Why Hostmonster Is The Best Hosting Company
I get asked all the time “What webhost should I use?”
I always respond: Hostmonster
Here’s why:
I’ve used most of the hosts out there:
(I know, it’s a lot…I do a lot of crap online. I used them all before Hostmonster existed.)
I also own 30 servers which I have in a data center that I manage them myself.
Outside of those 30 servers I still want a hosting account that I don’t have to worry about. One that I’m not responsible to keep it running and it just works.
I know web hosting pretty darn well.
Most of the marketing you’ll see out there to try and get you to buy a hosting account is pure garbage because they’re selling you something you’ll never use. I mean, come on, you’re going to use 600 GB of disk space on a hosting account? That’s more disk space than 99% of people have on their desktop. 6000 GB bandwidth? Do you realize what you’d have to do to use 6000 GB of bandwidth? That’s the kind of bandwidth Google uses!
The features companies are selling you on, aren’t the features you care about.
Features You really want in a hosting account
Here are the things that really matter when you buy web hosting:
- Support: Why? Because things WILL break. That’s the rule of technology. When they do, how easily are you going to get them back up and running correctly. This is a huge, huge deal with web hosting (yeah, even to me, where I know how to fix 99% of the problems I encounter. When there’s a problem I need fixed, I want a company that’s going to fix it…and not charge me for it). Hostmonster has the best support in the hosting industry, hands down. I know, because I use it.
- Flexibility of the servers: When you want to install a piece of software on your hosting account (trust me, at some point you WILL want to do this), if the software won’t work on the server you’re going to be pretty ticked! I was. With godaddy, startlogic, 1&1, penguinhost, and powweb. I’ve never had a problem with getting software to run on a Hostmonster server.
- Features: Does it have cpanel? Fantastico? phpMyAdmin? cron jobs? tutorials? There are ton’s of features hosting accounts have. Some of them have all of them (I know a few of them leave out key features like cpanel (control panel). I didn’t know that until after I bought them because I assumed everyone had the key features you need in hosting. What a mistake! I have yet to find a feature I wanted that Hostmonster didn’t have.
- Reliability: Duh! If it’s not reliable, why even bother. You’d be surprised at how much downtime some hosting companies have even when they “guarantee” 99.9% uptime.
- Techie Friendly: Yeah, I’m a techie. That doesn’t mean anything for you. Except that I am a power user and I use hosting accounts to their extreme. Hostmonster let’s me SSH into my account. Most hosts won’t let me do that and it ticks me off. If you’re not a techie, and you ever have a techie help you with something, you’d better make sure your hosting account can accomodate them or they’re going to have a hard time fixing your problem. Hosting accounts that don’t have SSH access tick me off!
- Price: Obviously. At $6/month Hostmonster isn’t the absolute cheapest (you can get hosting for $4/month) but why take the chance on saving $2 and having it cost you hours of time because some other host couldn’t do what you want.
- Hidden Fees: Hostmonster: None. Others: Maybe. I’ve wanted to add another domain to my account before and other companies want to double my costs! What a rip of.
- Addon Domains: This might not be a big deal to most people, but for me it is. I have hundreds of domains. I don’t want to keep track of (or pay for) dozens of hosting accounts because they only let me host 3 or 10 domains on them. With Hostmonster I don’t have to worry about it. Dreamhost and Hostgator are the same.
- Linux VS. Windows: For a web host, you want linux. Period. All the hosts I’ve used have linux hosting (I would never touch a windows web hosting environment. It’s just asking for headaches and hackers.) Most of the hosts above only do linux.
Problems With Other Web Hosts
When it comes down to it, I won’t touch Godaddy hosting with a 10 foot pole. Soooooo many headaches. (I do use them exclusively for buying domains names).
I will also never touch Powweb again. Too few features.
1 & 1 is ok, but their hosting management system does things so weird that you can never follow someone elses instructions for how to do something.
I still have a startlogic account with a site hosted there because I’m afraid to move the site. Otherwise, the account is too limiting for me. They don’t allow SSH.
Penguinhost had hidden fees.
Bluehost is almost as good as Hostmonster, but they’re owned by the same company so you’d expect them to be. Bluehost just has a limit on the number of addon domains. Plus it’s more expensive than hostmonster.
As you can see, I can name problems with every single web host except for Hostmonster, which has been a hosting dream for me since the company started.
What other people say
You can go search google for “web hosting” and you’re going to find thousands of hosting companies and dozens of websites that “compare” hosting companies. Look and see what they’re showing you as a comparison. They show disk space (who cares), bandwidth (who cares), setup (who cares…they’re all free). All they do is show you that all the hosts are the same and tell you that Hostmonster is the best.
Fortunately most of them are telling the truth, but the sad fact is that they don’t know why hostmonster is the best, they just want to make money off you.
What I’m giving you
If you buy your hostmonster hosting account through my affiliate link:
I’ll give you a set of videos I’ve created about how to create your website so that you’ll never need to have a “webmaster” again. You’ll be shocked at how much you can get done and how quickly you can get it done if you know what softwares to use and how to use them correctly. Hostmonster will automatically install the softwares for you in just a few clicks. You’ll never look at your website as a burden again. You’ll never have to wait for someone else to make a simple change for you again.
I’ll give you my own todo list of things to do to properly market a website. It’s 13 todo lists that go through everything from configuring your website properly to doing SEO and PPC to using Myspace and Article marketing to get traffic.
Now, you might now believe that it’s that good of a list of things to do, so…
I’ll also give you $10 back through paypal just for buying through my affiliate link. Yeah, you make me some money, I’ll save you some money.
All you have to do is buy through my affiliate link (see above) and when you’re done go here:
http://www.jonasblog.com/hostmonster-bonus
and input your order number and I’ll give you access to the videos and my todo lists.
Summary
There’s really no reason to take a chance with other hosting when Hostmonster has proven itself to be by far the best. Even though it’s not the absolutely cheapest hosting, it is by far the best.
I know that buying hosting is a big decision (once you buy it you’re stuck with that hosting pretty much for at least a year) so if you have any questions about it, feel free to ask me below. If I’m at my computer I’ll do my best to answer you.
Comments on Why Hostmonster Is The Best Hosting Company »
A person at Bluehost says they are the best and biggest. He said they are exactly like Hostmonster since they are the same company. I’m new to web hosting so what is your recomendation, Bluehost or Hostmonster?
@Ron – Basically, Bluehost and Hostmonster are now the same. When I wrote this, Bluehost only allowed you to host 5 domains on one account. Now, they allow 50, which is basically the same as unlimited.
I still use hostmonster, because I’ve used them both (I used to have 5 different bluehost accounts until the company created hostmonster) and I’ve never had a problem with hostmonster that they didn’t solve for me.
So, basically, either way you choose, you’ll be fine.
Hi John,
I just stumbled across your blog trying to find out more about hosting.I have looked at several review sites and hostmonster and startlogic have been in the top 3 on all of them.Right now startlogic is looking good because I found an offer for a $50 instant rebate.In my current financial situation I need every break I can get.I’m pretty new to all this and found your blog very helpful.Still researching,I’ll probably be back.
Thanks for the info
Hi John,
I am new to this. To clarify my understanding of “unlimited domains” , so if I have different niches with different domains, they are called addon domains because I do not have to use subdomains within a main domain?
thanks
Is Hostmonster really much better than Startlogic? It is a dollar less each month and I also found a $50 rebate. I am more concerned if Startlogic is as reliable or have as good support as Hostmonster than features. Thanks John. BTW I intend to use my site hosting my videos, if that makes any difference.
@Andrew
-I have a startlogic account. I’ve had it for probably 4 years. I keep it because I have 1 site on that account that makes me money and I haven’t had to touch it in years. But, if it weren’t for that, I would have cancelled it a long time ago.
When I was using them, their support wasn’t very good, they didn’t allow me to host very many domains, and my site ran really slowly.
John
@wai kei
Yes, you are right. You can add domains to it as “addon” domains. Cpanel will still create a subdomain of your main domain when you do that, but that subdomain will never get used. You will always use the domain you just added as an addon domain.
John
Thanks for the info on your view of Hostmonster. I use them and am very satisfied with both the hosting,especially the 2 year advance rates, as well as their domain registration . I agree with you on the hosting at GoDaddy. Go Daddy is one of the best registrars; they would have to go a long way to catch up to Hostmonster for hosting msnagement.
@TonyC
I have them all in 1 datacenter because I own all the servers and it’s much cheaper to have them all together than to split them across different data centers. For what I need them for, it works perfectly. I don’t know what you’re talking about with retail vs wholesale.
@Guest User
Yes, I still give $10 back.
What if, I don’t want to create subdomains for every addon domains? Is it possible with Hostmonster ?
For example – let us say I have one primary site xyz.com hosted with hostmonster and I also have few other web sites a.com , b.com etc. Now I want to add these 2 sites as addon domains but also want that these sites should NOT come as subdomains of the primary site like a.xyz.com, b.xyz.com.
Is it possible ?
thanks
@Sudhir
No, it’s not possible. On any hosting account they will always use subdomains.
When I first saw this I also thought it was weird and thought it was stupid. After a while, I realized it really just doesn’t matter. It has never affected me (not in 5 years) so it’s not something to really worry about.
John
Hi John,
I need hosting, e-commerce, shopping cart and a merchant account to launch a line of greeting cards. The difficulty that I am having is getting a bottom line price of all the products, what I am finding is that I have to purchase the hosting account first before I find out about the prices of the other products. Can you help me with pricing or point me to where I can find these prices?
Hostgator @ 11:24 pm
[...] check out this blog post made by a smart dude called John Jonas. Here’s his blog post about it Why Hostmonster Is The Best Hosting Company (he has an affiliate link for you to go through but you don’t have to- I think he’s earned a [...]
I already have had a hostmonster account for over a year but have not done anything with it. Is there a way to get your tutorials if I am already with hostmonster?
John, what are your thoughts on host gator. i use them and happy with their support though seem to have issues with them on when installing scripts, software, making changes to .htaccess file, they always fix it for me but wonder if that should even be happening. and stay away from 3rd sphere if anyone thinking about them, grrrr..horrible and expensive.
Will be checking out hostmonster in a month for a new site Ill be putting up and will go through your aff. link, like to see your tricks and software you use.
Yeah I always used HostGator too and their support is great.
Hi John,
am having problem with ix webhosting company .All my websites have been hacked not just me, many customers with ix having the same problem. now am trying to find a secure hosting company … a hosting company that i trust. do you think that HostMonster will provide me with that ?
Even though I have moved to a VPS and a dedicated server, I agree that Hostmonster is the best hosting company. I setup all my clients with them.
I have to disagree with the post.
For shared hosting it will be hostgator.
For dedicated server it will be Liquidweb.
@Peter – It’s good to have your opinion. This is just my experience. I have a hostgator account. My experience is that hostmonster is better for one reason: customer support.
Thanks for the input.
John
John,
I used your recommend and signed up with hostmonster.
I wanted to add a domain this morning but their site was down.
So was yours.
I hope this is just a one time coincidence.
I love your blog and i follow your advice.
I did some survey and it seems HG has a lot of good customer support review. Why you said HM’s cs is better? In what way?
so… what is the best host for me?
Just signed up at Hostmonster. Sweet deal thanks John.
What about Hostgator John? They appear to be a pretty solid well reputed firm?
Thanks for sharing your opinion with me
What does SSH mean?
Bruce
My thoughts on HostGator:
I have a hostgator account.
I use my hostgator account.
It’s a very good company.
I just prefer hostmonster. I know I will always be able to talk to someone in their customer support. I know they’ll be reasonable in all (well…probably almost all) circumstances. They run their company the way I would run mine if I had a hosting company.
John,
I use script heavy WP blogs that tend to run lots of plugins and subsequently lots of server resources. My experience in the past has told me that a shared hosting environment and these types of blogs/sites don’t mix.
What is your response to this scenario, and do you run these types of sites in your hostmonster account?
You will have no problem running these scripts/blogs on a shared hosting environment.
This blog you’re reading, is running the latest version of Wordpress and it’s on a shared server.
In fact, this blog you’re reading is on a hostmonster shared server.
I have lots of wordpress sites on shared hosting.
I have both Bluehost and Hostmonster
To tell you the truth if there is one of the hosting companies that is above the others ( and of the mainstream I have only one that is not fine) bluehost is by far the best
Hostmonster is fine – it never stood out as anything that exceptional just run of the mill fine
Maybe that is because I had bluehost first and saw it is that – yet i never really found hostmonster heads above the others on my list
Glad to have your input plus the fact that the two are related
Someone broke into my bluehost account. I took three websites offline so there would not be any further problems. Next day without warning bluehost took all of my accounts offline and told me to get another host. That was costly! I make my money on the interenet. I had been a good customer of theirs for about 3 years, never late with a payment and never caused a problem or asked for much help. I went to hostgator and they told me if my account gets hacked let them know and they will help me put it back together again. Now that’s support!
I’m trying to get a website and need a hosting company. I like your feedback on hostmonster.com. Just one question, have you ever used justhost.com. They are currently offering $3.95/mo. Just curious if you have any experience. Thanks.
I just hired my first VA from PH. I would like to know if I am to direct her to MyProjectPlans and start her learning the Adwords Lesson or do I need to have her start with “The Difficult First Task” as you described in the John Mills video? She is signing the contract as I am writing this comment on your blog.
Hi John.
Thanks for the tips on what makes a good “shared” web hosting account.
Just one question for you…
…What’s SSH?
Thanks.
Alan H (UK)
@Sahm-Wah – Nope, no experience with justhost.com.
But, for the $3/month you’re looking to save, go with someone reliable…it’s worth it.
John
Hey John,
How’s it going I enjoy your blog I am new at this and have a couple of questions for you.
1) What package should I go with when I join Hostmonster under your link.
2) My Domain name for my main Blog should it be my Name:AlanEThompson or a Business Name example:Alansmarketing Blog which type do you think would be better. This is for my main Blog.
3) Also I noticed that Ultimate Blog has a Theme should I get that or just use a free one. Who did your Blog it looks great!
Thanks for the Info John it really helps.
Alan
@Alan – sign up for the cheapest package at Hostmonster. It’s very good hosting.
What your blog domain should be depends on your goals for it. Is it your marketing blog? Is it your personal blog? Is it specific to some business of yours? You need to have a goal for the blog and know why you’re doing it in order to properly pick a domain name for it. If you don’t know, then just use your name or something. It doesn’t really matter.
In my opinion, most of the time a free theme is just as good as a paid theme.
John
Great information to make a good choice …Thnx;)
@c4
I am thinking of adding up domains for my online businesses. I was told that bluehost has a promo, maybe 3.95 dollars per month. Can you confirm?
Hi
Very nice post! Thank you!
What sort of nameserver name do you use for your nichewebsites? We are currently thinking about that, but it’s quite hard to find a right name.
Or do you use a companyname for that?
Thanks for help
I'd probably concur with John on this.
I've used Godaddy and they were great
except for the price and no addon domains.
I'm using HostGator now and not having
used any other service, I'd say it has all
the features John describes for HostMonster.
The customer support is great but only
per web/support.
I gotta say that Godaddy has the best support
I've ever had. But again if HostMonster is
has the godaddy support and the hostgator
features and price that would be my first choice.
Yves
just signed up to Hostmonster thru your affiliate link or I hope so, for my rock bands website. I was considering using Site Build it for some other business type stuff Im into. Do have any thoughts or comments on that/them? Thanks for the info by the way you were the deal maker.
just paid godaddy for the domain and i guess blogger is hosting it? If you can explain, when i need hosting (soon, as I plan on doing some of that niche marketing) I'd be happy to use hostmonster…Thanks,David
You're "input order number" link (http://www.jonasblog.com/hostmonster-bonus) doesn't work – could you fix it for us? I'm waiting to buy some HostMonster hosting from you until it gets fixed…
Thanks!
FYI, It goes to your main page (http://jonasblog.com)
I just signed up for hostmonster through your affiliate account. I was really excited to get your video series about using wordpress. However, when I used the link to get the videos, it only directed me to the blog article. What can I do to get access to the videos?
Hey!
Great blog, and informative article. I am running into the same problem as a few of the above posters. Your link just redirects back to your homepage?
John, what do you think of IX? I'm with them and they have fantastic support, reliability, and great features. Plus they manage their own data centers.