15 Feb Comparison of SiteGround, BlueHost and NameCheap
Web Hosting Companies: SiteGround, BlueHost, and NameCheap
What is Web Hosting?
It is an online service that permits an individual or a firm to upload their webpage on the internet. A web hosting company provides a server- rental physical space, used for storing and managing data files and assets. The firm has to pay monthly rent in order to maintain its space on the server.
The web host company is responsible for checking that the server works properly and is protected from viruses. It also makes sure that the firm’s personal data is privatized and not visible to an unauthorized individual. When a user types in the firm’s domain name, the web host automatically directs them to the firm’s website.
Hence, whenever an organization is ready to set up their website, it needs an online web host provider service. SiteGround, BlueHost, and NameCheap are such web hosting companies that are well established and known.
A brief overview of the companies:
- SiteGround: Founded in 2004 by Ivo Tzenob, the company has employed over 500 employees and is hosting approximately 2 million websites worldwide. Due to its great success, good customer feedback, and positive reputation, the company has opened centers in six countries.
- BlueHost: The company owned by Endurance International Group was founded in 2003 and has its headquarters in Orem, Utah, USA. Its founder is Matt Heaton who remained the CEO till 2011. The company has a total of 750 employees who work in the headquarters.
- NameCheap: The successful web hosting firm started merely 20 years ago and now provides hosting services to over 10 million domains. It was founded by Richard Kinkerdel who is still the CEO, with its headquarters situated in Phoenix, Arizona, US.
In this article, we will compare these three web hosting companies- their features, prices, service quality, accessibility, and feedback by customers.
Features:
A major question that arises in the customer’s mind is “Are the features worth the money I am paying?” What is the company offering? How are its offerings unique and make it stand out? In this section, we will discuss the distinct features of each web host service provider.
Speed:
Many experiments have been carried out to check the function time and speed of these three networks. In conclusion, Siteground is fastest (average 421 ms), next is NameCheap (average 708 ms), and lastly came BlueHost (average 3.12 ms). Hence, if you are a punctual individual who demands fast speed- Siteground should be for priority.
Uptime:
It refers to the time when the server is up and running. If the server has high uptime, it means that the website will also be running for a greater period. All three hosting services have great uptime which fluctuates between 99.95%-99.99%.
Back-up:
Back-up policies of companies and websites are integral as they can either make you or break you.
SiteGround has a promising policy that includes daily backup and stores the records for the past thirty days. Customers can restore previous versions of websites and get up to 30 copies of the website daily. However, these extra services need to be purchased.
For BlueHost, the customers who have purchased two lower pricing plans have to buy a backup add-on for $3/month. The backup is free for high-tier plans.
Similar to BlueHost, NameCheap provides free Auto Backup to premium plans but charges $2.44 to $4.44 on lower-tier levels. It also offers weekly backups as long as the file is smaller than 25 GB and contains less than 20000 inodes.
Accessibility:
Customers prefer easy to access websites rather than jumbled up and complex pages, so the accessibility of websites is also vital.
The website of BlueHost is beginner-friendly with a straight-forward dashboard, access to cPanel and automatically installing WordPress. In WordPress, BlueHost will help in setting up a website and provide different designs and themes. The main menu has other options as well i.e. navigating menus, selling products, posting blogs, etc. However, it does not offer migration services, users need to pay an extra $150 to migrate up to 5 sites and 20 email accounts.
NameCheap has an easy to understand dashboard, as it has the option to manage domains, accounts, and hosting activities. Along with that, the recent activities along with their expiry date are visible. However, WordPress doesn’t get installed automatically, instead a new website is set up through Softaculous app installer within cPanel. It offers a website migration service-. freely moving a website which is previously hosted by another web host.
The signup process for Siteground is pretty convenient, the customer has to click through three forms and it has an intuitive custom panel. The customers themselves have to install WordPress, it also gives an option to install Woocommerce for people interested in creating an eCommerce store. Siteground does not offer free migration services, they are available on high-tier price plans. However, it costs $30 for one site migration, and its new feature “SiteGround Migrator Plugin” offers free migration for WordPress sites.
Prices and Planning:
Pricing pays an important role in helping to decide which hosting company to choose. Some people prefer cheap prices with compromised quality while others might pay extra cash for better quality. The three companies offer diverse pricing plans so the customers who make decisions based on prices should stay focused.
A few of the similarities in their offers include a 30-day money-back guarantee, free SSL certificates, and domain names.
Coming to the differences, as the name suggests, NameCheap is the cheapest and most reasonable one among the three. The basic entry-level package of NameCheap includes unlimited bandwidth, three websites, and 20 GB SSD- great offerings. The price for this is $2.88 and if the user signs up for a year, the payment is just $1.44 for the first term. It gives the user the choice to opt for monthly payments and allows payment in bitcoins as well.
For BlueHost, the basic plan is for $2.95. However, to attain it, the user needs to sign a three years contract and pay full payment i.e. $106.2 in advance. After the 36 months period, billing will be renewed at $7.99. It offers 50 GB, unlimited bandwidth, and one website on the basic level.
SiteGround is the most expensive out of all three, the cost at the basic level is $3.95, however it takes a leap when renewing at $11.95. It also provides a free CDN- which keeps the pictures, videos, and other files off the server, making it quick and responsive. So, if you prefer a cheaper solution, NameCheap is the correct choice.
Security:
One thing that matters to every customer is their privacy, hosting services should ensure that their servers are secured and safe. SiteGround takes the privacy of its customers very seriously by offering two-factor authentication, secure emails, free SSL certificates, and WhoisGuard. It hides the personal information from the public eye and is free for all domain owners, providing protection from scammers. Furthermore, it has a web application firewall and its own artificial intelligence anti-bot system.
NameCheap also provides two-factor authentication, secure emails with anti-spam options, and DDoS (distributed denial of service). However, it only offers free SSL certificates for the first year, 50% off for the second, and full payment from the third year onwards. It also offers custom security notifications and pin numbers to prevent unauthorized access to the account.
Bluehost provides similar security services as the above two i.e. domain privacy, malware protection, anti-virus, and anti-spam. However, to avail the most of these, the customers have to either pay add-on charges or purchase high-tier plans.
Customer Care:
In order to maintain a positive and strong reputation, it is necessary for a firm to keep its customers satisfied. So, the response of a company to the customer’s queries matter a lot. How was the tone and attitude of employees? What was the response time? Did the customer get straightforward and clear answers? We will analyze the customer support policy of each hosting service.
Siteground offers 24/7 customer care service via phone, email, and live chat. Its employees are friendly and have complete knowledge which enables them to answer professionally and accurately. Moreover, the response time is almost immediate and when connected to a live chat, a short description of each employee is visible on the screen.
NameCheap uses the same customer channels as Siteground which are also open 24/7 with knowledgeable employees. However, it has been reported that the live chat might have some distortions which slow down the response speed.
Lastly, Bluehost’s support system is not as effective as the above two. It has two channels- live chat and phone, the employees do not respond quickly and lack knowledge related to their service. Overall, the support care for Bluehost has gained a lot of negative remarks.
Which Company to Choose?
Each web hosting service has distinct market offerings and focuses on different features. If you want to save money, your best option will be NameCheap (as the name suggests). For individuals willing to pay extra for better security, speed, and uptime, they would choose SiteGround. Bluehost can be the choice of beginners with its efficient and convenient dashboard and automatic installation of WordPress. So, in the end, each person’s preferences and priorities differ so their choices differ as well.
