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iPage Web Hosting Review |
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| Cheapest annual plan but somewhat slow performance; easy shopping cart creator; exclusive discount | |
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[Editor's note: iPage is currently offering NextAdvisor visitors an exclusive discount that brings the monthly price down from $5.25 to $3.50. There's no coupon necessary, just follow any of the links to iPage from NextAdvisor.com]
iPage is a new web host on the block and a respectable entry in the low-priced hosting business. Its offering is very similar to FatCow's, carrying many of the same components such as the ShopSite ecommerce program and the CM4all WebsiteCreator. It does have the cheapest single-year plan of any web host we've reviewed. Setup and domain registration are free, but domain privacy (which we recommend) will cost you $8.99 per year. Still, you're out the door for $50.99. iPage uses the popular cPanel for site management, but also allows you to manage basic site functionality through a nice custom control panel. Add-ons, such as blogs, galleries, and forums are implemented through InstallCentral. It offers a lot of what the ubiquitous Fantastico script manager does, but it's much easier on the eyes. We were able to install Wordpress, the popular blogging platform, with ease. iPage also incorporates Google's Webmaster tools into the control panel. This helps you manage your Google site map and spend the included Google ad credits. The CM4all WebsiteCreator is the included site builder. It's capable but somewhat kludgy next to some of the more advanced site creators out there. Despite not having drag-and-drop ease, its step-by-step construction method will have most people up and running in no-time. The ShopSite program is also extremely easy to use, and is great for novice web merchants merchants. Alternately, of course, you can upload your own site. The upload time of our 83MB site was fine. Unfortunately, playback of our unoptimized 78MB movie was consistently slow, showing a disappointing data transfer speed that could be problematic for graphically intensive sites. Also, we've noticed more down-time with iPage over time than with other web hosts. This may be ok for hobbyists, but businesses might want to look elsewhere. iPage's most distinguishing feature is the incorporation of a basic SiteLock Security Suite. SiteLock bills itself as "Security for Small Business" and provides a badge indicating site trustworthiness (somewhat similar to TRUSTe or Verisign). SiteLock provides very basic verification of your credentials (via your phone number) and performs a daily scan for malware and one complimentary scan for SQL Injections and cross-site scripting vulnerabilities 90 days after activation. If your site is safe, you get to display the SiteLock badge. It's good piece of mind, though complete protection from these threats would probably require more frequent scanning (which is why they encourage you to upgrade to the $199 per year plan). Still, it's hard to complain as it's a free service not provided by other web hosts. iPage provides 24/7 email, phone, and chat support. The phone support is based in North America and promises a hold time of less than two minutes. Our call was answered within seconds. Support was personable and helpful, with some modest attempts at up-selling. If you're not satisfied with the service, there's a 30-day money back guarantee for your hosting fees. If you do cancel in that period, you'll pay $15, mostly for the domain, which you will keep. If you cancel after 30 days, you'll get a refund for the remaining unused months, minus the above-mentioned fee. Ultimately we recommend iPage for its cheap single-year plan. The able site builder, smoothly integrated add-on support, and easy shopping cart creator are nice too. They're also a green host, meaning they off-set their carbon emissions through the purchase of renewable energy credits. The only real caveat with iPage is an early indication of slow downloads on large files and a little higher than average downtime. Webmasters with particularly media-heavy sites may want to steer towards a more robust host like LunarPages. But at $3.50 per month for a single-year commitment, the price is hard to beat. |
Service Details:
| Cheapest Plan: | $3.50/mo 1 year (after exclusive discount) |
| 1 Year Plan: | $42.00/yr; $3.50/mo (after exclusive discount) |
| $ Back Guarantee: | 30-day full refund, prorated after; $15.00 domain charge |
| Domain: | Free for life |
| Support: | Email, Phone, Chat |
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