HostGator Hosting Review 2020

HostGator is one of the oldest hosting companies around with over 8 millions domains and 850+ employees to provide you superior around-the-clock support. Founded in a dorm room at Florida Atlantic University by Brent Oxley, HostGator has grown into a leading provider of Shared, Reseller, VPS, and Dedicated web hosting. HostGator is headquartered in Houston and Austin, Texas, with several international offices throughout the globe. With 1-click WordPress install, 99.99% uptime, 24/7 support, live chat, free domain name and free SSL. HostGator is considered by many as one of the best hosting for business and freelancing agency. HostGator offers Dessign readers a exclusive up to 62% off coupon code Dessign60 to save on any hosting plans.

Sign up with any HostGator plan and get up to 62% off + Free Lifetime Subscription to Premium Dessign Themes

Is HostGator the best and reliable hosting providers? Yes, when it comes to Customer Service, Uptime, Price, Speed, Features, Backup, etc.. (UPDATED 2020)

Our HostGator review will cover:

• Hosting Plans & Pricing
• Performance – Uptime and Server Load Speed
• Pros and Cons
• HostGator Services and Website Builder
• HostGator Customer Service Contact Details
• HostGator Inside a Customer Dashboard
• 45 Day Refund Policy
• How to Cancel your Account?
• Coupon Codes and Discounts
• Is HostGator a Good Hosting For You?
• Do We Recommend HostGator?

HostGator Performance – Desktop & Mobile – Uptime at 99.99% and Load Speed at around 417ms Review

HostGator GTmetrix Page Speed Performance

We tested one of our websites hosted on HostGator with GTmetrix to see how fast it opens and what is the PageSpeed Score. So how fast does a HostGator website load? Our website loaded in 1.8 s with PageSpeed Score of A.

• PageSpeed Score Performance – A (96%)
• YSlow Score – B (86%)
• Fully Loaded Time – 1.8 seconds
• Total Page Size – 290KB
• Requests – 9
• Minify CSS – A (96%)
• Avoid bad requests – A (100)
• Leverage browser caching – B (88%)
• Optimize the order of styles and scripts – A (92%)
• Defer parsing of JavaScript – A (93%)
• Specify a cache validator – A (98%)
• Minify HTML – A (99%)
• Minify JavaScript – A (98%)

HostGator Website Speed Test 25 Locations Average 2.5 sec

We also tested Page Load Speed from 25 Locations around the world to see how fast it opens in different locations. The Page Load Results are by Website Speed Test it shows that the average first-time visit is around 2.8 sec and the average repeat visit is around 2.1 sec which is very fast around 2 sec.

• Minneapolis – First Visit 6.2 sec – Repeat Visit 417 ms
• New York – First Visit 3.8 sec – Repeat Visit 624 ms
• London – First Visit 4.6 sec – Repeat Visit 631 ms
• San Francisco – First Visit 802 ms – Repeat Visit 415 ms
• Miami – First Visit 1.0 sec – Repeat Visit 427 ms
• Hong Kong – First Visit 2.8 sec – Repeat Visit 1.5 sec
• Montreal – First Visit 885 ms – Repeat Visit 435 ms
• Frankfurt – First Visit 1.9 sec – Repeat Visit 638 ms

Google PageSpeed Insights Mobile Performance 90 Score

Last page speed we did was from Google PageSpeed Insights where our Bluehost website score on a mobile device with a score of 98 % with an average of 1.8 s performance which is very fast in a top performance in green score 90-100 our site score top rank at 98.

• First Contentful Paint – 1.5 s
• First Meaningful Paint – 1.5 s
• Speed Index – 4.9 s
• First CPU Idle – 1.5 s
• Time to Interactive – 1.6 s
• Max Potential First Input Delay 60 ms

Pros and Cons of HostGator

Pros

Reliable and Strong Hosting: With 99.99% uptime and amazing customer support
45 Days Money Back Guarantee: HostGator offers 45 days money back guaranteed no question ask if you not 100% happy.
Great Security Features: Codeguard Daily Automatic Backups with Website Time Machine and full security 24/7
Free Website Migration: HostGator can transfer website files, databases, scripts, and one free domain registration transfer for free within 30 days.
Very User Friendly with great User Interface Dashboard: HostGator has one of the cleanest dashboard and cpanel we did quick review below so you can see how it looks and works.
Free SSL: Your hosting package includes a free SSL certificate that provides security for your website domains and subdomains

Cons

No Free Domain: Free domain is only available if you sign up for 12, 24 or 36 months plan. If you sign up for month-to-month you will not get free domain.
Upselling: To get the best deal with HostGator you will have to sign up for 36 months, also a lot of extra features will be extra charge.

HostGator Hosting Plans, Features and Pricing

Share Web Hosting

Hatchling Plan – $2.75/mo , Baby Plan – $3.95/mo, Business Plan – $5.95/mo

HostGator share web hosting provides a vast array of tools to take your idea or business online today. From site building tools and templates, to our one-click application installer, you’ll find everything you need to launch your new website. With our QuickInstall tool, available on all Web Hosting plans, you can create any type of website: blog, forum, CMS, wiki, photo gallery, E-commerce store, and so much more! Since HostGator runs on Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP, thousands of existing applications and software are compatible.

Technical Specifications – Share Web Hosting

What is Share Web Hosting? Shared web hosting is simply when one server hosts multiple customers. This is the most common and cost effective option for web hosting, and something we excel at truth be told. Our shared web hosting servers are configured for maximum security and performance relative to the number of customers, and types of websites, being hosted. In other words, there’s no need to give any thought to the other websites on the same server as you; we’ve got all that handled.

Cloud Web Hosting

2X Faster — 4X Resources — Statistics Dashboard

Hatchling Plan – $4.75/mo , Baby Plan – $6.57/mo, Business Plan – $9.95/mo

What is HostGator Cloud Hosting? Cloud hosting pools resources from multiple virtual server instances of physical servers. Cloud hosting is noted for its reliability, scalability, and flexibility, making it ideal for businesses and websites that need to maintain fast load times, despite surges in traffic from sales or promotions.

Cloud Hosting Features

• Experience up to 2X faster load times due to low-density servers, premium hardware, and multiple caching layers
• Your website content is managed more efficiently, enabling dynamic content requests to be processed lightening-fast
• Cloud hosting turbocharges your website!
• Ramp up your cloud resources as your online presence grows. One simple click is all you need—no data migrations, downtime or reboots
  We’ve raised the bar on server allocation and management in the cloud!
  Rest easy knowing that you can respond to those large traffic spikes without any service interruption
• Effortlessly understand your site’s performance via an intuitive dashboard
  Simple yet useful dashboard tools provide a quick view of usage trends, page download speed, uptime, global reach, and more
  With instant resource management, you no longer need to rely on a system admin or advanced coding knowledge to maintain your cloud-hosted site

Managed WordPress Hosting

2.5X Speed – Advanced Security – FREE Migrations

HostGator managed WordPress hosting plans are structured for maximum value when compared to other brands. Enjoy more storage, more email, and free migration services when you choose HostGator managed WordPress hosting. Plus, if you ever need a hand, our WordPress experts are standing by 24/7/365.

Hatchling Plan – $5.95/mo , Baby Plan – $7.95/mo, Business Plan – $9.95/mo

Managed WordPress Hosting Features

• Enjoy up to 2.5X faster load times for your WordPress web hosting due to super charged cloud architecture, low-density servers, CDN, and multiple caching layers
• Your website content is managed more efficiently, enabling dynamic content requests to be processed lightning-fast with our exclusive cloud hosting services
• WordPress hosting turbocharges your website for a faster load time!
• A WordPress Cloud Interface focused on usability, minimizing the complexities of more traditional web hosting or those of other cloud web hosts
  Auto-backup with one-click restores; configurable for full or snapshot backups
  One-click scalability to handle traffic spikes and increased capacity requirements
  Easy access to all your email accounts and other hosting options
  Our FREE migration service will transfer your existing WordPress website to HostGator. Need help? Learn from our WordPress customer support experts. Consultation services are included with some hosting package plans to ensure you have everything needed to get started on the right foot.

Reseller Hosting

Reseller plans are designed for you to earn money

Aluminum Plan – $19.95/mo , Copper Plan – $24.95/mo, Silver Plan – $24.95/mo

What is reseller hosting? Reseller hosting, sometimes referred to as white label hosting, allows you to create your own web hosting company without having to incur the costs of server maintenance, software, site uptime, and more. Reseller hosting is perfect for freelancers or agencies offering web design, development, and other business services to their clients. With reseller hosting, clients purchase and host their websites through you as if you were the hosting company.

A HostGator reseller plan is a great way for you to earn money on the side, or even become your own full-time web hosting company. Acquire your own hosting clients, or if you’re a web designer you can use a reseller web hosting plan to add value for your existing and future customers.

Reseller Hosting Technical Specifications

VPS (Virtual Private Server) Hosting

Dedicated control & functionality in a scalable
hosting environment!

Snappy 2000 – $29.95/mo, Snappy 4000 – $39.95/mo, Snappy 8000 – $49.95/mo

What is VPS Hosting? A VPS Virtual Private Server server is an excellent choice when you are looking for more control/flexibility around your website. Whether it is the ability to scale resources to meet the needs of your growing business or the ability to install a custom application or custom configuration that makes your site run just the way you want.

VPS Technical Specifications

• Full root access allows total control over your hosting environment, including custom installs and configuration with your virtual private server hosting
• The completely autonomous virtual server is fully allocated to your site
• VPS Hosting has all the benefits of dedicated resources without the cost of a dedicated server
• Multiple layers of network security and several bandwidth providers are utilized to ensure maximized server reliability from your VPS hosting provider
  All virtual private servers are housed in a state-of-the-art data center featuring redundant power and HVAC units
  A RAID 10 disk configuration provides maximum data protection
• Custom VPS hosting scales up at the click of a button to easily add resources as your website grows in audience or complexity
  Easy scalability means never paying for more resources than you actually need
  Start small and grow your hosting along with your business with our VPS hosting services
• Full root access gives you more control over your environment, allowing for custom script or application installs on your Virtual Private Server. Host unlimited domains, create unlimited sub domains, email addresses, databases, FTP accounts, and private nameservers with our easily managed VPS hosting.

Dedicated Server Hosting

Get the ultimate in power and control with our dedicated hosting!

Value Server – $119.00/mo, Power Server – $139.00/mo, Enterprise Server – $149.00/mo

What is Dedicated Hosting? With dedicated web hosting, you’re renting a physical server dedicated to your website, and your website only. A dedicated server is much faster than shared hosting because you’re not sharing resources like bandwidth or storage with other websites hosted on the same server.

Dedicated Server Technical Specifications

• As the only customer on a managed dedicated server hosting platform, you have the full system resources directly at your disposal
• With both HDD and SSD hard drive options available, our flexible server configurations make it easy for you to choose what’s best for your website
• State-of-the-art data center level DDOS protection and an IP-based firewall keep your server safe and performing optimally
• cPanel and WHM are provided on all Linux servers for powerful management of both hosting-specific functions and overall server configuration
  Windows dedicated server hosting includes the Plesk control panel and WebMatrix to quickly and easily create and manage your websites
  For any support issues, our team is available to assist you, 24/7/365

• 3 Dedicated IPv4 IPs, Full Root Access, Unlimited Databases
• RAID-1 Configuration, DDOS Protection, Fully Redundant Network

Application Hosting

Hatchling Plan – $2.75/mo, Baby Plan – $3.95/mo, Business Plan – $5.95/mo

Whether you want to create a blog, start a forum, use a CMS, wiki, upload to your own photo gallery, or sell online with an eCommerce store, you can do so quickly and easily through HostGator’s web application hosting. Since our web hosting services run on Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP, thousands of existing applications and softwares are compatible.

Our application host service fully supports Joomla, a very powerful and customizable CMS. A wide variety of plugins allow for increased data functionality, ensuring your website remains scalable and dynamic for years to come. Develop your website on the Drupal CMS, which provides a high level of customization and control over the look and feel of your site. The numerous themes and plugins that are available allow for nearly limitless options. Start selling online today with your own eCommerce store powered by Magento. Our Business plan includes everything you need to easily install Magento, as well as a free dedicated IP and private SSL to accept credit card transactions. Host your community with HostGator and the free, open source phpBB forum software. phpBB is easily configurable, and can be installed in seconds with our powerful application hosting services.

Windows Hosting

Personal Plan – $4.76/mo, Enterprise Plan – $14.36/mo

What is HostGator Windows Hosting? HostGator Windows hosting solutions includes the flexible and easy-to-use Parallels Plesk control panel, as well as unlimited subdomains, FTP accounts, and email addresses. Additional unlimited features with our Windows shared hosting include MySQL, Microsoft SQL, and Access Databases.

All Windows hosting plans also include free website building tools, over 4,000 free website templates, one-click installs of many popular scripts, and many additional features!

HostGator’s Windows Web Hosting offers the power and flexibility of Parallels Plesk Panel, IIS (Internet Information Services), Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2, and a wide variety of other hosting features, including site building tools and templates.

HostGator’s Windows Web & VPS Hosting offers the power and flexibility of Parallels Plesk Panel, IIS (Internet Information Services), Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2, and a wide variety of other hosting features such as ASP and ASP.Net for a low hosting price.

Backed by HostGator’s award winning support and the highly extensible Windows Server 2012 R2, the Personal and Enterprise Windows hosting packages allow customers with specific technical needs to get the most out of their Windows server hosting accounts for the least amount of money.

Windows Hosting Technical Specifications

HostGator Website Builder

HostGator’s drag and drop website builder is designed to be easy, eCommerce-friendly, and perfect for your new business.

Starter– $3.84/mo, Premium – $5.99/mo, eCommercen – $9.22/mo

What Is Website Builder? A website builder is a software or tool that allows you to create personal, business, and eCommerce websites without needing to code. The most popular types of website builders are drag and drop website builders that allow you to select a feature and drag it to your webpage. You can have a new website in less than an hour!

Easy-to-understand analytics ensure you’re able to see at a glance exactly how well your website is performing with all Gator Website Builder accounts. Simple social media tools allow you to add live feeds from Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook in order to stay engaged. You can add G Suite productivity tools to your domain, enabling Gmail, Docs, Slides, and more. To get your website up and running with Gator Website Builder, simply select one of our pre-built templates and drag and drop the elements you want to live on your website. If you want to have an eCommerce site or online store, Gator features built-in shopping cart functionality; simply add the shopping cart and products, and your site is ready to go!

HostGator Services

CodeGuard, Web Design, PPC, and SEO

HostGator CodeGuard has 3 plans, Basic, Professional and Premium. Let CodeGuard worry about backing up your site while you focus on your business. Easily restore your entire site, or just a file, to an earlier version with the click of a button. View changes, schedule monitoring, and manage email alerts from an easy-to-use dashboard. Receive email notifications for any unauthorized changes.

HostGator Domains

HostGator has 3 domain options, Register Domains, Transfer Domains, and Manage Domains

What is Domain Name? Think of your domain name as a street address for your website. Without a domain name, you would have to tell customers to visit your website at an IP-based url such as 123.123.123.123/~yourwebsite instead of yourwebsite.com. The former is not very memorable or friendly to human eyes and will surely result in not that many visits to your website. While it is not mandatory that you have a website domain name, nor is it mandatory that a domain you own be attached to a website, for a successful online presence you truly will want to get your own domain name to ensure your website has the proper air of professionalism and appropriate branding.

HostGator Support and Customer Service

HostGator has the most extensive support options such as Live chat, 24/7/365 Support toll free: 866-96GATOR. HostGator has Customer Portal, Support Portal, Video Tutorials, Network Status and Live Chat. Also one of the best features is Knowledge Based

HostGator Inside a Customer Dashboard Admin

Since you need to signup for HostGator to get a view of their dashboard we took a screenshots how it looks inside so you can see what you will have once you signup with HostGator hosting.

HostGator Dashboard will have on the left sidebar: Dashboard, Hosting, Marketplace, Domains, Billing, Support

Below you will have under Manage: SSL Management, CodeGuard Backups, SiteLock Security, Office 365 and Weebly Builder
Under Control Panel: Email Accounts, Webmail, Databases, File Manager, Install WordPress
Under Quick Links: Manage Domains, Transfer Domains, Add a Hosting Package, Billing History, Make a Payment, Manage Credit Cards, Request migration, and Contact Support

HostGator Control Panel Overview

HostGator Request migration Overview

HostGator FTP Dashboard Overview

How to Cancel HostGator Hosting Account?

If for some reason you need to cancel your hosting account with HostGator login into your dashboard go to Hosting – Billing – Cancel Package also here is a quick article how to cancel hostgator account

45-Day Money Back Guaranteed Refund

HostGator has one of the best refund policy of 45 days vs a regular 30 days from other hosting companies. To get the 45-day money-back guarantee for your shared, reseller, or VPS hosting, please cancel your account within the first 45 days of purchase. We cannot refund you until the cancellation request is complete.

Conclusion: Is HostGator a Good Hosting for you?

Yes, HostGator is a best option for someone who is just starting out or a professional looking for great hosting solutions. One of the best option is that you can always upgrade or downgrade your hosting plan so when you start with a beginner plan you can always upgrade to more advanced or professional package. Also HostGator has one of the best reseller hosting available so you can easily sign up for reseller plan and host your clients websites. HostGator also has a amazing affiliate and refer a friend program so if you refer a friend You’ll get a $40 Visa Gift Card, your friend will get up to 60% off! which is a great deal.

HostGator Coupon Code and Discounts

Need HostGator promo discount code to get up to 63% off. Click here to visit our HostGator Coupon Code or use Dessign60 at checkout to get your discount.