Overview

In case you are looking forward to starting an online business or already running a small business, you need a reliable hosting provider. JustHost has created a name in the hosting space mainly by offering cheap shared hosting with impressive features. This company has been around since 2008 and was the creation of a famous entrepreneur Chris Philips of UK. He founded JustHost while working with “Just Develop It” group of companies.

This company is powered by its 3 headquarters in the US, UK, and Australia. It has one data center at Chicago, Illinois in the US. Over 350,000 websites use this platform mainly because of their reliable and relatively cheap services. If you choose to go for 2-3 years plan, you realize that it’s one of the most affordable host. You can choose between Shared, VPS and dedicated hosting depending on your needs. One of the outstanding features of JustHost is their 30-day no-frills money back guarantees which allows you to cancel the plan any time. This host refunds any unused resources of your plan.

JustHost is owned by Endurance International Group (EIG), which is a popular brand today. They own most popular web hosting brands such as iPage, Netfirms and BlueHost. Today, EIG features on NASDAQ and has been valued at approximately $1.3 billion.

Yet to decide whether to sign up for JustHost? Read our Just Host Review which is structured with the plans, features, pros and cons as well as FAQs.

JustHost Web Hosting Plans

JustHost offers three classes of hosting solutions. These defer regarding hardware allocation and performance capabilities. The company currently offers four shared hosting plans, three dedicated plans, and 4 VPS solutions. This wide selection caters for every stage of business growth and is scalable making it easy to adjust your resource allocation. Let’s take a detailed look at each plan:

Shared Hosting Plans

Shared hosting plans rely on a pool of resources that are utilized by a certain number of websites at any given time. As a result, each site hosted on the server will have access to its full performance capabilities. Well not fully considering that the resources will also be available to these other sites. In the end, it’s all about how much each account demands whereby if the demand for resources exceeds the available ones the entire server will slow down thus affecting all other sites hosted on it.

JustHost offers four plans under the shared hosting architecture. These offer varying resource allocation and perks such as the number of sites you can host on the plan or how many parked domains you can add.

Basic Plan

This is the cheapest plan by JustHost going for only $3.49 a month. The plan can accommodate a single website and has 5 GB worth of website space. On the other hand, the bandwidth is unmetered, and you will get standard performance which is more than enough for any small website. JustHost includes a single domain with each plan and restricts the parked domains count to five while subdomains are limited to 25. Users are allowed to create up to 5 email accounts each with 100 MB of storage.

Plus Plan

For only $5.95 JustHost is offering the plus plan featuring up to 1 website per account. The storage option is limited to 150 GB while the bandwidth is unmetered. Regarding performance, the package gets standard performance. The number of parked domains per account is limited to 20 with 50 subdomains. The package allows up to 100 email accounts each with 100 MB storage. The extras include $150 worth of marketing offers and 1 SpamExperts license.

Prime Plan

With unlimited websites and unlimited storage, the Prime Plan is the ultimate shared hosting plan. The bandwidth, parked domains, subdomains, emails accounts, and email storage options are all unlimited. Each package also packs $200 worth of marketing offers. JustHost has thrown in another $8 per year worth of extras, one domain privacy protection, 1 SpamExperts license, and CodeGuard Basic. The plan goes for $6.95 per month.

Go Pro plan

This plan is an upgrade of the previous prime plan with the introduction of a high-performance server and dedicated IP. Each package features an SSL certificate as well as site backups. The plan goes for $13.95 per month.

Dedicated hosting

Recent estimates suggest that 79% of Americans now shop online. For online shops to succeed in offering impeccable services to such a large population they need to be backed by reliable hosting services. Such services cannot risk running out of computing resources or lagging due to heavy traffic. This is where dedicated hosting comes in. By its very definition, dedicated hosting is all about dedicating a set amount of resources towards one site or web app only.

JustHost offers three dedicated hosting packages each with differing resource allocations. However, these plans have some standard features. One of the most notable is that all of these plans run on CentOS 6.5 64-bit operating system which is a great choice thanks to Linux programming support which allows users to built custom programs for your individual needs.

Instant provisioning technology allows JustHost to set up your server requirements in hours instead of days. The dedicated servers are also equipped with mirrored storage thus protecting account information and data with RAID 1.  Root access is also a given for each of these plans making it possible to run server management tools and scripts on the go.  JustHost also includes enhanced caching thanks to the high performance write back caching system. In case you have any questions the dedicated support team is always ready. The servers are equipped with scalable storage options making it easy to upgrade your ROM quickly; currently, a 500 GB option is going for $50.

Standard Plan

For only $79.99 per month, equip your business with JustHost’s standard dedicated server. The server features four cores, eight threads Intel Xeon processor with 3 MB cache. The RAM allocation is set at 4 GB while the ROM option features 500 GB RAID 1 capacity. The plan is however limited to 3 dedicated IPs, and the bandwidth cap kicks in at 5 TB per month.

Enhanced Plan

The enhanced plan packs four cores, eight threads Intel Xeon processor with 8 MB cache for all your processing power needs. Regarding RAM, the plan has 8 GB while the storage option gets 1000 GB. Traffic limit is at 10 TB per month. The server is equipped with four dedicated IPs and will cost you $99.99 per month.

Premium Plan

This plan gets four cores eight threads Intel Xeon Processor with 8 MB cache for data crunching. The package has 16 GB RAM and 1000 GB RAID 1 ROM. You also get 15 TB full speed bandwidth and 5 IP addresses. Currently, the plan is going for $119.99 per month.

JustHost VPS Hosting

As your website grows, you will have to find a customizable hosting solution that’s free of all the limitations that are experienced on shared hosting plans while still maintaining the hosting bill to a minimum — the answer to such lies in investing in a virtual private server (VPS) plan. These offer a high degree of scalability while still maintaining the ease of use capability seen on cloud technology.

JustHost VPS plans also include an enhanced cPanel that’s not only intuitive just like in the shared plans but also offers a richer set of tools for managing the virtual server. With full root access to CentOS, you will have no issues running custom scripts and commands. JustHost utilizes KVM hypervisor virtualization technology to allocate resources thus making it possible to have instant provisioning in only a few seconds your VPS will be ready to use.

JustHost also supports multi-account management which allows you to manage all of your accounts from a centralized cPanel. Let’s take a look at their VPS plans;

Standard Plan

With $19.99 you can equip your business with this virtual server that runs on a dual-core processor and 2 GB of RAM. The storage is set at 30 GB while the bandwidth cap kicks in after 1 TB. JustHost also includes a single dedicated IP address which admittedly is somewhat limited.

Enhanced Plan

With a dual-core processor and 4 GB RAM, the enhanced plan is more than capable of handling multitasking. The plan has 60 GB storage and a 2 TB bandwidth cap. The plan includes two dedicated IPs and goes for $29.99 per month.

Premium Plan

This virtual private server features a triple core 6 Gb RAM configuration with 90 gigabytes worth of storage. The bandwidth is capped at 2 TB and also includes two dedicated ports. The plan is going for $44.99 per month.

Ultimate Plan

This plan represents JustHost’s ultimate virtualization capabilities. The configuration features a quad-core set up running on eight gigs of RAM and a 120 GB storage option. The plan has 3 TB worth of full speed bandwidth, and you will also get two dedicated IP addresses. Currently, the plan is retailing at $59.99 per month.

JustHost Features

Performance and Speed

Before settling on a hosting service, it’s recommended to spare some consideration on the individual firm’s performance and speed counts. The main reason behind this is that your site can only be as fast as your hosting choice. To set themselves aside from their competitors, JustHost has invested in a multitude of server-side upgrades that ensure that the overall speed counts and relative server performance are up to speed with the industry’s best figures. With this in mind let’s take a look at some of the features that influence JustHost performance and speed:

Dual Quad-Core Processor Performance Servers

The faster the data crunching capability of the host server the faster your sit will be. JustHost servers run on dual quad-core processors providing robust and scalable computing power. The former is somewhat restricted on shared packages as the resources are shared out amongst the sites hosted on a server. However, on virtual private servers and dedicated servers, JustHost is offering individual processor cores. While more processing power will cost you more, it, in turn, supports your site’s response capability and boosts the UX.

Outstanding Uptime

JustHost is committed to providing a reliable hosting environment that maintains the best uptime records. For the above reason, the company equips its data center with multiple fiber optic gigaport connections. Server maintenance is also kept on a regular basis thus maintaining them on pick performance.

Scalable Resources

JustHost equips its plans with scalability options thus enabling users to adjust their computing as well as storage allocation. This feature allows you to anticipate future changes in site traffic and prepare well in advance.  When it comes to storage scalability, JustHost offers storage expansion choices for their dedicated and VPS packages.

CloudFlare Content Distribution Network

CloudFlare is synonymous with the double-edged sword; this network of caching servers is not only capable of stopping DDOS and hacking attacks but also promises to give your website’s performance a huge boost. JustHost has included CloudFlare with every account, and it is free and easy to use. The remote caching capability ensures that your site is cached on several servers making it instantly available to any visitors. CloudFlare is also reliable regarding blocking IP addresses or even region-based IP blocking which will allow you to limit your target population to within a specific region.

Security

JustHost.com promises to keep your site safe by using the best practices for encrypting data between your site and visitors. They feature powerful servers that are stored in advanced data center facilities with on-site security systems. The result is there will be no unauthorized access to your website backend. Here are a few features that makes the platform secure:

Sitelock security

All hosting accounts come with this tool for all JustHost clients. The Sitelock Lite malware scanner helps identify any threats and infections on your website and sends an immediate email notification in case it detects a malicious program or malware. If you need added security for your site, you can purchase the premium Sitelock that comes with added features such as web application firewall. This version offers more control because you can access the Sitelock dashboard.

SSL certificates

Having an SSL certificate on your site is bonus as it adds the HTTPS bar before your domain and a padlock to show that your site is secure. Luckily, JustHost offers different types of SSL certificates e.g. Comodo or GeoTrust to keep your site reliable and secure. Google prefers sites with SSL certificates and says they can boost a site’s ranking significantly. JustHost offers a free SSL certificate with Pro shared plan.

Secure Shell (SSH)

SSH, also referred to as Secure Socket Shell is a unique and secure way for system admins to access a computer over unsecured network. The benefits of having SSH on your site include secure file transfer, secure commands on remote systems, and secure access to SSH-enabled network systems. JustHost offers SSH access which uses command lines to access your server. SSH also simplifies the management your hosting account compared to a graphical user interface.

Backups

Having a copy of your site’s database and files is crucial in case you need to undo changes. JustHost doesn’t come out clear as to whether they offer automatic backups. However, they have included this service on the Pro shared plan and offers basic backup for all plans. The company however says that it does not offer redundant backups and if you need them, it will be at their discretion. The better part is they offer a cPanel for Linux-based hosting which has an option to manually back up your site’s data and files, but that’s limited to 30 gigabites. You can also choose their advanced plan for backups which costs $19.99 per year.

Other security features include:

-          SpamExperts offers email filtering to prevent spam

-          Pop3 Secure and Secure IMAP which protects your emails

Control Panel

Just like any other hosting firm, JustHost includes third-party control panel software that you can use to interact with your site and manage its components. Such programs usually require a high degree of customization and simplicity thus making them easy to use on the go. JustHost relies on the popular cPanel program to manage all its control panel needs. cPanel’s fame can be attributed to its easy to use interface and integration capabilities. Let’s take a detailed look at some of its notable features:

Email Accounts Configuration

cPanel email tab contains various options allowing you to control how mail gets around your account from configuring antispam to creating custom filters so that you will quickly access the most important emails first. Feel free to also set up autoresponders as well as deploy mass mailing lists. 

Domain Management

JustHost allows you to add top-level domains and subdomains to your site’s configuration. The tool is also useful when setting up domain pointers and regional access block.

User Account Management

Once you have logged in to your cPanel account, you can access the user's tab that manages the various user accounts that can access your site’s backend. This feature makes it much easier to set user-based permissions. The tab also comes in handy when you want to change passwords and usernames which are mandatory for logging in.

Backups Management

Just like the title suggests this feature deals with site backups. JustHost’s cPanel offers the backup option in daily, weekly or monthly configuration. The tool can be used to restore previous backups or export them for remote backup.

Billing Tab

JustHost offers a centralized billing system that accounts for every transaction authorized from your account. The tool is also useful for setting up new payment methods as well as providing a record of all previous transactions.

Customer Support

This host has won various awards in the past for having a reliable support. The even own a YouTube channel which offers numerous videos for users who face glitches while navigating the platform. You can use their channel to find solutions to common issues even before you consult the support.

The host also ensures 24/7 support via phone, chat and email ticketing. Most customers report that they waited for a few minutes before getting a response. The support is knowledgeable on most issues you might encounter and promises to offer help. It’s unclear where their support is located but they speak English.

Knowledgebase

The company operates a support section which contains knowledgebase articles, video tutorials and FAQs. This section comprises of solutions to most common issues you might face at JustHost. They also feature a blog section which features helpful posts on industry-related topics. While this section is decent and educates customers on most issues of running a site, it lacks updated content. In case, you don’t get answers on their support portal, you can reach their support for more help.

30-Day Money back guarantee

Just like most other hosting providers, JustHost offers a 30-day money back guarantee to their hosting services. The refund policy is a risk free way to try out their service. It’s important to note that the guarantee does not apply to other services such as domain name and add-ons. Unlike most hosts, JustHost allows you to request a proprietary refund for the unused hosting fees. You also remain with your domain name and can use it to register with another host. Beware that you need to wait for 60 days before you can transfer the domain to another host.

Ecommerce Features

Adding a store is extremely easy with JustHost. You can use most carts and online stores on this platform by visiting the Mojo marketplace. For novices, it becomes easy with the one-click install which has options such as Magento, Shopsite and Opencart to mention a few. You can also import and install your cart of choice from vendors that may be unavailable on Mojo Market. Need a custom cart? You can have a programmer who can write and install the cart.

In case you need added security for online transactions, you can purchase SSL certificates which keep customers information secure. Also, you can purchase premium Sitelock which scans and eliminates malware. Other tools you get include, support ticket scripts, mailing lists, and form-mail scripts among others.

You can also take advantage of their free site builder which comes with numerous plugins and themes to get your site up and running. JustHost makes it a breeze to market your new site by giving you $200 worth of credits for Facebook, Bing and Google.

This host offers unlimited ecommerce hosting with quite useful hosting features for your business. You get unlimited sites, unlimited data transfer, unlimited domains, and unlimited email accounts. It means that if you are unsure of how much storage you need or how large your traffic can reach, you can try JustHost for ecommerce without worry.

JustHost Extras

Free Drag-and-Drop Site Builder

To encourage their customers and guide them through website creation, JustHost is offering a customized version of the famous Weebly website builder. This drag and drop builder features over 400 themes and templates. The software does not require any technical programming knowledge making it a ton of fun to use.

Free Marketing Tools

The best way to make your website visible is by marketing it and offering high-quality content that stands out. For this reason, JustHost is offering $100 worth of Google Adwords, and $100 Bing Ad credits. Each account also includes site analytics software to keep track of your site’s performance.

Free Domain Name Registration

If you are just kicking off on your website investment, then you will definitely need to register a domain name. JustHost is offering free domain name registration with each purchase of a year’s worth of hosting.

Multiple webmail solutions

JustHost includes POP3/ POP3 secure, IMAP/ secure IMAP email support which is not only reliable but also relatively easy to set up. You will even get unlimited email forwarding accounts.

Secure Shell (SSH) Access

SSH access comes in handy when you want to log into your hosting account and configure your TCP files and transfer files through SSH file transfer (SFTP).

Search engine Optimization (SEO) Tools and Tips

A well-executed SEO plan will see your site’s ranking, and connections soar beyond your expectations. For this reason, JustHost includes up to date SEO tools, their tutorials and tips on best SEO practices.

Free Script Library

Third party scripts and add-ons are useful when adding secondary features to your website as well as providing additional performance enhancements. JustHost maintains an up to date library of scripts. The library receives automatic updates making it easy to keep your customized features running optimally without any bugs.

JustHost Strengths and Weaknesses

JustHost has numerous impressive offerings such as the 30-day all-time money back guarantee, free domain and easy installation of apps to mention a few. On the other hand, they have their downsides. Read our section on JustHost strengths and weaknesses.

Strengths

Reliable Support

JustHost scores high for its professional customer support. You can always rely on them for any questions via a variety of options including phone, email or live chat. If you need to reach them on Phone, you can do so via 888-755-7585. For live chat support, you can visit their contact page where they respond in minutes. You can also reach them via support@justhost.com. As if that’s not enough, they run a YouTube channel that broadcasts a lot of insightful videos for beginners as well as experts on their platform. Each of these videos is a solution to a problem so you may consult their channel for answers to your issues, before reaching the representatives.

This host also features a knowledgebase section which has not less than 812 entries to offer solutions to common minor issues. The section also boasts over 40 video tutorials for solutions that require steps. They also have a blog though it has hasn’t been updated since the company was bought by EIG. Nevertheless, it offers helpful articles that may help you understand the platform even better. Details about where their offices are located are not clear but the support speaks English.

Ease of Use

One thing that sets JustHost apart from the rest is how easy it is to navigate the platform. This company aims at making your experience smooth by offering many tools for more control. First, they offer a cPanel on their packages to make website management effortless. The cPanel is common among website owners as it is very easy to use. Even if you’re a beginner, you’ll spend minimum time to learn about the tool. With this host, you have the latest of cPanel which also comes with Simplescript, a tool that offers over 100 apps within minutes. The platform even offered a test drive where you can test the cPanel for free even before creating an account with them.

Additionally, you can add tools and add-ons on mojo marketplace with much ease using one-click installs. You may need to deal with ads and upsells when installing WordPress, but just host offers an easy-to-follow guide that makes the process simple. And if you purchase reseller account, JustHost offers WHM, a helpful tool for clients to create, manage and delete accounts. Billing and invoicing is easier with ClientExec tool. In other words, if you’re a just a beginner in web development, you’ll find easy ways to maneuver through key areas.

30-Day Money Back Guarantee

Most web hosts offer a refund policy but it’s still worth mentioning that JustHost promises to refund your money, in case you’re not satisfied with their services. The policy applies to all hosting fees but doesn’t include the domain name and add-ons. That said, you can cancel your plan within the first days to get back all your subscription fee. JustHost became the first web host to offer prorated refund for the remaining time you did not use the services (even after 30 days period). Simply put, you can cancel your plan anytime with no penalties involved. It’s uncommon for most web hosts to offer a prorated refunds especially when you pay ahead. JustHost makes it clear in their terms and privacy policy with no hidden conditions.

Excellent Security

JustHost becomes even more reliable as a web host as they offer powerful features for security. First, you get SSH access which makes it easier to transfer files and access SSH-enabled networks on shared environments. The tool ensures that all your data is protected from all sorts of malware and Trojan attacks. JustHost offers free site backup but you can choose their advanced plan to backup all folders and files for $19.99/yr. They also offer SSL certificates to ensure secure financial transaction for users online. On top of that, you can purchase Sitelock security which scans and removes malware. It costs $19.99/yr.

Weaknesses

They lack good technicians

One thing we noticed is that while most customers get help from support, they are unable to solve the issues within a short period. This is a common issue with the EIG brand particularly because they use an outsourced support.

Upselling

JustHost offers a variety of add-on services with their hosting such as Sitelock security, Search Engine Jumpstarts and many more. However, some users find upselling to be too aggressive. In case, the services are unnecessary for you, remember to uncheck when setting up your account.

JustHost’s Frequently Asked Questions

Who owns JustHost?

JustHost was started by Chris Phillips back in 2002 with its initial headquarters located in Glendale, California. Fast forward to 2012, and the firm merged with Endurance International Group (EIG) which is a global hosting conglomerate.

Does JustHost offer a money back guarantee?

Yes, JustHost has a standard 30 days money back guarantee. However, this guarantee only applies to their hosting services not other products like domains or third-party app licenses.

Do they offer an uptime guarantee?

Unfortunately no, JustHost seems to have taken down their uptime guarantee feature a few years back without any logical explanation. However, recent uptime counts show excellent performance with minimal to no downtime.

Can I use WordPress CMS with JustHost?

Yes, JustHost supports numerous content management systems such as WordPress and Joomla. The one-click install option makes it easy to set up such packages and deploy them seamlessly.

Does JustHost offer a control panel?

Yes, all JustHost plans come with cPanel which is the most common third-party control panel software in the market as of now. This makes it easier for users to adapt to it as there already exists a lot of tutorials and guides on how to use the software.

Will I get a web builder with each plan?

Yes, JustHost includes a free drag and drop website builder with hundreds of templates and themes to choose from, these are also customizable and also contain SEO optimization scripts so that all you have to do is add your content and you will be ready to go.

How’s the customer support response?

JustHost has a 24/7 support center that also includes a live chat option as well as a call center. You can reach them in case you are having issues with your account or website in general. While the company does promise to address problems quickly, there have been complaints about the support team losing track of support tickets.

Does this firm offer tutorials and a knowledgebase?

Yes, JustHost has a knowledgebase equipped with more than 500 articles. The host also offers quick guides and tutorials on the technical parts of running a website.

How many data centers does JustHost have?

JustHost runs on a single data center located in Provo, Utah.

Does JustHost offer free SSL certificates?

While JustHost does sell SSL certificates, none of the plans include free SSL certificates. The company does, however, offer a free domain with each package.

Does JustHost offer email hosting?

Yes, all hosting plans support email hosting, their cheapest plan also known as the Basic plan is ideally suited for dedicated email hosting.

Does JustHost restrict the number of visitors per plan?

No, JustHost offers unlimited visits with each site the only limitation is regarding bandwidth usage. While some of their plans have unlimited bandwidth, it is good to keep in mind that such unlimited resources are of course subject to the fair usage policy.

Is JustHost recommendable for website developers?

Yes, JustHost supports numerous programming languages such as Python and PHP 7 and the latest MySQL version. In case of software updates, the firm does offer timely patches to keep their entire platform up to date.

Does JustHost offer a content delivery network?

Yes, JustHost utilizes CloudFlare’s CDN to protect all sites hosted on their platform from DDOS attacks as well as other hacking attempts while also speeding up individual sites’ loading time.

Does JustHost offer automatic backups?

Unfortunately no. JustHost does not offer free automatic backups. However, clients can personally make backups of their site using the cPanel backup option and can even use automation scripts to run such services automatically.

Can I contact JustHost on social media?

Yes, the company has a presence across all major social media networks. You can contact them through such means or their official contact center.

How reliable is JustHost?

Just like any other hosting firm owned by EIG, there are numerous complaints about the host’s services, but overall the firm seems to be doing well. A quick look at their latest uptime figures and you will realize that the firm does offer consistent performance throughout. The only downside would be slow and unpredictable customer care service.

Is JustHost good for my WP site?

If you have a WordPress site, JustHost offers an easy way to install WP via the MOJO Marketplace. Although they do not offer managed hosting, they have optimized hosting for WP to ensure smooth performance.

Which are some of JustHost’s alternatives?

It is getting harder and harder to identify cheap hosting firms that are not already owned by EIG. The reason why this is a problem is that it makes no sense to switch from one hosting firm to another if you are only going to end up with the very same parent company, after all, the chances are that no magic will happen; the services are all bound to be of similar quality. BlueHost and Hostgator do offer more regarding hosting choices. This is because they have more plans and their customer care is still reputable.