WebFaction is a hosting provider that focuses their marketing and features primarily toward application developers. While they can host any type of website, most of the added benefits will be lost on those who don’t work in the development world. Things like one click app installs, the ability to run many tools such as Python, Ruby and others and much more really makes them a logical choice for those in this niche.
They also have data centers in the US, Europe and Asia, so you can have your apps hosted where your primary audience is. This is especially important for the many apps that are being developed that require rapid response times.
Overall, this is a good hosting company for all websites and a great one for anyone looking to host their web apps online.
While they don’t advertise any set uptime guarantee or anything similar, they do have an excellent reputation for stable hosting. Everywhere that I looked (social media sites and other reviews) people commented on how reliable they are. This is likely because of the fact that they are so targeted in what type of hosting they provide. This allows them to manage configuration options based specifically on app developers.
There are many features available for app developers. Their long list lays out exactly what you get, how much extra it will cost (many are free) and how to use it. They also have 512mb of application ram for developers who need it. This ram can be upgraded if necessary.
Some of the most important features include control over DNS records, access to many server side scripts, full SSH access and more. You can also install Django, Rails, WordPress, Redmine and over a dozen other types of software in just one click, which will make it extremely easy for developers to manage their apps.
WebFaction doesn’t really focus on their support services in their marketing, and little has been written or said about it by current or former customers. They do have a ticketing system that is used to report issues, but beyond that there is basically nothing out there on it. This could certainly be considered to be a good thing, since it is also an indication that very few people have run into issues where they needed help desk support.
There are 1 managed shared hosting package which is $10/month, and 4 levels of managed cloud hosting packages ranging from $30/month to $240/month. All of these plans are on CentOS7 servers with SSD storage, and are available on servers located in the US, EU, and Singapore.
Like many niche hosting sites, this one offers excellent services for their target audience. They also have good general hosting options, which is nice for app developers who also want to run a general website. Even non-app developers can, of course, put their sites up on this platform and will likely enjoy great service.
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