iPage has been providing reliable web hosting services for over a decade. As one of the vintage webhosts still operational today, you would expect that iPage would have mature and stable operating services. The company was re-launched in 2009 to great success; many new customers came to know about this heritage company and its services. In a very short time, iPage has amassed a large number of users, thanks in no part to its parent company, EIG.

The Endurance International Group owns some of the most reputed and widely used web hosting service providers in business, such as BlueHost. EastCGI, FatCow, JustHost, HostMonster, PowErb, Dot5 Hosting, etc. With over two million domain names in their direct possession, EIG is certainly the biggest owner of internet domains and the largest provider of hosting services in the world. EIG has existed for over 15 years and has consistently operated in the internet services domain; the company is well experienced and knows the business well. Under EIG leadership and management, iPage has thrived and now offers some of the most compelling deals in web hosting and domain name registration services.

iPage owes much of its success to the level of differentiation its services have from its competitors. It offers simple pricing structures, giving users a straightforward choice and does not require them to jump through numerous hoops to get started. iPage reminds us of the time when the web used to be a simpler place, and that may not be a bad thing after all.

Why should you choose iPage?

iPage has some of the simplest web hosting plans on the market, and introductory rates can be as low as USD 1.99 per month. The combination of cheap hosting and simple configuration makes iPage a very attractive choice for many new online ventures that are just starting out with their websites. iPage also offers unusually generous resources in its plans that go well beyond typical budget offerings. While squarely aimed at beginners, iPage also has advanced features that can make a good case for businesses and other enterprise applications.

The service is simple, versatile, and cheap to boot. iPage is the rare web hosting service provider that does not aim to offer every single internet service in existence in an attempt to squeeze more money out of its customers. The company provides services that are just right, but also has more advanced features in stock for when you might need them. This killer combination makes iPage a force to be reckoned with in the web hosting service industry.

What does iPage have to offer?

Domain Registration

iPage distinguishes itself from its competitors by offering an unparalleled feature set that is simply not matched by any other web host in the price bracket. In addition to free domain registration, iPage has a plethora of web development tools for its users that are provided at no additional costs.

Site Builder

The in-built site builder tools allows even novices to build attractive websites in a very short time; this is a boon for personal websites and small businesses who may not necessarily have the resources to hire a web developer to design and develop their website. With iPage, the online web design tool Weebly is of extremely high quality and with plenty of free templates, you need only click on the one you want and you are done! iPage supports WordPress hosting and also allows file uploads via FTP, allowing you to set up and operate your website as you please.

iPage also offers specific resources for e-commerce platforms at no additional charge. This helps users set up online payment gateways and connect with the appropriate logistics necessary to run an e-commerce venture. With iPage, your web responsibilities are covered.

Unlimited Disk Space & Email Accounts

iPage is also the only web hosting service provider, especially at the budget end of the spectrum, that offers unlimited disk space and email accounts to all users. iPage also does not restrict its users by bandwidth, which is a huge bonus to websites that may experience short bursts of high traffic. The company offers some of the best shared hosting features in the market, and it does so at very little asking price.

Free Google Adwords Credit

iPage understands that its customers are partners in business. Therefore, all new customers are provided with a USD 100 Google AdWords credit to get started with online advertising to grow their website and generate traffic. Few companies have showed themselves to be such customer-centric, in that they actually offer paid third party services to customers as welcome gifts.

Site Security

iPage also leads in the website security, with SiteLock providing secure hosting on the company’s servers. You can rest assured that your data is in safe hands.

24×7 Support

Finally, the company offers 24×7 support via telephone, email or chat over IM. iPage employs some of the best customer support staff in the industry and it shows in the level of services they provide to their customers. No matter what problem you encounter, you can rest assured that the talented support staff will come up with a solution very fast. Technical support is also top notch and ready to answer any queries or technical questions you might have. If you so desire, the support staff can even walk you through all the steps needed to get started with web hosting, although that seems unnecessary as the setup procedure is already quite simple.

What Payment Modes Does it Accept?

iPage accepts all major forms of payment, including credit card, debit card, and PayPal. iPage does not accept payment via bitcoin; possible reasons for this may be the lack of security in transactions and the inherent anonymity in such transactions. If you are signing up for an iPage account, you must pay using one of the more established and conventional means of payment.

Does iPage Offer Money-back Guarantee?

iPage offers a 30 day no questions asked money back guarantee. This means that if you are on the fence about choosing iPage for your web hosting needs, you are welcome to give it a month long effectively free trial. While you do have to pay the introductory rate when you sign up, if you cancel within the 30 days of registration, you are automatically refunded in full.

Keep in mind though that if you have transferred you domain to iPage, you were charged a non-refundable domain transfer fee. This fee ensures that you retain ownership of your domain name even if you choose to no longer host your website with iPage. You are free to simply transfer the domain to another web hosting service provider of your choice.

Is the company true to its customers?

Time to debunk some marketing speak. Something that any reasonably intelligent user should be wondering about by now is that how is a budget web hosting service provider offer unlimited resources like storage space and bandwidth? The truth is this: it does not.

iPage uses the term “unlimited” liberally in its marketing material and on all promotional content. However, keep in mind that such resource allocations come with certain caveats.  For instance, while iPage does offer to host an unlimited number of domain names on your account, it will only allow you to do so as long as you do not exceed certain CPU usage thresholds. If your CPU usage increases beyond that pre-set limit, your account will be suspended and you site will be left unusable.

Similarly, while there are no hard and fast limits on the amount of storage space and disk bandwidth you are allotted with an iPage hosting plan, there are certain checks in place to ensure that one customer is not hogging all the resources intended to be shared with the company’s other users. While “normal” operation of a website should not cause any problems, sudden increases in traffic will result in restrictions being put on your account to prevent loss of service to iPage’s other customers. iPage notes that its policies are designed such that the majority of the people can enjoy its benefits at an affordable rate. Sites hosted on iPage are not intended to be used for online backup storage or for use as file sharing platforms.

If your website requirements exceed what iPage deems as “normal” you will be sent a notice and given 48 hours to take adequate steps to ensure that your website does not continue to consume inordinate amounts of resources. If you do not comply with this, your website will be taken offline to preserve service for the other customers.

One thing to note is that iPage is not the only company that does this “unlimited” trickery. Every other web hosting services provider uses this trick, so you really cannot hold it against iPage. It may be disingenuous at a personal level, but when you lean back to look at the bigger picture, you may decide to be slightly more forgiving.

Tips Before buying an iPage hosting plan

As with any web host service provider, you get heavily discounted rates when you first sign up with the company. Keep in mind that this rate will not be continued and you will see an increase in the charges from the very next month. However, this is fairly standard practice in the industry, so there isn’t anything particularly outlier about iPage in this regard.

However, do take some time to look through a few review websites on the internet. In addition to getting to know more about how a web host really is, you can also find some exclusive coupon codes and discount vouchers that can further reduce the cost of hosting your website.

In addition to this, iPage already offers a 30-day money back guarantee to all its users, so there is basically no risk in signing up. Many users are not aware of the discount coupon route, so be sure to check a few websites for coupon codes before you sign up.

iPage Support

iPage is quite active on various social media platforms. It uses the most commonly frequented avenues like Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ not only for promotional purposes, but also as customer outreach programs. On social media, iPage can directly interact with prospective customers and offer personalised responses that are quite unlike the filtered responses people are usually subject to when they have an enquiry.

With over 27000 likes on Facebook and another 14000 on Twitter and Google+, the company can reach out to a wide number of people with extreme ease. This also ensures that the company does not need to spend a lot of resources on connecting with their customers, which can then be used to offer a greater level of web hosting services.

Nowadays, most companies have made social media presence and interaction an integral part of their customer relations management and iPage is no exception. It maintains consistent social media presence and it works!

iPage Alternatives

iPage is certainly not the only web hosting service provider in the world. It faces stiff competition from a number of other companies.

Dreamhost offers some very advanced website building and management features for the more veteran users. It has extensive and powerful domain management tools that can make quick work of many common and tedious tasks related to website management. It also offers unlimited data transfers and a comparable money back guarantee. The absence of servers running Microsoft Windows and the lack of a WYSIWYG website editor are drawbacks, but then Dreamhost is targeted to advanced users anyway.

For new website owners, HostGator offers some compelling arguments. It features both shared and dedicated hosting plans, allowing you to improve your site reliability and performance with a dedicated hosting plan as soon as you can afford one. Transition is seamless, and the company is renowned for its excellent customer service. While HostGator offers virtual private servers, it does not offer them on Windows. This makes hosting websites with Windows dependencies on a VPS platform impossible. Also, email service could do with a bit more security.

SiteGround is a leading player in the web hosting field. You may also try LiquidWeb if your web hosting needs are more than a standard website i.e. if your website receives a lot of traffic which a shared web hosting plan cannot handle.

HostMonster is a cheap and simple hosting service provider, but it has quite a number of shortcomings. There are no monthly plans to speak of, and while it does offer hosting WordPress sites, there is no active management included. Not everyone will choose to sign up for an annual plan, which appears to be the biggest cause of concern if you choose HostMonster. However, for the rock bottom pricing, you do get a decent feature set.