Expert Overview
Great services and reliable hosting for all customer types
Heart Internet offers many great hosting options to choose from, including reseller hosting, VPS or dedicated servers. They have been around for quite a long time. They were purchased by Host Europe Group, which is the largest privately held hosting company in the EU. They do operate mostly independently, however, with just the backing of the larger company for support.
This hosting company was founded when several top employees of Webfusion broke away to start their own hosting company. These were individuals who started the reseller hosting option, so they really provide a lot of great features in this area.
Their Linux-based shared hosting is well maintained, which is very important. Many hosting companies that have VPS and dedicated options really only put shared hosting out as an afterthought, but that is not the case here.
Overall, this is a great UK based hosting company that can meet the needs of virtually any sized website.
Uptime & Reliability
Great uptime guarantees for VPS & Dedicated packages
If you sign up for a VPS package you will be given a 99.99% uptime SLA. For the dedicated servers, you get a 99.9% uptime guarantee. Both of these are great, and reflect the fact that they have put a lot of work into their data center, the hardware and the software as well. In the event that they don’t meet these SLAs, they will provide you with a credit on your account for a full day’s service for each hour beyond 4 hours that your site is down.
While the shared hosting packages don’t come with any type of guarantee, they also don’t experience much down time at all. Customers are generally happy with their reliability at every level.
Features
Lots of great free and premium features available
In addition to all the standard features that you would expect from a hosting company, they also offer a variety of great little extras. Based on the hosting package you choose, there will be a long list of features that come included. Things like picture gallerias, automatic backups, and much more.
You can also pay extra for things like dedicated IP addresses, premium email boxes with extra storage and more. They really make it easy to get exactly what you need from their services.
They also provide initial setup options where they can help get your site up and running quickly and easily, which is perfect for non-techie people who are just starting up a new website.
Support
Great support but no phone option
The technical support provided by Heart Internet is actually quite good. The one major problem with it, however, is that they don’t offer a call in number. You have to work with their online ticketing option in order to get service. Many people, especially those with higher end hosting needs, like having the ability to call in and speak directly with the support techs.
In addition to their online ticketing system, they also have very active social media accounts where they can provide help when needed. When working with techs on social media or through their official ticketing system, they are very competent and can fix most issues very quickly.
Pricing
Great prices at all hosting tiers
Heart Internet hosting offers some of the best prices for their hosting at all the levels. From an entry level package that is under 3 Euros per month all the way up to their dedicated servers. When you look at all the different features that you’re getting at each level, it is easy to see just what a great deal they are offering.
They also have a 30-day money back guarantee where they promise a ‘no-fuss’ refund. If you’re not happy with the services or the price, you can always move on, which is nice.
Summary
Great hosting for all types of UK websites
Overall, Heart Internet offers great hosting at all levels. From the most basic of shared hosting to advanced dedicated servers, and everything in between. Due to the fact that they offer such a wide range of services, this is a great company for any sites that are just starting out, but have a lot of potential. You can always move from a simple shared hosting plan up to more powerful services as your site gets more popular.
Pros:
- A wide range of hosting package options
- Many features to choose from (some for a premium price)
- Fair prices at all levels
- 30 day money back guarantee
- Nice up time SLAs for VPS and dedicated hosting packages
Cons:
- They only have a custom control panel (it is a nice one, but many people prefer cPanel or Plesk)
- No phone support
