INames.co.kr review

First impression

iNames is a South Korean firm providing various such as Shared Hosting, Domain Registrations, Database Hosting, Streaming Hosting, and Dedicated Server Solutions, to name a few. It is run and owned by the INAMES Corporation, who have their headquarters in Seoul, and have been in operation as an incorporated firm since 1999.

Trial Period

This provider offers a 1-month free trial period for shared hosting plans to potential customers, great if you want to try them out before signing up. Don’t, however, expect a money-back guarantee as they don’t offer such. Although they may give back the money on some occasions, it’s only in the rare cases of service disruptions caused due to hardware failure.

Billing Cycle

At iNames, there is billing cycles to suit just about everyone. You can choose from monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, annual, biennial, or even triennial options, except for the 'i Mini + plan,' which only offers annual, biennial, or triennial billing cycles. Additionally, longer commitments offer discounts of up to 40%, which is a huge saving!

They accept several payment methods, including credit cards and wire transfers, which are standard for South Korean hosting providers.

Control Panel

This Korean company does not utilize mainstream control panels such as cPanel or Plesk for shared account hosting. Rather, they utilize a control panel of their own design, but one that provides all the features of the others in one interface, including database control and the capability to create subdomains or set up SSL Certificates. Personally, I find the panel user-friendly, but feel it lacks some of the advanced features panels such as cPanel include.

Limits

iNames' Linux-based shared hosting plans are available in six distinct options, each differing in terms of disc space (standard HDD, not SSD), allowed traffic, and email limits. Their entry-level plan, the 'i Mini +,' offers 500MB of disc space, 1GB of daily traffic, and one POP/IMAP email account, which is ideal for a small personal blog or website. On the other end of the spectrum, the 'i Special' plan provides 25GB of storage, 25GB of daily traffic, and 25 POP/IMAP email accounts. All plans include unlimited MySQL 5.1/5.7 databases as standard. Unfortunately, they don't disclose the CPU power or RAM included with each plan - a seemingly common trend among many Korean providers.

Their Windows-based shared hosting plans, on the other hand, also come in six options. While slightly more expensive than Linux-based hosting, they offer a bit more. These plans start with the 'i Basic,' which includes 1GB of disc space, 2GB of daily traffic, a 100MB MSSQL database, and two 30MB POP/IMAP email accounts. The top-tier plan, the 'i Solo,' boasts 20GB of storage, 20GB of daily traffic, 2GB of MSSQL databases, and 30 POP/IMAP email accounts with 30MB each.

Website Builder

iNames provides shared hosting account users with their “Smart Builder tool”, a website builder that's designed to be extremely user-friendly, even for beginners. It allows users to create and deploy websites without coding knowledge. With its drag-and-drop interface and pre-designed templates, it’s designed to get people and small businesses on the web in a flash. This comes in very useful for web hosting new users or for someone who just needs a quick option to the more complicated platforms. This website builder comes at no charge, so it’s a useful bonus for hosting new users. Alternatively, iNames provides a paid option where they create and construct the site for you, in the event that you prefer the experts to take over the technical side of things.

Security

They take security seriously when it comes to hosting plans, and they have implemented some robust infrastructure protection for sites. Daily backups, free Let's Encrypt SSL certificates to encrypt data in transit, and on-demand SSH access, all contribute to secure their plans. Sadly, they don’t include features such as DDoS protection, or advanced malware scanning and removal tools – which I feel is a must these days.

So, they get the basics done, but users who need more sophisticated security tools will need to seek them out elsewhere or install them separately.

OS

iNames hosting plans are meant to meet different needs with different operating systems. For their Linux shared hosting, they use the rock-stable CentOS 7.9, ensuring dependability and responsiveness. For the Windows-based plans, they run Windows Server 2008 R2, a stable OS with high compatibility across numerous applications. For Windows.net hosting services, users will get Windows Server 2008 and IIS 7.5, great for ASP.NET applications.

Support

If you get stuck and need urgent technical assistance, you can reach their support agents through phone, email, support tickets, or live chat (the last two options require logging in and having a verified account). Response times vary depending on the complexity of your request, but for urgent issues, calling them is usually the best option. I found the live chat responses to be quick, with answers arriving within 2 minutes. While the agents are friendly and helpful, not all of them speak fluent English, so occasionally things can get lost in translation.

Conclusion

For me, iNames is a bit of a mixed bag, and whether it’s the right hosting option depends on what you’re after. If you’re running a small business or personal site in South Korea and value local support and features tailored to the region, it could be a solid choice. Their variety of Linux and Windows hosting plans, along with flexible billing cycles and a free trial, make it appealing for those just getting started. However, if you’re someone who needs advanced features like SSD storage, transparent server specs (like CPU or RAM), or fluent English-speaking support, you might find yourself scratching your head - or pulling out your hair. In short, it’s a decent pick for local users with basic needs, but it’s not the one-size-fits-all solution for everyone.