iPage Review: Our Expert Scrutinizes This Pocket-Friendly Host & Here’s What They Found
iPage offers bargain-priced web hosting plans, domain names, and a website builder.
In this review, we take a close look at their shared, WordPress, VPS, and dedicated plans.
What’s the quality of their hosting services? Are there any catches to their free domain offer? Is there a money-back guarantee? Read on to find out.
Contents
About iPage
iPage was originally founded in 1998 by Thomas Gorny.
Who Is iPage Owned By?
It’s currently owned by Endurance International Group (EIG), the parent company behind well-known internet brands like Bluehost, HostGator and FatCow.
Since its founding, iPage has developed a reputation for offering full-featured hosting plans at low prices.
The company has two datacenters that serve over 1 million websites. iPage is based in Burlington, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston.
iPage Hosting
For those with decision fatigue, iPage offers a single shared hosting plan for $1.99 per month.
iPage offers the three basic levels of hosting: Shared (called “iPage Essential” by iPage), Virtual Private Server (VPS), and Dedicated. The company uses Linux-based servers for all three tiers, and its plans use the “unlimited everything” model.
All plans come with $200 total in Bing and Google Ads credits, a common perk offered by web hosts.
For those who are getting started or are seeking web hosting for a smaller website or blog, iPage’s shared hosting plan should be sufficient.
One Price for Shared Hosting
There’s only one option available to you, and those who have decision fatigue when considering other web hosting companies will find this one-size-fits-all option to be a breath of fresh air.
And it is just $1.99 per month with the introductory price ($7.99 on renewal).
The iPage Essential plan comes with:
- Free domain for one year
- Unlimited domains and sub-domains
- Unlimited disk space and storage
- Unmetered data transfer/bandwidth
- Unmetered MySQL databases
- Unmetered email addresses and webmail (IMAP and POP3)
- Free 24/7 US-based customer support via Web/phone/email
- User-generated backups (via utility)
- Daily server backups
- A free template-based website builder (up to six pages)
- Free shared SSL certificate
- Web hosting control panel (vDeck).
The shared hosting tier also includes a complimentary Yellowpages.com listing and an “anytime” money-back guarantee. You also have access to a la carte add-ons for e-commerce, scripting, website management, as well as marketing services (additional fees may apply).
Does iPage Use cPanel?
iPage doesn’t come standard with cPanel Control Panel; rather the company builds a custom control panel for its customers. The base product is the vDeck control panel, but it has been modified by iPage so that the final product is easier for customers to use.
iPage customers may opt to use the cPanel only if they purchase a VPS hosting plan or a dedicated server.
WordPress Hosting
Those who have built their websites using WordPress might be interested in the WordPress hosting — a special kind of shared hosting.
There are two different plans from which you can choose: WP Starter and WP Essential.
Regardless of which WordPress hosting plan you choose, you will get:
- A free domain name
- Unmetered storage
- Unmetered bandwidth
- Use of a customized control panel
- Pre-installed themes and plugins.
If, however, you opt for the more expensive WP Essential option, you’ll also get technical support from WordPress experts, automatic malware removal, and use of the SiteLock professional security toolset.
If this sounds good, visit iPage now.
VPS Hosting Plans
Do you need more precise control over your server or more power to support your high-traffic or e-commerce site? iPage offers three different VPS plans from which you can choose: “Basic,” “Business,” and “Optimum.”
- The same standard features available in shared plans
- Your own semi-private virtual Linux server
- Up to two dedicated IP addresses
- Full root access
- Enhanced cPanel VPS management control panel
- Guaranteed RAM allotment
- Mirrored SAN storage.
iPage’s VPS plans are scalable, so you can change your plan from month to month if your traffic surges or drops. VPS solutions are also covered by iPage’s anytime money-back guarantee.
Dedicated Hosting Plans
If you’re looking for iron-clad security, want total control over your hardware and software, or have a website that’s growing by leaps and bounds, then iPage’s dedicated hosting plans are worth a look.
There are three of them: Startup, Professional, and Enterprise.
- All of the basic features of the lower tiers
- Intel Xeon processors
- Up to five free dedicated IP addresses
- Total root access for your server
- Free enhanced cPanel/WHM license
- Managed hosting, customizable to meet your needs.
iPage’s dedicated hosting plans are covered by the company’s anytime money-back guarantee.
Website Builder
The basic website builder comes included with the purchase of a web hosting plan.
If you don’t already have a website and you’re in the market for a tool that will help you craft a professional front-end, iPage offers Website Builder plans.
The basic website builder comes included, free of charge, with the purchase of a web hosting plan. You’ll get:
- Over 100 mobile-friendly templates
- Drag-and-drop website building tool
- Ability to create a site featuring up to six pages
- Pre-built sections and pages
- SEO tools
- Stock image library
- PayPal integration
- Email functionality.
E-Commerce: Build an Online Store
For those who want a bit more from their website builder, iPage offers two higher-tiered plans for $6.99 (Professional) and $15.99 (Business) per month when you purchase a 3-year contract.
The primary benefits of upgrading include:
- Create an unlimited number of pages
- Version control
- Embedding of HD videos
- Custom favicons
- Google Analytics integrations
- E-commerce functionality.
The e-commerce functionality includes shopping carts, inventory management, support for multiple payment processors, and coupon code functionality.
iPage’s website builder comes with the hosting services that you need, and your hosting is backed by a 99.9% uptime guarantee.
Domain Names
iPage is a domain name registrar, so you can purchase domain names from the company.
Can I Change My Domain Name?
If you purchase web hosting services, you can transfer an existing domain that you already own, or you can register a new domain name.
Customer Support
iPage provides 24/7 live chat support. You can also request assistance via an online form or by phone.
There’s an online knowledgebase with tutorials on things like setting up FTP access and how to use the free advertising credits you receive from iPage.
Plans come with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Server Response Times: Improved Speed
Our testing of iPage server response times shows a significant improvement after October 2018. That month showed a sluggish average monthly response time of 2,181 ms (milliseconds).
Compare that to November of 2018 which showed an average 446 ms response time. Uptime was 99.8%.
iPage Pros and Cons
Pros
- All-inclusive hosting plans
- Low prices
- Green hosting
- US-based tech support
- Good documentation
Cons
- No cPanel on shared hosting
- Linux-only hosting
- Limited programming languages
Pros
iPage seeks to bring a little bit of everything to the hosting experience while keeping prices not only competitive but extremely affordable at the introductory levels.
The various wizards offered at the shared level can help even the most resistant Luddite set up a professional and effective website with ease, and the step-by-step tutorials add an extra dimension of support on top of the ’round-the-clock support services found on all tiers.
Cons
In seeking to create an attractive collage of hosting services at affordable prices, iPage is forced to leave out a few you might expect to find as standard components of your plan, particularly at the shared hosting level.
These include, but aren’t limited to:
- cPanel support: shared and WordPress hosting plans use the company’s proprietary site-based control panel instead of cPanel (the industry-leading and most commonly-used option).
- A stand-alone application installer: many applications and scripts normally supplied as a part of Fantastico or Softaculous either incur additional fees to install, are replaced by “wizards,” or are missing altogether). This also means that it is slightly more work for you to install add-on applications for use with your website.
- Developer tools: support for applications like PHP, Perl and Ruby on Rails is limited in the entry-level shared and WordPress hosting plans (however, support for these applications is included with VPS and dedicated hosting).
Also, because iPage is a Linux-only hosting provider, it may not be the right solution for you if your site requires support for Windows applications, or you plan to add or develop applications that require ASP.NET or other Windows-based languages.
iPage vs HostGator
If iPage isn’t quite the right fit for you, consider its sister company, HostGator.
| Feature | iPage | HostGator |
|---|---|---|
| Storage | Unmetered | Unmetered |
| Bandwidth | Scalable | Unmetered |
| Intro Price | $1.99 | $2.75 |
| Renewal Price | $7.99 | $6.95 |
| All prices are based on 3-year contracts. | ||
Both iPage and HostGator offer a variety of hosting options, but neither offer a dizzying area of choices the way some of its competitors do.
Both offer entry-level shared hosting at budget-friendly prices, as well as more expensive, premium hosting options like VPS and dedicated options.
Some of the primary differences between iPage and HostGator, however, are that the latter offers its users more choices and flexibility. There are multiple hosting plans from which you can choose, even at the shared hosting level. Furthermore, HostGator offers cPanel access, along with one-click installers for popular add-ons to websites.
SiteGround, Bluehost and Squarespace
With that said, HostGator isn’t the only good alternative to iPage. Other options you might consider include SiteGround, Bluehost, and Squarespace.
SiteGround is known for offering great customer service, Bluehost is known for its partnership with WordPress, and Squarespace is known for its best-in-class website building tools and professional-looking templates.
Get iPage Deals
Get a great deal on hosting with iPage using our special discount link to activate this offer. You’ll get up to 75% off as well as a free domain. Visit iPage now.
Summary
iPage offers some full-featured packages at budget-friendly prices. One of the trade-offs is that it doesn’t come with cPanel or well-known one-click installers like Softaculous or Fantastico.
But iPage still offers solid hosting at low prices. If you want to get started with hosting for a website for as little as possible, visit iPage.com now.
Your iPage Review
Are you a current or past customer of iPage? Would you recommend them? Please leave your comments below and let our visitors know what you think of iPage’s speed, features and customer service.
Contributing editor: Frank Moraes.
