HostGator Review: Is It Really the Best Web Hosting in 2024?

Hostgator: Key Features

Who Is HostGator Meant For?

Why Did I Decide to Write a HostGator Review?

I've tried a number of reputable web-hosting companies, including GoDaddy and Squarespace.

Somehow, I always found them lacking in one aspect or another.

For instance, GoDaddy caps storage space at 100 GB while Squarespace doesn't provide free email addresses with domains.

I was looking for an alternative website builder that gave me all of these features at pocket-friendly prices. After all, for a growing business, unlimited data space and branded email addresses are a must.

That's when I stumbled upon HostGator.

I examined the tool thoroughly and read many online reviews about it. The more I read, the more intrigued I got.

Why, you wonder?

Take a look at this demo to see for yourself how smoothly HostGator works.

Image via YouTube

I'm sure you will agree that HostGator's features look very promising. We can create and host mobile-friendly websites, with SSL certificates and unlimited bandwidth.

The unlimited FTP accounts, sub-domains, and email addresses are impressive. The advertising credits they provide are a great bonus.

Encouraged by what I had found out, I decided to check out the website builder personally.

Did the experience match my expectations?

It's difficult to sum up that answer in one word or sentence. To give you a clear picture of HostGator, I'm going to share my findings in this detailed HostGator review.

A Detailed HostGator Review

Whether you want to create new websites or migrate existing sites, HostGator can help you with it all. It also allows you to manage WP sites with ease.

If you don't need their hosting, you can opt for standalone services like website building and SEO.

All in all, HostGator has a variety of options for people with different budgets and requirements. Let's take a look at how you can use the hosting provider to do various web-hosting related activities.

1. Design a Website

You can create optimized websites using Gator, the platform's online website editor. Thereafter, you can get HostGator to host your website and manage its analytics.

Although you can design your website yourself, it's a good idea to hire HostGator's website design services.

Why, you ask?

Because it offers you everything that you are looking for when you choose the best website builder for yourself.

You get 100+ customizable templates and three SEO pages meant for your website. Plus, their built-in analytics help you track your site's engagement, uptime, and speed, without leaving the interface.

Image via HostGator

Anything else?

Of course!

You also get a library of high-definition stock pictures from Unsplash to use on your website. All the pictures are royalty-free and included in all of the shared website-hosting plans.

You also get a dedicated team of website developers and SEO experts to help you with the design process.

Through one-on-one sessions, they train you to manage your website efficiently. They also call you monthly for sharing updates about your site's performance.

You can build all sorts of websites using HostGator.

It's one of the best ecommerce hosting platforms in the market. Their online stores come with all the bells and whistles, such as multiple payment modes, OpenCart integration, and site promotion.

Image via HostGator

Since you obviously want seamless integration between your sites and social pages, HostGator offers a social productivity tool called “My Social Suite.”

Using the tool, you can cross-promote between platforms, and conduct omnichannel marketing.

Want to build a website with HostGator? Sign up for a FREE trial.

2. Migrate a Website

If you buy HostGator's hosting service for an existing site, the tool lets you transfer website content, databases, and scripts, for free. However, they will charge you to reconfigure your URL structures for SEO.

Additionally, you can get one free registered domain if you apply for a transfer within 30 days of signing up at the platform.

But HostGator only provides a fixed number of free transfers for every plan, so your transfer request will be served on a first-come basis.

Image via HostGator

If you miss the 30-day window, you can obtain a quote for domain transfer by filling out an online request form.

Another thing to note is that if you upgrade to a better plan of the same hosting type, you won't need to transfer your site's domain.

Is that all?

One last thing…

Your emails may or may not migrate when you transfer your site from a different web hosting provider to HostGator. In that case, this is what can happen:

• Your inbox will transfer if your old service provider used cPanel and you migrate to a HostGator plan with cPanel.
• If the above isn't the case, you will have to archive your emails and create new inboxes with the same name in your HostGator account.
• If your old account didn't use cPanel, there is no guarantee that HostGator will be able to migrate your email account. You can check out the transferability chart on their website.

3. Manage Hosted Websites

You can manage the technical aspects of your hosted websites on HostGator through the cPanel or control panel.

The tasks you can accomplish through cPanel are uploading content files, creating a branded email address, adding sub-domains, and installing WP.

HostGator's cPanel has a graphical user interface which is very easy to use.

Image via HostGator

Using the “Domains” option in the cPanel, you can include sub-domains under an existing domain site and specify redirections.

Managing your email account through cPanel is quite straightforward. You can click on “Email” in the cPanel navigation pane and select the activity you want to do.

Image via HostGator

Through the “File Manager” option, you can access and modify your website's content files.

Want to learn more about this feature? Try HostGator for FREE.

HostGator's one-click installs are very popular. You can integrate many software solutions into the hosting provider platform, including content management systems and sales automation tools.

As the name signifies, adding these add-on tools is a few clicks away.

Say you want to install WP on your HostGator-hosted site. In the cPanel navigation pane, find “Softaculous App Installer” under the “Software” menu.

Image via HostGator

You will see a list of third-party apps that you can install on your site. Select WP from the list and populate the form that appears.

Image via HostGator

You will be asked to specify your domain username and admin credentials. Once you complete this step, WP will be added as your site's content management platform.

Sound easy?

It is.

HostGator's interface control panel is self-explanatory. Still, if you get stuck on any step, you can access their extensive knowledge bank for help.

You'll find step-by-step video tutorials on most topics there.  All of this helps beginners get comfortable with the host provider quickly.

Image via HostGator

Their live chat and email support team is proactive. You can write to them with your questions and expect to hear back within 24 hours. I found a number of positive HostGator reviews, praising their exemplary customer service.

Pricing

Their plans are quite pocket friendly if you prepay for three years at least. The services you get in their low-end plans are basic (site migration, SSL, email, and plugins – basically everything you need in a website to get started).

Unlike some HostGator alternatives, they don't bundle up site security, SEO, and malware protection in the initial plan prices. These are added at check-out time.

Moreover, once the initial subscription period is over, the renewal fee is quite hefty. But the fact that HostGator offers a 45-day money-back guarantee (not 30-day, as is the norm) speaks a lot about their accountability and confidence.

For the prices, don't be under the misconception that HostGator will help you host online events, like webinars or podcasts. For doing that, you will need to invest separately in webinar-hosting websites and websites that host podcasts.

If that's not a concern for you, I recommend that you try the platform and buy a long-term plan to take advantage of their low prices and great services.

Let's take a closer look at the services this hosting provider offers in their various plans:

1. Shared Web Hosting Plans

All of these plans come with unmetered bandwidth, free domain (with three years subscriptions), and free SSL certificates (that display as a padlock in the browser address bar).

Additionally, you can buy site lock monitoring (for $1.67/month), professional email (for $5/month), and site backup (for $5/month), and SEO tools ($2.95/month).

It's recommended that you buy site lock and back up services to avoid data breach and loss situations.

There are three shared plans offered by HostGator:

• Hatchling Plan: For $2.75 a month, you get a single domain and WP installs.
• Baby Plan: For $3.95/month, you get unlimited domains + Hatchling plan services.
• Business Plan: For $5.95/month, you get these free services: upgrade to positive SSL, dedicated IP, and SEO tools.

2. PRO Hosting Plans

If you need total control over your root servers, access permissions, and user activity monitoring, you can opt for HostGator's dedicated hosting plans. All these plans come with unmetered bandwidth and are built for Windows and Linux machines.

Here are three dedicated hosting plans that HostGator offers:

• Value Server Plan: Costing $89.98/month, this plan includes 4 Core/8 Thread Intel CPU, 8 GB RAM, and 1 TB HDD.
• Power Server Plan: Costing $119.89/month, this plan includes 4 Core/16 Thread Intel CPU, 16 GB RAM, and 2 TB HDD/512 GB SSD.
• Enterprise Server Plan: Costing $139.99/month, this plan includes 8 Core/16 Thread Intel CPU, 30 GB RAM, and 1 TB SSD.

3. WordPress Hosting

Hosting plans range from $5.95 to $9.95/month. At these prices, you get a free SSL certificate, site back-ups, and domain.

4. Gator Website Builder

To build secure and responsive websites using HostGator's website editor, you can buy plans ranging from $3.84 to $9.92/month. The price includes a free domain name, SSL, web analytics, live support, and custom templates.

What Are Customers Saying About HostGator?

HostGator FAQ

Q1. Can HostGator migrate all sites?

A: No, HostGator can't transfer websites from Wix, VistaPrint, Intuit, Google, Microsoft 365, or SMCing.com.

Q2. How can I choose the best hosting plan for my site?

A: You should choose shared hosting if you want to host one or more sites for your own use. If you want to sell hosting services, pick the reseller plans.

If you want more flexibility and freedom in streaming and emailing from your site, you can opt for VPS hosting. If you own a site that attracts a lot of traffic, dedicated hosting is the right choice for you.

Q3. Is there any discount available on HostGator's  web hosting services?

A: Yes, limited-period discounts are applicable to new accounts, not renewals, transfers, or upgrades. All promotions are available only for newly-created domain names. You can check their website for more information on this.

Q4. Does HostGator offer phone support?

A: Yes, phone support is available from 8am-9pm EST. For more prompt service, contact them through live chat.