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HostCentric Overview
First impression of HostCentric is that the company wants potential users to know that prices start low, there is a service guarantee and 24/7 support will be available. While none of these are unique in hosting companies, they are vital components to the most successful ones, and HostCentric seems determined to make sure that potential users are aware of this from the moment they hit the website. This is generally the precursor to an honest hosting company – one that can be trusted, and HostCentric doesn’t disappoint in this department. In fact, that honesty is actually a unique selling point, and it comes through in everything the company does, including providing a service that lives up to its claims.
Ease of Use
Purchasing hosting couldn’t be simpler. There is a button that can be pressed to purchase on the main page, not to mention a drop down menu that makes it quick to find. Once selected, monthly prices, associated fees and domain name registration are laid out in a simple chart with radio buttons to select the preferred service. This begins what is essentially a wizard to determine the kind of hosting that a person wants. There is only one option and various pricing schemes for it, so it really couldn’t get much easier. Actually using the hosting is intuitive and well-conceived, with a solid application launcher and plenty of apps to make a site more attractive.
Features
There are a number of features offered by HostCentric, but many of them should be expected from a quality provider. There are some things that stand out, however. Following the trend of making offerings unlimited, HostCentric offers unlimited bandwidth, storage, mailboxes and forwarding addresses. What is actually surprising is that the service also comes with unlimited MySQL databases, a nice touch for small business and people who are trying to build online stores. Speaking of which, the ShopSite Starter is a nice touch to help people create online stores quickly and easily. It’s an excellent product and a great addition to an otherwise fairly generic plan. To top it all off, the 30-day money back guarantee is a real enticement to select HostCentric for your hosting needs.
Customer Support
While some may have reservations about a small company that offers 24/7 support, the representatives at HostCentric were fantastic.
First, they go through the trouble of having support provided through email, phone (with a different number for sales and technical help), and live chat on the website. In all cases, the technicians were patient, kind, courteous and knowledgeable. There was no point where it felt as though they didn’t have complete control of the situation.
For email support, there was a response within an hour of sending a message. More than anything, the technicians never seemed as if they were copy/pasting their messages. It seemed like they were genuinely listening to problems and responding to them appropriately – something increasingly rare in hosting providers.
Pricing
There is only one plan offered by HostCentric, so it’s fairly easy to understand what to expect. If anything, this simplicity is another point in its favor, allowing the company to focus its energy on other things, such as their customer service.
With only one plan to work with, the price differences come from how much a user is willing to pay at a time. When the website says, “As low as $5.95/mo,” it is referring to users who purchase three years in advance. Otherwise, it is $6.95 monthly for two years, $7.95 a month for one year, $8.95 a month paid quarterly and $9.95 if one just wants to pay month to month. This is for the Unix-based services, however. It’s not technically another plan, but it is possible to get the same service only on a Windows-based machine, a difference most users will never notice. The only way in which the UNIX and Windows hosting is different is that there is no option to buy three years in advance of Windows hosting.
The Good
HostCentric is a solid platform that gives users exactly what it promises.
The price point would be hard to beat with competitors.
The Bad
Most of the options are pretty straightforward, which could be underwhelming for some.
And The Ugly
None