[ad_1] In this HostGator hosting review, we show you how good HostGator really is, who should use it, and what features you can expect to get. HostGator is one of the most popular web hosting companies on the web. They’ve won users over with a couple of things. Their affordable prices are one very good reason to give them a look. But perhaps more significantly, their marketing has always been on point, with ads in all the right places. Maybe they’re one of the reasons you are here today? Here’s what we’re going to cover: 🤔 What is HostGator and what types of hosting it offers? HostGator has been around since 2002, so they certainly do know the hosting game enough to stay above the surface. Though that would be an understatement, to be honest. HostGator has done a lot over the years, and merely staying above the surface doesn’t sound like much of a goal for them. There have been many important milestones in HostGator’s lifespan, but a couple of them stand out: In 2012, HostGator was acquired by EIG, a giant of the hosting industry that holds many hosting brands in their portfolio. In 2015, HostGator launched their tailor-made managed WordPress hosting plans, which were the answer to some of the more expensive boutique WordPress hosts out there. Today, HostGator serves more than 800,000 customers in more than 200 countries. Let’s take a look at what all those customers have been that crazy about. Here’s what you’ll find in HostGator’s offering: Shared hosting This is HostGator’s flagship hosting offering. These plans deliver all the features that most users will find essential, and they do so at very affordable prices. What’s great about these plans is that they come with unmetered storage and bandwidth. This means that, for the most part, you don’t have to worry about your website growing too big. There are also one-click installers available for website engines like WordPress, a free SSL certificate, and a free website transfer for users coming from other hosts. Plus, on top of all this, you get a free domain name for the first year. 👉 Go to HostGator’s shared hosting plans. WordPress hosting This tier of hosting is a variation on the shared hosting plans, but with added optimizations for websites running on WordPress. These plans are similarly affordable, and come with a free domain name, too. The bandwidth is not metered, but these setups will work best when you have up to 100k monthly visitors (on the cheapest plan) and up to 500k (on the far end). So, what makes them optimized for WordPress? Just to name a few things: automatic daily backups, added security features for WordPress, optimizations to improve the speed of your WordPress site, integrated catalog of WordPress themes, integrations with SiteLock and CodeGuard. And, of course, these setups come with WordPress installed from the get-go – for users who are going to be launching a completely new site. Alternatively, you can transfer an existing site. 👉 Go to HostGator’s WordPress hosting plans. Website builder This one is a pretty original offering since it flips the way most users think about hosting and owning a website. Instead of selling you access to a web server and then putting the ball in your half of the field so that you then have to figure out how to use that server, HostGator proposes you start with a site builder tool first. In this model, you get access to the builder, craft your website from top to bottom, and then have it launched to the public with the help of one of HostGator’s servers. The website creation part is made user-friendly – the builder comes with nice templates and it’s fully visual (so, no coding skills are required). 👉 Go to HostGator’s website builder plans. VPS hosting Now, we’re entering the realm of pro-level hosting! VPS hosting is commonly used for web apps rather than standard websites. Creations like that usually need more scalable setups as it’s hard to predict the load that the app can experience every day. Also, the server requirements can be different from what a classic website usually needs. Just so that we’re on the same page, VPS (virtual private server) hosting is a virtual machine that comes configured to match given requirements of the project. 👉 Go to HostGator’s VPS hosting plans. Dedicated hosting It doesn’t get much further in the “pro” direction than dedicated hosting. In simple terms, dedicated hosting is where you get access to an actual physical machine (computer) that runs your server software. It’s the most expensive type of hosting and also the most tailor-configurable to match the user’s exact needs. 👉 Go to HostGator’s dedicated hosting plans. Reseller hosting I have a feeling that this last type of hosting will be really interesting to agencies, developers, and freelancers working on client sites. The idea is simple, you buy a hosting package from HostGator, and then resell it to your clients. You also pocket the difference between the price you bought the hosting for from HostGator and the price you sold it for to your clients. 👉 Go to HostGator’s reseller hosting plans. Which type of HostGator hosting is right for you? This all depends on what your needs are and what type of site you want to build. Generally, if you want to build a WordPress website for any sort of serious purpose – like a business, professional portfolio – then you should go with the WordPress hosting plans. Other new website projects and small experiments will work well on the shared hosting plans. For everything more demanding…well, you’ve probably already done the research and know whether you need VPS or dedicated hosting. In the next part of this HostGator hosting review, let’s now see what’s under the hood: ⚙️💵 Features and Pricing ⚠️ For the purpose of this HostGator hosting review, we’re looking at HostGator’s WordPress hosting plans. This is the type of hosting that’s in
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