Hostnine has been offering superior web hosting services since 2006. They set themselves apart from the competition by hosting sites on Enterprise-quality hardware from multiple global data centers. Starting with their Softaculous Installer, they offer numerous value-added services that make them ideal for webmasters of all skill levels.
Features and Ease of Use
Hostnine offers a wide variety of features on Enterprise-quality servers and tier-1 bandwidth providers. All of their plans offer the following features as standard:
- Unlimited storage
- Unlimited bandwidth
- Softaculous Installer (One-click installation)
- cPanel access
If you’re looking for a provider that offers more advanced features, then Hostnine can fit the bill with value-added features that include:
- Supports Cron jobs
- Supports PHP 5, Perl 5, Ruby on Rails
- Unlimited email accounts
- Supports mailing lists
- Dedicated IP addresses available
- Advanced backup protection with both Raid 1/10 local and R1Soft remote storage servers
One thing that Hostnine offers that most hosts don’t provide is the ability to choose your data center for Business and Enterprise plans. You can select a data center in one of six different countries allowing you to host your data as close to your target audience as possible.
Hostnine makes it easy to set up your site with their Softaculous Installer that offers simple one-click installation for your website. They also provide cPanel access which allows you to set up whatever website you create. More advanced web developers will appreciate the ability to design their site in Perl 5, Ruby on Rails, and other programming scripts and languages.
Pricing and Support
Hostnine offers three service levels for their shared hosting. There are a few notable difference in the plans, and those are outlined in the chart below:
| Personal | Business | Enterprise | |
| Domains | 1 | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Parked Domains | 1 | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Free Domain? | No | Yes | Yes |
| SSL | $39.99 | $39.99 | Free |
| Dedicated IP | $2/mo | $2/mo | Yes |
| Data Center | US Only | US, UK, SING, CA, AUS, AMST | US, UK, SING, CA, AUS, AMST |
A couple of things I don’t like here is that you have to pay for your domain on the Personal plan. Most other hosts give you a free domain for any paid service plan. Also, only the Enterprise plan gives you a free SSL Certificate. If you want to host a secure site or a business site, that’s another added fee you’re forced to pay.
One thing I really like is their money-back guarantee, which is a 45-day money back guarantee. Most sites only offer a 30-day guarantee.
If you need customer support, you have options. They offer live chat and phone support 24/7. There is a searchable knowledge base available, but it is only accessible to those with a hosting account.
When I contacted support, they responded within around 30 seconds, although it was clear that their support staff weren’t native English speakers. Nevertheless, the agent had no difficulty understanding my issue and successfully provided a satisfactory answer.
