Web Hosting Hub is an up-and-coming web hosting service with a devoted following of 40,000 users who appreciate its customer-first philosophy and generous plans. In operation from 2010, the company’s two state-of-the-art data centers use energy-efficient Dell servers to provide fast, reliable service.
In our Web Hosting Hub review, we found the company’s affordable plans pack a featureful punch. Whether you need to host 1 personal website or a dozen ecommerce stores, unlimited disk space, bandwidth, and a supporting cast of features streamline the hosting process. Web Hosting Hub also scored high when it came to critical data-based aspects like load times and uptimes.
Unlike other providers on the market, Web Hosting Hub is focused solely on shared hosting. However, the company does offer specialized hosting plans for specific applications. Its basic shared hosting plan, Spark, starts at $6.99 a month and comes with a free domain, unlimited disk space and bandwidth for 2 websites. This plan also comes with auto-installed WordPress and up to 3 free website transfers for a seamless web hosting experience.
Businesses or individuals with more extensive hosting needs can upgrade to Web Hosting Hub’s Dynamo plan. Starting at $10.99 monthly, Dynamo gives you unlimited websites, speed and performance accelerators and up 30% off of Web Hosting Hub’s web design services. You can also choose plans along the company’s three price points that are geared specifically towards e-commerce stores or CMS.
The prices cited above are towards the more expensive side of affordable. However, if you opt for a two or three-year contract the prices drop considerably. That said, in the rapidly evolving world of hosting 3 years is a long time to commit to one provider. Still, Web Hosting Hub’s 90-day money-back guarantee does give you a lengthy period to test the service if you are interested in pursuing a longer contract.
In spite of its relatively small user base, Web Hosting Hub puts a lot of effort into crafting a positive experience for users of all skill levels. While drag-and-drop web builders are becoming the hosting norm, Web Hosting Hub has partnered with BoldGrid’s prototype to give you not only a wide selection of templates but also mobile optimization and example content based on your industry.
Web Hosting Hub doesn’t neglect webmasters when it comes to UX. 1-click script installs save you the time and effort of manual installation, while support for coding languages like Python and Perl 5 lets you build on existing source code and bolster your website’s automatic and CGI capabilities. Overall, Web Hosting Hub’s handpicked selection of advanced features lets you easily configure your site for optimal workflow and back-end efficiency.
The phrase “reliable and affordable” crops up in different places on the Web Hosting Hub website, but as far as we could tell the company doesn’t guarantee a specific uptime percentage. The lack of a number guarantee raised some red flags for us, but after several months of testing we found that Web Hosting Hub’s uptimes were actually excellent at 99.9%, well above the industry average of 99.4%.
The company has invested in solid-state drives to speed up load times on its end, and it shows. Over the months we tested Web Hosting Hub our load speeds ranged between 710ms and 730ms, well within the Google guidelines of 2s per page. Moreover, with most Web Hosting Hub plans you can choose between an East Coast or West Coast server depending on your target location to make page loads even faster.
You can easily customize your website through Web Hosting Hub’s cPanel, no matter what your web background is at present. The BoldGrid drag-and-drop website builder might be the most obvious example of how Web Hosting Hub helps newcomers feel like pros. However, other features like Softaculous 1-click installations for over 400 apps, a pre-installed shopping cart, unlimited email accounts and SSL certificates really help beginners get the ball rolling.
For people who want to get involved in their website’s back-end functions, Web Hosting Hub has you covered. We liked that we had the latest version of PHP to keep WordPress running quickly, and that we could easily add analytics and database tools through Softaculous 1-click installation. Thanks to SSH access, you can also securely and simply set up Cron Jobs to schedule promotions or updates to your site.
There are a few ways that Web Hosting Hub could up its feature game. Including daily backups in every plan – like most leading providers do – instead of charging an extra dollar for the service would be a good start. With malware attacks on the rise, we also would have liked the company to be more forthcoming about the security it has in place to keep websites safe. All in all, however, the company provides the features you need to design remarkable websites.
We have mostly good things to say about Web Hosting Hub’s customer support. You can get in touch with the company’s US-based agents by phone, chat, and ticketing. Nearly every interaction we had with its support team was pleasant, with knowledgeable agents working with us to resolve issues quickly. The one downside is that wait times until you reach an agent can take upwards of an hour.
Before you escalate to an agent, however, it’s worth checking out the company’s learning center and its community forum. Both offer a lot of insight into common and less common issues, and these resources can often be enough to help you troubleshoot problems on your own.
Our expert reviews are informed by months of testing and years of web hosting user experience. To get the full scoop on Web Hosting Hub, head over to our user reviews to see what regular users are saying about the company.
For the most part we were very happy with what Web Hosting Hub has to offer. It has a good grasp of what beginners need to succeed with their website, and accordingly the company provides a top-notch drag-and-drop website builder and pre-installed WordPress. Other features like free website migration, free domains, and free SSL certificates leave you free to focus on perfecting your site’s content.
At the same time, Web Hosting Hub has its eye on advanced users. We were very satisfied with the software environment they provide. The latest version of PHP provides optimal WordPress conditions, and you can use the Softaculous 1-click installer to install over 400 scripts to easily customize your back end.
The company’s prices are affordable, though they do tend to the more expensive in the budget-friendly category. Still, Web Hosting Hub’s extraordinary load times, nearly zero service outages and its vast selection of features and make it an excellent hosting choice.
