Hosting services at a discount that are worthwhile of your time
Namecheap began its journey in 2000 as a domain registration with aspirations to be the best in the industry. Since then, Namecheap has registered over 14 million domain names all across the world, proving that its ambition has come true. In addition, it has been expanding its service offerings and improving its platform to include web hosting.
Namecheap’s headquarters are in Phoenix, Arizona, where they monitor and maintain three data centers: one in their hometown, another near Nottingham, United Kingdom, and the third in Amsterdam (the Netherlands).
Namecheap’s official blog is frequently updated with news about the company and other useful articles (Image credit: Namecheap)
Namecheap subscription options:
Their official website has a pleasant color palette, a user-friendly page design, and a cute-as-a-cupcake (and obviously very tech-savvy) hedgehog as their main mascot, all of which evoke a user-friendly experience. Although the “About” part is heavy on graphics light on information, the official blog, FAQ section, and knowledgebase provide a wealth of information about Namecheap.
Although the official Namecheap website is only available in English, you may choose from a variety of currencies, including the Euro, British Pound, Canadian Dollars, Australian Dollars, Indian Rupees, and Chinese Yuan.
Namecheap can found on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and (as of yet) Pinterest, for those who enjoy social media. As of today, all of these accounts appear to be operational.
Plans And Pricing
Namecheap, as the name implies, sells low-cost (domain) names, but that’s not all. It also offers ridiculously low-cost shared hosting, starting at $1.58 per month (if you sign up for a year), as well as managed WordPress, reseller, VPS, and dedicated server options.
You can choose your server location with most plans, however, some are more affordable than others. For example, the “Stellar” entry-level shared hosting plan costs $1.58 per month if you choose a data center in the United States. The price rises to $2.44 if you choose the UK or (as of late) the European data center, and the same is true for any plan that allows you to select a data center location. We should also mention that after the offer period has finished, all plans have a significant price increase.
A free domain name registration included with an annual or biannual paying cycle, still with a monthly one. Support for up to three websites, 20GB of storage (SSD), unlimited bandwidth, free PositiveSSL for a year, free website migration, a free website builder, and a free CDN (content delivery network) (currently in beta) are all included with “Stellar.”
All plans (excluding dedicated server plans) provide a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you’ll have plenty of time to try out the services before committing to anything.
Namecheap accepts credit/debit cards (MasterCard, American Express, and Discover), PayPal, Bitcoin, and Bitcoin Cash as payment methods.
Ease Of Use
You’ll choose a hosting plan and click “Get Started” to get started with Namecheap. Fortunately, Namecheap’s plans are laid out in great detail and are simple to comprehend, so picking one won’t seem like buying a pig in a poke. Just bear in mind that the UK and EU data centers will set you back an extra $1.00 and that opting for a longer payment period will save you up to 45 percent on the total cost.
It’s now time to take care of the domain name. Depending on the name you want to use, registering a new one can cost anything from zero to a couple of thousand dollars every year. Free domains are only available with yearly and biennial hosting plans, and only for the following TLDs:.fun,.host,.online,.site, press,.store,.space,.pw,.tech,.website,.agency,.center,.digital,.live, and.studio. After that, you can review your cart and consider adding some optional extras, some of which are free but most of which are not.
It’s quick and easy to sign up for a Namecheap account. You can expect your account to be activated in a matter of seconds after filling out a form with your information and making a payment. While you’re waiting, check your email for a welcome letter accompanied by a few beginner-friendly how-tos.
Namecheap’s dashboard is as basic as they come, but it appears to be adequate for tracking and managing items you’ve purchased, as well as adding new ones. From there, you can access your control panel, which should be an industry-leading cPanel that allows you to simply install all of the apps you want (thanks to Softaculous), manage your SSL certificates, use the drag-and-drop website builder, contact the support staff, and more.
Namecheap’s no-code site builder comes with over 200 basic yet gorgeous themes, and the user-friendly editor lets you add photographs, videos, social media information, maps, calendars, countdowns, and more to your newly formed site.
Speed And Experience
Although Namecheap does not boast about its lightning-fast performance, the results of the speed test we conducted on its official site reveal that it has every right to. The site took just 2.5 seconds to fully load and 62 requests at the same time, according to several GTmetrix testing, both of which are examples of acceptable speed. Furthermore, all other important speed measurement parameters awarded Namecheap’s site an A+ for speed performance (100 percent ).
Namecheap guarantees 100% monthly uptime with all shared and dedicated server plans and 99.9% with reseller and VPS plans in terms of uptime. Users are entitled to one day of free hosting added to their account for every hour of the outage that exceeds these limits.
We found 11 minutes of the outage and a few large spikes in response time after monitoring the uptime of Namecheap’s official site for two weeks with UptimeRobot. Because the site was up 99.94 percent of the time, this isn’t something you should be concerned about.
Support
If you require assistance, go to Namecheap’s “Help Center,” where you will be presented with a number of options. If you value self-sufficiency, the knowledgebase, which also includes a range of how-to video guides, should be your first stop.
Hundreds of easy-to-follow guidelines are neatly grouped into 17 categories in the knowledgebase, covering anything from fundamental beginner queries to more advanced ones. The majority of these how-tos appear to be quite informative and well-supported by appropriate screenshots.
Although phone assistance isn’t available; you can contact Namecheap’s customer service team by live chat or ticket system; both of which are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Furthermore, you will save time by not having to search for Namecheap’s assistance manually; as both the live chat and knowledgebase are accessible straight from your cPanel.
The Competition
Those seeking a low-cost hosting service; with a wide range of features are likely to explore Bluehost and Namecheap before making a decision. Both companies have data centers in the United States, but Namecheap; goes a step further and also has data centers in the United Kingdom and Amsterdam. In addition, Namecheap offers free website migration to all customers, whereas Bluehost does not. That makes up for it, though, by including a free SSL with all of its hosting services.
HostGator, a master of user-friendliness offering a wide range of hosting options; and features backed by a generous 45-day money-back guarantee; is another good USA-based alternative to Namecheap. Despite the fact that Namecheap’s plans are less expensive; HostGator outperforms them in terms of features, including unlimited storage space, unmetered bandwidth, free domain registration, free SSL; and some free advertising credit.
DreamHost is a fantastic option for practically any web hosting service, including Namecheap. While DreamHost may provide a broader range of hosting-related services than Namecheap; its support staff appears to be asleep the majority of the time, allowing consumers to fend for themselves. In comparison, Namecheap’s support staff feels like a dream team.
Despite the fact that Namecheap is substantially less expensive than SiteGround; you’ll have to go with SiteGround if you want a top-of-the-line WordPress hosting package with automated installation and all updates. SiteGround also includes additional freebies with all of its services, such as SuperCacher, a free CDN, and automated daily backups.
Final Verdict
While Namecheap appears to be cheap and cheery at first glance; you may be tempted to rethink your mind after post-promotional costs pinch your budget; put a price tag on its prior freebies. Nonetheless, Namecheap’s feature-rich packages remain an excellent choice for anyone looking to establish a business; or run a small to medium-sized corporation on a shoestring budget.
If you’d prefer to put your confidence (and your website); in the hands of a more well-known but equally affordable host; both HostGator and Bluehost are excellent choices.
Pros
- Free website builder
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- Nice variety of hosting products
- Free Supersonic CDN (currently in beta)
- Entry-level plan support up to three domains
Cons
- No telephone support
- Price spike upon renewal
- Stripped-down dashboard
