iPage is widely considered one of the great successes in the Hosting industry, after “relaunching” in 2009, and sky rocketing in popularity. Here’s why:
Hosting since 1998, it wasn’t until late 2009 that the popularity of iPage really took off. With a formidable affiliate network, an aggressive marketing strategy, and the resources made available by their owners Endurance International Group (EIG), iPage has risen to the top of most web host review ranks. EIG is the well known tech company that has been acquiring hosting companies like its going out of style! With 15 years under their belt and near 2.5 million domain names, the group is cementing stamp with an impressive roster including the likes of FatCow, HostMonster, JustHost, and BlueHost to name a few.
Though it’s important to know the full extension of EIG’s resources and reach, it’s not the only information web hosting consumers rely on to make informed decisions. We want to know what iPage brings to the table in terms of cost, solutions, and if this mix works best for us. Right? Let’s go.
iPage Review – The Essentials
iPage has been well known for their low-costs and great service, and it all starts with their iPage Essential Plan.This is iPage’s entry-level teaser plan (or ELTP as I like to call them), that offers all the juice of a more expensive plan, and gets customers on the hook before the inevitable upgrade. It comes with the usual host of “unlimiteds” such as storage, data transfer, domains, emails, etc. (all unlimited) but frankly this offering of “UNLIMITED EVERYTHING” is so common with hosting companies, I would be wasting everyone’s time by continually listing them. What IS important to keep in mind though, with every “unlimited” offering, is that there are limits. Paradoxical almost, isn’t it?
Unlimited = no limits, as long as you stay within the parameters of normal usage. If you exceed such parameters, be ready to discontinue use, or upgrade.
With the iPage Essential Plan you also get a ton of free security, marketing, design and support features. This is a great addition to their plan as it gives you a host of tools to market and secure your website with daily scans and free advertising credits. We definitely love how they added this in to their hosting plan with no additional fees.
Back to the plan and iPage Review. I’m a big fan of this plan, and have no problem mentioning with confidence that it’s one of the best deals out there for entry level or starter packages. It doesn’t hurt that it’s currently advertised for only $1.00. You read that right – $1 per month (for your first term, based on a 24mo term). Important note: iPage’s rates change frequently, but using our coupon code you’ll always be sure to get the lowest rate!
Drawbacks you ask?
There’s no sugar coating it. Plus, I dislike sugar and refuse to use any when serving at HostReviewSite.net. iPage falls into the same category as other cheap inexpensive web hosts, with a couple of exceptions. As long as your expectations are in check, you won’t be let down. But let’s be honest, there’s bound to be some negativity floating around the Internets surrounding iPage; after all, they host millions of domains, and it’s near impossible to please everyone. If you DO mind the occasional hiccup, some downtime here and there, please do us both a favour: don’t buy cheap web hosting (See my pick, HostUpon’s VPS hosting here)
iPage offers a near-ridiculous amount of add-ons and services (I mention them a little later on) which in my opinion, is great, especially for clients looking for a one-stop shop. Unfortunately, it’s very easy for a less-experienced user to start clicking away at “free trials” without remembering or realizing that these need to be cancelled. The result: you will be billed for things you might not really need. In fact, I’m positive, you don’t need the majority of these add-ons (management tools, marketing services, and whatever else have you.)
Dinner Time
The center piece for iPage’s offering is undoubtedly their iPage Essentials Plan that I mentioned above, but the full offering is more than just the ELTP.: iPage also offers VPS Hosting and Dedicated Hosting. Here’s a quick breakdown of iPage plans and rates (all rates are monthly and USD):
Shared Web Hosting from $1.00/mo (24mo term) or $3.99/mo (12mo term)
VPS Web Hosting from $16.99/mo (24mo term) or $19.99/mo (monthly term)
Dedicated Web Hosting from $103.99/mo (24mo term) or $119.99/mo (monthly term)
I should also point out that the above VPS and Dedicated hosting rates are based on a current iPage promotion, in which customers receive 20% off of their entire first term (after which, regular rates will be applied)
That was just a snapshot of iPages full offering, which also includes free domain registration (most other hosts charge around $14.99 for this) and approximately $450 in marketing credits (not uncommon with similar hosts). They also offer a key feature (and one that we love here…or at least I do), the famous Anytime Money-Back Guarantee:
“If you’re not satisfied with iPage, we’ll give you your money back. No questions asked, no time limits. Cancel at any time, and we’ll issue you a refund for the remainder of your current payment term. It’s like a warranty that never expires! Plus, during the first 30 days, we’ll refund your hosting fees in full.”
Why iPage?
It’s one of the more inexpensive (if not THE cheapest) introductory rate for shared hosting, as well as being reliable. It’s worth a mention that it’s reputation is overall positive, and from my expierence, this holds true.
The little things. iPage offers a lot of add-ons and even your own “Web Concierge” to help you with everything from account issues to support. I will restate that though you don’t need a lot of these tools, and some of them might be (they definitely are) traps to get you signed up (be aware!), some of the other options are pretty cool. Such as the “Web Concierge” and the Site Builder.
ANYTIME Money-back Guarantee. It’s exactly what it sounds like, and it reduces your risk should things go south
Special Offers
As previously mentioned, iPage changes their rates and offers almost daily, so don’t be surprised if something you read about online doesn’t hold true. One thing that will hold true though, is that our users (YOU) will get the guaranteed lowest rate. Either by using our special promo code, or because we’re doing our best to keep up with iPage and publishing their latest deals.
Review This Web Host Below
iPage Customer Reviews:
Ipage use to be a good hosting company, but in the last few years they have gone downhill. Sure support is available 24 hours a day but youl will spend at least 1 hour on the phone waiting to take to support and online chat takes longer. Beware of what you sign up for, this is a company that will try to nickel and dime you to death, including after your purchase. When you log into your control panel you will be presented with several offers to purchase addition services, You will need to decline these offers before you can get to your control panel. Also be careful where you click in your control panel because the control panel is littered with ads for additional services. In the last month I have had several problems with ipage on multiple domains I manage.
BEWARE: When I was renewing my ipage hosting, my domains showed an expiration that was good for another year. At this point I’m thinking "ok, I must have purchased the domains for 2 years instead of 1 year" so because the expiration dates showed the domain was good for another year I did not renew yet. 30 days later I discovered my sites are all down and unreachable. While calling support (after waiting for 72 minutes before customer support picks up) I was told that the domain expired 30 days prior and the expiration dates are wrong so the domains are in redemption and it will cost $160 per domain to remove them from redemption. Once paid it will take 24 to 48 hours before the sights come back up.
Ipage stated that this issue was my fault for not renewing the domains even though their system was wrong and the domains displayed an expiration date of December 2015.
After researching ipage and their redemption fees, I discovered that I am not the first one to have this problem. It would seem ipage purposely displays the wrong expiration dates in order to raise extra capital.
So let this be a lesson for anyone who is thinking of using ipage to host their site. BUYER BEWARE!
If you are wondering if I paid the $160 per domain to get them out of redemption. Yes, because the business I lost outweighs the fees charged.
iPage use to be a great company we have been with them for five years and recommended them to customers and associates alike.
They are not the same company we signed up with .
Monday morning we come to the office, No web site , No email, No on-line store,
Apparently due to a clerical error on their end our account was put into redemption.
Hours on hold for tech support, dozens of emails (using gmail), dozens of on line chats.
Their response “there is a ticket in we will get to it when we get to it” and when did they get to it? 5 days later…..make no mistake they held us hostage. Charged us stupid money (for what they admit was there mistake).
They couldn't care less about you your business or your reputation . Do your home work, we are just one of hundreds iPage has done this to.
A word of advice, no matter who your web host is, keep them separate from your domain name registrar, if they are one and the same they can hold you hostage like they did us.
Update : 9 days later only half our emails are working . this company is not a deal at any price
Hi, thanks for your post! Unfortunately, I dont work with iPage because they are liars! If you are not sure of it, just read this review https://webhostinggeeks.com/providers/ipage you will be shocked by their domain statistics!
The iPage is one of the best web host and thins article is very helpful one, thnaks for sharing.
I have been using iPage for over 2 years. I can't say it's the best web hosting ever, but definitely better than goDaddy. I had to switch from goDaddy to iPage because you can't even send email from the goDaddy server as most of the mail server has block the goDaddy IP addresses. iPage is a bit slow but for the price it's what I expected. I am looking to move to a faster web host soon because my site is getting more traffic.
iPage use to be a great company we have been with them for five years and recommended them to customers and associates alike.
They are not the same company we signed up with .
Monday morning we come to the office, No web site , No email, No on-line store,
Apparently due to a clerical error on their end our account was put into redemption.
Hours on hold for tech support, dozens of emails (using gmail), dozens of on line chats.
Their response “there is a ticket in we will get to it when we get to it” and when did they get to it? 5 days later…..make no mistake they held us hostage. Charged us stupid money (for what they admit was there mistake).
They couldn't care less about you your business or your reputation . Do your home work, we are just one of hundreds iPage has done this to.
A word of advice, no matter who your web host is, keep them separate from your domain name registrar, if they are one and the same they can hold you hostage like they did us.