Setting up the perfect site can take some hard work.
Even before you get started on designing a site tailored to your needs, you’ll need to find the best web provider to host the site.
Today, we’re going to review a well-known provider - HostPapa.
Cell | HostPapa |
Owner | Jamie Opalchuk |
Basic Plan | Starter |
Price | $3.95/mo |
Free Domain? | Yes |
Average Uptime | [cvg hostpapaup] |
Average Speed | [cvg hostpapaspeed] |
One-Click WordPress Installation? | Yes |
Free SSL? | Yes |
Number of Sites | 2 |
Free Email? | Yes |
Free Backup? | No |
Moneyback Guarantee | 30 days |
Support Channels | 24/7 Live chat, email, live telephone, knowledge base, blog |
Control Panel | cPanel |
Space | 100 GB |
Free CDN? | Yes |
Migration Services | For new accounts only |
Overall Rating | |
Get Hosting | |
Other Plans | WordPress Hosting ($3.95), VPS Hosting ($19.99), Reseller Hosting ($29.99) |
Best Alternative | |
Cell | Cell |
The best web hosting provider for you will depend on the type of site you’re looking to create, how fast you want your site to load, estimated traffic, and more.
This can make selecting the right hosting even more difficult, especially if you’re new to web hosting.
In this updated HostPapa review for 2023, I’ll go into what HostPapa provides and whether they are a reliable host.
Let’s get into it.
Introducing HostPapa
Established in 2006, HostPapa has grown over the years to support over 200,000 sites all over the world but mainly in North America.
This Canadian-based hosting provider aims to provide businesses and individuals reliable and secure hosting solutions to give them a trustworthy online presence.
HostPapa Review
To get to the review, we’ll look at these categories:
- Pros and cons
- Uptime and performance
- Products and features
- Security
- Customer service
- Pricing and packages
Let’s talk about each category in detail.
HostPapa Pros
High Uptime
One great advantage to Hostpapa is their high uptime.
Their uptime of 99.84% (August 2023) is difficult to beat and ensures your site always almost stays online.
Each percentage point of uptime equals fewer of your users being frustrated by extremely slow or unavailable pages. This will no doubt protect your trustworthiness and maybe even sales.
This also boosts your SEO. It will ensure that your site won’t be penalized by the Google algorithm due to poor service. This will give you better chances of marketing yourself effectively online.
Multiple Support Languages
HostPapa supports several different languages in addition to English, such as French, Spanish, and German.
This makes accessing technical support and managing your website much simpler if your first language isn’t English.
Feature-Rich Basic Package
Unlike other hosting providers, HostPapa gives you a lot of features in their basic plan, with 100GB of storage space and support for two websites instead of the usual one.
This gives you greater flexibility. It can support two separate sites at the same time on the same package and for no extra cost, making for a great value.
User-friendly control panel
The great thing about HostPapa is that its services and features were designed to cater to beginner- and intermediate-level users. This is why their control panel is incredibly easy to navigate.
cPanel is the industry-standard control panel — and for good reason. It offers easy account management through its interactive interface. Plus, it’s customizable to the varying preferences of each of its users.
Green web hosting
HostPapa sets itself apart from its competitors by offering green web hosting. This basically means that the company purchases renewable energy credits to balance out the amount of power and energy they use. If you’re concerned about leaving a too-large carbon footprint on our planet, then HostPapa is a great option for you.
Free website migration
Already have a website hosted somewhere else? No problem! You can easily transfer your website and data to HostPapa for FREE. Simply contact their customer support team and they’ll assist you throughout the entire process.
Note: This service is only available for new HostPapa users. If you’re an existing user, you can’t qualify for free website migrations. Contact the HostPapa support service to learn more about pricing.
Hostpapa Cons
Here now are the downsides to Hostpapa:
- No dedicated hosting
- Steep renewal rates
- No free backups
No Dedicated Hosting
Compared to some of the big web hosting providers such as Bluehost and GoDaddy, HostPapa is smaller and lacks in supporting heavy-duty sites.
They lack scalability. With no dedicated server hosting, you might have to go through the hassle of switching providers when your site grows too large for HostPapa to efficiently handle.
Steep Renewal Rates
Like many other hosting providers out there, HostPapa has higher renewal fees that can go up to 200% more, depending on the time frame selected and package type.
So while you may be able to net their package for cheap for the first 3 years, after that, you’ll have to be in a position to withstand the higher prices, which may not be feasible for every site owner out there.
No Free Backups
While many hosting providers normally provide some sort of automatic backup solution within their packages, HostPapa doesn’t.
You’ll have to purchase an additional add-on that can cost up to $50 a year for daily backups.
It’s a bit disappointing that they lack this feature (even their premium package) if we consider how integral it is to keep your content safe if you experience data loss.
Uptime and Performance
HostPapa does not only excel when it comes to uptime; they also have excellent page loading speeds of 537 ms (August 2023) that improve site users’ experience and prevent frustration.
This leads to improved user retention and lowered bounce rates that can have a positive effect on your site ranking.
Additionally, the use of SSD storage on all Hostpapa’s packages ensures that your content loads quickly, being 20X faster than traditional HDD storage.
This speed is improved even further with the number of server locations HostPapa provides, with more than 102 data centers in over 50 countries spanning 4 continents.
No matter where you are located, you’ll get fast loading speeds with HostPapa’s service.
Products and Features
HostPapa’s basic package comes with unlimited transfers and supports 100 email addresses in addition to the plentiful 100GB of SSD storage and 2 site support.
To add even more value, they offer a free domain name for a year, plus a free CDN that improves your site loading speeds even further.
You’ll also get completely eco-friendly hosting since HostPapa’s servers are powered by 100% sustainable energy. This is great if you’re looking to preserve or market ethical ethos.
On the more higher-end shared web hosting packages, you’ll get access to even more features. These packages come with unlimited SQL databases and 2X more CPU resources to strengthen sites that need the extra power to support their traffic.
What’s more, every package gives you one site-free migration, managed by HostPapa’s experienced technicians to give you a stress and bug-free transfer process.
Additionally, for an extra cost, you can outsource all the site management and design to HostPapa with its Do-it-for-me packages for both eCommerce and basic websites.
Check out this video if you want to know how to install WordPress on HostPapa:
Security
When it comes to security, HostPapa bundles free SSL certificates into all its packages, upgrading it to free Wildcard SSL on their premium package options.
In addition, you’ll get the standard DDoS protection as HostPapa implements firewalls to stop bots and hackers from attacking and taking your site down.
If you choose to pay extra, you’ll get access to HostPapa’s daily backups that will keep your files safe, secure, and accessible if you ever face any data loss.
You can also take advantage of their Protection Power and SiteLock packages. With this, they’ll scan your site for outdated code and malware daily to keep your site and its visitors safe.
Server security is ensured through 24/7 surveillance and backup power systems that keep your site up and running in the event of a power outage.
Customer Service
With HostPapa, you’ll get access to 24/7 customer support through email, phone, and live chat.
While they may not have the faster system in the industry, their support is still more than enough to help you solve complex and simple issues alike.
Also, their knowledge hub contains a wide variety of instructional articles and tutorials to help solve issues quickly as they arise.
And yes, these support articles come in numerous languages, such as Spanish, to make it more accessible if English isn’t your first language.
Pricing and Packages
Plan type: | Pricing range per month*: |
---|---|
Shared Hosting | $3.95-$12.95 |
WordPress Hosting | $3.95-$12.95 |
VPS Hosting | $19.99-$249.99 |
Reseller Hosting | $29.99-$119.99 |
HostPapa’s plans are ranked average when it comes to affordability. This means it’s not the cheapest and not the most expensive as well.
As for packages, they do provide options, such as reseller hosting, that you may be interested in if you’re looking to manage other businesses’ sites.
But the lack of dedicated server solutions may be an issue if you want to host a large site with HostPapa.
However, their wide selection of VPS packages does serve as a substitute to dedicated options and can be useful for medium to large-scale sites.
HostPapa FAQs
Does HostPapa have a website builder?
Yes.
All HostPapa packages come with a site builder. However, the version included in their lower-priced packages does come with a few restrictions on the total number of pages you can create.
Is HostPapa a good web host for large businesses?
While HostPapa does have a wide range of VPS packages, large businesses that expect to attract large amounts of site traffic may find it difficult to achieve high speeds without dedicated server options.
So while HostPapa may be a good pick for the small to medium-sized firm, larger businesses may find their services inadequate.
Wrap Up
HostPapa is a great option if you’re looking to establish a small to medium-scale site that requires high speed and reliability to keep users happy.
The additional security features and support can be attractive to businesses looking to offer their customers the best security possible.
However, this isn’t the best option for large-scale sites or established blogs with heavy traffic, so you may want to look at the other hosting option if your site has more heavy-duty needs.
Have we missed anything out?
Comment your thoughts down below.
Good luck with hosting your site!