Red Rook web hosting is an Australian company established in 1999. It provides internet services that allow small and large businesses to obtain an online presence.
Its services include website design, email hosting, domain name registration, shared hosting, reseller hosting, VPS, and dedicated servers. Its data center is located in Australia and its website is available in English.
Features and Ease of Use
Red Rook offers Linux shared hosting with the following features:
- 99.9% uptime guarantee
- Daily automatic backups
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- Anywhere from 50MB to 20GB disk space
Red Rook’s shared hosting is not set up on a single server but in a clustered hosting environment. This means there are different servers for running MySQL, mail, and DNS. The advantage of this is that you enjoy great performance because multiple machines provide better processing power.
It supports PHP programming language and for added stability, and runs Apache on CloudLinux operating system. MySQL databases are supported, which can be managed through the control panel or via PHPMyAdmin.
All shared plans, apart from its starter web plan, are designed with the ability to run WordPress, Drupal, Joomla, and other CMSes.
It offers a generic shared SSL certificate for free on some plans. If you choose to get your own SSL certificate, there is an option for that, but you will have to get a dedicated IP address first. Also, those on the first two plans are not allowed to install their own SSL certificates.
Red Rook also offers shared hosting on Windows OS, but it sometimes reviews its offerings to provide top-notch features. As such, you might find that the Windows plans are undergoing review when you get to the website.
Pricing and Support
The prices charged are too expensive for the features on offer. The base plan, for example, comes with a meager 50MB and not much for other resources, yet the price is one that you’ll find for resources that are almost ten times what’s offered here.
To purchase Red Rook’s plans, you’ll need to first fill out the order form, and then wait for support to reply.
Its billing cycles are monthly, quarterly, and yearly. Payments for the monthly plan can only be made using credit card. Other billing cycles can be paid for using credit card, bank deposit, or check.
After purchasing a plan, your hosting account will be set up within one to three hours, but no later than 24 hours. If its service doesn’t meet your expectations, you can request a refund within 30 days of subscribing.
Its customer support includes a postal address, knowledge base, FAQ, and phone support, which includes a toll-free line for clients within Australia. There’s a contact form as well, which I used, but never got a response.
