PowWeb
Hosting Plans
1
Starting at / per month
3.88
Reviews
0
Hosting Plans
1
Starting at / per month
3.88
Reviews
0
Launched in 1999 by Andrew Te, PowWeb is one of the oldest hosting providers on the internet that offers a single plan package. It offers a one-size-fits-all web hosting package that includes all the necessities of building a site as well sustaining it. Whether you want to register a domain, analyze site stats, manage databases, or host a public-facing web project, all is possible under this single plan.
Although originally founded in Massachusetts, PowWeb’s datacenter is today found in Los Angeles. The company started off as a private entity before Endurance International Group acquired it in 2006. At the time, it had the cheapest hosting plan rates in US and was one of the few web hosts that charged zero fee for administration services. Today, it targets small and medium-sized businesses with an aim to provide a reliable platform to get their products or services to the internet market.
To keep its hosting services on top of the game, it retained its hardware and software engineers who understand the single-plan infrastructure better. The end gain is a company that’s stable, trustworthy, and importantly understands customer needs to the letter. Again, PowWeb uses a proprietary system that employs load-balancing technology.
Essentially, this is a networking breakthrough that creates multiple paths to the internet for web projects. It eliminates the downtime experienced whenever servers are on updates, crash repairs, or offline. As such, it is a company you can rely on as a beginner or seasoned webmaster.
In our PowWeb Review 2018, we’ll explore the hosting packages including services and prices, the features the company offers, its pros and cons, and finalize by checking some of PowWeb FAQs.
| Plan Name | Disk Space | Bandwidth | Currency | Admin panel | OS | Websites | Scripting | Email-Transport | Database | SSH | Databackups | Free Domain | 1-Click Installer | Websites Builder | Location | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| One Plan | - | - | USD | Admin panel |  |
1 | PHP | IMAP, POP3, SMTP | MySQL |  |
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|
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$ 3.88 |
On this section, we’ll discuss the features that PowWeb has in relation to performance, speed, security, customer support, and control. We’ll also check out how its money-back guarantee works and the terms and conditions that govern the policy.
While features from one package to the other vary, Cloudways is consistent on delivering basics that work decently for every level user. In this section, we’ll discuss them in six primary categories
PowWeb provides hosting on a shared platform where multiple web projects lie on a single server. Although this is an old-fashioned type of hosting, the company employs various measures to ensure performance remains decent. These include:
Load balancing
This technology relies on multiple physical servers that work together by sharing the load to make it lightweight and manageable. PowWeb mirrors site data across its servers so that when one goes offline or fails, the others take over and keep it online. This way, the website will never experience downtime.
Custom DNS Management
PowWeb offers Comodo domain name servers at an extra fee. Also, it allows you to enter IPs of your alternative servers at the control panel. The function is to ensure the caching of the domain name which improves site loading speed across various networks.
Support for MySQL and phpMyAdmin
These two databases work with most web projects and are extremely effective for data entry. They’re also lightweight and capable of accepting lock keys for data security. Besides, the content on the databases is automatically backed up on a daily basis.
Site Statistics Logger
While features from one package to the other vary, Cloudways is consistent on delivering basics that work decently for every level user. In this section, we’ll discuss them in six primary categories
Hosting on the Unix platform
Unix is the operating system which PowWeb uses for its hosting servers. The platform is not only reliable but also very versatile in regards to the tools and languages that it supports. It can handle complex computing tasks, multi-levelled flux in the network, and run modern applications fluidly. Currently, it supports PHP version 5 & 7, Shockwave, Flash Players, and task schedulers including CronJobs.
SEO professionals
Search Engine Optimization is the quickest way to advertise your website to potential clients. PowWeb SEO team optimizes your site content and collaborate with the company’s web designers to create a lightweight masterpiece. This way, search engines can easily index your website and rank its URL on the top search results.
SSDs for storage
PowWeb runs servers with solid state drives which are highly efficient in storing data. They outperform traditional SATA disks in speed and enhance data integrity reliably.
When it comes to security, PowWeb is keen to implement a number of measures to increase it. The end gain is a public-facing website without the risk of damage and data theft. Let’s explore these security measures, tools, and features:
Shared SSL Certificate
A secure socket layer adds encryption to site data during its relay from the server to the browser and vice-versa. This function helps in preventing spying apps or services from accessing sensitive info. PowWeb offers this certificate to all accounts for free although it’s shared amongst a number of users.
SiteLock
This tool provides protection against cyber-attacks which are highly prevalent in the modern times. With it, you can scan for malware on your site data, put a lock badge on your URLs, and eliminate possible URL blacklisting instances on the internet.
Also, it will block requests from bots which are used in DDOS as well as locking the back door which facilitates exploitation. The tool works with ordinarily built sites and content management systems including WordPress.
Spam Filters
These are included in the email accounts to block malicious messages from telemarketers and spammers. You can set email lists which you trust and also place some addresses on probation for further analysis. The mailboxes use POP3, SMTP, and IMAP protocols which provide pathways that are highly secure for email exchange.
Accredited Payment Processors
PowWeb works with PayPal and acknowledged payment gateways to provide an ecommerce-ready environment. Your visitors will be able to use major credit cards and PayPal to pay for the services or goods that you site sells.
Data backup
PowWeb takes a snapshot of your site data on a daily basis to restore it in case of loss, theft, or damage. The function is automated and completely free for all their customers.
PowWeb’s default control panel is vDeck which is accessible upon registering an account with them. The control tool uses a web interface to manage various configurations and services within your web space.
With it you can edit domain name servers, view your billing information, manage scheduled tasks, activate script installers, manage files, and access site stats analyzers. Although basic in function, it is very easy to use. Besides, it contains links to the help pages within PowWeb website.
As earlier mentioned, you can activate script installers from vDeck. Essentially, this tool helps in installation of apps, modules, scripts, and services in your website operating environment. This way, you can control how your website behaves when it goes live.
Unfortunately, PowWeb doesn’t support cPanel which is a great alternative to vDeck. Nevertheless, you’ll still be able to manage your account as effectively as you would with cPanel.
PowWeb takes customer service very seriously since almost all its pages have access to the customer support portal. You can reach out to the support staff or get help via email, phone calls, and articles on their knowledge base. Email response is not as fast as you’d expect in a provider its size.
It takes around 15 minutes to get attended to when you further an issue. Calls are instant but sometimes you may have to wait for a few minutes before the support staff attends to you.
One of the most outstanding features that we found at PowWeb is that the help articles are classified into various categories. To name but just a few, they have Account, Database, Domains, Files, Policies, Email, and Scripting categories. You can manually explore each or use the search button to find a topic of concern.
The database holding the help articles is quite optimized judging by the speed which it returns search results. Also, most keywords we search get relevant topics which answer quickly the questions we have.
Lastly, PowWeb boasts a forum with over 20,000 members where you can help from other customers. Although the answers given on the section are not 100% reliable, the provider allows them to be rated by members when they’re insightful.
PowWeb offers a 30-day money-back guarantee period following the purchase of any account from them. In case you wish to cancel the contract, you’ll receive a full refund of the basic hosting fees. In case you chose to use their free domain name, they’ll deduct a fee from your due amount. The cost covers their expenses of registering the domain name with relevant authorities. But you’ll retain possession of the domain name for a year to use or point it elsewhere.
As part of fair usage policy, the user who wishes to terminate the hosting contract must have used the resources allocated within normal limits. Also, the account must have no history of usage in illegal services within the hosting period. More information on the terms and conditions is detailed in PowWeb’s User Agreement page.
X7 Chat Module
This module makes it possible for instant chats between you and your visitors and amongst themselves. You can easily install it using the script installer which is accessible from the control panel.
AdWords
PowWeb offers $100 Google, Yahoo, and Bing AdWords to help with marketing on these search engines. Moreover, they list your site on Yellow Pages to increase visibility to potential customers.
Weebly Site Builder
PowWeb has no site builder of its own thus it partnered with Weebly to offer the service. The tool allows for drag & drop feature and supports a wide range of web elements from maps, images, videos, to audios.
There are a lot of considerations to make when deciding to use PowWeb as your next hosting provider. This section will outline its pros and cons so that you can have an easy time making a decision.
Pros
Fairly decent load speeds
PowWeb’s average loading speed is 769ms which is rather decent for a provider with shared web hosting package only.
Powerful security measures
Besides physical datacenter protective measures, this web host provides a secure platform to host any nature site. They have free SSL certs, spam filters, SiteLock, and automated backup system as part of the security enhancement measures.
Suitable for beginners
The services PowWeb offers are not only cheap but also standardized for most beginners. It is one-stop place to get all the web mastering components when you’re starting out in the field.
Huge and detailed help database
This company offers helpful documentation on issues spanning from account, payment, file management, security, to email services. You can easily familiarize with hosting jargons with their easy-to-comprehend descriptions.
Professional experts and support staff
PowWeb hosting has very talented webmasters and customer attendants. They are easy to reach to and make sound communication with in a single session.
Easy installation of apps
PowWeb gives access to Mojo Marketplace which a richly-populated store for modern apps and frameworks. The inbuilt installer ensures management is an ever-smooth and straightforward process.
Cons
Prices are not constant
On first registration the prices are lower but upon renewal the rates go up.
Single hosting type
Only shared web hosting is available. If your website outgrows the resources for this type of hosting, you have no option to upgrade to better performing packages such as VPS and dedicated server hosting.
Support for few CMS
PowWeb supports just WordPress out of the box. Other alternative but equally popular CMS such as Drupal, PrestaShop, Joomla, etc. are not on board.
Lacks monthly billings
All the services have to be paid on a quarterly, annual, or biannual term.
Tough terms and conditions for contract cancellation
Besides being charged for cancellation when using a free domain name, your account must have complied with several other conditions which might be unavoidable.
No official guaranteed uptime
Most hosting providers will give a percentage of guaranteed uptime to ensure you’re compensated when you face downtime. PowWeb lacks this official uptime guarantee.
Besides shared web hosting, which other type of hosting is at PowWeb?
PowWeb only offers shared web hosting and no other types of hosting on its infrastructure. Nevertheless, the package is sufficient for small and medium-sized sites since bandwidth and storage are unlimited.
Does PowWeb offer Windows Hosting?
No, at the moment they only offer a Unix environment. The OS works amazingly well with most programming languages and frameworks. Therefore, it will suffice just fine in cases where Windows environment would be suitable.
Which server locations will my website have?
PowWeb offers four server locations namely United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia.
When migrating from another provider, will I be assisted?
Unfortunately, PowWeb doesn’t offer migration services. As such, you’ll need to have a copy of the website on your local storage to drag and drop to the company’s inbuilt site builder.
How do I built a website from scratch using PowWeb’s tools?
Well, Weebly site builder, which PowWeb partners with, is the easiest tool to use in website creation. As for the content, you can reach out the design and marketing team to help you out.
Does the shared server have limits in regard to storage and bandwidth?
Sure, it does. Nevertheless, under normal operation your web projects might not hit that limit. Also, considering the resources are on shared platform, the company will migrate users with heavy usage to more powerful servers.
Does PowWeb backup web project files on behalf of customers?
Yes. They have an automated backup system that takes snapshots of the websites on a daily basis. However, custom backup frequency is not available and thus you might need another backup system if PowWeb’s is not as regular as you want.
Does PowWeb offer domain name services?
Yes, PowWeb offers domain registration and renewal services. They have detailed the nature of the service on their website.
Besides WordPress, can I use sites based on other frameworks at PowWeb?
Yes, but WordPress has an optimized environment on their servers. As for the other frameworks, we might not reliably recommend hosting them on their platform. Besides security concerns, their operational speeds might not be at the optimal level.
Must I use SiteLock at PowWeb?
It’s not a must but it’s recommended. PowWeb offers a shared SSL certificate which on its own might not be sufficient in securing data exchange on the internet. SiteLock provides an extra layer of protection guarding against malwares, spamming, and distributed denial of service attacks. Although not free, the tool is extremely useful in enhancing network security.