Like many hosts, Host Gator says your site will be up 99.9% of time, and they back it with a money-back guarantee. Our tests show uptime reflecting their promise, so all signs point to reliability. Host Gator offers constant website monitoring and data backup every week in every package.

HostGator has tons of features, though not all are available in the basic package. However, the basic package is generous in some of its allowances.

Host Gator wants to provide perfect customer service, therefore offers every type of support:  constant phone support, live chat, and a ticketed system, plus a user forum, 600+ video tutorials and a snail-mail address. Host Gator’s CEO promises that if all of your options are exhausted, he’ll handle your ticket himself. That’s a heck of a promise.  We’re guessing that the CEO gets more than his fair share of emails due to the massive amount of support complaints visible in web forums.

Host Gator has a wide variety of price points. It’s basically Starbuck’s style of pricing:  you tell them how much you’re comfortable spending. Host Gator gives the option of VPS or Dedicated Servers. There’s also the opportunity to join at a more economical package now and upgrade down the road as the business grows.  You can upgrade to a VPS or Dedicated Server without switching web hosts. VPS packages start at $19.95 per month and Dedicated Server packages start at $174 per month. If you’re ready to commit to a 3-year deal, you’ll get a great deal. It’s definitely a big chunk up front, but they’ve been around a long time, so it’s not likely they’ll disappear. Beating the typical promise is Host Gator’s 45-day money back guarantee. That’s 50% longer than most!

The Host Gator interface is great for beginners. You’re walked through every single step, regardless of the product or function. If you pay attention and follow the directions, you’ll be able to get completely set up without a single call to support, even if you’ve never managed a website before. Host Gator uses cPanel.. You’ll find everything grouped and labeled clearly, and you have everything you need to set up a simple site. Handy SEO tools are right there, as well as a simple marketing suite.