HostPapa Review: Papa Don’t Preach…

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HostPapa is a Canada-based web-hosting company that bills itself as the best hosting company for small businesses… and the earth. You get unlimited bandwidth, a free drag-and-drop website builder, 100s of email accounts and cPanel access.

Should those of us who aren’t small business owners look elsewhere?

(Spoiler: the answer is no.)

So, is there a catch? We present the facts in this HostPapa review.

Pros and Cons

If you’re unsure about whether HostPapa is the right hosting company for your needs, check our pros and cons to guide your decision.

Pros

  • Uses renewable energy to power its business
  • WordPress friend
  • Free migration assistance by staff members
  • Plans include access to over 400 free apps
  • Basic security features offered to all

Cons

  • Not the cheapest shared hosting plans around
  • Email functionality is not included in all plans, but is available as an add-on
  • No dedicated servers available
  • Shorter-term plans are pricey
  • You could end up playing almost double when you renew your hosting plan after the first term

HostPapa’s web hosting plans are full-featured, and regardless of which option you choose, you will have what you need to launch your website.

While HostPapa includes many standard offerings in its plans, such as free domain names, there are other things that aren’t included (such as email).

HostPapa isn’t the most expensive hosting option around, but it isn’t the cheapest option, either. However, you do get useful extras, like free business apps and access to a website builder.

Though, if you stick around after the first term, you could get stuck with a much pricier hosting bill.

About HostPapa

HostPapa is a Canadian web hosting company founded in 2006 by Jamie Palchuk.

Today, HostPapa remains a privately-owned company hosting 500,000 sites. It is an established web hosting company that strives to provide all of its customers with full-featured web hosting packages.

HostPapa hosting

The company offers solid customer service and utilizes renewable green energy to the best of its ability.

HostPapa’s headquarters are located in Burlington, Ontario, Canada. The company operates a single datacenter, though they do not disclose its location.

Web Hosting Options

HostPapa offers the following types of web hosting:

  • Shared hosting
  • WordPress hosting
  • Online stores
  • Reseller hosting
  • VPS hosting.

Shared Hosting

Those who are just getting started with a website or are looking for a budget-friendly option will find the shared hosting options appealing.

HostPapa offers three different shared hosting plans from which you can choose.

The best option for you depends on the number of websites you need hosted and the size of your websites:

  • Starter: supports two websites and includes a free domain name, 100 GB of SSD storage, and unmetered bandwidth
  • Business: supports an unlimited number of websites and includes a free domain name and unlimited SSD storage and bandwidth
  • Business Pro: identical to the business plan, but includes enhanced performance and security

As you can see, HostPapa’s plans are geared toward small businesses, but the company’s offerings are good options even for personal websites and blogs.

The Business Pro plan, in particular, is useful for those who want better service and a robust hosting plan, yet aren’t ready to splurge on a VPS plan or dedicated server.

Shared hosting customers can also expect a 99.9% uptime, migration assistance, and a 30-minute-long one-on-one call designed to help you get up and running.

WordPress Hosting

WordPress users might be interested in HostPapa’s specialized WordPress hosting plans. These options are very similar to the shared plans:

  • WP Starter: supports two websites and includes a free domain name, 100 GB of SSD storage, 100 email accounts, pre-installation of the JetPack optimization suite, and unmetered bandwidth
  • WP Business: supports an unlimited number of websites and includes a free domain name and unlimited SSD storage, bandwidth, and email accounts, as well as pre-installation of the JetPack optimization suite
  • WP Business Pro: identical to the business plan, but includes enhanced performance and security and installation of the premium version of the JetPack optimization suite

The primary difference, however, between the shared and WordPress plans is that the latter comes with WordPress pre-installed, includes email functionality and other advanced/premium WordPress features.

What’s notable, however, is that there is no increase in pricing for these add-ons.

Online Stores

HostPapa’s online store hosting option is an all-in-one e-commerce platform.

You get everything you need, including hosting, and you can create your new store’s front-end using the included drag-and-drop store builder.

The online store option also gets you guided setup and management tips, as well as a 30-minute consultation to help you get started.

Pricing for the online store plans (of which there are four) is much higher than for comparable general-use web hosting plans.

But you get everything you need to sell an unlimited number of products without having to pay transaction fees on each sale you make.

VPS Hosting

HostPapa offers a feature-rich VPS hosting option for those who have outgrown their shared hosting plans.

These are managed options that include cPanel control panels, root-level access, and around-the-clock support.

Video: HostPapa provides an overview of its VPS hosting services.

HostPapa offers five different VPS plans from which you can choose, but all are scalable and customizable so you can tweak your plan so that it better fits your website.

Reseller Hosting

For those looking to start their own web hosting business, HostPapa offers five different reseller hosting plans from which you can choose.

Prices begin at just $19.95 per month, and you get everything you need to manage an unlimited number of websites, including a single cPanel/WHM control panel, installer for hundreds of apps like WordPress and Joomla, and around-the-clock support in case you ever need help. Visit HostPapa now.

General HostPapa Features

Regardless of which hosting type you opt for, you can expect to get the following when working with HostPapa.

DomainsFree domain name and registration
BandwidthUnmetered and unlimited bandwidth
PerformanceComes with free Cloudflare CDN integration
Control panelIndustry-standard cPanel
SecurityFree Let’s Encrypt SSL; Sitelock available at an extra cost
Email accountsNot included in entry-level plans; mid-tier hosting plans come with support for 100 email accounts

Domain Names

You’ll get a free domain name with the purchase of a hosting plan — even with the most inexpensive shared hosting plan.

Migration Assistance

If you have an existing website, HostPapa’s team will help you migrate it to your new web server. While many other hosting companies have trended toward providing migration wizards, HostPapa remains one of the few whose staff helps you with this process.

cPanel Control Panels

HostPapa plans come with the industry-leading cPanel, which provides an easy-to-use interface for things like checking your website’s resource usage, managing your domain names, handling files, and so on. If you opt for a reseller plan, you’ll get access to cPanel’s sister tool, WHM.

cPanel demo
A cPanel demo

Unlimited Storage and Bandwidth

Shared hosting plans come with unlimited storage and bandwidth, so you do not have to worry about calculating your usage needs when you get started with HostPapa.

HostPapa, like most other companies offering unlimited resource allocations, will throttle a given site’s usage if it exceeds normal parameters (and in some cases, may even take your site offline).

However, most sites would be adequately served by a shared hosting plans.

Cloudflare CDN

HostPapa has partnered with Cloudflare to offer its customers a free CDN, which provides you with better security and better page performance speeds.

Cloudflare caches and distributes your website across its network of servers, which means that your visitors’ requests are handled by the server that’s closest to them.

This distribution also protects you against failure from any single point of the whole network.

99.9% Uptime Guarantee

HostPapa offers its customers a 99.9% uptime guarantee, excluding periods of scheduled maintenance.

Money-Back Guarantee

Most of HostPapa’s plans come with a 30-day money back guarantee, so if you aren’t satisfied with your purchase, simply cancel your purchase during this period and receive a full refund of all monies paid, less any setup fees or domain name registration and transfer-related costs.

You can cancel at any time by submitting the appropriate support request via your HostPapa Dashboard.

You should note that if you renew your plan after your initial term, you could end up paying double for your hosting plan.

HostPapa hosting plans renew at regular rates – double the promotional term

On top of that, the prices advertised are valid for 36-month contracts, the shorter term plans are more expensive. This pricing policy is fairly standard in the hosting industry but something to keep in mind.

SiteLock Security

If you’re concerned about the security of your website, HostPapa sells SiteLock as an add-on.

SiteLock is a security suite that, depending on the plan you choose, can detect and remove malware, block spam and blacklist spammers, protect against DDoS attacks, and provide firewall protection.

Customer Service and Technical Support

If you ever need help, you can get in touch with HostPapa’s customer service team 24/7 via email, telephone, or live chat.

Furthermore, HostPapa’s staff can communicate with customers in four languages: English, French, German and Spanish.

If you prefer to do things on your own, HostPapa maintains a comprehensive support and information center that is packed with searchable knowlegebase articles. You can even download the information for later reference.

User Experiences

HostPapa is rated 4.1 out of 5 stars by 387 customers.

From the reviews provided, it seems that HostPapa is a solid company offering good choices for those needing web hosting.

HostPapa vs GoDaddy

If HostPapa isn’t quite the right fit for you, you might consider GoDaddy instead.

Both companies offer budget-friendly web hosting packages that are accessible to users at all levels.

HostPapa and GoDaddy both offer around-the-clock customer service, 99.9% uptime guarantees, and full-featured hosting packages.

HostPapa, however, is a more limited company in terms of its offerings, while GoDaddy offers pretty much everything under the sun — you can think of GoDaddy as your one-stop-internet shop.

However, for those who are conscious, HostPapa’s commitment to using renewable energy would be appealing.

HostPapaGoDaddy
Hosting plans start at…$3.95$5.99
Email accountsAvailable as an add-on for starter plans; comes with mid-tier plan plansFree for the first year on all plans
WebsitesEntry-level plan comes with support for two sitesEntry-level plan comes with support for one site only
One-click installsSupport for 400 applicationsSupport for 125 applications

To learn more, read our GoDaddy review.

Other companies that are similar to HostPapa include BlueHost, A2 Hosting, and SiteGround.

All offer a variety of budget-friendly, well-rounded shared hosting plans that would serve beginning users well.

Special HostPapa Deals

If you’re ready to get started with HostPapa, use our HostPapa link to get up to 70% off when you buy web hosting services. Visit HostPapa now.

HostPapa Review Summary

In a sea of US-based hosting companies, HostPapa stands out with its Canadian location.

Its commitment to using renewable energy will appeal to many who are concerned with the ecological impact of day-to-day internet usage.

While HostPapa brands itself as a small business-friendly option, the company’s offering can help get personal websites and blogs online.

Ready to get started with solid web hosting that won’t destroy the earth? Visit HostPapa now.

Your Review of HostPapa

Are you a current or past customer of HostPapa? Would you recommend them? Please leave your comments below and let our visitors know what you think of HostPapa’s speed, features and customer service.

Visit HostPapa Now!


Contributing editor: Bronwynne Powell.

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