Expert Overview
Very Experienced Hosting Team
HostMetro is a well-established hosting provider with an experienced team of professionals running the show. The employees have a combined 50+ years of experience in this industry and it shows in the level of service they provide. In addition to providing a good technical experience, they also have a strong focus on offering great customer service. They are there 24/7 for tech support and also monitor their systems closely to avoid downtime or other issues. The company is focused on shared hosting solutions, but they also offer email hosting and domain name registration services too.
Read MoreUptime & Reliability
99.9% Uptime Guarantee
The reliability of this company seems to be quite good. They have a 99.9% uptime guarantee with a full money back guarantee on top of it. They also offer free weekly backups of your site to ensure quick restoration in the event that there is a major problem. Unfortunately, there is not too much information online from actual customers saying anything one way or the other in terms of the speed and reliability of this company. While this is not necessarily a bad thing, it would be nice to see more information.
Features
Nice Shared Hosting with some Extras Too
They have a limited number of hosting packages to choose from, but that makes it easier for many people to choose exactly what they want. Within the packages you will get unlimited FTP accounts and MySQL databases. You'll also get a free shared SSL certificate, unlimited domains, a free domain name, unlimited email accounts, plenty of disk space and bandwidth and much more. They also include cPanel, CloudFlare and other nice services within each package to ensure your site is running smoothly from day one.
They don't provide too much information about the actual hardware that they use for the hosting. This is not uncommon for shared hosting companies though, so it is likely nothing to be concerned about. If needed, you can run streaming audio and video as well no matter which of the packages you choose.
Support
24/7/365 Tech support
The tech support is staffed 24/7/365 and they seem able to handle most any issues. They respond quickly when you submit a ticket or send them an email, which is vary important. In addition, they have a nice knowledge base that contains a lot of information that will help you to avoid problems with your website. Their blog is also populated with useful information. Overall, I'd say the tech support is one of the best features about this company.
Pricing
Reasonable Prices
The prices with this company start at just $2.45 per month for their entry level package. That price, however, requires a 3 year commitment. If you are paying for just a year, it goes up to $4.45 per month. They don't list a set monthly price so it seems you have to sign up for at least a year at a time. The higher end option is $6.95 per month (for 3 years) or as high as $8.95 per month for an annual contract. Overall, the pricing is fairly average.
Summary
Nice Affordable Hosting
If you just need basic hosting for your website, this company could be the ideal solution for you. They have very simple hosting packages and not too many to choose from. While this does limit you on your options, it also makes it much easier to select what you need. They are clearly targeting newer webmasters by providing them with an overall simple experience, which is what most people will want.
Pros:
- 99.9% Uptime Guarantee
- Free Domain Name
- Simple Options
Cons:
- No VPS/Dedicated Servers
- Must sign up for annual hosting (at least)
