Although Latvian web hosting provider BIGhost’s website doesn’t say when it was founded, its President and CEO’s LinkedIn page suggests that he started the company in 2009. The website itself has a copyright notice dated 2010, and the style of it suggests that it hasn’t been redesigned since that time. So, it’s safe to say that this provider has been around for at least ten years.
BIGhost uses reliable technologies such as Intel processors, the Linux CentOS operating system, and APC UPS devices to deliver services to customers. In addition to web hosting, server rental, server monitoring, and repairs, BIGhost also offers script installation, website development, and website ranking improvement services. Since it also offers computer assembly, printer repairs, and cartridge refilling services, we could call the company a “Jack of all trades,” so I do wonder whether this makes it a master of none.
BIGhost’s website can be switched between the English, Russian, and Latvian languages.
Features and Ease of Use
BIGhost’s four shared hosting plans (START, BUSINESS, PROMO, and VIP) give you:
- One to unlimited domains
- cPanel/Virtualmin control panel
- 1 GB to 20 GB disk space
- Unlimited bandwidth
- 3 to unlimited email accounts
- Unlimited FTP accounts
- phpMyAdmin and unlimited MySQL databases
- SSL certificate support (except for the START plan)
- Daily backups
- Support for PHP5, Perl, and CGI
- SSH/SFTP
- ClamAV and SpamAssassin
The ClamAV antivirus and SpamAssassin spam tools protect against malware threats and filter emails. You also get web traffic analysis tools like AWstats and Webalizer to give useful insights into your web traffic.
While BIGhost’s “plans” page mentions a 99.9% uptime guarantee, its terms-of-service page specifies a 99.99% service uptime and promises to pay a pro-rated amount for periods of downtime in any given month.
In addition to hosting, BIGhost provides a range of web development services, SEO, and web page modernization. However, I must admit that BIGhost’s own website doesn’t have a modern appearance.
Pricing and Support
BIGhost’s shared hosting plans are priced competitively. You can pay for them in USD via PayPal on monthly or yearly billing cycles, and you get a small discount on annual billing. You get an initial 14-day money-back guarantee, and then a refund for any unused months’ prepayments when you retain the services for at least a year.
According to its website, you can contact BIGhost’s customer support during working hours on weekdays via telephone, email, or Skype. I couldn’t connect via Skype, and my exploratory email went unanswered, which makes me wonder whether this business is still in business.
