iPage is one the cheapest web hosting that we have reviewed. It is also bundled with a ton of features. It is really surprising for us to see the price so low and so many features with it.
There comes the main question then, is it really that good then ? We will be answering that question, so read along. We review web hosting on the basis of
- Pricing & Hosting Plans
- Features
- Up Time
- Load Time
- Customer Support
These are some the mandatory requirements according to us, which one should look for in a web host.
Let’s see where does iPage stand on these parameters.
Pros
- Inexpensive budgeted pricing
- Load time of 690 ms
- Free SSL Certificate
- Lots of third party applications
- Free domain registration & transfer
- Freebies worth over $500
- 30 Days Money Back Guarantee
Cons
- Up time of 99.94%
- Extra fees for additional resources which are important and shouldn’t be avoided
- Unlimited is not really unlimited
- No free site migrations
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Yes, we do recommend iPage as it has some of the best features and applications to really help small businesses. It is an extremely inexpensive hosting with a good load time and set of features. The best part is, only 1 plan in shared web hosting, no tricks to up sell on plans.
There are downsides too, specially the extra fees for some basic features and unlimited is not really unlimited. The pricing has a lot of extra fees and that will eventually make it close to competitors. if we accept the load time, the up time is a key factor.
Though we do recommend iPage, but there might be better options available for you. It is the pricing that really captivates the web host but if budget is not the key deciding factor then there are other options you can also have a look at like Hostinger, SiteGround or Bluehost.
If you have had any experience with iPage, be it positive or negative, you can share it in the comments section below. It might also help others considering iPage.
iPage was founded in the year 1998 as a full web service provided and was re-launched in 2009 as a web hosting provider. Today, it hosts more than 1 Million domains. It is currently owned by Endurance International Group.
Pricing & Hosting Plans
iPage does have multiple hosting plans to meet your needs. The company focuses majorly on small businesses and tailors to meet their needs. We will not be discussing the features offered under the plans here, but will do so in the features section.
iPage offers 4 different types of hosting:
- Web Hosting
- WordPress Hosting
- VPS Hosting
- Dedicated Hosting
Web Hosting
Yes, you read it correct. It is shared hosting plan but they have named it as just web hosting. The striking part of the plan is that it is available for just $1.99. That’s all , one plan one price.
If you are to compare with the competitors, they all have at-least two to three plans and try up-selling. In this case, there is no such thing. Just one price and one plan. The advantage that you get here is that all the features are available for this plan. The features that you would normally see in a pro plan or the most exclusive plan are available here for $1.99.
There is a trick in renewal prices and you should not miss it. Renewal price depends on the period selected in the first purchase. If you select 3 years in the first purchase, your renewal price is $7.49 but if you select shorter periods, then the renewal price increases.
This is by far the cheapest hosting that we have reviewed. If you are thinking that this is shocking, we would like to know your reaction when we discuss the features it offers in this price. Moving to the next plan.
WordPress Hosting
The web hosting plan can also host wordpress sites and it also has a one click wordpress installer. Then you must be wondering why this separate plan ?
The wordpress hosting comes with the benefit of using wordpress hassle free on your hosting. It is designed for wordpress and has two plans
- WP Starter – Starts from $3.75 / month and on renewal goes up to $7.49. In these plans also, we see the renewal price depends on the first purchase duration. If the period shorter, the renewal price is higher. It has all the features of the web hosting plan but lacks wordpress expert support.
- WP Essential – Starts from $6.95 / month on renewal goes up to $10.49 / month and the same rule of first purchase locking period follows. It has all features of WP Starter plan and has wordpress expert support, automatic malware removal too.
VPS Hosting
There are three sub plans offered under VPS Hosting pans. As seen in the previous plans, here too the renewal depends on the period locked in on the first purchase. The initial price here also depends on the first locking period.
- Basic – Starts from $19.99 / month and on renewal goes up to $24.99 / month
- Business – Starts from $47.99 / month and on renewal goes up to $59.49 / month
- Optimum – Starts from $79.99 / month and on renewal goes up to $99.99 / month
They do offer a free domain and few additional features but there is nothing unlimited in these plans. The storage space in earlier plans was unlimited but here it is not the case. The storage space ranges from 40 GB to 120 GB.
Dedicated Hosting
This plan offers no restrictions. You are not sharing resources with any one and can completely optimise and use the way you want. It provides cloud based flexibility which helps your website scale.
In the same way there is nothing unlimited here. The offer storage from 500 GB to 1000 GB and a free domain for a year. There are 3 sub plans offered
- Startup – Starts from $119.99 / month and on renewal goes up to $149.99 / month.
- Professional – Starts from $151.99 / month and on renewal goes up to $194.99 / month.
- Enterprise – Starts from $191.99 / month and on renewal goes up to $239.99 / month.
Just a word of caution, dedicated servers are not backed up by iPage and you have to take your own back ups. It is also mentioned in their terms of service.
UP-TO 77% OFF
Use our coupon and stand a chance to avail a discount up-to 77% on iPage Hosting Plans
Features
We normally see a variation in set of features offered under various plans and sub plans. As web hosting plan just has a single plan, it therefore offers all its best features to it. They have kept it very simple, just one plan with all the benefits and features. No up selling at all. Though they have a WordPress plan separately but the features offered under are the same.
Are these features really that cheap or free ? Let’s discuss and see the features you can benefit from.
Free SSL Certificate
SSL encryption is what you should definitely consider. These help in encrypted secure communication between the web browser and web server. It keeps the site visitors data safe. It has become more of a mandate these days and helps boost search rankings.
No hidden costs here, it is completely free.
Unlimited Resources
iPage does say that they offer unlimited disk space, bandwidth and MySQL databases. We all know that there is nothing “Unlimited” and here too. iPage has a definition of unlimited which has to be followed by site owners, it is mentioned in their user agreement.
There is still not much reason to worry. If you are starting new, then you have enough resources to support your website. When your website becomes big then probably you will have to buy additional resources.
When we say big website, it refers to the files and size of your website becoming significant enough to affect others on the same server. If it so happens and you do not take any measures, you might fall in trouble. The user agreement does give the rights to iPage to shut down your website and that too without notice. Yes, they can do that as per the agreement.
So, when you really start to scale or are getting big, you can opt for the VPS Hosting or Dedicated Servers.
Free Domain Registration (1 Year) & Transfer
The web host does offer free domain for a year. Like, most of the hosting companies, it also offers it as a freebie. You can avail a domain with the first purchase and it is available for free only for the first year. They offer over 300 domain extensions and also offer free domain transfers.
Is it really free for just $1.99? The catch is that you will have to pay for Domain Privacy separately. It just offers the domain for free and not the privacy feature. Ultimately, something you will have to shell out for the domain if you want the privacy feature.
$500 in Extras
iPage claims to offer features of more than $500 in value for extras. These features can hep a small business in a big away. Therefore, they do offer great value for small business websites and that is the niche they target.
Some of the highlighted benefits are $100 in Google Ads and $100 ad credits in Bing. WordPress free building tools and SiteLock. SiteLock is a cyber-security feature and offers valuable protection services to a website. The software is offered for free but is not completely free. A small charge is levied for the use of this service. The charge is termed as SiteLock Essentials.
They do offer a ton of features that can help a small – mid sized business website.
How is it possible in $1.99 ?
The price of $1.99 is possible because the few basic features like Auto Back-up and SiteLock as seen above are paid extensions. The company charges a lot of extra fees for such features. This increases the overall price.
Still the question then what is offered under $1.99 stands. The features and benefits, excluding these paid extensions, offered in $1.99 are still a great deal and you are not likely to find such an offering easily.
30 Days Money Back Guarantee / Refund Policy
iPage follows a no questions asked 30 days refund policy . If you are not satisfied with the services, you can claim your refund. Your basic hosting fees will be refunded to you.
If you have availed a free domain, then there is a $15 non refundable fee. The great part is that this will not cancel your domain registration. Your domain remains with you and you can transfer or point it to some other hosting provider.
Lots of Third Party Applications
One of the cool offerings by iPage is a ton of third party applications to help you meet your needs. They offer a wide variety of features, website building tools, facilitate online selling/eCommerce applications, Emails and other World Class Technologies.
To see all of these in detail click here.
No Free Site Migrations
One of the key things which we do look for is free site migration. This helps existing site owners for a smooth experience. It is really important to transfer the website correctly, if you do not code then it is of more importance to you.
Though iPage does not give free transfers but they do offer paid site migrations.
There is one thing for sure, iPage focuses a lot on the needs of small businesses and this can be seen in some of their features, applications etc.
Up Time
This is one of the most important statistic according to us. No matter how amazing your website is or whatever features your web host provides, it all makes sense only if your website is accessible to your visitors.
We always advice to go for a higher up time as that makes sense. You would not want a host where you do have an amazing website but cannot be accessed by site visitors due to server downtime.
We tested iPage servers over a period of five months and have an average up time of 99.94%.
We did search the website and policy where anything about up time is mentioned by iPage and we could not find anything. we did though find a clause in the user agreement . The limitation of liability clause states iPage shall not be liable for non performance or delay in performance caused by any reason whether within or outside its control.
We do not say 99.94% is bad or non considerable, but we do say it could have been better compared to the competitors.
UP-TO 77% OFF
Use our coupon and stand a chance to avail a discount up-to 77% on iPage Hosting Plans
Load Time
After up time, our second most favourite statistic is the load time. It is very important that your web page should load within the first 3 seconds otherwise almost 53% visitors tend to leave the web page, as per Google.
To be able to rank in the search engine organically, you will need a quick load time. If your web host is slow, it will be very difficult to attain and maintain search rankings. So,we did take the average of 5 month load time for iPage.
The average load time is 690 ms. It is fraction of a second, though not the best but is above the industry average.
Customer Support
You can get in touch with customer support in the following ways
- Phone
- Live Chat
- Tickets
The waiting time is almost nothing and the customer service is friendly and quick in most cases. They also offer tutorials, if you wish to solve the issue yourself.
On Overall, the customer support is pretty good and quick.
We at Leotics Consulting LLP help you create content, websites that can grow you passive incomes, to help create time on your hand and financial independence. All you need to do is get in touch with us.
In digital technologies and eCommerce we have helped a number of clients to grow and achieve their personal goals / financial independence. Generating passive income that helps them spend more time doing the things they love.
We offer the following services:
- Analytics
- Digital Marketing
- Consulting
- Research
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Want to know more about us, then checkout our entire website or connect with us.
“If you have had any experience with iPage web hosting, we request you to share it in the comments be it positive or negative – It might hep someone”
