iPage Web Hosting

A newcomer to the top league of web hosting seems to be iPage. The iPage team has been hosting websites for over 10 years and they boost the fact that iPage Web Hosting is home to over 1 Million websites. That is an impressive number and not many web hosts can say the same thing. So, when I became aware of iPage Hosting I decided to take a very close look and these are my findings (the good and the bad so to speak).

Check out iPage Web Hosting

Security is a biggie for the guys at iPage. A combination of a pooled structure, different firewalls, programmatic database lockdowns, high end encryption practices and a motived system admin team have created a web hosting environment that is extremely secure in my opinion. As I host many websites myself I can tell you it is good to have a solid set of security measures in place. When I turn on alerting on my firewalls to see current activity you would be shocked how many scans and intrusion attempts are detected. You can never be secure enough. So, I think iPage is doing the right step by emphasizing security.

The iPage mail server setup is very solid, too. How many SPAM emails do you get per day? Probably a ton and so it is good to know that iPage is actively spending money to make email more usable for you. They are using sophisticated SPAM filters that are updated frequently to stay ahead of the curve and to reduce SPAM before it hits your inbox. I have seen mail servers go down to their knees because of SPAM. I heard numbers from a friend of mine who works for a large corporation with over 10,000 employees. The email volume (incoming) is 97% (!) SPAM. Only 3% of all incoming emails are non-SPAM. You need good SPAM filtering for that and so I appreciate it that iPage is thinking the same way. I could not recommend their services otherwise.

Another interesting thing that separates iPage Web Hosting from competitors is the low price of $3.50 per month combined with an “Anytime Money Back Guarantee”. This is kind of unheard in my opinion. These guys are confident enough that you will like their services that they offer this type of money back guarantee. By the way – the low web hosting price of $3.50 per month does not mean that you have to compromise on features or disk space or bandwidth. It’s more the opposite – can you actually push the limits of web hosting at iPage?

Reliability and uptime are a given at iPage Web Hosting. I have not experienced or heard of anything unusual. Often you just have to check out forums or blogs related to web hosting to find out quickly how good or bad a web host is. I still have a few items I want to check in regards to iPage Web Hosting, but I am confident if you have yet to find a good web host, that iPage might be a good option – especially due to their anytime money back guarantee.

Check out iPage Web Hosting

Hostgator and SSL Certificates on your Hosting Account

One of my websites is doing ecommerce transactions and I needed a new SSL certificate ordered and installed. Since the website is hosted at Hostgator I opened a ticked through the helpdesk and inquired about what they would need from me. Shortly after I had submitted the ticket I received an email with some basic instructions – including the explanation about needing a dedicated IP address. I also was offered the option to order an SSL certificate directly from Hostgator or from a 3rd party.

Since I have wholesale access to domain names and SSL Certificates I opted to buy my own. My website was already sitting on a dedicated IP address. All I had to do was click on the link that took me to a page where I would submit my CSR request for the certificate. This portion is created on the web server. With this code you can buy a matching SSL certificate. It’s like a challenge/response key that assures security. If the keys don’t match when the certificate is installed, it cannot be installed and the website visitor cannot be tricked into a presumable safe web connection.

Overall the entire process was fairly easy and streamlined. I’d say even a less experienced webmaster can easily accomplish this without asking for too much help. Hostgator apparently has looked at this process very well and worked out a way to reduce errors dramatically. The only gotcha I found was the missing information about what Web Server / SSL combination (Apache + ModeSSL) was in use. I had to update the ticket just to be safe.

So, if you need ecommerce strength web hosting that includes an SSL certificate, Hostgator should definitely be on your list of web hosts to be considered.

Hostgator Homepage

Protecting Your Wordpress Installation

Many web hosts offer their hosting accounts with tons of features – including auto-installers for many popular Open Source software packages. One of the most popular software packages offerd with these automated installers is the blogging software “Wordpress”. Wordpress is a very popular blogging  software and can be used for blogging, but is also frequently used as a content management system (CMS). With the high popularity of this software come more risks as well. Worpdress has been targeted by many hackers over the years and while the software is quite secure, there is always a risk.

For one, outdated installations of Wordpress can be easily hacked and second the available plugins might also be a backdoor for a hacker. I recently came across this new firewall plugin for Wordpress and decided to install it on one of my Wordpress driven websites for testing. It turned out to be a great success. I had the plugin configured to email me upon attack. The plugin stopped several SQL injection attacks based out of China last night while I was sleeping. While I was dreaming about more affiliate success (just kidding) the Wordpress firewall plugin protected my website and did let the attacker run into this virtual roadblock.

The firewall plugin is free to use and therefore should be a standard plugin for you to install on your Wordpress installation at your web host of choice. The firewall plugin is extremely easy to configure as you can see on the pictures below. It comes completely pre-configured (you might want to add your email address of choice) so that you do not have to do anything other than activating the plugin.

My recommendation for you would be to install it as soon as possible. I have several websites running on Wordpress and are pushing the plugin out to all of them. The Firewall Plugin for Wordpress is available from here.

If you do need a web host where you can run Wordpress, check out IX Web Hosting and Hostgator – both are excellent choices when it comes to cheap webhosting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

JaguarPC Review

Who is JaguarPC? JaguarPC Web Hosting is operated by Jaguar Technologies, LLC. JaguarPC Web Hosting provides high-quality Internet Web hosting solutions to small and medium-sized businesses, government agencies, as well as some prominent individuals and several non-profit organizations worldwide. JaguarPC has been in the hosting business since 1998 and has grown organically as well as by acquisition of some smaller web hosting providers.

Why should you consider JaguarPC as your new web host? JaguarPC is one of the world’s most trusted and experienced hosting companies. JaguarPC delivers superior web hosting services to clients through its cost-effective, high-value services model. But JaguarPC is not only web hosting. Did you know that JaguarPC’s core portfolio comprises information technology and business hosting services, as well as world-class programming services? I was surprised myself when I heard that the first time.

JaguarPC has 3 sub-divisions that help them to spread out risk and income. JaguarPC’s three complementary, subsidiary businesses are Aletia Hosting, one of the world’s leading high-value low-cost hosting companies, Devpond software, a web software company, and Dedicatedspace.com, a innovative new brand to expand the JaguarPC line of services.

I was a JaguarPC customer many many years ago for a very short time – before directly moving to my own dedicated web server at that time. Service and pricing were already outstanding. Since January 2009 I am a JaguarPC customer again. So far I think I made a really good move. Tech support is excellent. My Support control panel shows an average response time to tickets of about 58 minutes. Most of my support tickets were submitted as low priority (mainly restoring cpanel backups to my new reseller account) and in general I am very happy with the outcome so far.

Uptime is great, too. I pointed my monitoring service account towards a website I host on JaguarPC and the results seem extremely stable (had to wait a little bit until the DNS changes ran through all the systems to make sure I am hitting the new server location). So, no complaints here.

Conclusion: JaguarPC is a great web host for shared web hosting and for reseller accounts. I have not tested any other services yet, but if they are the same quality as what I have been testing, you can’t go wrong. Pricing and hosting features and allowances for disk space and bandwidth are very solid.

JaguarPC Homepage

Hostgator Review Report Card

Hostgator is a very solid webhost and web host of choice for many websites. If you are considering HostGator as your webhost, you should read this report card to have all the necessary facts together to make an informed decision about hosting your website with Hostgator or not.

Basic Stuff
Host Gator was established in the year 2002. Hostgator has grown from a single server web hosting business to become a large web host hosting over 400,000 websites and domains for their customers. They started using shared data center space and have grown so fast that they now own their data center locations in Dallas, Texas – USA. Hostgator’s web hosting packages are extremely feature-rich and very affordably priced. Concerns or problems the Hostgator CEO should know about? You can request your support ticket to be assigned directly to him. Host Gator wants you to be satisfied with their services and products – no doubt about it.
 
How about reliability?
Is HostGator a reliable web host? Host Gator Web Hosting provides powerful and reliable web hosting solutions since the very beginning. High quality hardware is standard and they also only work with vendors that are known to be of high quality. The Hostgator support team is very well trained and experienced. Hostgator Support is available 24/7 and their support is known to exceed expectations very easily. Server uptime is at or above the promised levels across the board. Support Chat statistics and other useful information showing the service level is often made public on the Hostgator company blog. Host Gator wants you to know that reliable service is not an accident, but standard.
 
 
How are their prices compared to other hosts?
Host Gator provides cheap web hosting. Just be aware that they aim to lock customers into long-term commitments. This is purely done to keep the administrative cost low and not to keep you from leaving for the rare case if one is not satisfied with the service. Overall this means less administrative work on their side for billing and less credit card processing fees which results in lower prices. Did you know that other web hosts are often trying to match pricing, features, and service, but can do so only on paper? But when the going gets tough and it comes to live up to those promises only Host Gator seems to be able to meet or exceed their own promises. Let’s keep it short and sweet: Host Gator’s web hosting prices are low and extremely affordable even for the smallest wallet. Check out current pricing here.
 
 
Do they have a Web Control Panel?
Host Gator (as many other web host) offers the well-known CPanel web control panel interface for all their web hosting accounts. Each account also has access to the Fantastico collection of self-installing scripts at no extra cost. Even less experienced webmasters have no problems managing their accounts with these great tools at hand. Tutorials are available as well. Cpanel has shown great reliability and the software is frequently improved and updated so that are not stuck with the existing feature set.
 
 
Now, let’s talk about their Customer Support
Host Gator offers once more again outstanding customer service and tech support to all customers. Several support options are available at no extra charge – it just depends on you which one to use. You can choose from Phone support, an online ticket system, an online forums community or even use their online chat for your support needs. In addition to that a large knowledge base and up to date flash-based tutorials provide additional support resources for their customers.
 
Hostgator Summary:
Host Gator is a great web host when looking for feature-rich and affordable web host. Host Gator offers well-designed products combined with low web hosting prices and awesome support. This is great value for web hosting customers looking for cheap web hosting. I really like the fact how easy going the Hostgator CEO is and that you can actually talk to him if you feel the need for his input and insight. This personal and hands-down approach separates Host Gator from most competitors.

Visit the Hostgator Website

Review of Liquid Web Standard Package 1

Liquidweb is a fantastic host.  I use their shared standard package which is to me a beyond reasonable price. With this package I got two domain names under this one affordable plan. I use one site for my home business and the other for my more personal site, and the two are connected. When I first thought about web hosting I thought I was going to have to pay a ton, as I didn’t know much about it. But with Liquid Web it is easy.

Their support system is incredible. The staff are extremely knowledgeable and are available 24 hours a day. I know because I would call at weird hours all through the night, while I was struck with insomnia and wanting to work on my projects. Liquid Web really took care of me; each person who helped me on these calls was so benevolent and handy. Instead of treating me as though I should know everything about web hosting, everyone who helped me responded well to each of my questions and was very understanding and patient. 

So I must say for me it was really all about the live support Liquid web provided. This support was integral for me during the beginning months of setting up my websites. I truly don’t think I would have been able to get my websites (and in turn my companies) off of the ground without these guys. Also it is important to mention that for the level of care the customer support team took with me for this cost per month is unbelievable. Not to even mention that the uptime is great and I have never had any problems with the server crashing! This package  is an excellent value for the money. For only $14.95 a month this is truly a steal in my book.

Visit Liquidweb for plan details and more information

Update on Cheap Web Host Information dot com Website

For years cheap web host information dot com was a solid, but nearly invisible provider of web hosting reviews and web host ratings. Our agenda was to provide web hosting related information in a very plain and simple format. This worked well for quite a while, but our own expectations have grown the same way as the expectations of our our website visitors.

We decided it would be time to move this website up the scale and to provide even more information than ever before. The result is what you see right now. Things might look a little empty for a few days while we transfer content or update the website with new web hosting reviews. But overall the goal is fairly easy: continue to provide great web hosting reviews and ratings in an easy to access format which makes it easy for you to pick a new web host.

Web Hosting does not have to be a lottery or like gamblind where you do not know the outcome. Unless you read a negative review on our website we think that the web hosts that we review have a solid reputation and are a good choice for you to try. Sure, there will always be a case where things go wrong, but isn’t that the thing with everything in life?! Nothing is perfect and even the best thing will break every once in a while. You fix it and it can be better than ever afterwards.

The “Cheap Web Host Information” Team