iPage
Hosting Plans
1
Starting at / per month
1.99
Reviews
0
Hosting Plans
1
Starting at / per month
1.99
Reviews
0
When it comes to buying a web hosting package, price
plays a key part in determining which among the available plans is best suited
for your business. Normally, you want a plan that offers you the most optimal
speed and performance but still within your budget.
Luckily for you, iPage will offer you good value for
your money with some of the cheapest introductory fees you’ll find anywhere
online today. Of course, expect the price to go up once the initial period
elapses.
So, is the low initial cost enough to make iPage
worthy considering when looking for the best web host today? Our comprehensive
review explains it all diving into key topics such as hosting plans offered by
the company, features, guarantees, and its overall pros and cons.
iPage first became an entity in 1998 with archive
records showing that the iPage.com domain was active albeit not in any use related
to web hosting at the time. Its founder was Thomas Gorny.
It was only until 2002 that the company relaunched as
a web hosting provider although nothing much can be said of its success during
the first few years of operations. In 2007, Endurance International Group
acquired iPage and added it to its ever growing portfolio of web hosting
companies that entail Bluehost and Hostgator.
Today, iPage is one of the most popular brands in the
web hosting space, hosting over a million websites and growing. The company has
two data centers in Boston, MA and another in Burlington where its main offices
too are based.
If you’re looking to host your website with iPage, the
following are the five options to consider:
-
Shared hosting
-
WordPress hosting
-
VPS Hosting’
-
Dedicated
Hosting
-
Reseller
Hosting
Unlike a majority of hosting companies that offer a
variety of plans for their shared hosting plans, iPage has only one offering in
this category – The Essential Plan.
Just like the name suggests, this plan comes packed
with pretty much everything a small-to-medium website owner will require to run
a smoothly loading site. This includes the industry standard features such as
unlimited disk space, emails, as well as unlimited websites. What’s more, you
get scalable bandwidth which means you get just what your site needs at any
particular time. This way, you’re able to cut down your hosting costs using
this feature as iPage only charges you for the amount of bandwidth you use
every month. You also avoid being slapped with penalties which are common with
most other web hosts for users exceeding their specified bandwidth.
With The Essential Plan also, you get a drag-and-drop
builder provided by iPage, domain registration, and access to their marketing
tools that include $200 worth of advertising credits (for Google and Bing
networks).
The plan which also comes with a free SSL and iPage’s
30-day money back guarantee starts at $1.99/mo and renews at $7.99 after the
first term is ended.
Before we can even review this plan, it’s important to
mention that users of the Essential Plan can also install WordPress via the
control panel provided by iPage. There’s a provision for one-click install and
you can also purchase an additional WordPress optimization package if you need
extra features.
iPage has two plans in this category namely WP Starter
and WP Essential. The two come with largely similar features including a free
domain name, unlimited storage and emails, as well as scalable bandwidth. The
only thing that separates the two is that WP Essential has additional security
features and specialized WordPress customer support. iPage doesn’t offer a
managed WordPress plan which is quite standard today.
The WordPress Plans use iPage’s low-density servers to
boost their speeds and ultimately load times. Besides, the company utilizes
multiple caching layers and a content delivery network to speed things up and
make your WordPress site run faster and smoother.
To enhance security and deal with spam, iPage
implements an effective firewall that defends WordPress sites against such
issues.
WP Starter goes for a regular price of $7.49 while the
WP Essential renews at $10.49.
If you’re experiencing quick growth and possibly receiving
high traffic to your business, then it’s likely you’ll want to move to a
hosting plan that accommodates your increased demand for resources. A VPS plan
is great place to start.
With this option, you don’t have to worry about
depleting resources allocated to you before the month is over and yet the
prices are considerably manageable compared to getting a dedicated server.
iPage offers three options for users looking for VPS
Hosting: Basic, Business, and Optimum.
The Basic Plan comes with just 1GB RAM, 40GB worth of
disk space, and 1TB in data transfers. You also 1 IP address, a cPanel, and a
free domain name. This plan starts at $24.99/mo.
The Business Plan which is the most popular and
recommended by iPage offers 4GB RAM, 90 GB storage, and 4TB data transfers.
Besides, iPage throws in 2 free dedicated IPs, 2 core CPUs, and a free 1-year
domain name. This plan renews at $59.49/mo.
The final and most stocked VPS plan by iPage is the
Optimum package. With this option, you get 8GB RAM, 120GB storage, and up to
4TB of bandwidth. iPage also offers you 2 free IP addresses, 4 core CPUs, and
one free domain name. This package sells at a regular price of $99.99/mo.
Dedicated hosting gives webmasters the highest levels
of speed, security, and control over their online enterprises. With these
plans, you get an entire server for yourself and this means having nearly total
freedom over how you use it. And the fact that you do not share your resources
with anyone means your site is likely to load much quickly and experience fewer
downtimes.
iPage offers three plans for users looking to host
their websites on dedicated servers: Startup, Professional, and Enterprise.
Startup, just like the name suggests, is the lowest
plan of the three dedicated servers offered by iPage. However, that is not to
mean it comes with limited resources: in fact, with it, you get 4GB RAM, 5TB
worth of data transfers per month, 500GB hard disk space, and 2 Core CPUs.
iPage also gives you 3 free IP addresses and a 1-year free domain registration.
The Startup Plan renews at $149.99/mo.
Professional Plan which is iPage’s most recommended
plan in this category comes stocked with 8GB RAM, 1TB storage space, 10TB
bandwidth, and 4 Core CPUs. You also get 4 IP addresses, and a free one year
domain name. The regular price of the Professional Plan is $194.99/mo.
The ultimate dedicated plan by iPage is known as the
Enterprise. With this package, you get a humongous 16GB RAM, 1TB worth of disk
space, and 15TB bandwidth. The company also provides you with 5 free dedicated
IP addresses, 4 Core CPUs, and a free 1-year domain registration. This plan
goes for a regular price of $239.99/mo.
Like many other web hosts today, iPage runs its own
version of reseller plan for users that would like to get into the business of
hosting services but don’t have the required infrastructure. WholesalePlus
Reseller Program provides you with all the tools you need to run a smooth
hosting business. What’s more, you get significantly discounted rates while
having the freedom to sell your plans at whatever price you wish to.
Some of the features that iPage gives you to make this
possible include a 24/7 technical support team, branded hosting experience and
interface, a powerful reseller console, and a customizable client control
panel. iPage also offers you its 30-day money back guarantee for your reseller
plan and a private name server. Worth noting is that the company doesn’t charge
you anything to set up your clients’ accounts.
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essential | - | - | USD | Admin panel |   |
6 | PHP | IMAP, POP3 | MySQL |  |
|
|
|
|
 |
$ 1.99 |
When
shopping for a hosting service, the first
thing to look out for is performance and speed. The latter is an accurate reflection of how your site will
perform when your guests access it. iPage
promises to offer world class loading speeds with optimized performance thanks
to their expansive server network.
Here’s
a detailed look at the major aspects that enable the company to
guarantee impressive performance and speeds:
-
Unlimited
disk space
Having
an updated website will go a long way in ensuring that your site remains
competitive. However, additional content and features will always mean additional space requirements. These are
somewhat pricey especially if your host of choice charges a premium for extra disk space.
Thankfully
iPage offers unlimited disk space allowing you to deliver your website’s
content without any limitations. As a result,
you can put up more pages and extra content without worrying about quotas. However, it should be noted that the customer has to abide by the Terms of Service and fair usage policy.
-
Scalable
bandwidth
iPage
does not limit the amount of data and traffic that flows between the rest of
the internet and your site. This means
that your site will be accessible to all potential visitors at all times and
full speeds. The company is able to
sustain this model while also keeping the costs to
a minimum by utilizing shared architecture.
What
this means for your site is that the available bandwidth from each server will be shared amongst the sites that are currently hosted
on it. Therefore, the sites will share both hardware and transmission pipes. To ensure that all sites get optimal bandwidths,
iPage usually monitors real-time usage and can intervene if one party is deemed
to be negatively affecting other sites. This
ensures that over 99.5% of their customers get optimum
bandwidth without any issues.
-
Unlimited
MySQL databases
MySQL
is the most common database system for
web and embedded applications. Its popularity is mainly attributed to its reliability and speed optimizations. iPage
recognizes this and also the fact that the majority
of their customers rely on MySQL especially those with online stores. In line
with this, the company offers you unlimited MySQL databases as well as
phpMyAdmin interfaces with every hosting account. Just like the previous unlimited options, the company expects users to
abide by fair usage policies.
-
Support
for multiple programming languages
iPage
hosting accounts are able to support
multimedia content such as real audio, video, flash, Shockwave, Macromedia, and MIDI files. You will,
therefore, be free to use any of these formats to come up with great content
for your site. On the programming side, iPage supports PERL, PHP, and Python
which are powerful enough to get the job done. However, the host lacks support
for Ruby on Rails and SSH.
With
a vast array of clients from personal site owners to corporate businesses,
iPage puts great focus on ensuring a high level of security for their platform.
They offer their clients with various services to keep your website safe from
viruses, spyware, and malware.
Check
out the following security features of iPage Hosting:
-
SiteLock
Software
iPage
has partnered with SiteLock, a company based in Arizona, in the United States.
SiteLock scans websites to check for malware vulnerabilities and ensure they
stay clean. This malware and spam-scanning software also works in collaboration
with SSL to keep your website protected from DDoS attacks.
Besides,
SiteLock has a global CDN as well as website acceleration services. That means
your website gets unmatched security based on world-class infrastructure.
What’s reven more impressive is that iPage offers Sitelock integration to all
its hosting packages regardless of pricing.
Should
you need an even more robust way to keep your site safe, then consider going
professional with CDN by getting a great solution called TrueSpeed.
All
your emails are safe with iPage thanks to malware monitoring and other security
tools such as DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM) and Sender Policy Framework
(SPF).
There
are 3 different packages to choose from depending on the level of security you
need with iPage hosting. These include;
i.
Find – this package is ideal for small
blogs in need of basic but strong protection and malware scan features.
ii.
Fix – this works best for medium-sized
websites.
iii.
Prevent – the level of protection provided
by this package works best for eCommerce websites as it comes with a security
and trust seal.
-
SSL
Security
Scanning
your website regularly is the right way to prevent online threats; however,
having a SSL Certificate is your best bet if looking to secure your customers'
details as well as credit card transactions. Every customer wants to see a
working security seal before buying from your site. Fortunately, iPage offers
free Comodo SSL which offers impressive speed and security in addition to
SiteLock Security.
Bonus Tip: when using WordPress with iPage, be sure to install a
plugin that forces HTTPS. This is because SSL may not be enough as your website
can still use insecure image folders hosted on your server or elsewhere. There
are several free plugins to help you force HTTPS on all of your web pages.
Google
now uses SSL certificates as a ranking factor which means your business is
likely to rank better with a web host such as iPage. Also, with popular
browsers such as Google Chrome marking sites that are without SSL as insecure, it
pays to have one for visitor trust.
Other
security tools and services that you get with iPage are:
i.
iPage QuickSSL Premium
ii.
iPage Identity Theft Protection
iii.
iPage Domain Privacy
-
Backups
iPage
performs regular backup for your website and is always quick to provide you
with your data just in case you need to roll back to a prior version or get
your website files back. Compared to other web hosting services, iPage has pretty
affordable rates for backup services.
This
web host offers automatic backup upgrade during sign up process. All you need
to do is register by ticking the box that you would like to receive backups.
On
the other hand, iPage offers a manual backup upgrade where users can restore
files within specific dates. The key advantage with manual backup is that you
can get a specific file you might be needing at some point. All your data is
backed up on performance load balanced servers located in the two data centers
owned by iPage.
If
you like to have some support when embarking on new online projects, then
you’ll be happy to hear about iPage customer service. The company boasts an
impressive excellent support team comprising knowledgeable representatives who
are well-versed with unique website queries. While their response time is not
the best, their customer service representatives are very experienced which is
a bonus to iPage users. Like most other hosting sites, iPage support will
respond to your question via their live chat. However, with complicated issues,
you may have to wait for their email support to get step-by-step instructions.
Their
platform is also packed with numerous tutorials and guides to help you solve
most basic issues. Its search box offers a simple way to get answers even when
you’re unsure of the category to choose. You just need to write the question
and the iPage search will list related articles.
The
platform has organized support that is split to help in different sections such
as email, website, portal, and domain.
iPage
includes a custom control panel with its hosting packages. The vDeck panel not only serves as a site
management tool but also provides a ton of other features that give it an edge
over the competition. The tool is currently on its 4th version and
is more efficient and appeals more visually than ever.
vDeck
will provide you with the tools necessary
for launching and maintaining your site using the following features:
-
Domain management: use the domain tab
to add domains, transfer and manage subdomains as well as domain pointers.
-
FTP management tools: this web-based
file manager allows you to pack, unpack, edit and export files from vDeck to
local storage or vice versa.
-
Email management; manage all of your
correspondence from one inbox; you can also access the email forwards, autoresponders and spam & virus protection
here.
-
Drag and drop website builder: you no longer need to have coding knowledge
to design a website; the drag and drop site builder makes the entire process as
easy as selecting the desired theme and then dragging and dropping content into
place as you prefer.
-
eCommerce features: vDeck grants
access to the eCommerce suite that is useful when building an online store
especially the integration with PayPal.
-
Site backup and restore: this feature
is used to make backups of the site thereby ensuring that you have different
editions of the site that you can deploy
at any given time
-
App installer: a feature that enables you install custom apps
for your website and managing
pre-installed packages.
-
Account management: this feature will come
in handy when you want to change your billing information, change passwords or
make payments.
iPage
Hosting offers a 30-day money back guarantee. And while most web hosts attach
strange terms and conditions to such guarantees, iPage claims to give a refund
as long as you contact them within this period. If you’re not satisfied with
their service, you can request your money back in full. Moreover, if you exceed
the 30-days period, you will still be refunded the remainder of the hosting
package. All you need to do is to contact their billing department via live
chat or phone to request the refund.
Considering
their low price tag, iPage features a pretty decent online shop. Its free
online store and cart offers secure transactions directly from the website to
users. What’s more, this online shop is easy to set up and includes the
following features:
-
Several choices of shopping carts such
as ShopSite and AgoraCart
-
Shared SSL license
-
Paypal integration
·
Site
analytics tools
These
tools keep a detailed count of all visitors and compile the data to be used in monitoring the site progress as well
as identifying the areas that need some modification.
·
Multi-database
support
iPage
hosting accounts support both MS SQL and MySQL database driven site. This gives
you some freedom as you can easily maximize the benefits of each.
·
Marketing
tools
iPage
includes up to $500 in advertising merchandise;
this includes $100 Google Adwords, and $100 Bing Adwords. Of course, all this would be rather useless if
they didn’t equip you with the necessary tools to capitalize on the free
advertising. This is the reason the web host includes search engine
optimization tools to make your site stand out.
·
Tutorials
and guides
iPage
has a blog that contains detailed articles and guides for each function that a
user might want to perform while on the platform. This eliminates the need to contact
the help desk for most issues.
·
Automatic
site backup and recovery
iPage
offers an automatic backup and recovery service that you sign up for when you
are creating your account. This ensures
that you always have a copy of your databases and content at all times in case
the site gets compromised or the server crashes.
·
Premium
SSL Certificates
iPage
offers free Secure Sockets Layer certificates when you host a website with them. Of course, you can always purchase SSL certificates issued by another
company and integrate them to your hosting account.
·
Directory
listing
You
can contact iPage to request that your site be
listed on the iPage community directory which is a service exclusive to
iPage users. This is key in helping your business get some visibility and gain
popularity.
-
iPage is
extremely cheap even for those looking for budget hosting. With its
introductory prices going as low as $2/mo for its shared hosting, this is one
of the most affordable we hosts you can think of today.
-
Commendable
uptime of over 99.9% per month. While the company doesn’t offer any solid
guarantees as to what happens if it fails to offer this level of uptime,
statistics over the years have shown that it keeps its end of the bargain in
most months.
-
Lots of
freebies despite the free pricing. iPage offers users free domains (in some of
its plans), SSL certificates, and IP addresses.
-
Flexibility is
guaranteed particularly when it comes to bandwidth allocation. iPage allows you
to extend your bandwidth depending on your usage in a certain month albeit at
an extra charge.
-
This company
also supports eco-friendly causes by using wind energy for powering its data
centers and other general operations.
-
iPage offers
very limited room for upgrades as some hosting categories such as shared
hosting come with only one plan. This can be particularly inhibiting for many
small and growing business owners who anticipate to move to plans with more
resources later.
-
Unclear fees
structure. While iPage’s main selling point is in its low hosting fees, this
affordability only lasts for the initial period of registration: usually one
year. Thereafter, fees go back to normal upon renewal of plans and it’s not
cheap anymore.
-
There have
also been lots of complains among users regarding persistent low speeds and
downtimes. And as mentioned earlier, iPage doesn’t offer any tangible uptime
guarantee which is another major downside especially after you’ve committed
yourself to their yearly plans.
How long has iPage been offering hosting services?
This
company has been in existence since 1998, first starting as a web-building
software provider before getting into the web hosting industry. It has been
appearing on various lists of top web hosting providers since 2009. The firm
has two data centers in the US and serves over 1 million websites.
Why iPage?
iPage
is among the cheapest hosting solutions on the market offering affordable
hosting plans for all businesses regardless of size or financial situation. The
host provides some of the best site building software and online marketing
tools such as visitor stats, access logs, website traffic reports and error
logs. Additionally, you get features such as USP power Backup and NetApp
Snapshot Data Backups.
What hosting packages does iPage offer?
Currently,
iPage provides the shared, VPS, Dedicated and WordPress hosting services. Also
under each, you get plans with varying prices to choose from as your website
expands.
What if I exceed my resource usage?
If
you exceed your usage, you’ll receive a notification asking you to reduce your
usage or upgrade to a higher plan. If no action is taken within 48 hours, they
may suspend the account.
Does iPage offer unlimited disk space?
Based
on their terms of service, iPage offer unlimited disk space. However, even
though it reads as unlimited, the ToS puts usage restrictions. You'll be
required to use your resources within the normal operations. For small
businesses, however, there's no need to worry because the host offers enough
system resources.
Typically,
customers run into issues with iPage when they use their accounts for storage
or file sharing which is not a service that iPage supports. And while this is
quite rare, iPage may put constraints on accounts using resources beyond what
is considered the normal operation of a personal or small site.
Does iPage offer a free domain name?
Yes,
iPage offers free registration of domain names including a 1-year free
registration for .org, .net, .com, .us and .co.uk domains.
I’m I obligated to register my domain name with iPage?
No.
You’re free to register a domain name with iPage, but you're not obligated to
register your domain with them. For the domain registration, you can use
Namecheap, GoDaddy or any other registrar.
What will happen if my domain name expires?
You
might be worried about losing your free domain name in case you don’t renew in
time. iPage ensures that this doesn’t happen easily by sending you regular
reminders from 30 days before its expiration date. After your domain name
expires, it automatically becomes deactivated meaning no one will be able to
access your website content.
It’s
worth noting that once the expired domain name exceeds 30 days, it may be
purchased again by anyone and hence you will not be able to renew it thereafter.
At about 45 days after the expiration date, iPage may offer to renew the domain
name at a fee.
What Control Panel does iPage use?
Unlike
most other hosts, iPage uses a customized version of cPanel called vDeck.
Luckily, it’s user-friendly and shares many similarities with the standard
cPanel. The main advantage of the vDeck Control Panel is the consistent user
interface that can be customized into themes.
Though
you may take time to get used to vDeck, it works great for most professional
website owners. Some users even prefer using vDeck over all other forms of
control panels.
Does iPage work with WordPress?
iPage
provides everything you require to run the WordPress Management System. Better
yet, the company offers free domain name registration along with unlimited
storage and bandwidth to all customers who sign up for their WP Essential and Starter
accounts.
Does iPage offer reseller hosting?
Reseller
hosting enables you to resell a hosting plan to your own clients. This is mainly
offered by web developers who create websites and take care of hosting for
their customers. You can make some money from iPage via reseller hosting
through the company’s WholesalePlus Reseller program. With this plan, you’ll
have the opportunity to use the vDeck control panels to brand yourself and
offer clients site creation tools and emails.
Can I set my email accounts with iPage?
Yes,
iPage offers unlimited email account hosting. You can use your domain to create
unlimited email addresses and access them from the email clients.
Is it easy to build a website with iPage?
Sure,
the process to create and customize your website with iPage is quite
straightforward, thanks to the Weebly Drag and Drop Builder. Simply click on
the Weebly icon in your control panel and add your domain name to start
creating your site. Building a website using the method is very exciting as the
interface allows you to create free templates and drag the elements you want to
use. After a few minutes, your site will be up and running.
I already have a website; is it possible to transfer it to iPage?
Whether
you have created an HTML website and want to update it on iPage or had
registered with another company, iPage will help you transfer it to their hosting
account. For websites that lack a database, the process of transfer to iPage is
pretty simple and often come with two options; first, you can upload your files
via a FTP client like FileZilla. On the other hand, you can use this web host’s
file manager tool which works without third-party software and directly upload
your files to the desired folder through the control panel.
Does iPage have a refund policy? If so, how does it work?
iPage
offers a 30-day money back guarantee where you can cancel your subscription
within the first 30 days if you're not satisfied with the company’s services.
It's important to read through the iPage refund policy carefully as services
like website protection or backup are non-refundable. Also, you will retain
your domain name even after canceling the account and you can decide to transfer
it to another host.
To
cancel the account, you will need to chat with their customer service
representative via live chat or phone. Remember any charges involved until the cancellation
process is complete falls on you (unless you're still within the 30 day period).
What is iPage uptime guarantee?
iPage
doesn't offer an exact uptime guarantee, but various tests have proved that
this host has a quite stable uptime that averages at around 99.4%. This sounds
fair for such affordable pricing. The company promises to monitor their
Boston-based servers to reduce the downtimes significantly. To further stress on
its accountability, iPage posts any problems on its social profiles like
Facebook and Twitter.
Can iPage handle high traffic?
iPage
will most definitely handle high traffic, but this depends on the plans you
choose. A larger website may require more server resources. If you outgrow your
plan, you will be asked to upgrade to a higher plan.
How long do I wait to have my site online with iPage?
Your
iPage account is activated instantly once the payment is done. However, it could
take up to 48 hours for the DNS to propagate.
How reliable is iPage’s customer support service?
iPage
offers a 24/7 customer service by phone, live chat, or email. In most cases,
your call is answered in just a few minutes. Their representative are generally
courteous and professional. On the other hand, their online ticket system
features a response time of about 30 minutes. You can also check out their
detailed tutorials and guides that are helpful for novices and experienced
users alike.
Can I create an eCommerce site on iPage?
Yes,
iPage allows you to build an online shop from scratch to facilitate online transactions.
The host also allows you to install online scripts such as OpenCart. You can
also use a storefront on your WordPress site by getting an eCommerce plugin
such as WooCommerce.
Does iPage offer a month-to-month payment option?
For
the shared hosting plan, iPage does not offer month-to-month payment option.
For other plans like dedicated and VPS servers, you get monthly options though
you may have to sacrifice discounts provided for longer-term deals.
What kind of websites can be used with iPage hosting?
iPage
is a budget-friendly hosting provider with full features required for hosting.
However, a big website is likely to consume beyond their reasonable hosting per
account. As such, the host works well with personal and medium-sized sites.
iPage service also works excellently with small shopping cart sites.
What payment options can you use on iPage?
When
hosting iPage hosting plans, you can use two payment methods. As with most host providers, iPage accepts credit
card or debit card as well as Paypal.
What are iPage alternatives?
If
you feel the need to transfer to another hosting provider, you can try out
other hosting alternatives such as BlueHost, InMotion, GoDaddy and A2 Hosting.
If you have a WordPress site, you may compare iPage to WP Engine hosting which
offers a managed platform for WordPress websites. While WP engine is quite
expensive, it prides itself in this area of specialization.