InterServer Review

Founded by Michael Lavrik and John Quaglieri, InterServer is a New Jersey-based company that’s been in the game since 1999. Initially launching as a virtual hosting account re-seller, the hosting provider has grown over the past 17 years and now operates two data centers in New Jersey and is in the process of expanding to additional locations, including Los Angeles.

Self-deemed (and widely proven) a budget-friendly provider, InterServer specializes in shared, VPS, and dedicated and co-location hosting solutions.

My experience with InterServer

This review is based on my experience with their VPS hosting (in year 2013/14) and shared hosting service, which I still own at this point of writing (May 2018).

I did an online interview with Interserver co-founder Michael in September 2014 and visited the company’s HQ in Secaucus, New Jersey in August 2016.

About InterServer, the Company

• Headquarter: Secaucus, New Jersey
• Established: 1999
• Services: Shared, VPS, dedicated, and co-location hosting

What’s in this InterServer review?

InterServer Plans & Pricing

• Shared hosting plans
• VPS hosting plans

Verdict

• My recent visit to InterServer data centers
• Who should host at InterSever

Interserver Promo Code: WHSRPENNY

Apply promo code “WHSRPENNY” to get InterServer (VPS or shared hosting) at $0.01 first month.

* Click image to enlarge. 

 Click here to visit the special discount page at InterServer.net

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The Pros: What’s Good About InterServer Hosting

1- Average hosting uptime above 99.97%

I have got two test sites hosted at InterServer. In overall, I am impressed with the host performance.

While most hosting sites shoot for a 99.9% uptime (and many fall short of that), InterServer managed to keep my site up 100% most of the time. The uptime history is published below.

InterServer Uptime (February 2018): 100%

Past Uptime Records (2015 – 2017)

* Click image to enlarge. 

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2- Fastest budget hosting around – TTFB below 220ms

InterServer Speed Test (Bitcatcha)

InterServer server response speed meets my expectation for a $5/mo host.

Recent server speed tests show that InterServer is one of the fastest budget hosting services around.

We ping our test site from 8 different locations using Bitcatcha and compare the server response times with other websites. As you can see in images below, the results were pretty good.

Feb 2018: A+, Excellent

 

* Click image to enlarge. 

InterServer Speed Test (WebpageTest)

Speed test is equally impressive as well for Interserver’s hosting. We used Webpage Test for our test site on the U.S. server and received a high A rating with a Time-To-First-Byte (TTFB) of 222ms.

Side note: Why stress so much on server speed?

That’s because 1) according to expert case studies, just 1 second decrease in site load time offers a 7% improvement in conversion rate and 11% bump in page views; and 2) Google is now using site speed as one of their ranking factors – you need a faster site (or at least a up to par server) to rank well. 

More on InterServer data center and performance control

I dug deeper to see the technology behind InterServer servers and found some interesting facts.

First, InterServer platform is very well built. The company runs its own data centers in New Jersey and uses an intelligent BGPv4 routing protocol. The BGPv4  protocol allows it to route traffic to the closest backbone provider. That reduces latency while increasing speed.

Second, the company doesn’t overload its servers.

InterServer keeps its servers around 50 percent capacity. That means that when you use the servers, you have more resources at your disposal than you get with many of the other shared hosting companies out there.

You might think that as this service gets more popular, the company will end up overtaxing its servers, but InterServer only allows 100 new customers a day. That way, it doesn’t grow too quickly so it never overburdens its servers.

Michael Lavrik also had some input about his company’s performance. During our interview, he said:

I think the difference is experience; we’ve been doing this for 15 years.

We’ve made all our mistakes already. We follow a proven model for every aspect of the operation from running an Ethernet cable to installing software.

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3- Price lock guarantee

Many hosting providers lure in new customers with super low pricing for their initial term of service and then jack the rate upon renewal.

I love that InterServer avoids this practice and instead values loyalty; its price lock guarantee ensures that the price you start with will continue to be your price for as long as you keep your account.

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4- Great support: Helpful + 100% In-house

InterServer customer support team doesn’t just say they’ll help you. They actually do.

For example, during a recent crackdown of another hosting company (which I can’t tell you who), InterServer stepped in to help the unhappy customers. It set up a special team to help the people migrate their sites over to the InterServer hosting platform, making the transition seamless. You won’t get that type of service with many hosting companies.

All customer supports are done from InterServer office at Secaucus, NJ.

I was at their office and witnessed the team answering users requests.

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5- 99.9% uptime backed by SLA

InterServer service is backed by clear writing SLA (see image). Should they fail to meet the guarantee in a given month, they’ll credit clients on a case by case basis.

* Click image to enlarge. 

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6- InterServer free site migration service

The biggest plus for InterServer is their free site migration service.

For those who are too busy (or new) to move your web host, just contact InterServer and get their support staffs to do it for you.

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7- Highly customizable VPS hosting plan

I tried InterServer’s VPS plan in 2014 and quickly appreciated how its flexibility.

InterServer VPS clients can customize just about everything, from their preferred operating system to the software, control panels, and server capacity.

There are 16 sets of pre-configured VPS plans at InterServer. Users can choose the number of needed CPU cores, RAM, as well as storage and data transfer capacity

Also, unlike many other VPS hosting providers that require users to pay for bundled software and apps, InterServer only requires its clients to pay for what they need and use.

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8- 20 years of proven business track record

With over 20 years of experience under their belt, Intersever has established themselves as one of the best hosting providers today with a business track record that’s equally impressive.

They’ve often been the choice for bloggers and website owners who want a great performing web host that is still affordable.

Everything is built and managed in-house at InterServer – including the power and room cooling system. This is how the company manage to keep their prices low – as told by Mike.

InterServer servers are built from scratch by the team in this “Builders” room.

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The Pros: What’s Not Good About InterServer

1- InterServer unlimited hosting is limited

For starters, although InterServer offers “unlimited” features in its shared hosting environments, the unlimited hosting does come with limits.

This will always be the case with any provider, though… and, like with any provider, InterServer users are bound by server usage rules and terms. However, unlike many other hosts, InterServer gives users a clear foray into what those limits are, providing them in the ToS (quoted below).

No single shared hosting account is permitted to use more that 20% of the server resources at a time. A single account is limited to 250,000 inodes at any given time. Clients on the Unlimited SSD shared hosting platform using more then 1GB of space will be moved to SATA.

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2- VPS hosting not for newbie or non-techie

Because InterServer does not bundle the usual software (like cPanel and Softculous) into their VPS plans – the initial setup process maybe overwhelming for newbies and non-techies. I tested InterServer VPS in 2014, the setup process was very manual and took longer time than I expected.

If you plan to go with InterServer VPS, I recommend allocating a bit of additional time for the learning curve and setup process.

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InterServer Hosting Plans & Pricing

InterServer Shared Hosting

The InterServer shared hosting plan is a budget-friendly option, at just $5 per month with discounts available for longer-term contracts. If you use promo code WHSRPENNY and pre-order 3 years, the price drops to $3.88/mo.

The service includes a wealth of handy features, including one-click installs, 24/7 customer support, a free migration service, “unlimited” features (more on that later), and more. InterServer shared hosting features, server specifications and other details are shown in the table on right sidebar.

InterServer VPS hosting plans and details

InterServer offers a variety of VPS and cloud hosting plans to provide the flexibility and scalability its clients are looking for.

Linux cloud VPS begins at $6 per month, while Windows cloud VPS starts at $10 per month. Both offer a variety of options, based on your needs for CPU cores, memory, storage, and transfer caps.

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Verdict: Should You Host at InterServer?

Here’s a quick recap of the pros and cons about InterServer. In short, I think InterServer is a rare gem in hosting market.

InterServer = 5 Stars!

I spoke to Michael and John, the two founders, at length during my visit to their New Jersey office.

It was clear that they’ve very serious about their customers and their business. They have a clear vision of how they’re going to take their business to the next level.

To put it simply, I strongly recommend this web host.

InterServer is recommended for…

I think InterServer shared hosting is good for small businesses and individual bloggers who want a budget hosting solution. Keep in mind that InterServer does not jack up their price during renewal – this means your hosting cost will be stable and cheap for long term.

InterServer VPS, on the other hand, is for advanced users and tech geeks.

InterServer alternatives

Just in case InterServer is not for you but you need something similar – InMotion Hosting, SiteGround, and A2 Hosting.

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Order InterServer at $0.01/mo

Apply promo code “WHSRPENNY” to get InterServer (VPS or shared hosting) at $0.01 first month.

* Click image to enlarge. 

To visit or order InterServer: https://www.interserver.net/

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