Tarana.sa review

First impression

Tarana Tech was founded in 2013 and is based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. They specialize across a wide array of IT services. They deal in Domain Registrations, Shared Hosting, Dedicated Servers, Reseller Hosting, Website Design and Development, and Custom Software Programming, and are made up of a team of highly skilled programmers, hosting administrators, and have over 8500 clients all across the world at the time of writing.

Trial Period

They don't offer a free trial period for any of their hosting plans. However, they do provide a 30-day money-back guarantee on their services, which is a great safety net for new customers. If you're not satisfied with the service within the first 30 days, you can request a refund, which covers the full amount of your plan. It’s a risk-free way to try out their hosting services, knowing that if it doesn’t meet your expectations, you won’t be stuck paying for something you're not happy with.

Billing Cycle

Their Dedicated Server plans come exclusively with monthly billing cycles, perfect for clients who prefer short-term commitments. In contrast, their shared hosting plans come with semi-annual and annual billing options, catering to those looking for longer-term solutions, although personally, I prefer monthly billing with Shared Hosting.

They currently only accept PayPal and bank transfers as valid payment methods.

Control Panel

If you choose a Linux-based plan from Tarana Tech, your control panel will be cPanel. It's an industry-standard website management tool, offering an orderly, easy-to-understand environment that makes domain, email, and file management stress-free - even if you aren't up for being a technical expert. Built-in automation and simple settings mean that cPanel takes the frustration out of server management so you can use your time to work on your site and not fight backend settings.

Limits

Their Shared Hosting plans all come standard with unlimited disk space (though not fast SSDs, but regular HDDs instead), domains, POP/IMAP email accounts, traffic, and MySQL databases. There are three options to choose from, Unlimited-L, Unlimited-M, and Unlimited-Business. The Unlimited-L plan includes a 3600MHz CPU and 768MB RAM, while the Unlimited-M and Unlimited-Business plans feature a 2400MHz CPU with 640MB RAM and a 4800MHz CPU with 1GB RAM, respectively. These plans are budget-friendly and also include a free SSL certificate from Let's Encrypt. In my opinion, these plans are suited only for personal, or even small business websites but not much more than that.

When it comes to Reseller Hosting, there are also three plans available, ranging from the Ultra-S plan with a 9600MHz CPU and 2GB RAM to the Ultra-Business plan, which offers a powerful 24000MHz CPU with 5GB RAM. Just like their Shared Hosting, all Reseller plans include unlimited disk space, domains, POP/IMAP email accounts, traffic, and MySQL databases.

Website Builder

This Saudi host doesn't include any dedicated website builders in their hosting plans. However, they do offer their very own “Yakseb” feature, also known as YKSB, which is an online store builder that helps customers put their online shop up and running within minutes. It is loaded with advanced tools that are meant to bring in more buyers and sell more to their customers. It is very easy to use and doesn't require technical knowledge to operate. There are several available plans that include one which is free, and each additional plan offers more than the previous one. Tarana Tech also offers website design and development for those who would prefer to have a more custom website presence.

Security

Security is important for Tarana Tech, and several precautions are taken to secure their services and infrastructure. There are security systems built-in in the form of IDS technology that monitor incoming traffic and eliminate harmful requests even before they hit your website or application. They also have external backup services where they store data from clients on servers within and outside Saudi Arabia, giving redundancy and security to data. While they do not specifically say they have protection for DDoS (distributed denial of service) attacks, their support team assured that it is included and active on all plans. Free Let's Encrypt SSL certificates are included for all plans. For those who need more security, advanced data protection systems and external backup services are available from Tarana Tech and can be purchased separately to further enhance security.

OS

When it comes to their Dedicated Servers, this provider offers a couple of decent operating systems to choose from. You can choose to use one of several flavors of Linux - the likes of CentOS, or Ubuntu, or Debian - or, you can also subscribe to a Windows-based plan. The twist? They aren't actually stating what versions they are offering, which is somewhat frustrating if you need something specific. On the Shared Hosting side of affairs, it is easier - they use either CentOS or Windows Server 2012.

Support

According to their website, their support agents are available around the clock via a Ticketing System, Email, WhatsApp, and Phone Support, but sadly this is not the case. If patience is a virtue, then waiting for a response from Tarana Tech’s support team might just turn you into a saint.

Conclusion

Tarana Tech is one of those hosting providers that can be a decent choice - if you’re the right kind of customer. If you're running a basic website or a small business that doesn’t require ultra-high performance or lightning-fast support, their plans offer decent resources at reasonable prices. They throw in unlimited storage and traffic on shared hosting, which is great if you don’t mind traditional HDDs instead of SSDs. However, if uptime, speed, and instant customer service are dealbreakers for you, you might find yourself frustrated. Power users, large-scale businesses, and those who need cutting-edge performance may want to look elsewhere.