Hostwinds Review: Superb Hosting and Support
- Host Review Hub
Hostwinds provides high performance and excellent customer service. They offer a range of service packages from shared hosting to dedicated servers, with fast page loading speeds and strong security features. Their 24/7 customer support is professional and effective, with a user-friendly and easy-to-use management interface.
Hostwinds Features
Hostwinds provides a variety of hosting options including Shared, VPS, Dedicated, Cloud, Reseller, and WordPress hosting. Their plans come with several features:
- Softaculous Auto Installer
- Free SSL certificate
- Latest cPanel
- Unlimited databases
- Solid State Drives (SSDs)
Hostwinds’ VPS and cloud server hosting plans also offer unique features such as snapshots, firewalls, volumes, and load balancers.
- Snapshots: Allow you to create real-time backups of your Linux VPS and deploy multiple pre-configured Linux servers with just a few clicks.
- Enterprise Firewall: Provides an extra layer of security.
- Volumes: Offer additional storage space.
- Load Balancers: Distribute traffic across multiple servers to enhance efficiency and uptime.
Performance
When hunting for a web hosting provider, there are three important performance metrics you must consider. They are server speed, uptime, and loading time.
- Server speed reflects how quickly a user on your website receives data from the host’s server.
- Uptime shows how consistently your host’s servers stay online.
- Loading time measures how quickly your web pages load when customers use your website.
Higher server speed and quicker loading time will allow for a seamless customer experience which will lead to less bounce rate from your website.
Hostwinds promised a 99.99% uptime guarantee to all their customers.
Security
One area where Hostwinds lags slightly behind is security. The provider only includes an SSL certificate and malware scanning as part of its basic offerings. However, there are paid options for 24/7 monitoring and nightly backups.
Security Features Overview:
- SSL Certificates: Hostwinds automatically enables a free AutoSSL for all its shared hosting plans. While this is a standard feature, it is essential as it creates an encrypted connection between your site and your visitors.
- Malware Scanning: Hostwinds offers malware scanning, but it isn’t automatic. You can submit a ticket, and the admins will perform the scan for you free of charge. Although an automated scan would be more convenient, this service is still helpful for maintaining the health of your site.
These are the only free security measures provided by Hostwinds. However, you can opt for additional paid services:
- Monitoring: For an extra $24/year, Hostwinds offers 24/7 monitoring. This service ensures that threats are handled quickly by automatically submitting a support ticket when an issue arises. It also includes immediate alerts and detailed reports.
- Backups: For an additional $36/year, Hostwinds provides automatic nightly backups of your data, transferring it to a cloud storage drive.
Support
You can contact Hostwinds support through live chat, ticketing, and email. Additionally, the provider offers a comprehensive selection of guides and tutorials in its knowledge base.
I reached out multiple times via live chat and consistently had an excellent experience. The agents were fast, helpful, and professional, always providing answers to my questions and solutions to my issues. The customer service is truly outstanding.
Pricing Plans
As with most providers, Hostwinds’ most in-demand solution is shared hosting, where plans start from $5.24/mo. Beyond that, it also offers a range of other hosting packages, including VPS, cloud, and dedicated.
| Type of hosting | Best for |
| Shared hosting | Personal websites and small businesses with limited traffic. |
| Cloud hosting | Growing websites with increasing traffic and/or international audience. |
| WordPress hosting | Websites with WordPress-specific requirements. |
| Reseller hosting | Businesses that resell hosting services. |
| Dedicated servers | Organizations that need their own servers. |
Conclusion
Hostwinds was created to address the shortcomings of larger web hosts and deliver top-notch hosting services to its customers. They have certainly met that standard, and I highly recommend them. Their superfast server speeds and excellent customer support stand out.
Hostwinds also utilizes the latest cPanel and offers a simple, aesthetically pleasing UI to simplify website management. With a broad range of hosting plans, you can easily find one that suits your business, regardless of your c
Overall, Hostwinds is ideal for medium-sized organizations and growing businesses with a long-term vision. The platform’s scalability makes it easy to handle increased traffic, and with data centers in the US and Amsterdam, you can effectively target a global aud
