL connection, the username should be added to the database and not in the “MySQL Database option”.

After the initial disapointing reply, we deicided to continue asking for help. We told the supporter that we have tried what he suggested but it was not the reason for the problem. 44 minutes later, we received a reply Issue has been resolved. Check your website now. – no information about what the issue was and how to avoid it in the future, no information about what the supporter has done. In addition the reply didn’t feel polite as well.

Our conclusion is that GreenGeeks support is not bad but is still worse than the first two hosting companies listed on our website. They can work on improving their reply time, expertise and language.

Conclusion

GreenGeeks offer good web hosting service. Howerver the level of customer service and technical support expertise they have is worse than the first two companies listed on our site.

Hostgator has received the “Top 10 Best Hosts Award 2010″

In 2010 the Best Hosts Directory has once again selected the best hosts and GreenGeeks is one of the top performing hosts that we have reviewed and compared. GreenGeeks.com is the world`s #1 Green Energy Web Hosting service provider. It offers green friendly energy hosting, exceptional customer service, high quality servers and bandwidth, and 24x7x365 quality support.

BlueHost Reviewed by BestHostsDirectory.Com

Professional Web Hosting by BlueHost
Rating: 4/5

Pricing & Getting Started with BlueHost

BlueHost advertise prices of $6.95 per month and you can get this price for both their two and three years plan. If you want to subscribe for one year only the price goes one dollar up.

Additionally, note that there are two features selected by default. Those upgrades are “SiteLock Domain Security” and “Premium Backup Service”. The first one is just a “seal” that you get to put on your website from the third-party company SiteLock which costs $10 monthly if you buy it directly from the Sitelock company and $12 yearly if you choose to get it from BlueHost. The premium backup service provides you with the ability to restore yor website from the daily, weakly and monthly backups BlueHost make for your account. In conclusion, we advise you to take a close look at the BlueHost terms of use agreement and their promotions in order to avoid being charged for features that you don’t need. Rather than that, they have a good billing and pricing policy.

Technical Support

BlueHost provide phone, chat and e-mail support to their customers. Although they have a part in their website named Helpdesk it is just a form for sending e-mails. We have performed the standard test – installed a WordPress application and broke the database connection(setting a wrong DB password).

Unfortunately, because the e-mail is sent via the ticket form, the response time cannot be tracked most accurately. However, Bluehost stated that the last waiting time was 2 hours which is about as much as we measured. This waiting time is significantly higher than the top three companies listed on our website. In addition, the response we received was at best unsatisfactory:

I have set your theme to default and disabled plugins, that did not fix the white screen where it normally would.
Have you upgraded your wordpress recently?

After our reply that we have not updated the application, we received an obviously templated answer:

WordPress is one of the most versatile scripts around. However due to 3rd party scripts, plugins, and themes, WordPress can occasionally have problems. These problems usually break the php process and a white page is shown with no error. The causes of this white screen are varied. Here are Top reasons and possible solutions.

Please let us know if you still have problems after checking these things.

It is strange that none of the suggested solutions was even close to resolving the real issue. A broken database connection is the easiest case that a support team member could face and it should be resolved in minutes. Unfortunately, BlueHost performed far worse on this test than the competition.

Conclusion

BlueHost offer good shared web hosting. Their prices are not the lowest in the industry but aren’t expensive too. The one thing that prevents them from entering the top 3 hosting providers on our website is their technical support. There is a lot of work they should do to reach their competition in professional expertise and response time.

BlueHost has received the “Top 10 Best Hosts Award 2010″

In 2010 the Best Hosts Directory has once again selected the best hosts and BlueHost is one of the top performing hosts that we have reviewed and compared. BlueHost is one of the leading web hosting providers. It operates since 1996 and hosts over 600,000 sites. With BlueHost a webmaster can depend on high customer service, quality equipment, maximum guaranteed uptime and highly functional tools for administration.

Pricing & Getting Started With FatCow

FatCow is one of the few companies that advertise the monthly price you are actually paying if you sign up for one year – $6.95/mo. As you can see the price go further lower if you subscribe for a longer period. However, their price is higher than the most of the competitive companies and they don’t offer anything more for that extra money.

Technical Support

We have done the standard test with the FatCow support – we have changed the password for the MySQL database in a regular WordPress installation. Then we asked for assistance. Unfortunately, the FatCow support team didn’t manage to react fast and to assist us.

The first answer we got from FatCow two and a half hours after the ticket was posted. In addition, the answer itself wasn’t helpful but asking for information that they should already know. First, they asked about the domain name, which is really unnecessary because we have only one domain on file in our account. Then they asked for an username and password for a WordPress installation that is not even connecting to its database. In conclusion, the first reply we got from them was really unprofessional.

Hello,

Thank you for contacting Support.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you. In order to further investigate the issue, please get back to us with the requested information given below:
1. The exact URL of the WordPress blog.
2. The WordPress username and password.

Thank you!

Sincerely,

Savion James
Customer Support

After we provided them with the completely unnecessary information they asked, we had to wait for another hour just to get a reply in which they actually refused to assist:

Thank you for contacting Support.

I am sorry but we do not support custom themes or plug ins for WordPress, only the basic install that we offer. If you are having problems with your theme you should check your cgi error log located in your stats directory for more information on the error and then contact the developer or vendor for further assistance with this issue. Please let us know if you need further information.

Michael
Tier 2 Support

We believe that a technial support person should be able to check a log, locate a simple and obvious issue and fix it for you. Unfortunately, FatCow support failed to do that. This is one of the main reasons they are not in the top three companies listed on our website.

Conclusion

FatCow provide good service at prices that could be lower. Their technical support team, however, is not even close to the quality of support that SiteGround, HostGator and the other companies listed before them provide. We place them on 5th place because there are a lot of things they could improve on the service they provide.

FatCow has received the “Top 10 Best Hosts Award 2010″

In 2010 the Best Hosts Directory has once again selected the best hosts and FatCow is one of the top performing hosts that we have reviewed and compared. FatCow was born in 1998 and by a dedicated group of talented believers in the notion that simple, old fashioned service and value still ring true.

StartLogic Reviewed by BestHostsDirectory.Com

Hosting by StartLogic
Rating: 4/5

Pricing & Getting Started with StartLogic

StartLogic advertise a price of $5.95/mo for their main plan – ProLogic. However, as some other companies you can get this price only if you sign up for the longest term they offer – 2 years. If you want to pay for your account monthly the price goes up and you have to pay an additional setup fee of $30.00 which makes the account much more expensive.

After you select your billing plan and proceed with the purchase, you have to get through FOUR different advertising pages that try to sell you a variety of extras. We found this really annoying.

Technical Support

StartLogic provide technical support over phone and a help desk system. We have made our standard test – changed the password of a WordPress installation causing it to crash. Then we posted an inquiry on the support page.

The first response we received was 1 hour and 13 minutes later. The response itself was a templated message that informed us we will wait up to 48 hours for someone to take a look at this problem.

Hello,

Reed Safford
Customer Support

Three hours later we received an update from a “specialist” suggesting that we should reinstall WordPress:

Hello,

Vincent Baker
Technical Specialist

After this reply we have decided that there is no reason to keep asking for support because we obviously weren’t going to get any.

Conclusion

In conclusion, StartLogic offer web hosting at fairly normal prices if you go for a long-term contract with them. Their technical support, however, is unsatisfactory, to say the least. This is one of the main reasons StartLogic is ranked 6th in our website. We would recommend this hosting provider only for small websites that wouldn’t require much attention or technical knowledge to maintain.

StartLogic has received the “Top 10 Best Hosts Award 2010″

In 2010 the Best Hosts Directory has once again selected the best hosts and StartLogic is one of the top performing hosts that we have reviewed and compared. StartLogic is a leading provider of Web-hosting solutions and services for global business.