DollarHost Reviews and Expert Opinion

Reliability

Missing Information and Stats

Not much is spoken about when it comes to reliability at Dollar Host, there is no talk of where the data centres are located, what kind of backups are in place, if they have redundancy power, or what kind of uptime they experience on a regular and historic basis. In this area, you really are on your own, so if this lack of information doesn’t faze you then you won’t be fussed.

Features

Lacking MySQL on Some Plans

Features and tools are ideally suited to those who are of a basic level who just need a simple hosting solution. Disk space and data transfers aren’t unlimited but they do offer plenty of room to breathe on the more expensive plans, the same goes for the email accounts and storage.

MySQL databases don’t come with every plan, and you will need to check to see whether you can upgrade separately or not as some plans offer MySQL, others don’t, and other don’t but will allow you to pay a separate fee for one.

CPanel is also available on the Starter Advantage of Ultraweb plans.

Support

Toll Free for US Residents

Dollar Host do provide a toll free number to US residents along with a tutorial section where users can find out how do anything from FTP file uploads to basic coding practices. Despite this, they really fall short on offering a full experience. You won’t find any direct email address, FAQs, social media channels, live chat or outside the US support numbers.

If support isn’t something you rely heavily on, then you don’t have to worry.

Pricing

Decent Price Selection for Windows Plans

Pricing at Dollar Host is fairly straight forward with fixed fees on all of their plans. Take note that the starter plan that costs $6.95 per month is a 12 month commitment term, whilst the next plan is 3 months, and then following tiers come in at 1 month rolling contracts. The highest costing plan is the Windows Pro Plan which falls in at $27.95

Prices are also displayed in Canadian Dollars, but be aware that each hosting plan carries a $15 setup fee.

User-Friendly

Not The Best For Usability

Although you can eventually find your way around the site, the initial impression you get is one of complete confusion and mess. The site is very cramped and miss-aligned and doesn’t do much for confidence levels or good usability.  With that said CPanel is offered so you can access every feature and tool to make the most out of your hosting.

Summary

A Quick Solution to Host Your Site

Dollar Host provide a very basic way for you to host a site, with prices that are in the competitive region, but with features that are capped. With no support, and poor usability it doesn’t give the potential customers a whole lot of confidence as the site looks thrown together quickly with minimal maintenance.

If you need a quick hosting solution for a website, they could be placed on your shortlist but bare-in-mind that they don’t offer any certainty when it comes to uptime and reliability.