HOSTiQ.ua review

First impression 

The HOSTiQ company is based in Ukraine, and this is evident from the first glance at their website. The company's social activity and clear position of refusing to cooperate with clients from Russia and Belarus are also apparent.

The website has a specific funny design that leaves a very positive impression. It is easy to navigate and user-friendly as well. HOSTiQ also offers an advisor that can help you to choose the right hosting package. You just need to answer three simple questions. The link to the advisor is located on the home page.

Shared hosting packages are quite cheap: from $5,08 to $7.67 per month. Also, the company offers CMS optimized hosting. You can choose one of the following CMSs: WordPress, Drupal, Magento, OpenCart, Joomla or PrestaShop. The packages are small but rather cheap. In addition, the company provides affordable Reseller and Cloud hosting.

VPS servers are rather small but inexpensive. VPS runs on Intel XEON multi-core processors, self-powered RAID controllers, and Dell PowerEdge servers. A Cloud VPS is also available, allowing you to scale resources almost instantly and ensuring you don't overpay for unnecessary resources. Cloud servers can be rented either in the Ukrainian data center in Lviv or in Rotterdam. 

Dedicated servers are divided into three categories depending on the price: less than $150/mo, $150-200/mo and more than $200/mo. The server characteristics are not bad: lots of disk space and RAM, however, the CPU models are a bit outdated. Due to this, Dedicated servers can be considered as a bit overpriced.

Registration process - rather quick

Registration takes place during the first order or can be done separately without placing an order. There is an option to fill in the contact details later, allowing you to stay focused on the order process. All you need to register is your name and email address. However, when ordering trial hosting, you will need to verify your phone number and provide additional contact information.

Trial Period

The company offers a 30-day trial period for shared hosting packages and a $1 trial period for Cloud VPS. To order the shared hosting trial, click on «Try 30 days» under the chosen hosting package. For Cloud VPS, the trial period is limited to units. To order it, click «Get 20 units for $1» on the Cloud VPS page. No specific limits or restrictions are applied to the package during the trial period.

Please make sure that all the contact data entered is valid, as all the data will be verified by the company’s employees. In case some generic or invalid data is entered, you will not be able to benefit from the trial period.

Billing Cycle

For most hosting packages, four billing periods are available: monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, and annually. The longer the billing cycle, the more cost-effective the hosting becomes. Any hosting, except for a dedicated server, can be canceled within the first 30 days of use for a full refund. Please note that refunds are not available for domain registrations.

You can pay the bill using PayPal, bank card or Money orders. When paying with a bank card, the system securely stores its identifier for automatic payments when extending any service.

Control panel

The company provides cPanel for all of their Shared hosting packages. The panel is intuitive and easy to navigate. It also has a search bar that you can use to find the required feature.

Account information and resource usage statistics are located on the right side of the homepage. On the left side, you can find the 'User account manager' - a very useful feature that allows you to create users with different access levels and set up permissions, such as outgoing email restrictions. All the essential functions of cPanel are described in detail in HOSTiQ's own wiki instructions.

For VPS servers, it is possible to install Webuzo control panel for free, or opt for DirectAdmin or cPanel at an additional cost. As for Dedicated servers, you can install any control panel on your own.

Limits

HOSTiQ offers a variety of virtual hosting packages for projects of various complexities. These packages differ in the amount of disk space, ranging from 2 GB to 120 GB, as well as in RAM capacity and the number of sites for hosting and index descriptors. All packages include unlimited traffic, backup management, and a site builder. Depending on the package, customers may also be eligible for free domain registration and an SSL certificate.

The number of inodes is limited for Shared hosting packages, varying from 150,000 to 1,000,000, depending on the package. Additionally, these packages allow sending up to 200 emails per hour. If you need to send more emails, you can opt for VIP hosting, which offers unlimited email sending.

For Shared hosting packages, the maximum script execution time is limited to 300 seconds, and the maximum memory capacity (memory_limit parameter) is 1024 MB per PHP script.

The limits for VPS and Dedicated servers can be found in the plan description. It's worth noting that both VPS and Dedicated servers have unlimited bandwidth.

Website Builder

HOSTiQ offers their customers the website builder SitePro, which is now included in all shared hosting packages (except those with a CMS engine installed).

Creating a website based on SitePro is easy, even for those building an online resource for the first time. The base of templates provides 200 design options, catering to various subjects such as business, cooking, travel, services, landing pages, and more. Additionally, each template includes a set of high-quality themed images that can be used to create appealing site content, attracting users.

The website builder does not have an admin part; instead, all changes are immediately displayed on the page you are working on. This convenience makes it easy to choose design and formatting elements such as fonts, colors, and pictures. Modifying the site is simple: just select the desired element from the panel, drag it to the page's desired location, and work with the element directly.

Security

cPanel and Account Security: In the 'Security' section, you can enable various security features, such as ModSecurity or Hotlink protection. Additionally, you have the option to enable Two-Factor Authentication for your cPanel. However, please note that this feature is not available for your user account.

Hosting Security: The company provides comprehensive server protection against viruses ― Imunify360. This software combines a network firewall, web application firewall, and website antivirus protection (ImunifyAV). These elements work together to safeguard the server and sites on three levels. Unlike other antiviruses, Imunify360 not only detects and deletes infected files but also cleans them. Customers can also independently configure the antivirus operation through cPanel and manage infected files.

Backups are automatically created every 3 days for Shared hosting packages. The company stores seven 3-day backups and two monthly copies on their servers. As for VPS servers, backups are created once a week and can be provided as needed. However, the company does not offer DDoS protection.

OS

Shared hosting operates on the CloudLinux 6.4 x86_64 operating system. For VPS hosting, customers have the option to choose from AlmaLinux, Ubuntu, or Debian as the operating system. Additionally, you can install a licensed Windows Server OS on a cloud VPS. However, please be aware that while you can also install other Windows OS, the company does not guarantee support in case of problems with unlicensed software.

Support

The company provides 24/7 chat, email, and phone support. The most prompt assistance is available through the chat, with an average response time of 34 seconds. If the first line of support is unable to resolve your issue, your request will be forwarded to the email-only technical or billing department. The representatives are quick, accurate, and eager to help. As they state on their website: 'Soulful Ukrainian hosting with competent 24/7 support'.

Most questions related to hosting, control panel, CMS, and other aspects related to websites can be quickly answered in the company's own wiki or blog. For beginners, detailed video lessons on creating sites are available on the company's YouTube channel.

Conclusion

HOSTiQ's website stands out from the typical hosting company sites with its fun and humorous approach, leaving a positive impression on visitors. Beyond the surface, HOSTiQ excels in performance and support, with an incredibly helpful and knowledgeable team always ready to assist.

The trial period activation took approximately 2 hours due to meticulous verification of account details, a precautionary step to protect against fraudulent users. Although it may seem like an inconvenience, it is a normal procedure to protect the company from fraudulent users.

In conclusion, I highly recommend giving HOSTiQ a try for anyone in search of a reliable hosting service.