Other Hosting Providers: Network Solutions vs Godaddy vs InMotion vs Cloudways vs DigitalOcean & More

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Here we review hosting providers that didn’t make the cut in our main hosting comparison (and for your convenience, our top 3 to the right). If you’re new to website hosting, we encourage you to start with our hosting guide.

Now without further ado, here’s our reviews of the remaining web host candidates requested by our readers:

Cloudways | InMotion | IONOS | DigitalOcean | HostMonster | HostPapa | InterServer | Just Host | MDDHosting | Microsoft Azure | MyHosting.com | Network Solutions | GoDaddy

Cloudways Review

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Since Cloudways launched in 2011, this company has shaken up the way consumers can optimize managed cloud hosting for their WordPress sites. Through Cloudways, you choose from 5 top cloud hosting providers (Amazon, Google, DigitalOcean, Vultr or Linode), and then Cloudways manages your hosting through an easy-to-use platform.

Cloudways is packed with a ton of features for high-end functionality, and it’s also highly-scalable. You get CloudwaysCDN, 1-click server cloning, on-demand or scheduled backups, dedicated firewalls, multiple databases and PHP versions and much more. Their pricing is surprisingly affordable, and their live chat tech support gets positive reviews.

Pros	Cons
Excellent 24/7 live chat customer support Extremely fast servers Easy-to-use control panel Choose from 60+ global data centers Free WordPress caching plugin Offers WordPress multisite and WordPress with WooCommerce options	Users say email ticket response times can be slow Doesn’t offer cPanel (but its control panel is very easy to use) Free trial is only 3 days (many other providers give you at least 30 days)

InMotionHosting Review

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InMotionHosting is a popular, big-name choice these days in the web hosting market. They offer an impressive array of features with competitive pricing. You also get a large variety of plans to choose from. The issue that gives us major pause is some significant downtime reported and overcrowded servers for well over a year now.

Pros	Cons
24/7/365 U.S. based customer support with generally positive user reviews Free, frequent data backups Green data centers Impressive 90-day money back guarantee $150 ad credits with Google, Yahoo, Bing Discounts for educators and students	Ongoing problems with server downtime and slow speeds Data centers only located in the U.S. On the pricey side Lack of Windows hosting

IONOS Review

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IONOS (previously known as 1&1) offers affordable service with a moderate learning curve for those looking for a basic web hosting solution. IONOS uses all-inclusive pricing, unlike many other services that charge extra setup fees and higher renewal rates.

The Web Hosting Portfolio, Next Level Hosting, allows customers to customize the performance of the web project at any time. IONOS has added several features in the last few years and offers a free 30-day trial.

Pros

Cons

24/7 support via phone and email ticket Dual Hosting — Your website is hosted simultaneously at two data centers in two separate locations for added security and backup support Offers users the option to use their marketing center and search engine credits to start traffic flow to websites IONOS offers frequent promotions for their web hosting packages, allowing users to save as much as 87% on their web hosting packages for up to 12 months Good WordPress resources and online community 30-Day Money Back Guarantee

Caps on disk space with all plans cPanel is only available in managed cloud hosting plans, but they do offer their own control panel. This unique system will require more time to learn and use effectively.

Read Our Full IONOS Review

DigitalOcean Review

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DigitalOcean’s tagline is “Simple Cloud Hosting, Built for Developers.” And it is just that — you get VPS and DSN management, and that’s pretty much it. They do have SSD drives and flexible API on their side, but users report more downtime than many other services.

Their best-selling feature? Digital Ocean’s pricing is affordable, but unless you’re a small business and don’t need +99% reliability, you should probably look elsewhere.

Pros	Cons
You can select your nearest data location, with centers in U.S., Canada, Europe and Asia Fast deployment times One-click apps	Many users report poor customer support Considerable downtime compared to other services Very basic; not many features Not much growing room if you want to expand your site

HostMonster Review

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HostMonster is owned by the hosting company BlueHost and in the past offered fewer features. But HostMonster does get credit for bumping up their features in the last few years. Still, Host Monster is a relatively basic service and isn’t very user-friendly. If you are seeking more advanced features such as unlimited MySQL databases, then this is not the hosting solution for you.

Pros	Cons
24/7 customer support Supports Simple Script Supports multiple scripts so different scripts work with Host Monster without compatibility issues occurring 1-click WordPress installer $100 Google Adwords Credit; $100 in Bing ad credits 30-day money back guarantee	Longtime users report that customer support has gone downhill over the last few years Long wait times for customer support Downtime is more prevalent than competitors No Windows hosting

HostPapa Review

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HostPapa is a Canada-based independent company that’s been around since 2006. They offer hosting, domains, website builders, office email solutions and other services, so hosting is not their specialty. HostPapa’s pricing is middle of the road, but you get some good features and perks, like free domain registration, SSL and Cloudflare CDN. You’ll have to upgrade for access to unlimited SSD storage, automated backups, MySQL databases and other advanced features.

Pros	Cons
Reliable 24/7/365 tech support via live chat, phone and email ticket Good uptime for a shared host Easy-to-use cPanel control Free setup, domain name, Cloudflare CDN and website builder with all plans 1-click WordPress installers and WordPress optimized servers 30-day money back guarantee	No dedicated hosting Must go with highest plan for automated backups and advanced features Like many shared hosts, they oversell resources

InterServer Review

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InterServer is a U.S.-based hosting company that’s still small and not well-known, but InterServer has many positive user reviews online and a robust set of features. They offer excellent free security features, 460+ scripts for 1-click installs and a helpful and friendly support staff. If you’re a small business, nonprofit or blogger, we recommend you consider InterServer.

Pros	Cons
Tech support available 24/7 via phone and ticket Shared hosting starting at $5 a month (with a price lock) and dedicated servers starting at $50 a month They only use 50% of available resources to guarantee site performance and growth InterServer designed and built their own data center and network Many positive user reviews 30-day money back guarantee $100 Google Adwords credit	No live chat tech support Set up can take a bit of a learning curve You only get weekly backups with their standard plan Lacks a website builder

Just Host Review

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Just Host has been around for more than a decade and used to be a solid option. But the buzz online by long-time customers is not good news for this web hosting mainstay.

Consumers complain about everything from poor tech support to unreliable site uptime and functionality. JustHost does have competitive pricing and a wide array of features, but we can’t recommend them unless they get their act back together.

Pros	Cons
Provides 24/7/365 customer support Large set of features for advanced users 1-click WordPress installer Provides users with free video tutorials to help them learn how to implement specific functions on their website $200 ad credits with Google and Bing	Customer support and site performance have gone way downhill over the last several years Users complain of overcrowded shared hosting which can lead to slow site load speeds and server outages Can get expensive after their introductory pricing period

MDDHosting Review

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MDDHosting is a lesser-known web hosting company that only offers managed shared cloud and VPS hosting, but they get stellar reviews for their speed, uptime, reliability and customer service. They offer several pricing options, but they lack several features other services provide, including a script library, customized error pages and 1-click app installs. If you’re a smaller-sized business, it’s definitely worth considering MDDHosting.

Pros	Cons
24/7 customer support via live chat, phone and email ticket Quick, knowledgeable and friendly customer support, no matter what level your hosting plan is Sitelock malware protection Offers a 1000% uptime guarantee Doesn’t oversell its resources 30-day money back guarantee	Pricier than many competitors No Windows hosting Lacks site statistics you’ll find with most other services

Microsoft Azure Review

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If you want a big name web hosting solution, then Microsoft Azure is just what you are looking for. You can scale this platform to suit the smallest or the largest website. Unfortunately, navigating information on available hosting packages is so confusing that most potential customers have to call for customer service assistance to ensure that they get what they need from Microsoft Azure.

Pros	Cons
Microsoft Azure works its pricing on a per use basis The Microsoft Azure hosting service can be scaled to suit the smallest or the largest website Fabric controllers identify problems in applications before the application crashes and open a new instance in case it does crash providing good recoverability	Microsoft Azure offers very little direct information about their pricing and services through their website Having at least two instances per role as mentioned in the recoverability feature, can be detrimental to overall operation Stateful applications can be interrupted due to load balancing that takes place between instances

MyHosting.com Review

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MyHosting.com has been around since 1997 and offers shared Linux and Windows web hosting with most of the major features you require for basic website hosting. They also offer unlimited bandwidth and disk space. However, MyHosting does charge additional fees for additional MySQL databases, email addresses and other features that many other providers give you for free.

Pros	Cons
Users report low downtime and good performance Users praise the in-depth statistics provided in hosting plans Free dedicated IP address and domain name 30-day money back guarantee	Many user complaints about poor customer support Some users find the control panel function to be messy and difficult to navigate More expensive than most providers

Network Solutions Review

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Network Solutions has been in business since 1979 and used to be one of the big names in the web hosting space. However, their popularity has really fallen over the years, likely because they’re one of the most expensive providers. They also only offer a moderate amount of functionality (although they have added a few extra features like unlimited MySQL databases, 1-click installers and .htaccess configurability).

Pros	Cons
24/7 support via phone and live chat Excellent spam filters Easy navigation for newcomers to web hosting Dozens of 1-click installers 30-day money back guarantee	The pricing structure frequently incurs additional fees More expensive than most providers Only supports Windows; no Linux hosting

GoDaddy Review

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GoDaddy is one of the most recognized names when it comes to web hosting. However, while they make hosting easy for newcomers, they have been known to cause problems for some users.

The most common complaint by users of GoDaddy’s web hosting service is that they lack flexibility and offer only basic functionality. GoDaddy may be a good fit if you are new to web hosting, as it is a good introductory hosting company.

Pros	Cons
24/7 live chat and phone support Web hosting can be integrated with domain name purchase, making transactions fast and easy for newcomers GoDaddy offers a wide array of features for the beginner as well as veteran web hosting client Prices are more affordable than many other web hosting services	Many users complain about poor and unknowledgeable customer support Servers are overcrowded because they are bulk sellers of domains and web hosting services Running so many clients off one server causes the servers to be locked down too tightly which can limit functionality Lots of upselling

Who’s Your Pick?

Please be sure to checkout our top picks in our main hosting provider comparison. Now that you’ve had a chance to review over 20 hosting providers, we’re curious – whom would you go with?