HostForLIFE is a European hosting company that is focused primarily on Windows (ASP.NET) servers. While not as popular as Linux in the web hosting industry, Windows servers are very nice and ideal for many situations. If you are looking to serve customers anywhere in Europe and you prefer Windows based hosting servers, this is a great company to consider. They have done a good job at building an excellent hosting experience for all their customers.
While there are certain concerns (which are addressed below) they do a really nice job and will be able to meet the needs of almost anyone. In addition to web hosting, HostForLife also offers Sharepoint hosting, email hosting and reseller services. While their focus in clearly on Windows servers, they do have some Linux plans available for shared hosting and dedicated servers.
Uptime & Reliability
Very Stable Hosting Environment
This company uses modern hardware in all their data centers to help minimize the risk of downtime. All servers, network connections and other essential components of your hosting are monitored 24/7 by live technicians. You’ll also get a 99.99% uptime guarantee and a 30-day money back guarantee to help ensure you are completely satisfied with the stability of your hosting. No matter what type of hosting you need or what type of site you are running, you can count on the stability of your server with HostForLife.
Features
Easy to Understand Hosting Features
When browsing through all the hosting options they offer, you will find that they have done an excellent job laying out all the details. They have things broken down into different packages that are very easy to understand and make it clear exactly what you are getting. For Windows shared servers you will get unlimited disk space, unlimited bandwidth and the option to host an unlimited number of domains. There are restrictions, however, on the number of MySQL databases you can use and how large they can be.
If you move up to their VPS solution, which is called the cloud hosting solution here, you will find that they have very nice specs for their servers. You will only get 10-200 gigs of disk space, and 20-800 gigs of bandwidth. This is more than enough for virtually anyone, but a little odd since the shared hosting has unlimited amounts in both these areas. The cloud hosting is quite powerful and will allow you to create the perfect site for your needs.
Finally, the dedicated servers are all fairly reasonable, though far from high end. They only offer 1-4 gigs of RAM, which is a little on the lower side. While these servers will do an excellent job with most mid-level sites, they just aren’t built for very large servers.
One last feature that is important to mention. When building your VPS or dedicated servers, you can choose which of their data centers you want it housed in. They have options around the world, including many in Europe, so you can be sure to have your site physically located near your customers for better performance.
Support
Friendly & Fast Tech Support
You can reach out to the tech support teams anytime you need them to help you get through virtually any type of issue. They are very skilled and can address any issue related to your hosting. In addition, they have some nice documentation and other self-help options so you can handle anything you run into.
Pricing
Limited Payment Frequency Options
The pricing is quite reasonable at every level. You’ll get entry level shared hosting for just 3 Euro per month, and the highest end shared option is 11 per month. Move up to their cloud hosting and it goes from 3.49 to 44.99 Euro per month. For the level of service, you are getting, this is a very reasonable price. Finally, looking at dedicated servers, you will pay anywhere from 40 to 370 Euro per month.
One last thing worth mentioning is that this company only allows payments either quarterly, semi-annually, annually or paying for multiple years at a time. Virtually every other hosting company allows for monthly payments so it is quite odd that this one doesn’t.
User Friendly
Customer Focused Company
Everything about this company is focused on providing the customer a great experience. From the moment you start browsing their site you will see that everything is configured in such a way as to make it as easy as possible to understand what you are getting. The tech support teams are available 24/7 to help you with issues and they are even there monitoring for problems so you ideally won’t ever notice them.
Summary
Overall Excellent Hosting
This company has done a great job at building an excellent hosting solution for people around the world. While their focus is on Windows hosting in Europe, they also offer a wide range of other options to help ensure you are completely happy with the hosting you are getting.
Pros:
- 99.99% Uptime Guarantee
- Friendly Tech Support
- Lots of Hosting Options
Cons:
- Limited Payment Frequency Options