MediaTemple.com Overview
At present, Media Temple is the selected hosting solution for over 100,000 customers and has 15 years of experience under its belt – a crucial point when clients need the assurance of a company that knows exactly what it’s doing. This assurance is also cemented with Media Temple’s no-nonsense approach to the way it reaches out to meet your unique demands via flexibility and unequaled support. While Media Temple offers services that can accommodate any kind of client, from those beginning personal blogs to those building more intricate e-commerce sites, it is perhaps best suited for web designers and developers who would prefer to have more hands-on access to the workings of their websites.
Ease of Use
Media Temple uses Parallels Plesk, which is one of the most easy to use control panel applications on the market today.
Features
Inexperienced website owners will find that hosting their sites on Media Temple is a breeze. Plesk offers “one-click” installation and configuration choices that enable sites to go live within minutes. For the braver clients (administrators, web designers and developers) Media Temple allows for more hands-on tweaking such as the ability to access sites and databases using command-line interfaces, giving experienced users more freedom of control over their sites.
Inexperienced website owners will find that hosting their sites on Media Temple is a breeze. Plesk offers “one-click” installation and configuration choices that enable sites to go live within minutes. For the braver clients (administrators, web designers and developers) Media Temple allows for more hands-on tweaking such as the ability to access sites and databases using command-line interfaces, giving experienced users more freedom of control over their sites.
Features
Media Temple offers four major plans for clients to choose from: Grid Web Hosting, WordPress Hosting, DV Dedicated Hosting and Managed Hosting. Webmasters can select from disk space options ranging from 30GB with the basic Grid plan to 1TB with the Managed Hosting plan. The number of websites that can be hosted using one plan range from 100, under a single domain, to an unlimited number of sites under 100 domains.
The software solutions available to you include, but are not limited to, Apache, MySql, PHP, Perl, Python, Ruby, Postfix and YUM package management. All plans are covered under a strict security regimen that scours for weaknesses in your website’s codes and plug-ins, as well as round-the-clock scans of servers for malware.
Email is integrated into Media Temple’s hosting and can accommodate upwards of 1000 accounts. The host has an all-in-one email system that includes calendars, contacts and full IMAP support. That being said, you’ll have more than enough control to maintain stable and secure communication with your customers and visitors. Furthermore, you don’t have to worry about having all of the answers thanks to the helpful AccountCenter. This front-end application not only helps facilitate and manage your emails, but also aids in instant installation of applications, database management and the addition of domains.
For those wondering about aesthetics, Media Temple also offers website themes that are developed by some of the web’s “most celebrated designers” and are exclusive to its users – for free – with a promise that more will be made available in the future.
Customer Support
Media Temple is known for its customer support. By default, every single one of its clients is guaranteed 24/7 systems support. You can contact the company’s technician via telephone, chat or Twitter.
Media Temples’ KnowledgeBase is also a mine of information that can handle most web hosting related questions
Clients that choose to sign up for the CloudTech Support plan can receive extra backing with the help of engineers who can help with optimization, speed or performance issues, installation of applications and even the handling of hackers.
CloudTech assistance has two plans: The On-Demand plan makes engineers available to the webmaster only when there is a problem or when assistance is sought. The Always-On plan offers round-the-clock support, which is much like having an in-house team of IT engineers working 24/7.
Pricing
Media Temple isn’t the cheapest hosting provider on the internet, but with all the features it provides, one might argue that you get enough bang for your buck. The company’s pricing ranges from a minimum of $20/month with the basic Grid plan to $2,000 for the Developer Dedicated plan. A surprising offer made by the company, and one that is likely to boost clients’ confidence, is the Media Temple 20/20 Guarantee that offers “99.999% uptime of hardware, network and infrastructure or your money back.” Media Temple also offers hosting solutions that are a mixture of its various plans, thus ensuring that the customer gets exactly what he or she requires without having to be limited to a single, structured plan. In cases like these, the company asks clients to contact customer support for more personalized price quotations.
The Good
Media Temple is owned by GoDaddy, which adds long-standing credibility to its name
The Bad
The asking price might be a little too high for beginners
And The Ugly
The plans seem to infer a certain knowledge level, which can be difficult for beginners