Overview

Started in November 2003, StartLogic is web hosting provider that’s based in Phoenix, Arizona State in the US. It was conceptualized and launched by Thomas Gorny together with his spouse with a vision to get their small online startup business running. Today, it has grown tremendously attracting over 50,000 customers and a bunch of tech savvies who are the majority of its staff. They attribute their success to partnership, networks, and their innate ability find out the exact needs of existing and new clients.

StartLogic and iPower are related since they share a common founder and are also part of the Endurance International Group since 2007. If you’re wondering what EIG is, well it is a hosting provider with over 20 years of service. It has at least 30 hosting brand names under its umbrella with more than three million websites on its hold. It owns other hosting providers that we’ve previously reviewed including Arvixe, HostGator, iPage, BlueHost, and FatCow.

Although it’s part of EIG, StartLogic enjoy a high level of independence with packages and plan prices that are way different from the mother company. As of this writing, the company only offers shared web hosting and VPS packages. Also, its homepage has very scarce information to guests regarding available hosting plans. You have to navigate to other pages to view them which is outright discouraging to window shoppers.

StartLogic’s datacenter is based in Boston, MA in the USA. Nevertheless, the company doesn’t solely own it as it is a joint project with other hosting providers. The servers are manufactured by Dell, a company reputable for its high-end server machines. The facility enjoys 24-hour security monitoring as well as redundant power options to cover an outage. Unfortunately, StartLogic doesn’t guarantee server uptime just like most EIG companies.

StartLogic Features

On this section, we shall explore the features which StartLogic put forth regarding control, performance, customer service, speeds, security, and their policy on money back guarantee. But before we get started, we feel like users have very limited options as far as hosting features are concerned. Anyways, here are the StartLogic features in details:

Performance and Speed

When assessing performance, we examine how quickly websites load content to intended destinations. Also, we check into the overall reliability and the server uptime that a hosting provider guarantees. For a start, StartLogic doesn’t have any uptime guarantees although their servers are quite stable on both shared and VPS platforms. Here are some of the features we noted in our test account that regard performance and speed:

Few Units Per Server

The inbuilt server density monitoring software on the cPanel shows the estimated number of active systems in a physical server. Even on the cheapest VPS plan, the company doesn’t exceed 8 VPS units. Although the resources are somehow dedicated, many users on single server would mean quick degradation and frequent downtime during hardware maintenance routines.

Email Autoresponders

StartLogic supports creation of email accounts with autoresponders and forwarders. For scheduled responses on messages the action is almost instant which builds a good rapport with your visitors.

Lightweight Programming Tools

The default Linux environments on both StartLogic’s hosting packages, have PHP, CGI, Perl, Cron, Python, JSP, and Curl already preinstalled. This is a plus for modern applications that depend on these languages and environments to function optimally. The good thing is that most of them are set to automatically update themselves which translates to high compatibility with your web apps and consequently improved performance.

CDN support

Although VPS users have no preinstalled content delivery network, StartLogic infrastructure innately supports inclusion of it. You can install popular ones in your operating environment including Rackspace, Akamai, Verizon, CloudFlare, Amazon AWS, and MaxCDN.

Webalizer and AWStats

These two tools are essential in collecting statistics of the performance of your website over a particular period. StartLogic has them in your control panel allowing you view how your site is faring against its competitors. Also, you can collect other important info on link clicks, search engine ranks, and referrer logs.

These two tools are essential in collecting statistics of the performance of your website over a particular period. StartLogic has them in your control panel allowing you view how your site is faring against its competitors. Also, you can collect other important info on link clicks, search engine ranks, and referrer logs.

OpenVZ Software

This software is not only lightweight but offers high level of security across the virtualized systems. It optimizes the physical server to share resources equitably and instant scalability where necessary. Additionally, it has an error detection service which reports possible hardware hitches before they become system-wide.

Security

StartLogic provides both physical and infrastructural security measures against threats. Here, we explore the major ones:

SiteLock

This cloud-based security solution scans your web files and applications as scheduled to eliminate or block detected threats. It also fixes other vulnerabilities existing in the operating system which would put your web space into risk. StartLogic has this software on all accounts by default and provides optimal configurations on behalf of users.

Let’s Encrypt SSL

A secure socket layer (SSL) guards against spying on data exchange between the web server and the browser by encrypting it. Now, StartLogic offers a free version of Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate which obliges your websites to encrypt data before transferring it to your visitors’ browsers. You can confirm this from the lock icon available after loading your website on a regular browser.

Automatic Backup

StartLogic has a daily backup policy for all the web files sitting on its servers. The idea is to provide a restoration point in case on an unprecedented crisis leading to data loss. Also, you can download other backup solutions from Mojo Marketplace to send the backup images to independent cloud drives like Google.

MySQL Database

Besides being fast, this database management tool is very secure for data storage. You can lock sensitive elements, synchronize data across various devices, and delete archaic records very simply. It is the default database manager at StartLogic

Control Panel

To control your account settings, apps, passwords, backup programs, and other services, StartLogic offers vDeck. It has an easy-to-navigate interface that features tabs and drop-down menus. You can quickly find items that you wish to configure using the search input or simply scrolling on the categorized icons. With it, you have control over four main features irrespective of your hosting plan. These are:

Website management

VDeck allows you to control the number of websites in your account by allowing you to create new sites or delete existing ones. Also, you can access various promotion tools as well as content improvement software including SEO managers.

Email Management

As you’ve already seen, StartLogic allows you to have multiple email accounts in your web space. This control tool can help you configure email servers, set autoresponders, allow spam detection, and mass delete unwanted emails.

Billing Management

Using the account information tab, you can view your subscription status, billing info, make changes to payment channels, or renew your account name. This function assists you keep track of your expenditure on the hosting platform.

Domain Management

This helps you to view existing domain names, add new ones, and check the limit of the websites that you can host in your account.

Customer Service

StartLogic’s support department operates 24/7 but they’re not clear where exactly they can be reached physically. You can communicate with the staff via live chat, emailing, and by telephone. Additionally, you can access the knowledge self-help page where a number of issues are addressed.

The interesting thing about the support page is the organization of help items. They are nicely categorized documenting issues ranging from account management, emails, web files, policies, database configuration, scripting, and website builders. The knowledge base is excellent for familiarizing with hosting jargons, understanding how various features work, and troubleshooting common problems by yourself.

Money Back Guarantee

All StartLogic plans have a 30-day money back guarantee period within which you cancel your subscription and receive your money in full. However, if you registered a domain name with them, they will deduct the registration expenses allowing you to use it elsewhere.

If you decide to cancel the hosting contract after the trial period, you can still receive a refund. However, this attracts a cancellation fee and you must give at least a 30-day notice of your intention.

StartLogic Extra Features

On the shared web hosting plans, StartLogic provides preinstalled languages, scripts, and application environments. These are useful when your web files have several executables with dependencies needing these provisions. Moreover, they offer web design services allowing you to build a website from scratch using their templates. They have a wide variety of choices covering popular niches including ecommerce, blogging, photo sharing, video streaming hubs, etc.

Also, users have access to marketing credits on popular platforms. You can advertise your website on search engines, social media sites, etc. where potential customers could be. Lastly, every plan has at least one free domain name.

StartLogic Pros and Cons

Although StartLogic has incredible services, it has its own share of strengths and flaws. This section points some of these basing judgement from our own experience.

Pros

Decent Uptime

There are no guarantees whatsoever on StartLogic server uptime. Nevertheless, on our independent tests, we observed a consistent online presence of 99.8% which is surprisingly decent for its shared datacenter.

Impressive Load Statistics

The average load time for a website hosted on StartLogic shared web hosting platform is 440ms. The industry standard is 890ms which puts the web host twice as fast as most hosting providers.

Long Money Back Guarantee

With 30 days to assess the performance of StartLogic as a hosting provider, we feel that’s more than enough time to make an informed decision. The important thing though is that they give full refunds as long as claims are timely.

Affordable prices for most plans

StartLogic has very cheap monthly charges for their hosting services. This is especially observed in their shared web hosting plans which are ridiculously low despite the impressive features that they offer.

Rich Knowledge Base

Even if you don’t intend to have an account at StartLogic, you can utilize their resourceful knowledge base for own improvement. They have nicely researched documentation on various issues affecting clients on their platform and other similar ones.

Cons

Few options on control

StartLogic only offers vDeck as the only control panel on board. Unless you’re using a VPS, you can hardly use an alternative control panel including Plesk and cPanel which are highly popular.

Lack of clarity on site migration

StartLogic has no provision on site migration which is an essential function when your website was already hosted elsewhere. It appears like you’ll have to manually migrate the web files to your web space. This is especially unfortunate when your website already has huge files or at risk of data damage.

Limited Live Chat hours

The live chat works on limited hours forcing users to seek alternative help options which might be inconvenient or perceptible to delays.

StartLogic Frequently Asked Questions

How long does account registration at StartLogic take?

Typically, account creation on StartLogic takes under 20 minutes. Ensure that you have all the details ready including billing information. Activation is instant on verifying your account from the registered email account.

Must I purchase a domain name at StartLogic for websites I intend to host with them?

No. You can provide existing domain names when registering an account on StartLogic. They’ll verify that it is valid and proceed to link it up to your websites when your web files are ready.

Is StartLogic ideal for a business website?

Sure. They have a variety of options as far as business websites are concerned. They provide not only ecommerce tools but also the necessary transaction security that you need. There are even guided steps on using PayPal on your website transactions from within your account panel.

Which are best StartLogic alternatives?

StartLogic is part of EIG which has a range of better alternatives to this hosting provider. HostGator, BlueHost, and Arvixe are very efficient since they have packages for all groups of people. You can have professional or even a hobby site on these platforms at costs lower than those offered by StartLogic plans.

What are my options on payment methods?

As of 2019, StartLogic supports payment via PayPal and major credit cards. They recommend renewing plan payment using the method that you provided in your registration for safety purposes. You must be logged in your account to complete a payment.

Can I call StartLogic’s telephone number while outside the US?

Yes. The contact number can be dialed from any geographical location as long your network provider supports international calls. The number is toll free in the US but in other locations the charges might vary.