British hosting provider LevelUp Networks was founded in 2009. It operates a network of servers in various locations within the U.K., and it provides shared hosting, WordPress hosting, VPS hosting, dedicated servers, and domain registration.
LevelUp’s website is nicely designed and organized, and there’s even a gimmicky style switcher widget that lets you change the color scheme to your liking. The website is in English, and all prices are presented in pounds sterling.
Features and Ease of Use
Although it’s predominantly a Linux host, LevelUp will provide you with Windows hosting by request. The two Linux shared hosting packages are Business and Business Plus. These plans vary in disk space and a few other factors, but they have the following features in common:
- Unlimited bandwidth
- 99% to 99.9% uptime guarantee
- Free website builder
- “Extend” control panel
- Software installer
- Regular backups
- Spam filter and virus protection
Whereas most hosting provides offer the cPanel control panel for users to manage their hosting accounts, LevelUp only offers this to dedicated server customers. For shared hosting, it provides the alternative Extend control panel that is good enough to get the job done via its user-friendly interface. You can easily manage your website files, email accounts, FTP accounts, and domains.
The provided one-click installer supports the same set of apps as the popular installers such as Softaculous or Fantastico so that you can install a CMS application such as WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, Magento, PrestaShop, phpBB, or TYPO3. However, the basic Business plan only allows you to install a limited number of applications.
As an alternative to a CMS-backed website, you can use the free website builder to create a website within minutes without technical knowledge. Choose from 300 templates, then place text and media components using the drag-and-drop interface.
When it comes to uptime, this vendor’s website can be a bit confusing. While the home page suggests a 99.9% uptime guarantee, the hosting page indicates a slightly lower 99% uptime.
Pricing and Support
LevelUp Networks’ prices are reasonable but not cheap. Although prices are displayed monthly, you’ll be billed annually. If you’re worried about signing up for a full year, you can take comfort from the 30-day money-back guarantee that should get you out within the first month if you’re not entirely happy. Pay by PayPal or credit/debit card.
You should be able to contact this company’s support staff via telephone, ticket, email, or live chat. However, the live chat channel was offline for weeks whenever I wanted to try it, and I failed to elicit any response via email. Although there is an FAQ section, it doesn’t answer many questions:
