InMotion Hosting Review

Based in both California and Virginia, InMotion Hosting has been around for more than a decade (established in year 2001).

InMotion Hosting offers a wide range of web hosting services (shared/vps/dedicated) in dozen of different packages. The company is best known with its superior customer service (the company is BBB Accredited since 23/6/2003 and scores A+ with BBB Business Review at time of writing) and is rated as one of the top hosting providers by many well-known hosting review sites. As such, experienced webmasters/bloggers normally regard InMotion as the web host for businesses and corporate users – you know, people who do not mind paying a little extra for better reliability and after-sales supports.

Tested and Tracked since 2009

In 2009, I got a free Launch account from InMotion Hosting for review purpose. I got hooked instantly and became a loyal customer. Today, I pay InMotion Hosting more than $500 every year to host all my important sites. I am not saying this because InMotion Hosting gave me a free account in 2009; I am saying this because InMotion Hosting is outstanding in many ways. Read on to find out more.

Update Aug 2017: Special Discount, 57% OFF

Before we dive into other details, let’s talk about some special discount I’ve got from InMotion management. Yes – special discount. Note that not all InMotion Hosting prices are the same and I can give you the best deal with InMotion Hosting.

How this InMotion Promotion Works

For InMotion Business Class Hosting, the original price is $6.99/8.99/15.99 per month for Launch, Power, and Pro Plan respectively. If you order via my special promotion link – a special rate I got from the inside – you’ll get to save up to 53% – after discount price at $2.95/4.49/7.49 per month.

Update: InMotion Hosting Replaced Hostgator As My Top 5 Web Hosting Pick, Why?

InMotion Hosting displaced Hostgator and was crowned as one of my top 5 web hosts since 2013.

Why? Quick answer: Price.

Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with Hostgator. The Gator is above average in many ways today. HOWEVER, with the special discount I mentioned earlier AND a number of new add-on features (SSD, Max Speed Zone, free data backup, Secure IMAP email, etc), InMotion Hosting stands out as the better deal in 2016.

Hostgator vs. InMotion Hosting (Pricing Comparison)

Compare the signup price differences between Hostgator and InMotion Hosting.

* All prices listed are based on 24 months subscription and  my exclusive deals with both hosting companies. For InMotion Hosting discount, order via this promo link; for Hostgator, use promo code “WHSR25DISCOUNT”.

My Experience with InMotion Hosting

One important note: I pay InMotion Hosting roughly $600/year to host my important sites. 

This site, for example, is hosted on InMotion VPS Hosting (VPS-100HA-S) – you can verify this by searching my WhoIs info. My experience with InMotion Hosting, in short, is nothing but pleasure. If you are searching for a worry-free hosting service, InMotion Hosting is a must-see.

What I Like About InMotion Hosting?

Here are the five main reasons why I rate InMotion Hosting 5-star.

Magnificent Hosting Performance: Strong Uptime Record + Lighting Fast Server

InMotion is one of the best web hosting services I have ever tried so far. As mentioned, I have been hosting at InMotion shared and VPS hosting since 2009 (that’s more than seven years to date). The host rarely goes down and loads blazing fast all the time.

InMotion Hosting Uptime (Jun/Jul 2016): 99.95%

InMotion Hosting Server Speed Test

Exclusive Max Speed Zone + Free SSD Hosting

Update April 2015: InMotion Business Hosting are now using solid state drives (SSD) – which loads 20x faster than normal hard disk and is able to push through about 65% more data from the server.

InMotion Hosting utilizes peering technologies and multiple data centers at different locations (US East Coast or West Coast – Los Angeles CA or Washington DC).

All shared hosting users are allowed to choose their data center location. And, if you live within the Max Speed Zone, your email and website can run up to 6x faster! Bear in mind that Google now counts site speed as a ranking factor, so faster site (in many occasions) means better search ranking.

Wide Choices For Server Upgrades 

Outgrown your current web host? No problem. With InMotion, you can upgrade to VPS or dedicated hosting plan easily (more about how to choose the right InMotion hosting plans later).

90 Days Full Money Back Guarantee 

Okay, you probably do not care much about refund policy and trial period if a web host is performing well. However InMotion’s loooong trial period indicates a few positive things – one, the company is very confident with their service quality (90 days is the longest full refund period in hosting industry); and two, longer trial period shows that the company has strong commitment in meeting customers satisfaction.

Update June 2013: InMotion Hosting now offers “Anytime Money Back Guarantee” on top of its 90 days full refund trial. In other words, you can cancel your subscription any time and get back the remaining subscription fees.

Proven Track Record In Hosting Business

As a webmaster, the last thing we want is our hosting company ran out of business.

You’ll have less one thing to worry about when you host at InMotion Hosting. The company has been around since 2001 – they survived the dot-com bubble (2000-2002) and sub prime crisis (2008); and have been going strong for the past 5 years. If you were looking for a stable hosting company, InMotion Hosting definitely fits the bill perfectly.

InMotion Hosting Uptime Review

The longer I host my websites at InMotion Hosting, the more I like the web host – because their servers rarely fail me! Have a look on the following uptime records (screen captured from Uptime Robot) and you’ll see what I’m talking about. It actually feels a bit silly to update the uptime scores on this page because the readings I get are hardly different (usually 99.99% or 100%).

InMotion Hosting Uptime (Feb/Mar 2017): 100%

InMotion Hosting Uptime (Jun/Jul 2016): 99.95%

InMotion Hosting Uptime (Mar 2016): 99.99%

InMotion Hosting Uptime (Feb 2016): 99.97%

InMotion Hosting Uptime (2013 – 2015)

InMotion Hosting Uptime (Sep 2015): 99.83%

InMotion Hosting Uptime (Jul-Augt 2015): 100%

InMotion Hosting Uptime (Mar-Apr 2015): 100%

InMotion Hosting Uptime (Mar-Apr 2014): 100%

InMotion Hosting Uptime (Feb-Mar 2014): 99.99%

InMotion Hosting Uptime (Dec-Jan 2014): 100%

InMotion Hosting Speed Test

We added a new test in our review process. All test sites were pinged from 8 different location using a tool named Bitcatcha. The results (in site response time, milliseconds) were compared against 10 million other sites and rated in form of A-to-F ratings.

Test Results: A+, Very Good

Our test site hosted on InMotion Hosting scored an impressive A+; all locations’ response times were below 350 milliseconds. More info in the following image.

Important to Know

Before we conclude this review, there are found things I need to clarify.

1- “Jerry, which InMotion Hosting Plan should I go with?”

I often get this question from my readers.

Shoppers often get confused and undecided when they see the number of choices with InMotion Hosting. In case you are one of them, here’s my advice.

Shared, VPS, or Dedicated Hosting?

First, you have to choose between InMotion Hosting Business Class (which is a shared hosting), VPS, and dedicated hosting plans. If you need server root access or special security features or custom software, then VPS or Dedicated Hosting Plans are your options; else, (very) high chance that you would be alright with the lowest end package – Business Class Hosting.

Launch, Power, or Pro Plan?

InMotion has three different packages with Business Class Hosting – Launch, Power, and Pro. The main differences between these three packages are stated in table below.

If you are starting with one domain, then just go with Launch; if you are running with 3 or more different domains, then go with Power or Pro – Simple as that. Keep in mind that you can always upgrade your hosting plan later for free. So it would be wise to start small and signup on the lower plan first.

2- Launch Plans now come with e-Commerce support

InMotion Hosting has revamped its website in 2013 and there are tons of great cart software supported (1-click installation – Softaculous) now.

The web host now supports the most business / e-commerce software, including OpenCart, PrestaShop, WHMCS, Magento, osCommerce, Zen Cart, The Hosting Tool, TomatoCart, AbanteCart, BoxBilling, Avactis, QuickCart, AlegroCart, PHP Point Of Sale, CubeCart, phpCOIN, and ZeusCart.

3- InMotion Hosting Renewal Price.

All InMotion Hosting prices listed in this page are based on exclusive one-time discounts. The standard renewal prices, for 24-months subscription, for Launch/Power/Pro are $6.99/8.99/15.99 per month.

For those who find this surprising, note that this is a rather standard practice in hosting industry. Web hosting companies often sells their services at lower price to win market shares and charge back the usual rates upon renewals.

Given the years of positive experience with the host, I think the renewal rates at InMotion are still a steal. And, as a matter of fact, the prices are $6.99/8.99/15.99/mo) still cheaper than many other web hosts.

4- Phone verification for all new customers 

InMotion operates on some very tight fraud prevention policies where all new customers will need to verify their purchase via phone.

While this might sound nothing for those living in United States, it’s sort of inconvenient for some of us who are living outside U. S. (personally, I do not like to take long distance phone calls like this because of the time zone gap and reception issues). But then again, this is a give-and-take case – tighter security guidelines means the company is in better shape and you get to host your site in a safer environment (less chances of having spammers and fraudsters as neighbours).

Conclusion: Who Should Go With InMotion Hosting?

What InMotion Hosting is about: Reasonable price + Supreme class web hosting service. If you don’t mind paying a little more (than a budget host), then InMotion Hosting is a go.

Order InMotion Hosting

For more details or to order InMotion, visit (link opens in new window): https://www.inmotionhosting.com/