Objective review DreamHost.com
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Price:
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Support:
- 🌐 Country: USA
- 🎂 Founded: 1997
- 👨 Customers: 1500000 (~2.90 % market)
- 🌎 Servers Location: USA, North America
- 🖥️ Control panel: Custom-built
- 📅 Free/Moneyback period: 97 days
Participants in ratings (the place occupied in the rating is indicated in brackets):
Countries: USA (19), North America (15). Alternatives and competitors: A2Hosting.com (8), Bluehost.com (7), WPEngine.com (6), Cloudways.com (7), HostGator.com (5), OVH.com (9). Control panel: Custom (8). Domains: Domain registrars (6). Other: Unlimited hosting (13). OS: Linux (21). Free trial: Moneyback (24). CMS: Joomla (16). Type of hosting: Cloud hosting (31), VPS-VDS (5), Dedicated server (4). Hosting for: Adult websites (4), Blog (21), Corporate website (21), Web-portal (17), E-mail (19). Hosting price: Cheap hosting (28), Price-quality ratio (18), Expensive hosting (27), Cheap VPS hosting (20)Overview
First impression
DreamHost is an employee-owned, Los Angeles-based web hosting provider and domain name registrar, that was originally founded in 1997 while its founders, Dallas Bethune, Josh Jones, Michael Rodriguez, and Sage Weil, were still undergraduates at Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, California. The company was originally named New Dream Network and later changed its name to DreamHost. Since their humble dorm room beginnings, their customer base has exploded to over 400,000 clients and more than 1.5 million websites that span more than 100 countries.
They currently offer a variety of hosting services including Shared Hosting, WordPress Hosting, Dedicated Server Hosting, Email Hosting, Domain Registrations, and Cloud Services, all from eco-friendly data centers that come with an unbeatable 100% uptime guarantee.
Registration
Registration takes place in several steps, which are fairly simple and understandable. But you have to fill out a few of the mandatory fields.
Trial Period
Dreamhost currently doesn’t offer any free demos or trials on any of their managed hosting plans, however, they do offer a lengthy 97-day money-back guarantee on Shared Hosting. All their plans, whether it be Shared, Managed or VPS, have month-to-month payment options so that you can test them out without any long-term commitments. Should you feel they are not the right fit for your needs you can cancel your services by accessing the Manage Account panel page and initiate it from there.
It is important to note that their "97-Day Money-Back Guarantee" offer is only applicable to credit card payments for shared web hosting. Other forms of payment, as well as Domain Registrations and SSL Certificates, are non-refundable.
Billing Cycle
When first signing up for a hosting account with Dreamhost, you'll need to use a Credit Card. This is to prevent fraudulent accounts from being opened. You may also use PayPal to sign up for services like Shared Hosting plans, DreamPress (which is DreamHost's managed WordPress hosting), or email-only accounts.
After the initial payment is received and your account is approved, you may make subsequent payments using all major Credit and Debit Cards (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, and Diners Club), Electronic Checks / ACH, PayPal, or Money Orders.
The discounted prices they list on their website are for new customers only. At the end of your purchase term, the prices will renew at the current rate.
Control Panel
Unlike most Linux-based hosting providers, cPanel is not an option on any of the DreamHost plans. Instead, they offer a custom-built, easy-to-use control panel, named DreamHost panel, to manage your websites, databases, emails, and billing all from one location. They even claim that most of their customers find this panel to be more intuitive and easier to use than cPanel.
In addition, this panel runs on separate servers and doesn’t take up any resources on your web server.
Limits
Dreamhost offers 2 plans on their Shared hosting to choose from. “Starter Shared” comes with 50GB hosting space and a limit of 1 website, while “Unlimited Shared” has no limits on the allocated disc space or websites you are allowed to run. Both include free domain registration, unlimited traffic, free WordPress migrations, WP Website Builder, a free Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate, and run on super-fast NVMe SSD drives.
Their VPS hosting features 4 plans, VPS Basic, VPS Business, VPS Professional, and VPS Enterprise. Each with a bit more RAM and space allocated than the previous one. The entry-level plan comes standard with 1 GB RAM and 30 GB NVMe SSD Storage, whereas the top-tier plan boasts 8 GB RAM and 240 GB SSD Storage.
Each virtual server hosting plan allocates resources that only your website can use. This equals unrivaled power, low latency, and high performance.
Website Builder
Dreamhost offers their customers a website builder, plainly named WP Website Builder, that works with WordPress. It is an easy site creation wizard tool that comes jam-packed with free professional templates, and a simple and easy-to-use drag-and-drop editor, carefully designed to simplify WordPress even more.
This builder is included free of charge on all their Shared Hosting plans.
Security
Security comes in the form of free Let's Encrypt SSL certificates, that are available on all hosted domains, as well as complimentary domain name privacy. They also offer a paid-for service called DreamShield, their own Malware Scanner, that you can enable through the control panel. It allows you to scan your website to ensure your site is free of any malicious code that could potentially compromise sensitive information.
When you add DreamShield, it immediately runs a scan on your site and will automatically scan it thereafter on a weekly basis.
OS
DreamHost servers currently run the Ubuntu and Debian Operating Systems, which are composed mostly of free, open-source software. Sadly, Microsoft technologies are not supported at the moment, and you will need to look elsewhere should you need to host a site built on the Windows platform.
Support
Support is mainly provided via Email, a Ticketing System (that is logged from inside your panel), and Live Chat that is available 24/7. However, DreamHost does have an option whereby customers can request a callback from technical support. By default, callbacks are not included with any standard hosting packages, but you can add three callbacks per month to your account for a nominal monthly fee. Support also offers a one-time callback feature for a fee as well.
Their online chat and email support, however, is more than adequate. I tried them out outside of normal business hours and still got a reply within 15 seconds on their Live Chat, from a well-trained and friendly support agent. There is also a pretty decent knowledge base available should you want to do fault-finding yourself.
Conclusion
Pros | Cons |
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You need to focus on the right things to get ahead, and more importantly, stay ahead in such a competitive market as hosting, and I feel Dreamhost does just that! Their prices are very competitive, uptime is 100%, servers are performance optimized, and support is excellent, their main target audience is WordPress users and with 810+ million websites running WordPress, you can hardly go wrong...I can go on and on. Another big factor that stands out for me personally, is the fact that they care equally much about their staff and their well-being, as they do about their customers and the environment. Overall an excellent company that I would be proud to host with.
Plans
Shared Starter | Shared Unlimited | |
Price |
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DDoS Protection | Yes | Yes |
Websites | 1 pcs | ∞ |
Database | ∞ | ∞ |
Disk Space | ∞ | ∞ |
Platform | linux | linux |
Control panel | Custom-built | Custom-built |
Details | Details |
DreamHost Cloud 2GB RAM | Basic VPS | Business VPS | Professional VPS | Enterprise VPS | |
Price |
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Memory (RAM) | 2 Gb | 1 Gb | 2 Gb | 4 Gb | 8 Gb |
DDoS Protection | - | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Disk Space | 80 Gb | 30 Gb | 60 Gb | 120 Gb | 240 Gb |
Platform | - | linux | linux | linux | linux |
Control panel | - | - | - | - | - |
CPU | - | - | - | - | - |
CPU Cores | 1 pcs | - | - | - | - |
Details | Details | Details | Details | Details |
Standart 4 | Standard 8 | Enhanced SSD 16 | Enhanced SSD 32 | |
Price |
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Memory (RAM) | 4 Gb | 8 Gb | 16 Gb | 32 Gb |
DDoS Protection | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Disk Space | 1000 Gb | 1000 Gb | 240 Gb | 240 Gb |
Platform | linux | linux | linux | linux |
Control panel | - | - | - | - |
CPU | - | - | - | - |
CPU Cores | 4 pcs | 4 pcs | 12 pcs | 12 pcs |
Details | Details | Details | Details |
.biz 16.99 USD 15.46 EUR 22.94 CAD 13.25 GBP 25.65 AUD 1405.58 INR 122.16 CNY 2514.01 JPY 1534.88 RUB 650.04 UAH | .co.uk 11.95 USD 10.87 EUR 16.13 CAD 9.32 GBP 18.04 AUD 988.62 INR 85.92 CNY 1768.24 JPY 1079.56 RUB 457.21 UAH | .com 8.99 USD 8.18 EUR 12.14 CAD 7.01 GBP 13.57 AUD 743.74 INR 64.64 CNY 1330.25 JPY 812.16 RUB 343.96 UAH FREE A free domain for your first year with annual hosting plans. | .fm 74.95 USD 68.2 EUR 101.18 CAD 58.46 GBP 113.17 AUD 6200.61 INR 538.89 CNY 11090.35 JPY 6770.98 RUB 2867.59 UAH |
.life 34.99 USD 31.84 EUR 47.24 CAD 27.29 GBP 52.83 AUD 2894.72 INR 251.58 CNY 5177.47 JPY 3161 RUB 1338.72 UAH | .name 12.95 USD 11.78 EUR 17.48 CAD 10.1 GBP 19.55 AUD 1071.35 INR 93.11 CNY 1916.21 JPY 1169.9 RUB 495.47 UAH | .net 10.99 USD 10 EUR 14.84 CAD 8.57 GBP 16.59 AUD 909.2 INR 79.02 CNY 1626.19 JPY 992.84 RUB 420.48 UAH FREE A free domain for your first year with annual hosting plans. | .org 11.99 USD 10.91 EUR 16.19 CAD 9.35 GBP 18.1 AUD 991.93 INR 86.21 CNY 1774.16 JPY 1083.18 RUB 458.74 UAH FREE A free domain for your first year with annual hosting plans. |
.pro 19.99 USD 18.19 EUR 26.99 CAD 15.59 GBP 30.18 AUD 1653.77 INR 143.73 CNY 2957.92 JPY 1805.9 RUB 764.82 UAH | .xxx 119.95 USD 109.15 EUR 161.93 CAD 93.56 GBP 181.12 AUD 9923.46 INR 862.44 CNY 17749 JPY 10836.28 RUB 4589.29 UAH | .co 6.99 USD 6.36 EUR 9.44 CAD 5.45 GBP 10.55 AUD 578.28 INR 50.26 CNY 1034.31 JPY 631.48 RUB 267.44 UAH | .io 34.99 USD 31.84 EUR 47.24 CAD 27.29 GBP 52.83 AUD 2894.72 INR 251.58 CNY 5177.47 JPY 3161 RUB 1338.72 UAH FREE A free domain for your first year with annual hosting plans. |
.me 2.99 USD 2.72 EUR 4.04 CAD 2.33 GBP 4.51 AUD 247.36 INR 21.5 CNY 442.43 JPY 270.12 RUB 114.4 UAH FREE A free domain for your first year with annual hosting plans. | .us 2.99 USD 2.72 EUR 4.04 CAD 2.33 GBP 4.51 AUD 247.36 INR 21.5 CNY 442.43 JPY 270.12 RUB 114.4 UAH FREE A free domain for your first year with annual hosting plans. | .ws 24.95 USD 22.7 EUR 33.68 CAD 19.46 GBP 37.67 AUD 2064.11 INR 179.39 CNY 3691.85 JPY 2253.98 RUB 954.59 UAH | .city 22.99 USD 20.92 EUR 31.04 CAD 17.93 GBP 34.71 AUD 1901.96 INR 165.3 CNY 3401.83 JPY 2076.92 RUB 879.6 UAH |
.sexy 16.95 USD 15.42 EUR 22.88 CAD 13.22 GBP 25.59 AUD 1402.27 INR 121.87 CNY 2508.09 JPY 1531.26 RUB 648.51 UAH | .today 19.95 USD 18.15 EUR 26.93 CAD 15.56 GBP 30.12 AUD 1650.46 INR 143.44 CNY 2952 JPY 1802.28 RUB 763.29 UAH | .xyz 1.99 USD 1.81 EUR 2.69 CAD 1.55 GBP 3 AUD 164.63 INR 14.31 CNY 294.46 JPY 179.78 RUB 76.14 UAH FREE A free domain for your first year with annual hosting plans. | .online 1.99 USD 1.81 EUR 2.69 CAD 1.55 GBP 3 AUD 164.63 INR 14.31 CNY 294.46 JPY 179.78 RUB 76.14 UAH FREE A free domain for your first year with annual hosting plans. |
.guru 39.95 USD 36.35 EUR 53.93 CAD 31.16 GBP 60.32 AUD 3305.06 INR 287.24 CNY 5911.4 JPY 3609.08 RUB 1528.49 UAH | .agency 19.95 USD 18.15 EUR 26.93 CAD 15.56 GBP 30.12 AUD 1650.46 INR 143.44 CNY 2952 JPY 1802.28 RUB 763.29 UAH | .news 19.99 USD 18.19 EUR 26.99 CAD 15.59 GBP 30.18 AUD 1653.77 INR 143.73 CNY 2957.92 JPY 1805.9 RUB 764.82 UAH | .club 1.99 USD 1.81 EUR 2.69 CAD 1.55 GBP 3 AUD 164.63 INR 14.31 CNY 294.46 JPY 179.78 RUB 76.14 UAH |
testing
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Australia (Sydney)
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Germany (Munich)
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Japan (Tokyo)
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Russia (Moscow)
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Great Britain (London)
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США, Нью-Йорк, Гарден Сити
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USA (Los Angeles)
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South Africa (Johannesburg)
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Australia (Sydney)
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Germany (Munich)
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Japan (Tokyo)
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Russia (Moscow)
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Great Britain (London)
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США, Нью-Йорк, Гарден Сити
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USA (Los Angeles)
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South Africa (Johannesburg)
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Australia (Sydney)
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Germany (Munich)
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Japan (Tokyo)
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Russia (Moscow)
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Great Britain (London)
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США, Нью-Йорк, Гарден Сити
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USA (Los Angeles)
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South Africa (Johannesburg)
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Australia (Sydney)
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Germany (Munich)
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Japan (Tokyo)
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Russia (Moscow)
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Great Britain (London)
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США, Нью-Йорк, Гарден Сити
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USA (Los Angeles)
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South Africa (Johannesburg)
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Australia (Sydney)
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Germany (Munich)
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Japan (Tokyo)
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Russia (Moscow)
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Great Britain (London)
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США, Нью-Йорк, Гарден Сити
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USA (Los Angeles)
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South Africa (Johannesburg)
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Australia (Sydney)
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Germany (Munich)
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Japan (Tokyo)
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Russia (Moscow)
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Great Britain (London)
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США, Нью-Йорк, Гарден Сити
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USA (Los Angeles)
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South Africa (Johannesburg)
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Australia (Sydney)
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Germany (Munich)
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Japan (Tokyo)
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Russia (Moscow)
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Great Britain (London)
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США, Нью-Йорк, Гарден Сити
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USA (Los Angeles)
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South Africa (Johannesburg)
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Australia (Sydney)
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Germany (Munich)
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Japan (Tokyo)
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Russia (Moscow)
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Great Britain (London)
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США, Нью-Йорк, Гарден Сити
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USA (Los Angeles)
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South Africa (Johannesburg)
Contacts
- Address: PMB #257 417 Associated Road Brea, CA 92821 USA
- E-mail: support@dreamhost.com
- All
- General impression
- Support
- Reliability
- Price
- Website performance
- Website interface
- Control panel
- Livechat
- Payment process
- Security
Reviews (41)
- Sorting
Support is not one of the best.
Service is - both in technical support and in billing. It is very obvious that Dreamhost puts great emphasis on, and takes pride in - customer service. I've had 'dumb' questions at times, and I've gotten easy-to-understand instructions by very patient and friendly people. Responses are always quick, and if something might take a while, they've kept me informed. Definitely top-notch customer care here!!
Service and pricing is excellent. Downtime is rare and short-lived, very reliable. The control panel might take a little getting used to, but only because you have so much control at your fingertips. It is logically laid-out, and easy to understand. Great help resources, as well. I would definitely, without any qualms, recommend Dreamhost.
Their custom made control panel is pretty simple by design, but it has everything that you need. Some options you will need to search a little bit.
As for the shared hosting, it is slow. Used it mostly for WP sites and a lot of plugins took time to finish their job, backup especially.
Customer support is really slow, usually, respond after 24h when you opened a ticket. Their knowledge base will cover all basics that you need.
DreamHost is one of the closest WordPress partners and heavily involved in its optimization. You can easily tell they don't just offer a shared account with the WP name on it.
We loved the in-built caching, which made our website faster than ever before. We tested the speeds with a higher load and the results were the same - full onload in less than a second.
We had a couple of essential plugins already preinstalled and a staging area to test every change before going live.
We never needed support during our stay and the only reason we stopped using DreamHost is that we discontinued that particular project.
Greatly recommended for WordPress.
With an above-average speed and uptime with lots of features, DreamHost is pretty easy to set up, and perfect for newcomers who don't have tech background regarding web hosting.
Although, the customer support is available 24/7, DreamHost doesn't offer a way to call customer support and in my opinion, it's not always up to the task.
If you are not restricted with a budget, i would recommend to take full advantage of the posibilities that DreamHost offers.
We highly recommend not to purchase the cheapest hosting package. Usually, they come with a row of issues: the server is often down, the hardware is outdated, lousy and slow support, registration and payment errors, etc.
For your convenience, we have created a tool that can help you to choose the right hosting package for you just by answering a few simple questions.
CMS is a content management system. A lot of hosting providers offer so-called CMS optimized packages. However, this is a marketing trick because most CMSs do not have special software or hosting requirements.
Trial period is a period of time, usually from 7 to 30 days, during which you can use the hosting services for free to test them.
Moneyback policy allows the customer to receive a refund for his order within a certain period after the purchase.
OS means the operating system is installed on the server. We recommend to choose Linux hosting unless your website requires another OS.
Bulletproof hosting - it’s a type of service that allows to host almost any type of content, even the restricted one (adult content, warez, spam etc). Bulletproof hosting providers do not remove your content in case someone reports an abuse.
Unlimited hosting - refers to companies that provide packages with unlimited disk space, bandwidth, number of domains, databases or email accounts, etc. This is usually a marketing trick but sometimes you can find something worth a try.
Secure hosting - it’s a type of service when the hosting provider is mostly responsible for the security of the user’s account: updates the software installed on their servers, provides an antivirus and malware scanner, firewalls and basic anti-DDoS protection, etc.
DDoS-protected hosting - companies that provide packages that include anti-DDoS protection. These packages are considerably more expensive than regular ones. Nevertheless, they’re totally worth their price because the company will ensure that your website is secured from cyber attacks.
Most websites require MySQL and PHP installed on the server to work correctly. Almost all hosting providers support these technologies.
ASP.NET is a Microsoft web application development platform.
The more comfortable the control panel is, the easier will it be for you to change the website and hosting account settings.
Most hosting providers that are in TOP20 in our rating offer user-friendly control panels, such as cPanel, Plesk or DirectAdmin. That’s why we recommend to pay attention to other, more important parameters, while choosing a hosting provider.