I am using Namecheap’s shared hosting for around 6 years. So, I have got enough time to evaluate their services. I have used their shared, premium, and VPS services.
Today I am going to shade some light on their shared hosting from my experience with them.
Although Namecheap is recognized mainly for their unbeatable price of domain registration, they have also improved in their hosting services in recent years.
There are very few months of the year when you won’t get a domain registration discount from Namecheap. During the special occasion of the year, you can register a domain for as low as $1 or less. I believe this is how Namecheap is building their loyal customer base.
But how is there hosting service?
When I first choose them as my primary host- I was kind of worried. I have heard that hosting and domain from the same provider are like putting all your eggs in one basket. And it might backfire. Well…, I haven’t faced any big trouble in my 6 years’ time with them. So, this is a misconception.
The best thing about a hosting company should be their support and the support of Namecheap is “A” class. It never took me more than an hour to sort out any problem. The representatives are quite nice and learned. They took action immediately on any of my inquiries.
Pricing:
This is solely up to you to compare the price of other hosting like Hostgator, Bluehost, siteground, and then Namecheap. Namecheap is always lower.
There is an option to pay monthly or yearly. Namecheap has a 30-day’s money-back policy. So, if you do not like hosting after a month or having a problem then you can get your money back.
You might know Namecheap as a great domain register, but in recent years they have introduces so many other services that made Namecheap a wonderful place to host your site.
Considering the Price & Support, Namecheap beats all.
Uptime
Server speed and up-time are better than most shared hosting providers I have used. Sometimes one of my sites is a little bit slow and down for moments. I checked the matter and it was the CPU usage that was exceeding for that site.
So, they have a backlash/limitation in CPU resources. I guess most of the hosting companies try to put that in the limit. I wish they will increase the limit if possible.
If you use WordPress on a shared server then you must know how to optimize your site. Otherwise shared hosting might be a downfall for you.
Your site’s uptime mostly will depend on your site’s CPU consumption. The more CPU your site script’s will use the slower it will get.
The business shared hosting has more power if you need to upgrade.
Although Namecheap advertises the uptime of their server is 100%, but nothing can operate in 100%. Be sure about that. But, this will be very rare when your site will be down for long. May be 5 mins to 10 mins in a month. That’s pretty negligible.
cPanel
The cPanel on the Namecheap shared hosting plans has all the options and updated scripts a person may need. You can directly backup or move your site from the cPanel.
For beginners, I recommend using the retro skin of cPanel. Things are more organized and look nice with that screen.
Offers
If your domain is hosted with Namecheap then you are getting free whois guard for life. In each shared hosting, you can have fifty SSL certificates for a new domain for free.
As Namecheap is also an SSL certificate re-seller they do not have the free SSL certificate like Let’s Encrypt. Whenever you add a new domain on any cPanel, it will get a free SSL certificate for the year. From the 2nd year, you need to pay for that.
Once I moved from Namecheap…
I was going to host more than 6 websites in only one shared hosting (cPanel account) and aware of the fact that- it might reach the CPU usage cap. That means my loading time will increase.
Just for this reason, I moved from Namecheap to Hostgator once. Hostgator has a limit also, but usually, I do not see any warning at Hostgator.
But, after a few months, I returned to Namecheap again and realized how lazy the support of the Hostgator was. Also, their uptime is not as better as Namecheap.
If you are going to host one or two websites, which will not get super-duper traffic then Namecheap is a good choice. Now they have faster VPS and dedicated WP hosting plans also- that means they are upgrading their services continuously.
In simple it is worth giving a try to start your online business. Start with small and grow into a big giant.
Namecheap is an easy solution for lazy people. Money well spent.
I am a Blogger and Online Marketer. I started blogging in 2006 and since then I self taught myself "how to earn a decent income from online profession".
Currently, I am working as a freelance Web Designer and Marketing Consultant.
You can contact me for a schedule. Send me an e-mail at: [email protected]
I am using namecheap hosting for a single blog and still I haven’t faced any complication. I loved their monthly payment system. I hope they will add moneybookers (skrill) in their payment option someday.