iPage Review

The domain ‘iPage.com’ has been around for more than 10 years but it was not very well known until its recent re-launch in October 2009.

Today, iPage stands as one of the greatest successes in hosting industry – The brand took off in late 2009 and went extremely popular in just two short years, ranking top on most of the hosting review sites.

iPage and EIG: A Little Background Story

In case you are not aware, iPage is owned and managed by a group of experienced management team – the Endurance International Group (EIG). EIG has been around for more than 15 years and their hosting platform is currently holding more than 2 million domain names. The group also owns some of the biggest names in web hosting industry, including FatCow, BlueHost, HostMonster, JustHost, PowWeb, EasyCGI, StartLogic, Dot5 Hosting, VPS Link, and so on. I am not very sure on the exact numbers but I believe EIG is now the biggest web hosting/domain company on earth.

Anyway, this is just background story that does not matter that much.

As web hosting shoppers and users, who owns the company is not our main concern. What’s more important are: What iPage has to offer? And, is iPage the right hosting for you?

We are going to find out the answers in this review.

 Update Nov 2016: iPage $1.99/mo deal remains

What Makes iPage Better Than The Rest?

There are couple of different factors that make iPage one of the best budget hosting in the market.

One key factor that beats all other shared hosting companies is: Price.

iPage = Cheapest Hosting Service

After testing and using more than 30 web hosting services, I realized something very important: Most budget shared hosting providers actually offer more or less the same hosting features (unlimited hosting, free domain name, webmail, 24×7 supports, etc etc) and quality of service (North American based supports, 99% server uptime, etc etc).

As we are getting the same hosting features eventually, the cheaper the deal the better (provide that the host comes with reliable server uptime and satisfying customer service), right?

You bet! This is why I think iPage is awesome. iPage hosting offers what most other shared hosting providers offer (in term of both quality and features), but it is 76% to 450% cheaper than the others. For easy reference, here’s the comparison chart. Notice how much money you get to save with iPage.

Price Comparison: iPage vs Other Hosting Brands

The Truth Behind iPage Unlimited Hosting 

As a smart consumer, you should understand some marketing gimmicks that are commonly used by hosting companies. The term unlimited hosting is nothing more than a marketing slogan.

Truth is, there is no unlimited hosting in this world – nothing is unlimited on this earth (if you want to learn more about this, read my article: The Real Meaning Of Unlimited Hosting).

Take our case, iPage, for example: Yes, iPage allows you to host unlimited addon domain in your hosting account; but it’s only “unlimited” ifyou are not exceeding the CPU resources allocated to your account. If you exceed certain level of CPU usage (which normally won’t), iPage will have your hosting account suspended.

Quoted From iPage TOS

How much disk space and bandwidth will my plan include?

There are no set limits on the disk space or data transfer (bandwidth) that we provide in our hosting plans. We want you to have the resources you need to build a great online presence, and 99.95% of all customers will have more than enough disk space and bandwidth to meet their needs. That being said, we do require all customers to be fully compliant with our Terms of Service and utilize disk space and bandwidth in the normal operation of a personal or small business website. While it is rare, we may need to put constraints on accounts that are using resources beyond what would be expected in the normal operation of a personal or small business website.

Typically, customers only run into issues if they use their accounts for storage or file sharing, which is not what our services are intended to support. In accordance with our Terms of Services the disk space and bandwidth you use must be integrated into the normal operation of your website.

What happens if I exceed “normal” usage?

If we have concerns about your account’s bandwidth or disk space utilization, you will receive an email asking you to reduce usage. Generally, we provide customers with a minimum of 48 hours to make adjustments before taking the account offline. Again, the most common situations involve customers who use their accounts for storage of files—particularly multimedia files—that are not linked off of their websites. It is very rare for a customer who is managing a personal or small business website to exceed normal usage.

Unlimited hosting is limited. This is commonly understood by most experienced webmasters. And, as quoted above, it is clearly written in iPage TOS that the company’s hosting is only unlimited under normal usage. So please don’t be naïve and believe that iPage is going to supply unlimited hosting power to your $1.99/mo account.

That said, however, my 3+ years experience with iPage was quite a happy one. Read on to find out more about my personal experience at iPage.

My Experience With iPage Web Hosting

My journey with iPage started in the early days when the new management took over and refurbish the company in late 2009. I have purchased iPage twice in the past – one in early 2010 and one in 2012. I still own one of the accounts today and I am hosting three websites on it.

My experience with iPage, in short, is positive. 

In general, iPage is one of my top recommendations for those who want cheap web host – the web host’s price tag is extremely cheap and its server is performing better than average according to my record. Note that I am not saying iPage is the best web host; but I do believe it is the best option for those who are looking for a cheap hosting option.

The ordering process at iPage was really smooth. In both of my purchases in the past, my accounts were ready in the next few minutes after I made  payment. You ought to think hosting companies that charge such a cheap price is inefficient most of the time, however truth is iPage works exceptionally well in this part. You can literally get a new site up and operating on iPage within the first hour (neglecting the time that you need for domain propagation).

Good Uptime Record

Furthermore, I am also happy with iPage server performance in term of uptime and server response speed. I know, you might read some complaints on iPage from time to time and wonder why I am rating the web host that good. Well for one, I do not put up illogical expectation – we are paying such a small fees for an iPage hosting account, it’s insane to expect the web host to provide the same kind of service we get at InMotion or WP Engine. Secondly, iPage has hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of customers – it is guaranteed that someone will be unhappy about something and went bad mouth on the web host. You just can’t please everyone when you are this big.

iPage Uptime Review

I have been tracking two iPage-hosted sites for more than two years. At time of writing, the uptime score for the past 30 days (see image) is 100% – which IMO, not bad at all for a budget host selling at less than $5/mo.

iPage Hosting Uptime Record (Feb/Mar 2017) – 99.99%

iPage Hosting Uptime Record (Jun/Jul 2016) – 99.97%

iPage Hosting Uptime Record (Mar 2016) – 100%

iPage Hosting Uptime Record (Jan/Feb 2016) – 100%

iPage Uptime (Mar/Apr’15): 100%

iPage Uptime (Nov/Dec’14): 100%

iPage Uptime (Oct/Nov’14): 99.99%

iPage Uptime (Dec’13/Jan’14): 99.93%

iPage Server Speed Test (New)

We added a new test in our review process recently and started tracking web host server speed. In this test, we ping our test sites are from 8 different locations (using a tool named Bitcatcha) worldwide and compare the response times with over 10 million websites.

Test Score: B+, Good

For our test site hosted on iPage, the server response speed (as per February 2016) is rated as B+ with responsed time of 72 and 27 milliseconds for United States servers and 196 milliseconds for London servers. We think this result is pretty good as there are only two other budget hosts (below $5/mo) that score as high as B+ in our test so far. Detail results are shown in the following image.

iPage Hosting – What’s Good About It?

To summarize, here’s the quick list on what we like and dislike about the iPage hosting.

• Extremely Cheap (iPage = Cheapest Shared Hosting!) As mentioned above, if you are searching for the Best Budget Web Hosting, iPage will be surely come into your radar. Fact is, iPage is extremely cheap. And not that only it is cheap; it’s also reputable and reliable. So if you want a good host at an affordable price, iPage hosting is a go!
• User Friendly And Extremely Smooth Ordering Process iPage is perhaps the most newbie-friendly web host. I have purchased iPage twice in the past and both processes were nothing but pleasure. The account setup process was idiot-proof and the ordering process was very smooth. My hosting accounts were ready minutes after payment.
• Eco-Friendly Hosting According to iPage official website, its hosting operation is fully powered by renewable energy. (Unfortunately, I have no proof on this point – I have no idea where does the company purchase its green energy certificates nor how much it purchased in the past.)

iPage Hosting – The Not So Good

• Lack Of Server Upgrade Option Like WebHostingHub, Pow Web, FatCow, and many other budget shared hosting providers; iPage offers nothing but shared hosting services. Although the Essential Hosting Plan is often more than enough for start-up websites; users who wish to go VPS or dedicated servers will have to go elsewhere. Server upgrade is no longer an issue with iPage as the company started offering VPS and dedicated hosting about a year ago. Thanks to Dylan Harty for pointing this out, you can read more about his review on iPage VPS hosting below.
• Unnecessary Software Offer When you first signup with iPage, you will be “lured” into various free trials. There is a wide list of so-call Marketing Services in iPage control panel including Constant Contact, Email Brain Small Business, Free Toll-Free Phone Number, Free YP.com Listing, Google Webmaster Tools, Y! Sponsored Search Credits, and so on. Please be aware that many of these services are only free during trial period – you will need to pay if once the trial period has ended (I am guessing that iPage earn referral fees in this). Careless users who accidentally activated the trials and forgot to cancel the services within the trial period will need to pay for these services.
• Expensive renewal price Note that the $1.99/mo price tag is only valid for your first subscription term. When you renew your iPage hosting plan 2 or 3 years later, the price will go back to the normal price (12-month term: $12.95/mo; 24-month term: $11.95/mo).

Update: iPage VPS Hosting User Review

Note from Jerry: This part of the review is written by an existing iPage VPS Hosting user, Dylan Harty. I first connected with Dylan when he emailed me and pointed out some mistake in this page. After some discussion we decided to add more value to this review, hence his feedback on iPage VPS Hosting. As far as I know, Dylan is not affiliated with iPage in any way. I do, however, paid for his effort in writing this helpful review.

To iPage users – Good news is you don’t have to worry about out-growing your shared hosting at iPage these days as VPS and dedicated hosting are now in your option list. In case you were considering an upgrade or switching over to iPage VPS Hosting, this is a must-read.   

Quick Intro

Hello, my name is Dylan Harty and I have been a part of the online hosting community since I was eight years old. My passion is everything web and OS based. You can find me at soulstice.ca helping to support the people that need it. I have used Ipage shared hosting for most of my major projects, including freelance work. I am a PHP developer so I chose iPage’s shared hosting because the PHP.INI is editable unlike most shared hosting providers.  Shared hosting is great, but does not always have the resources that you need.  This brings me to the next topic of, iPage’s VPS hosting.

I have been hosted on iPage’s VPS platform since it was released for purchase. The date would have been around October 2013.

They are highly affordable.  The lowest grade VPS server costs only $17/mo for the first 24 months.  I bought the “business” plan and it has not given me any trouble.

What I like the most about iPage VPS Hosting

Pros:

• Very affordable
• 24-7 VPS/dedicated server support line.
• Very helpful support team able to use SSH.
• Ability for the server to be completely un-managed.
• Server completely managed included, no extra fees.

• Good support ticketing system
• Up-Time(99.89+)
• Included cPanel and WHM
• Competitive server hardware
• No restrictions like shared hosting
• No overcharge for bandwidth
• Ability to run a source server

Very helpful support team able to use SSH: Coming from shared hosting this was a surprise, the support teams actually knows about servers! I have asked some of the technicians on duty very high level questions and they are able to answer them thoroughly.  Also most of the VPS/Dedicated support members are located in the USA.

Ability for the server to be completely un-managed: Ipage started a revolution in VPS hosting; no more fees for management. This saves me money that I do not need to spend. Other VPS hosting providers charge a lot of money for server support and maintenance, a service that Ipage does for free. A good example is: I can call in on the phone and ask the support team to help address server issues without being charged or sold a service.

No overcharge for bandwidth: I noticed on most VPS sites you get a fixed amount of bandwidth then you must pay fees. I feel this type of fee is unfair for the person renting the server. The whole time I have been with Ipage VPS hosting I have never been charged extra fees. I asked a support member if they charge above a certain level of bandwidth, their response was “We do not charge client’s when they are over their bandwidth for the month. We do however monitor the bandwidth once the client is passed their threshold.”  I can live with that. No random charges to my credit card, server/website is still up, so I am happy.

Ability to run a source server: My favorite. I decided to transform this VPS into a gaming server for a little while. It was not easy. If you guys want an Ipage VPS source server howto that is for another time. Furthermore countless hours later of remotely upgrading the OS and help from the support team (even though they said they really cannot help me) I got a GMOD server up. No lag with 20 spots, which looking at other gaming servers saves a person lots of money!

What I dislike the most about iPage VPS hosting

Cons:

• The odd support hiccup
• Downtime for DDOS attacks and such
• Some servers have a soft boot on initial registration
• Dedicated servers take 12-48 hours to set-up
• Preinstall of CentOS 6.4-6.5 only

The odd support hiccup: Ok Ipage does not always have flawless support, I have to mention this. On occasion you will get a guy in training or some support member with little server experience.  How do I fix this problem? I hang up and dial again. If the same guy picks up I wait and try again. Important: Only VPS/Dedicated server clients get to use this support phone number: 1(877)447-9872. Do not call shared hosting support line; they usually do not know what they are talking about.

(Rare) downtime for DDOS attacks and such: Just like any hosting provider Ipage datacenters also get attacked. They had an attack about 4 months ago that took their servers down for 2 days. When I asked support what happen, they avoided the subject but stated “new technology is in place to stop or lessen these types of attacks.”

Some servers have a soft boot on initial registration: I believe this is fixed now, but it could still happen to you. If you try to access your VPS server and it does not seem to be starting correctly or it gets stuck in a boot loop (soft boot) call the support number I gave you above. They should have it fixed in a matter of hours, as they can reboot it at the datacenter. This is just a problem with their default server image file.

Dedicated servers take 12-48 hours to set-up: VPS servers from Ipage get set-up usually in the matter of 2 hours. When I bought a dedicated server from Ipage when they were first released it took a good two days to get it set-up correctly. It was not a fun time; they did not know what was going on. So I now stick to VPS hosting from Ipage. Although that was over a year ago now, by all means give it a try as you can always downgrade to a VPS.

Preinstall of CentOS 6.4-6.5 only: Most VPS hosting providers give the client a few options when they purchase a new server. Ipage servers come “as is”, so you can only run CentOS 6.x. On a side note you can upgrade the OS remotely, but is not supported by support.

iPage VPS Hosting Uptime Details (Jan & Feb 2015)

 

Should you go with iPage Hosting?

Now, what I think about iPage doesn’t matter.

Key question: Is iPage the right web host for you?

Given that there are both pros and cons; negative and positive reviews on the Internet; should you still go with iPage hosting? The decision is yours to be made.

iPage Shared = Best Budget Hosting

iPage is truly the *Best Budget Hosting* in my book – it is not the best web host (for sure!); but it is the best option if you are looking for a cheap hosting solution.

For those who are just starting out and building first website – iPage is the perfect spot to start with – as the cost is extremely low and signup process is very easy. You can’t find any web host offering the same hosting features and server performance at this low price ($1.99/mo under WHSR’s exclusive deal). 

iPage VPS = For uses with any skill level

For those who are considering iPage VPS Hosting, here’s what Dylan’s recommendation –

A user of any skill level can use Ipage VPS/Dedicated hosting. I say this because the support team is really good at helping when you are stuck on a problem, no matter how fluent you are on a server. Professionals can use these servers and novices can learn a lot from the support members. I will not be changing my VPS hosting anytime soon. Ipage you have a satisfied customer. Keep up the good work.

For more details or to order iPage hosting, visit: http://www.ipage.com

(P/S: The links above are affiliate links – if you purchase via this link, it will credit me as your referrer. This is how I keep this site alive for more than 7 years and add more free hosting reviews based on real test account – your support is highly appreciated. Buying via my link doesn’t cost you more – in fact, I can guarantee that you’ll get the lowest possible price for iPage hosting. )