HostGator Review

Ryan Frankel

By: Ryan Frankel

Ryan Frankel

Ryan began developing websites in the late '90s and has personally tested just about every web host and cloud platform worth trying on the market today. With a masters degree in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Florida, he leverages his extensive knowledge of hardware, software, and their engineering relationship to inform HostingAdvice readers of the technical implications of their hosting choices. Ryan's subject matter expertise includes, but is not limited to, WordPress, cloud infrastructure management, product UI/UX design, and popular web development languages such as JavaScript and PHP.

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Editor: Lillian Castro

Lillian Castro

Lillian brings more than 30 years of editing and journalism experience to our team. She has written and edited for major news organizations, including The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the New York Times, and she previously served as an adjunct instructor at the University of Florida. Today, she edits HostingAdvice content for clarity, accuracy, and reader engagement.

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OVERALL RATING 4.5 / 5.0
★★★★★
Features4.6 / 5.0
Ease of Use4.4 / 5.0
Pricing4.3 / 5.0
Reliability & Support5.0 / 5.0
Discount for Our Users See Deals

Consistently innovating across platforms, HostGator offers a modern hosting service for those looking for unlimited bandwidth and domain registrations. Whether you're looking for a shared hosting plan, cloud services, or the HostGator website builder, the company will have whatever you need. Read on for our detailed HostGator reviews.

Category Ratings

We had one of our resident hosting experts, Ryan Frankel, sign up for a HostGator account and take it for a spin. Below are Ryan’s ratings of the HostGator experience, broken down by the types of hosting HostGator offers.

If you decide to go with HostGator, you may get a discount by using our link to sign up. While we often make commissions on purchases made through our links, this had no bearing on Ryan’s review.

Here’s what Ryan found in reviewing HostGator:

Disclosure: When you sign up through links on our site, we often earn referral fees from partners. For more information, see our ad disclosure and review policy.

HostGator's Overall Rating (4.5 / 5.0)

Best Overall Rating

4.5
★★★★★

Price:

Setup Time:

Ryan Frankel

Ryan Frankel (HostingAdvice.com):

HostGator has been around for more than a decade and is well-respected for its large number of servers and consistent reliability.

Known mostly as a shared hosting provider, HostGator still supplies decent dedicated and VPS options if you need your site to scale.

HostGator costs slightly more than some of the other budget-minded shared hosts, but that echoes the brand's reputation for strong infrastructure and helpful support.

HostGator offers decent features in its basic shared hosting offerings, such as unlimited disk space, a nice control panel, and free website templates. Plus, you get the flexibility to add numerous add-ons for privacy, security, and productivity as you see fit.

Aimed primarily at the semi-technical user, HostGator's flexibility is its strong suit. Dedicated, VPS, and Windows hosting is available if that fits your needs, as well. Root access, SSH, and support for Ruby, Perl, Python, and other languages are available on all plans.

HostGator has nearly limitless options and control available for their servers, with the support and beginner-friendly tools that will appeal to the full range of customers.

  • Familiar and easy-to-use cPanel control panel
  • FREE drag-and-drop custom website builder
  • Unlimited disk space, email, and bandwidth
  • Flexible term lengths with no contract required
  • 74% off your first three years
  • Get started on HostGator now.
Money Back Guarantee
30 days
Disk Space
10 GB SSD - 40 GB SSD
Domain Name
FREE (1 year)
Setup Time
6 minutes
HostGator's Cheap Hosting (4.6 / 5.0)

Cheap Rating

4.6
★★★★★

Price:

Setup Time:

HostGator is a great compromise between performance and price. The company offers unlimited emails, MySQL databases, disk space, and bandwidth, plus one-click installs of popular open-source projects, in addition to a 99.9% uptime guarantee on its shared hosting plan.

HostGator’s price-to-performance perks also apply to its vast array of other hosting options, such as VPS, dedicated servers, and even reseller hosting.

The company's many hosting options make HostGator a great choice for sites on the rise, in need of options for the future.

For those just getting started and looking for a good, cheap host, HostGator bundles some nice features that hosting newbies can appreciate.

The Hatchling Plan is perfect for users who just want to create one website, while upgrading to the HostGator Baby Plan unlocks unlimited bandwidth, domains, and email inboxes.

The web hosting company’s custom website builder comes with more than 4,500 drag-and-drop, mobile-friendly templates to help users launch their website, blog, or ecommerce store, while the familiar HostGator cPanel interface helps customers seamlessly manage domains, email, databases, and one-click software installations.

If you are looking for a solid web host, with a ton of flexibility, plenty of power, and great price points, you should consider making HostGator your web host of choice. Be sure to use a HostGator coupon to make sure you score the best deal!

  • Host up to unlimited websites on a single plan
  • FREE SSL certificate included on all plans
  • Unlimited bandwidth & email addresses
  • 1-click WordPress installs & FREE blog tools
  • Get 74% OFF by buying 36 months upfront
  • Get started on HostGator now.
Money Back Guarantee
30 days
Disk Space
10 GB SSD - 40 GB SSD
Domain Name
FREE (1 year)
Setup Time
4 minutes
HostGator's Dedicated Hosting (4.6 / 5.0)

Dedicated Rating

4.6
★★★★★

Price:

Setup Time:

Founded in 2002, HostGator is one of the largest web hosts with a long lineage of dedicated server hosting. With updated hardware, including Intel Xeon Quad-core processors and a boatload of RAM, HostGator balances performance, quality web hosting service, and competitive pricing.

As one of the few hosts to offer managed support and a Windows-based operating system, HostGator is an excellent fit for those seeking hassle-free ASP.NET support.

HostGator boasts a top-of-the-line, fully redundant network and datacenter, which dedicated hosting users should appreciate.

The company also offers several dedicated IP addresses per HostGator server hosting account.

Finally, HostGator has a fantastic support team and 24/7 customer service available via phone, chat, or email. Combining that HostGator support with plenty of power, HostGator is a very respectable choice for a dedicated server host.

  • Linux or Windows servers available
  • HDD or SSD storage plus unmetered bandwidth
  • Fully redundant network and datacenter
  • SSH access and support for multiple languages
  • Managed or semi-managed solutions
  • Get started on HostGator now.
Money Back Guarantee
N/A
Disk Space
512 GB SSD - 2 TB HDD
Domain Name
New or Transfer
Setup Time
6 minutes
HostGator's VPS Hosting (4.7 / 5.0)

VPS Rating

4.7
★★★★★

Price:

Setup Time:

HostGator has built a great reputation in the industry for its shared web hosting options. The company's VPS hosting solution, with optional cPanel support, provide a nice and easy introduction to those who are new to VPS hosting and know their needs require more than a typical shared plan.

Starting at low price points and boasting tons of support, HostGator makes transitioning to a VPS plan reasonable and doable.

Each plan comes with two IP addresses and a bunch of storage, and recently expanded CPU and RAM offerings lend a ton of computing power.

If you're not sure a VPS hosting package is a good fit, take a look at the revamped HostGator cloud offerings, which offer additional scalability and redundancy at remarkable price points.

For those managing multiple hosting accounts, be sure to consider a HostGator reseller hosting plan, as well.

HostGator’s strongest point comes from its state-of-the-art datacenter. Featuring a fully redundant network with no single point of failure and multiple bandwidth providers, uptime should almost never be a concern.

Founded in 2002, HostGator is one of the largest online web hosts. The company has more than 12,000 servers under management and award-winning support. If you are looking for a small VPS server or value the strength of a great network, give HostGator a shot.

  • Full root access with fully or semi-managed options
  • Redundant network with multiple layers of security
  • FREE website, domain, MySQL, and script transfer
  • RAID-10 storage for data protection
  • Get up to 75% off when you sign up
  • Get started on HostGator now.
Money Back Guarantee
30 days
Disk Space
120 GB SSD - 240 GB SSD
Domain Name
New or Transfer
Setup Time
7 minutes
HostGator's WordPress Hosting (4.8 / 5.0)

WordPress Rating

4.8
★★★★★

Price:

Setup Time:

HostGator is great for all things shared hosting, and application-specific services — such as the classic one-click-install WordPress hosting — are no exception.

The team recently updated its already clean and intuitive HostGator cPanel dashboard, wherein users can find a myriad of free apps and scripts to install, including WordPress.

You could quite realistically have a WP-powered site up and running in as little as an afternoon. As is the case with many of our favorite shared WordPress hosting providers, including sister company Bluehost, HostGator offers unlimited emails, databases, disk storage, and bandwidth.

The one downfall is the lack of the popular free domain perk, but domain names are easy to obtain for around $10 to $15 bucks with any registrar.

You can also select, register, and pay for a domain directly from the HostGator signup page. If you're serious about your WordPress hosting, we recommend HostGator's new(er) managed WordPress platform, which is optimized for performance with cloud resources, multiple layers of caching tools, and a complimentary CDN.

Managed WordPress plan subscribers enjoy up to 2.5x faster page load speeds for their HostGator website or blog.

If you're running a business WordPress site, this is an excellent investment.

Once your site is designed and ready for promotion, HostGator helps you kickstart your online marketing efforts with $100 in paid advertising credits. Attract blog readers, potential clients, or online shoppers browsing Google search results.

We wish you the best of luck in your blog or online business hosting endeavors. WordPress is a known favorite in the space, and HostGator has established itself as a trusted partner well worthy of your consideration.

  • Managed WordPress hosting on shared servers
  • WordPress is preinstalled on all plans
  • Unlimited email addresses hosted at your domain
  • 99.9% uptime guarantee for your blog
  • $150 in Google Ads spend match credit
  • Get started on HostGator now.
Money Back Guarantee
30 days
Disk Space
20 GB SSD - 100 GB SSD
Domain Name
FREE (1 year)
Setup Time
4 minutes
HostGator's Website Builder (4.6 / 5.0)

Website Builder Rating

4.6
★★★★★

Price:

Setup Time:

Setting itself apart from the scores of competitors that rely on white-labeled website builder solutions, HostGator spent the time to painstakingly craft its own platform.

Gator provides a frustration-free experience that pairs the simplicity of drag-and-drop design with the company’s powerful and respected web hosting services.

Signing up is a breeze, and HostGator gives customers an option to add a suite of social media marketing tools. Users are quickly ushered into a gallery of more than 200 modern, mobile-responsive, and visually impressive templates that can be sorted by categories like beauty and fashion, music and entertainment, real estate, business consultant, portfolios, and others.

Gator covers blogs and ecommerce stores, even coming with a free domain name and SSL certificate.

Once you choose your basic look, Gator ushers you through a 15-second tour to show you the basic features of the editor — and it’s all you need.

Clicking on any element opens a menu that gives you options to change styles, whether it’s a section’s complete design or something simple like font or color.

We especially appreciate how Gator’s drag-and-drop interface gives users pixel-perfect control while still suggesting guides and grids for appropriate spacing.

Throughout the customization and design phase, users can seamlessly switch between desktop and mobile views to understand how your site will appear to all visitors.

Adding a blog or ecommerce store takes just a click. We wish Gator would suggest a select few designs that matched the current site’s template instead of the dozen or so options that reflect a wide range of categories, but we were impressed that the in-depth previews covered both the blog page and individual posts, for instance.

All in all, HostGator can be incredibly proud of its proprietary site builder — and customers can sit back and enjoy the confidence in having such a well-rounded tool at their design disposal.

  • Drag-and-drop design with the Gator™ site builder
  • Hundreds of mobile-friendly templates
  • FREE hosting, domain name, and SSL certificate
  • Easily add a blog, store, and social media
  • Analytics portal helps gauge site performance
  • Get started on HostGator now.
Money Back Guarantee
30 days
Disk Space
10 GB SSD - 40 GB SSD
Domain Name
FREE (1 year)
Setup Time
4 minutes

Features

(4.6 / 5.0)

A Wide Array of Hosting Options

  • HostGator offers shared, dedicated, cloud, and VPS hosting, as well as domain registrations, a website builder, and reselling options.
  • The crux of HostGator's services is its shared server hosting; this is what the company is known for and excels at. While focusing on the shared server segment of the market, HostGator has mastered what it takes to create a great customer experience, knowing the needs of the shared server client very well.
  • HostGator's understanding of the shared hosting user makes the team the ideal guide to lead customers into the virtual and dedicated server world as they outgrow the shared space over time.

Lots of Freebies

  • There are a lot of freebies that HostGator throws in with each hosting plan, including: unlimited disk and bandwidth, a free website builder and website building tools, several hundred website templates, free domain transfers, and unlimited MySQL databases.
  • Additionally, new site owners can call attention to their web property utilizing the $100 worth of Google AdWords credits, courtesy of the HostGator team.
  • Enjoy access to hundreds of one-click installs available for all of the major open-source projects, such as WordPress, Joomla, and Magento.

Great Support and Guarantees

  • A 45-day money-back guarantee allows you ample time to try out HostGator and make sure the company's hosting can serve your needs.
  • A 99.9% uptime guarantee is pretty standard for the web hosting industry and will cover most people's needs. If you need a higher uptime rate, you can find it, but it will cost you.
  • 24/7/365 support is available via phone, chat, ticket system, and an online knowledgebase.

Control Panels Galore

  • HostGator uses the latest cPanel software to power customers' administration consoles. You can get rolling quickly, including tasks like organizing and launching eCommerce shopping carts.
  • Using HostGator's backend account management panel, you can gather stats and logs using AWStats, Webalizer, Raw Log Manager, and Error Logs.
  • Windows hosting customers can oversee their environments using Plesk for website management, email account creation, and software installations.

Ease of Use

(4.4 / 5.0)
Gator™ Website Builder
HostGator Review
Strightforward Control Panel
HostGator Review
Metrics, Security, and Software
HostGator Review

From a modern drag-and-drop website builder to the familiar cPanel interface, HostGator excels in providing a simple, yet powerful, user experience. The setup process is easy to get going with HostGator, given the company's quick provisioning system and clear icons. We found the experience to be straightforward, and when we had questions, we could easily start a live chat to get them answered quickly.

Pricing

(4.3 / 5.0)

Hatchling Plan

Baby Plan

Business Plan

HostGator's pricing is in the middle of the road when it comes to shared and VPS hosting. Good customer service and live chats cost money, and most good beginner web hosts fall in this range.

Reliability & Support

(5.0 / 5.0)

With a 99.9% uptime guarantee, HostGator performs admirably when it comes to reliability. This level of service is the industry standard and while there are hosts with a higher uptime rate, they also have a much higher cost. HostGator has been in the industry for a long time, so you can feel safely assured that they are not a scam and will be around for the long term.

HostGator Includes:

Extensive Online Knowledge Base for Common Hosting Issues and 24/7/365 Live Support via Email, Phone, and Chat

Other Hosts vs. HostGator

Wondering how HostGator stacks up againt other web hosting services? See our host-vs-host reviews below and compare them side by side.

HostGator vs. Network Solutions

Applying to college is a big decision.

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Network Solutions vs HostGator

Overall Rating

★★★★★ 4.5/5.0
Network Solutions vs HostGator

Overall Rating

★★★ 3.0/5.0

HostGator vs. JustHost

Attention first-time site owners: JustHost and HostGator are rock-solid choices to dip your toes into the world of website ownership.

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JustHost vs HostGator

Overall Rating

★★★★★ 4.5/5.0
JustHost vs HostGator

Overall Rating

★★★★ 3.7/5.0

HostGator vs. Web Hosting Hub

Web Hosting Hub and HostGator offer feature sets at budget-friendly prices for small business owners.

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Web Hosting Hub vs. HostGator

Overall Rating

★★★★★ 4.5/5.0
Web Hosting Hub vs. HostGator

Overall Rating

★★★★ 3.8/5.0

HostGator vs. WP Engine

If you’re planning to host your WordPress site and don’t mind paying a premium for the best quality services, then look no further than the folks at WP Engine.

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WPEngine vs HostGator

Overall Rating

★★★★★ 4.5/5.0
WPEngine vs HostGator

Overall Rating

★★★★★ 4.5/5.0

HostGator vs. Shopify

Shared hosting expert versus eCommerce giant: In this host comparison, we’re putting Shopify and HostGator head to head to see which provider takes all.

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HostGator vs Shopify

Overall Rating

★★★★★ 4.5/5.0
HostGator vs Shopify

Overall Rating

★★★★★ 4.6/5.0

HostGator vs. InterServer

Whether you’re hosting a personal blog or an online store, the web host you choose will impact your website’s success.

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InterServer vs HostGator

Overall Rating

★★★★★ 4.5/5.0
InterServer vs HostGator

Overall Rating

★★★★★ 4.6/5.0

HostGator vs. Wix

Get ready to cast your ballot.

See full comparison »
Wix vs HostGator

Overall Rating

★★★★★ 4.5/5.0
Wix vs HostGator

Overall Rating

★★★★★ 4.6/5.0

HostGator vs. FatCow

In this comparison, we’re taking a good look at two of our favorite animals in the hosting industry: HostGator and FatCow.

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HostGator vs FatCow

Overall Rating

★★★★★ 4.5/5.0
HostGator vs FatCow

Overall Rating

★★★★★ 4.6/5.0

HostGator vs. WordPress

HostGator and WordPress are well-known players in the hosting industry, but they each offer a different suite of services.

See full comparison »
HostGator vs. WordPress

Overall Rating

★★★★★ 4.5/5.0
HostGator vs. WordPress

Overall Rating

★★★★★ 4.7/5.0

HostGator vs. HostPapa

HostPapa and HostGator are big names around HostingAdvice.

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HostPapa vs HostGator

Overall Rating

★★★★★ 4.5/5.0
HostPapa vs HostGator

Overall Rating

★★★★★ 4.7/5.0

HostGator vs. GoDaddy

We don’t usually see hosting providers that are so equally matched in their offerings.

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HostGator vs GoDaddy

Overall Rating

★★★★★ 4.5/5.0
HostGator vs GoDaddy

Overall Rating

★★★★★ 4.7/5.0

HostGator vs. Hostinger

Hostinger and HostGator have earned badges of respect in the hosting community for years of reliable service.

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Hostinger vs. HostGator

Overall Rating

★★★★★ 4.5/5.0
Hostinger vs. HostGator

Overall Rating

★★★★★ 4.8/5.0

HostGator vs. Liquid Web

Liquid Web isn’t the cheapest web host on the market, but it certainly provides a lot of bang for your buck.

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Liquid Web vs. HostGator

Overall Rating

★★★★★ 4.5/5.0
Liquid Web vs. HostGator

Overall Rating

★★★★★ 4.8/5.0

HostGator vs. TMDHosting

TMDHosting serves up user-friendly hosting backed by a revamped infrastructure — this web host’s shared plans offer unlimited perks for a super affordable monthly price.

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TMDHosting vs. HostGator

Overall Rating

★★★★★ 4.5/5.0
TMDHosting vs. HostGator

Overall Rating

★★★★★ 4.8/5.0

HostGator vs. Hostwinds

When spending your hard-earned cash, we know it’s crucial to ensure you get the most bang for your buck — That’s why we’ve done the work to compare two high-value, low-cost providers.

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Hostwinds vs HostGator

Overall Rating

★★★★★ 4.5/5.0
Hostwinds vs HostGator

Overall Rating

★★★★★ 4.8/5.0

HostGator vs. GreenGeeks

Earth-conscious hosting provider, GreenGeeks, takes center stage when it comes to quality hosting without the environmental impact of your traditional web service provider.

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GreenGeeks vs HostGator

Overall Rating

★★★★★ 4.5/5.0
GreenGeeks vs HostGator

Overall Rating

★★★★★ 4.8/5.0

HostGator vs. DreamHost

Science was one of my favorite subjects in grade school.

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DreamHost vs HostGator

Overall Rating

★★★★★ 4.5/5.0
DreamHost vs HostGator

Overall Rating

★★★★★ 4.8/5.0

HostGator vs. Media Temple

HostGator and Media Temple may offer a similar breadth of services, but their price difference is stark.

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Media Temple vs HostGator

Overall Rating

★★★★★ 4.5/5.0
Media Temple vs HostGator

Overall Rating

★★★★★ 4.8/5.0

HostGator vs. 1&1 IONOS

HostGator and 1&1 are well-matched for their scope of services — each host offers the full range of WordPress, shared, VPS, and dedicated server plans.

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1&1 vs HostGator

Overall Rating

★★★★★ 4.5/5.0
1&1 vs HostGator

Overall Rating

★★★★★ 4.8/5.0

HostGator vs. A Small Orange

At HostingAdvice, we love A Small Orange and HostGator — and not because their names are uber Floridian.

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A Small Orange vs HostGator

Overall Rating

★★★★★ 4.5/5.0
A Small Orange vs HostGator

Overall Rating

★★★★★ 4.8/5.0

HostGator vs. Weebly

HostGator and Weebly are a story of two chefs.

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HostGator vs Weebly

Overall Rating

★★★★★ 4.5/5.0
HostGator vs Weebly

Overall Rating

★★★★★ 4.9/5.0

HostGator vs. iPage

iPage and HostGator provide feature-rich hosting plans for affordable prices.

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iPage vs HostGator

Overall Rating

★★★★★ 4.5/5.0
iPage vs HostGator

Overall Rating

★★★★★ 4.9/5.0

HostGator vs. InMotion

Let’s get ready to rumble!

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InMotion vs HostGator

Overall Rating

★★★★★ 4.5/5.0
InMotion vs HostGator

Overall Rating

★★★★★ 4.9/5.0

HostGator vs. A2 Hosting

We’ve all heard that it’s impolite to brag, but when comparing hosting providers, we typically let this rule slide.

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A2 Hosting vs HostGator

Overall Rating

★★★★★ 4.5/5.0
A2 Hosting vs HostGator

Overall Rating

★★★★★ 4.9/5.0

HostGator vs. Bluehost

In this comparison, we present some of the biggest names in the hosting industry: Bluehost and HostGator.

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Bluehost vs HostGator

Overall Rating

★★★★★ 4.5/5.0
Bluehost vs HostGator

Overall Rating

★★★★★ 4.9/5.0

HostGator vs. SiteGround

SiteGround and HostGator have been around for a while.

See full comparison »
SiteGround vs HostGator

Overall Rating

★★★★★ 4.5/5.0
SiteGround vs HostGator

Overall Rating

★★★★★ 5.0/5.0

HostGator is the winner
4 out of 26 times.

The Rundown

Ryan Frankel

Ryan Frankel

Hosting Expert:

To recap, here's a rundown of what HostGator has to offer

HostGator is targeted toward beginners or those that are looking to host simple websites. The company offers nice VPS and dedicated options to folks whose websites grow outgrow shared servers. Plus, HostGator's been around for more than a decade and they have solid customer support available.

HostGator review

Overall Rating

4.5 / 5.0
★★★★★

About The Author

Ryan Frankel has been a professional in the tech industry for more than 20 years and has been developing websites for more than 25. With a master's degree in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Florida, he has a fundamental understanding of hardware systems and the software that runs them. Ryan now sits as the CTO of Digital Brands Inc. and manages all of the server infrastructure of their websites, as well as their development team. In addition, Ryan has a passion for guitars, good coffee, and puppies.
Ryan Frankel
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