HostPapa Review

This is one of the metrics in which HostPapa excels. This is critical because if your website isn't up and functional, how can anyone visit it? With a 99.94% uptime rating over a 16-month period, HostPapa demonstrates that they understand how to keep their customers' websites live.

When it comes to speed, this HostPapa review demonstrates that websites hosted by this service aren't going to win any races. It's not that HostPapa's speed ratings are bad. It's just that they are right in there at the industry average.

Over a 16-month period, average website load time on HostPapa was 618 ms. While this provider manages to eke out numbers that are slightly better than average (Roughly 700ms across 20+ hosting providers), they aren't able to do so by much.

The well-designed and accessible cPanel takes many of the headaches out of the website publishing process. Once you have your HostPapa login, you'll be able to access the cPanel for your website, and it has some really great features.

For instance, it includes Site Publisher, a straightforward, easy-to-use app that lets you put up a "coming soon" website while you're still ironing out the details on the real thing.

HostPapa relies on Hewlett-Packard servers and hardware, which are networked by Cisco. Hosting services are brought to customers via Sucuri server software as well as CloudProxy.

In 2017, plans to build data centers in the UK, Australia and the US were publicized. However, as of 2019, there hasn't been any development and their main data centers remain to be in only 2 locations:

• Toronto
• New York City

Their main data centers are categorized as tier-one -- which essentially mean these data centers are bare-bones and generally lack infrastructure components. Don't be discouraged though; HostPapa's network infrastructure was designed to be very lean to cut large costs in hardware, so more resources could be spent on maintaining the servers, ensuring consistently high uptime and fast speeds year-round.

The company takes pride in using 100% renewable energy to power everything from its data centers to its office space.

The company's plans for expansion are a crucial consideration. The closer a website visitor is to the server that is hosting the website, the faster the load time will be. Consequently, it is wise for website owners to choose a host that uses servers that are physically close to the location from which most visitors will be browsing.

With all of its web hosting packages, HostPapa includes unmetered bandwidth. This means that even if you go with the most basic plan, your web host will not put restrictions on how many visitors your website receives each month or how much content you upload to your website.

A knowledgebase is essential for any web host provider, and HostPapa's version excels. It is incredibly thorough and detailed; offering clear, concise instruction on a wealth of the most common issues that arise for customers.

HostPapa has divided their knowledge base into several different folders. It's a well-organized system that makes it easy for users to find precisely what they are looking for. Each entry appears to be highly detailed, enough so that even a novice user will be able to feel like a pro when they are done reading.

HostPapa goes one better by providing numerous video tutorials. If your eyes tend to glaze over as you read technical jargon, then these informative videos are for you. They present tons of details and let you get back on track in a minimum of time.

Before you sign up for a HostPapa login, it's wise to know what you're getting. This deeper exploration of some of HostPapa's features will help you get to know this web host better.

All of HostPapa's web hosting packages include free domain name registration. That's an especially nice feature for the entrepreneur with a startup. Your budget is tight, and you can't afford to waste even $10 or $15. HostPapa makes getting the domain name of your choice cheap and easy. Pay attention to this feature as you browse other web hosts. Not all of them offer free domain name registration.

A Content Delivery Network, or CDN, is a vital component of any web host's services, but not all of them offer it. A CDN not only boosts performance but also adds another layer of security to your website. This means greater stability and reliability.

Thanks to Cloudflare CDN, one of the best providers in the business, your website is loaded by the server that is physically closest to the website visitor. This ensures faster delivery times. Even basic CDN services mean that individual websites receive 65% fewer requests, which also translates to using 60% less bandwidth. Accordingly, your website won't be adversely affected by traffic surges.

SSL certificates are what changes an HTTP web address into an HTTPS address. That "S" is critical, because it makes your website more secure while also making your website rank higher in search results. Customers will feel more comfortable browsing your website and potentially making purchases when they know their transaction is protected by SSL certificates.

All of HostPapa's web hosting packages include SSL certificates. That means you never have to pay extra to get this essential level of security and peace of mind. This is another thing that this web host gets right.

If it's your dream to own an online retail store, then HostPapa may have the right solution for you.

A wide variety of software and apps are available to facilitate online sales that are prompt and secure. Choices include ZenCart, CubeCart, AbanteCart, Avactis Shopping Cart and more. With the option to include thousands of add-ons, you'll be able to track all sorts of metrics and make your online sales efforts more targeted and successful than ever before.

Email is one of the most critical forms of communication in the modern business world. Most entrepreneurs would like to have a unique email address that keeps the name of their business in the forefront of customers' minds.

HostPapa facilitates this by providing 100 email addresses with even its most basic hosting package. If you need more email addresses, simply upgrade to a higher tier package where you get unlimited addresses.

If you don't already have a website that you are planning to migrate to HostPapa for free, then you may want to use the company's website builder. It's a drag-and-drop interface that is pretty easy to use. However, if you're going with the basic Starter plan, you'll be pretty limited with your design choices, and you won't be able to use any ecommerce capabilities.

Upgrade to the Premium Website Builder Unlimited Edition by signing up for a Business or Business Pro plan. Alternatively, you have the option of using WordPress, a popular content management system, to build your website. However, it may be important to know that HostPapa does not offer managed WordPress hosting, so this may not be ideal.

If you believe in leaving a smaller carbon footprint in all that you do, then this is the perfect web host for you. HostPapa uses green energy to power its hosting services and everything else that it does.

The process is a pretty simple one. HostPapa purchases green energy tags, which also may be called certificates, from a green energy supplier. That supplier then calculates how much energy HostPapa uses, replacing the full amount on the power grid.

Accordingly, HostPapa effectively offsets all of the fossil fuels used in its operations, and this additionally translates to the removal of tons of greenhouse gases from the environment. If you are committed to keeping your business operations as green as possible, this is something you'll definitely want to consider.

People who are seeking a new HostPapa account will find that the introductory prices are attractively low.

However, you only get the lowest possible monthly pricing when you sign up for three years of service. Signing up for only two years or one year will raise the monthly price by a dollar or two.

That's not too extreme, but the jump from the initial hosting period to the next is substantial. In most cases, you'll find yourself paying well more than twice what you were paying in the introductory period. This is relatively standard practice in the industry, but still something to be aware of.

While this HostPapa review has focused mainly on the company's shared hosting services, it's important to understand that they offer a variety of other hosting packages. These include hosting for WordPress and online stores. Additionally available are Virtual Private Servers and reseller hosting.

This HostPapa review has demonstrated that this web host puts up some impressive uptime numbers. In addition, customers who sign up for these packages get useful features like SSL certificates, Cloudflare CDN, email addresses and reliable server technology. Even the customer support team seems helpful and available when you need them.

Nonetheless, HostPapa does have drawbacks. Their speed could definitely use some work, and when it comes to their pricing, they are less than transparent. They have a money-back guarantee that will actually cost you money, and they only give you automated daily backups if you pay for them.

The upshot is that HostPapa is pretty good if you just need some basic web hosting for a small business and you like their commitment to environmental responsibility. However, there are faster, more transparent options out there.

Overall, The Nomad Intel still recommends HostPapa as a good web hosting provider. Just be sure to review other web hosts before making a final decision.