Current Rating of HostMonster based on experiences as detailed below.
| Pricing: |
4 out of 5 |
| Support: |
5 out of 5 |
| Reliability/Uptime: |
5 out of 5 |
| Billing & Accounts |
5 out of 5 |
HostMonster Support - 13th July 2008
A couple of days ago I had a bit of a problem setting up a database that I needed for testing out some scripts. I decided to try out the HostMonster phone support and was pleasantly surprised. Firstly the wait time was around 3 minutes which is certainly a first for a web host, it's not uncommon to be waiting 30-40 mins with some of the hosts out there. Secondly the Hostmonster support guy was knowledgeable and was able to help me out straight away. Certainly a good experience. Thumbs Up to HostMonster's Support!
HostMonster Comparisons - 22nd May 2008
I have created a series of 5 reviews that comapre HostMonster to other leading web hosts. After conducting these it is safe to say that HostMonster certainly measures up as one of the best. Use the menu on the left to see some of these HostMonster comparisons.
HostMonster Now Offering Unlimited Plan - 8th May 2008
HostMonster has just made a major change to their web hosting plans. They are now offering Unlimited Bandwidth, Unlimited Diskspace and Unlimited Domains for the same price of $6.95/month. Making these changes makes HostMonster the first major host to offer an unlimited plan. This signals a big step in the web hosting industry, there has been much talk that offering unlimited plans will become the standard as bandwidth and storage becomes more affordable. So HostMonster is certainly leading the way. However the fact of the matter is that although hostMonster is offering unlimited plans, a very very very small proprtion of users would even use the bandwidth and diskspace they had advertised previously. However, at least you dont have to worry about your bandwidth or diskspace being restricted. This change makes HostGator's plan very very hard to go past.
Otherwise as a general update to this HostMonster review, everything is going well. I haven't had any problems with the hosting. So my positive recommendation of HostMonster still stands.
HostMonster Review Update & Plan Change - 10th February 2008
It's been about a month since my last update on this review of Host Monster. I'm happy to say that everything is going fine and I haven't had any issues with HostMonster. I haven't noticed any uptime. HostMonster has also dramatically increased their disk space and bandwidth allocations. They are now offering 1,500GB of disk space and 15,000Gb Bandwidth. This is a huge increase on 300GB diskspace and 3000GB of bandwidth that they offered just 2 months ago. This is a very positive sign from Host Monster, this increase means their offerings are now the best in the industry with reputed web hosts. 99% of websites will never use the amount of bandwidth and diskspace that HostMonster is offering. For $6.95/mo HostMonster is certainly a web host that is hard to go past.
HostMonster eCommerce - 15th January 2008
As Hostmonster uses CPanel as the hosting platform, it comes with a range of e-commerce features. Hostmonster customers have access to one click installation of a range of shopping carts such as Agora, Os Commerce and Xen Cart. Hostmonster also has a range of other features which has been details in the hostmonster ecommerce review page.
HostMonster Servers - 10th January 2008
No matter which host your site is with, you must always know what type of servers your site will be hosted. Obviously the better the server, the faster and more reliable your site will be. HostMonster Servers are quad processor Xeon Servers, rack mounted units with four Intel Xeon processing chips per server.
HostMonster Bandwidth - 21st December 2007
Last week I did a bit of research into HostMonster's bandwidth providers and connecivity. To add to this Hostmonster review, this week I've looked at the factors that affects HostMonster's uptime and their guarantees on this matter. When finding a host it is also important to find out about a hosts datacenter. Take a look at the datacenter and uptime pages which have now been added to this hostmonster review.
HostMonster Bandwidth - 13th December 2007
When looking for a host, it is very important to find information about the hosts bandwidth providers and connectivity. After all there is no point in a host having the best servers if the bandwidth is not reliable or cannot handle the load. I have done a bit of research on HostMonster's bandwidth. Hostmonster uses an OC-48 Backbone Connection which is 48 times faster than a basic DS-3 or TS-3 network data connection.
HostMonster Overview - 1st December 2007
Below is a bit of an overview of Hostmonster with some general information about them and their hosting options.
The basic web hosting account at HostMonster includes:
- 300 GB of hosting space that includes unlimited domains on one account. You can develop all of your domains on one hosting account and still have plenty of disk space remaining to expand the sites over time
- Unlimited email accounts for your domains. If you have many employees, or would like your user community to be able to create POP email accounts on the web sites, HostMonster is an excellent choice for this
- SSH access as a basic part of their web hosting plans. This allows users to enter their own command lines directly to the servers
- 3000 GB of data transfer, along with the 300 GB of disc space and other features, for $6.95 per month
The HostMonster account for web hosting is free to set up and does not include any hidden charges when you sign up. This is good compared to sites that usually charge $20, $30, or $40 as a basic set up fee for a web hosting account.
The HostMonster servers are based on the Linux operating system, and are configured for:
- CGI
- Ruby on Rails
- Perl
- PHP
- mySQL
For Web 2.0 development , you can easily install and design new web sites using Open Source software and Fantastico. Fantastico is a 3 rd party software that will automatically set up your mySQL databases and install popular open source software such as content management systems, blogs, forums, and other scripts.
Fantastico includes the popular software such as:
- Joomla
- Mambo
- PHP-Nuke
- Post-Nuke
- Drupal
- Xoops
- Nucleus
- Simple Machines Forum
- Gallery
- Many other top Open Source PHP scripts
With Fantastico , it is only just a few clicks and you can begin to develop your own Web 2.0 web site.
In addition to Fantastico and the 40+ scripts offered through it, users who sign up for an account at HostMonster also receive a free site building software to create simple web sites on a template basis with all the functions of a professional site. Even inexperienced users will have no trouble setting up a site within a few hours with this publishing tool kit. There are also front page extensions for .Net developers included on every HostMonster account.
One of the best reasons to sign up with HostMonster, is the free domain offered with every account. This and HostMonster’s top customer support make the company a great choice for web hosting.
HostMonster Control Panel - 21st November 2007
Well I've seen quite a few skins for the CPanel software, but in terms of looks and design Hostmonster's one beats them all. Right at the top is a modified version of the HostMonster's logo. I've cut a part of the header image for you to all see.
In terms of functionality HostMonster's control panel is divided into boxes with the following categories partners, promotional, preferences, mail, files, logs, security, domains, databases, software/services and advanced.
HostMonster has some interesting promotional material. They have a few coupons $50 Google Adwords and $50 Yahoo Search Services. The only catch with the adwords and yahoo search coupons are that you must be a new customer to apply them. There are also some links to "Website Alive Chat" and a site that allows you to accept credit cards for free.
HostMonster Signup - 21st November 2007
Welcome to My HostMonster Review. This website will serve as an ongoing review of HostMonster's web hosting services and will become a definite guide as to whether HostMonster is a good host. Below I have detailed the bluehost sign-up procedure.
Well the first step in the signup procedure is to either register a new domain name with HostMonster or transfer your existing domain name. Hostmonster offers domain name registration for free with their 12 and 24 month subscription. In addition to this HostMonster also offers free domain privacy which most registrars charge about $10/year for. I myself always register my domain name from an external provider just to make it easier to manage all my websites. So I choose the "transfer clients" option and click next (Screenshot below)
After that I get taken to a page where a prompt box asks me "Do you own the domain myhostmonsterreview.com ?" I certainly do so I click "Yes".
I am now taken to Step 2 where there is a notice that says all signups are verified manually. This is an interesting point as most hosts do not verify signups manually. On this page firstly are all the normal billing and account information details such as address, name, phone numbers etc. Then comes the payment options, HostMonster accepts Visa, Mastercard, American Express or Discover Credit cards. They also accept paypal.
You can then choose the package you want to sign up for. The options are:
3 month price - $7.95 + $30 setup
6 month price - $7.95 + $30 setup
12 month price - $7.95
24 month price - $5.95
I'm going to go for the 24 month option. Then I am asked to select a password between 5 and 15 characters. As with all hosting and domain relating passwords, make sure it is very secure and include numbers and capitals.
Just before I click the "Create My Account" button there is the "service agreement" box which has some standard terms and a link to their full "Terms Of Service". The page also displays my IP address and lets me know that it will be recorded.
I am then taken to the paypal website to complete my payment. After completing the payment procedure I am taken to the "congratulations, your purchase was successful" page. This page also includes a link to the control panel. And that's it.
Now I shall wait for the confirmation e-mail for my ftp and other account details. As the website said HostMonster conducts manual verification they will most probably ring to confirm the account. The good thing is I can access the control panel before my signup has been verified.
HostMonster Site Screenshot (http://www.hostmonster.com)
