HostGator Managed Private Cloud Preview
What Is It?
HostGator is one of the more established hosting companies in the world. They offer a wide range of solutions, ranging from cloud hosting to shared hosting and dedicated servers for companies in need. HostGator’s managed private cloud service is available in three tiers – the Hatchling plan, the Baby plan, and the Business plan, each of which brings something different to the table. Because of the different pricing plans, there’s something for just about everyone here.
Along with your managed private cloud hosting service, you also gain access to a number of other services and solutions from HostGator, including the company’s website builder and add-on services, like SEO and PPC to help you build visibility in the digital environment.
Who Is It Best For?
HostGator offers three different cloud hosting plans. This makes the company’s offerings well-suited for just about any business within any industry. For instance, working professionals and startups may benefit from the Hatchling plan, which offers a single domain, limited memory, and a 2-core CPU, but still provides SSL protection.
Smaller businesses will benefit from the Baby plan, as it brings additional memory and unlimited domains. Enterprise-level organizations will find value and traction with the Business plan, particularly with the addition of free SEO tools, a dedicated ISP, and an upgrade to Positive SSL.
Managed Private Cloud Services
HostGator’s blog about private cloud links to their cloud services page, which does not include information about any managed services. It appears everything is self-serve. Other review sites state that HostGator’s cloud plans are upgraded versions of the company’s shared hosting, not managed hosting.
Best Features
HostGator offers some very good features, many of which are on par with more expensive hosting companies. These include the following:
- 99% Uptime – While they don’t quite reach the industry-best 100% mark, 99.99% is respectable, and is actually up from their 2018 high of 99.89%.
- Load Times – You get twice the speed when it comes to load times, helping to ensure more satisfied visitors and a better overall user experience.
- User Friendly – HostGator is one of the most user-friendly hosting companies on the market, and they make it simple to determine what you need and want.
- Plenty of Extras – You get more than what you pay for with HostGator private cloud services, including resource management tools, monitoring capabilities, and site migration capabilities (manual).
Shortcomings
While HostGator does have plenty of pros, there are some cons to using this hosting provider. These include the following:
- Tricky Pricing: Like many other hosts, HostGator offers very low introductory pricing. However, to lock that in, you’ll need to purchase two to three years’ worth of hosting at once.
- High Renewal Rates: It’s recommended that you lock in your introductory rate for as long as possible, as the renewal rates are usually pretty high.
- Usage Limitations: Despite the promise of unmetered bandwidth and storage capabilities, it’s not possible to exceed more than 25% for more than a minute and a half.
- No FTP, Big Problem: If you’re looking to migrate your site and it is one of a specific, FTP-less style, you will face serious issues.
Pricing/Costs :
HostGator offers three pricing/service tiers when it comes to private cloud hosting. Note that all plans come with unlimited subdomains, and unmetered bandwidth and storage. These are as follows:
Hatchling
For $4.95 per month, you get a single domain, 2 GB of memory, a 2-core CPU, a free SSL certificate, and a free domain.
Baby
For $6.57 per month, you get unlimited domains, 4 GB of memory, a 4-core CPU, free SSL certificate, and a free domain.
Business
For $9.95 per month, you get unlimited domains, 6 GB of memory, a 6-core CPU, free SSL certificate, upgrade to Positive SSL, a dedicated IP, free SEO tools, and a free domain.
While all three offer an affordable introductory rate, you have to purchase 36 months of hosting at one time to secure that rate. When it renews, pricing will change to whatever is current at that time. For instance, at the time of this writing, the Baby plan costs $4.95 per month for 36 months, but re-ups at $8.95 per month.
Reviews
HostGator has been a great option for us in terms of reliability. I’ve used them since 2008 and their uptime record during that period has been amazing. Reliability, customer service, and value for the money has also remained high throughout that time.
— Jerry
Budget-friendly, quick, and free of headaches and hassles, HostGator stood out to us from the beginning. We switched from a competitor that made big promises, but failed to deliver. Within just minutes of changing our website’s DNS, we were live with HostGator. Whenever anyone asks for a recommendation on hosting, we enthusiastically refer them here. Super-efficient, easy to use, and great customer service.
— Mary Anne