HostNine Review – Web Hosting Services

HostNine has a wide range of options for various types of clients, including personal bloggers, small businesses, medium businesses, and large companies. The web host is known for fast website speeds and an easy-to-use interface. As indicated by customer reviews, however, it may fall short when it comes to customer service. In our HostNine review below, we have provided an unbiased overview of the web host and its pros and cons.

HostNine Service Overview

HostNine offers four types of hosting to accommodate a variety of clients. Shared hosting and cloud VPS hosting are good for small to medium size business owners. Dedicated hosting is ideal for large businesses, and reseller hosting is for people who want to sell hosting. HostNine provides 24/7 support, free migration, and one click installs. Some other web host providers charge for migrations, which is when you move your website from one host to another.

HostNine’s one click installs are offered on all shared and cloud VPS hosting plans. The web host also keeps your website safe and secure through enterprise-grade backup solutions. As a customer has stated in their HostNine review, some of the advantages of this web host are fast page load speeds and a variety of features. The downside is some customers have recently warned, in their own HostNine review, that the service isn’t as good as it used to be due to poor customer support.

Pricing Information

Shared hosting plans at HostNine start at $5.29 per month. If you sign up for an annual plan, it’s only $3.99 per month. For $39.99 you can purchase an SSL certificate on the personal and business shared hosting plans. The enterprise package comes with a free SSL certificate. Cloud VPS hosting at HostNine ranges from $14.99-$59.99 per month. HostNine has dedicated hosting plans for both U.S. and UK customers.

Their U.S. dedicated servers range from $109.99-$199.99 per month, whereas the UK dedicated hosting plans are $159.99-$379.99 per month. Two other countries they have data centers in are Singapore and the Netherlands. HostNine’s reseller hosting plans charge $14.99-$69.99 and have data centers in the United States, Singapore, the Netherlands, and the UK.

Security & Risk

HostNine has standard security measures in place, such as enterprise-grade backups to protect your data. They also offer SSL certificates to increase the security of your website and protect your customers’ sensitive data. The SSL certificate is either $39.99 or free depending on which plan you’re on. HostNine also offers priority support for some of their hosting packages in case you encounter any problems. All of their hosting packages come with ClamAV as anti-virus protection as well.

Usability & User Friendliness

HostNine has a user-friendly interface that’s easy to navigate. Some web hosts that have been around for over a decade have outdated websites that aren’t user-friendly. HostNine has been around since 2006. Their website features a contemporary design, an information hierarchy that makes sense, and good organization. If you’re having trouble choosing a hosting plan, HostNine offers to advise you on which one is most suitable for your needs. HostNine also makes it easy to upgrade to a different hosting plan when your website outgrows the one it’s on.

Customer Support & Additional Info

HostNine has an organized live chat customer support option in which you select which department your problem pertains to, such as billing, sales, and support. You can also get in touch with HostNine on their Facebook and Twitter pages as well. According to their Facebook page, they usually reply within an hour. Our HostNine review, however, gives the web host a low rating for customer service because several customers complain about the slow and unhelpful customer support. Some customers have waited over a month to receive help with their websites.

HostNine Service Overall Rating

What we like:

• The interface is user-friendly
• Fast website speeds
• SSL certificates are free with some hosting packages
• The company has been around for over a decade
• Support is available 24/7
• Enterprise-grade backups

What we don’t like:

• Several customers have stated in their reviews that HostNine’s customer support is slow
• Lack of telephone support
• ClamAV anti-virus protection comes with each hosting plan

Rating

Web Hosting Plans & Prices: 4/5
Security & Risk: 4/5
Usability: 5/5
Customer Support: 1/5

HostNine Top Alternatives

Some of the top HostNine alternatives are RackSpace, Digital Ocean, and Liquid Web. RackSpace offers cloud hosting and dedicated servers. Some major brands, such as Six Flags, host their sites with Rackspace. Unlike HostNine, this web host offers telephone support, support forums, and email support. They have a mixture of positive and negative reviews pertaining to the quality of their customer service.

Similar to HostNine, Digital Ocean has data centers in different countries to improve their service. One way that they’re different from HostNine is they are geared at serving clients that want to create applications. Digital Ocean provides load balancing that distributes incoming traffic. This improves the application’s availability.

Liquid Web offers dedicated hosting like HostNine, but their plans are more expensive starting at $59.99. They promise 100% uptime with their dedicated servers. Liquid Web also offers 24/7 Sonar monitoring, ServerSecure hardening, and DDoS protection with their dedicated hosting. Several customers have given Liquid Web positive reviews on their customer service.

Our Verdict

Because of the high number of negative customer reviews about HostNine’s customer support, we don’t recommend the web host. It might not be worth the risk in signing up when so many people have frustrating experiences with the customer support. Some of the pros of HostNine are its fast website speeds, good hosting plans, and user-friendly interface. Have you tried this web host before? Leave your own HostNine review in the comments below.