Final verdict
Looking over InMotion vs. Register.com, it’s clear why both hosts are so popular. They have both hosted millions of
websites that run on WordPress for decades, building up a loyal customer base.
-
InMotion (Overall grade: 8.4)
offers a diversified set of hosting plans suited to a wide range of needs, from personal blogs to high-traffic websites and ecommerce solutions. It stands out for its high-speed performance powered by UltraStack Technology, NVMe SSD storage, and advanced caching methods. With multiple data centers, it ensures optimized loading speeds and reliability. InMotion’s security measures are comprehensive, including free SSL certificates, DDoS protection, and malware scanning. The platform also excels in customer support, with 24/7 U.S.-based assistance, making it a reliable choice for both beginners and professionals. However, some users do report slow servers on lower-tier plans and a somewhat complex user interface.
Register.com (Overall grade: 6.6)
provides a more basic offering, focusing mainly on web hosting and domain registration with the ease of a built-in website builder. Its strengths lie in its accessibility and solid uptime guarantees of 99.99% for Unix users and 99.9% for Microsoft users, making it suitable for small businesses and entrepreneurs. While its hosting plans come with substantial storage, malware protection via SiteLock, and automatic backups with CodeGuard, it lacks the advanced features and performance optimizations found with InMotion. Additionally, customer feedback highlights issues like high costs and slow response times, along with technical problems in email services and page speeds. Despite these shortcomings, its user-friendly interface and specialized support options provide a functional, if limited, solution for basic hosting needs.
 Overall grade:8.4 |
 Overall grade:6.6 |
|
|---|---|---|
| Uptime and Availability | 8.2 | 8.8 |
| Hosting Performance | 8.3 | 7.1 |
| Hosting Security | 8.7 | 8.6 |
| Price | 7.9 | 7.0 |
| Hosting Features | 8.2 | 5.7 |
| Ease Of Setup | 8.6 | 7.4 |
| User Management | 8.7 | 0.0 |
| Customer Support | 8.3 | 8.4 |
| User feedback | 3.9/5 | 3.3/5 |
Hosting types offered
Both platforms provide a variety of hosting types, each designed to meet the different needs of users.
|
|
|
|
|---|---|---|
| Shared hosting | ||
| Cloud hosting | ||
| WordPress hosting | ||
| Ecommerce hosting | ||
| VPS hosting | ||
| Dedicated hosting |
Although both offer a variety of hosting plans tailored to different needs, in
certain cases, one platform may prove to be more suitable.
features, making it a better choice for ecommerce needs.
Detailed comparison
Uptime and availability
Evaluates the average uptime statistics, uptime guarantee and overall availability of the hosting
provider
Score Components:
- Uptime percentage (30%): evaluates the uptime statistics in given period of time
- Uptime guarantee (20%): Assesses if the platform offers an uptime guarantee and
whether the actual uptime matches the promised guarantee. - General performance (25%): Evaluates how fast is the average response time and overall
it’s stability. - Responsiveness (10%): Adaptability to different devices and screen sizes.
- Availability (25%): Reflects the total downtime and number of outages.
8.2
8.8
🏆 Winner: Register.com: A comprehensive host with strong uptime guarantees and extensive features.
InMotion Hosting offers varying uptime claims across its hosting plans. Shared hosting can achieve 100% uptime as seen in 2022, although no specific guarantee is set. Their VPS hosting mentions 99.99% uptime without detailed guarantees. Dedicated servers present conflicting uptime claims but no explicit guarantees. Managed WordPress plans aim for 99.99% uptime on high-availability servers.
Register.com ensures an uptime of 99.99% for Unix users and 99.9% for Microsoft users, providing high availability across different platforms. Their shared and WordPress hosting plans come with substantial storage, malware protection through SiteLock, and automatic backups via CodeGuard. Register.com’s multichannel support and strong security features make it a reliable choice for small businesses and entrepreneurs.
Hosting performance
Score Components:
- Hosting speed (30%): This includes SSD quality, Load times, PageSpeed score ranges,
additional information on website speed, built-in plugins for performance enhancement, available caching
methods, and CPU/RAM options - CDN (20%): Considers whether CDN is available or not, whether it’s free or paid, and
the quality of the CDN service - Available data centers (30%): Evaluates the number of data centers and their locations
globally. - Scalibility (20%): Looks at whether elastic scaling is available, the process required
to scale (manual upgrade vs. automatic scaling), the presence of dedicated servers, and the costs
associated with scaling.
8.3
7.1
🏆 Winner: InMotion Hosting: Superior speed and reliability with advanced security features.
When it comes to general performance, InMotion Hosting stands out with its UltraStack Technology, offering speeds up to 20x faster due to NVMe SSD storage and advanced caching methods. Register.com, while reliable with a 99.9% uptime guarantee, lags behind compared to InMotion’s 99.99% uptime. InMotion also benefits from multiple data centers in the USA and Europe, optimizing loading speeds, while Register.com focuses on reliability through redundancy across multiple servers. InMotion includes several free performance-boosting tools, while Register.com requires add-ons for similar features.
Website Speed
InMotion Hosting clearly excels in terms of website speed with its advanced UltraStack Technology and NVMe SSDs, providing up to 20x faster speeds. The host’s advanced caching technologies, including object caching, drastically improve load times. Register.com promises fast load times for WordPress hosting, claiming it to be twice as fast as some competitors, but lacks the specific technological enhancements seen with InMotion. Additionally, InMotion’s built-in performance plugins offer better website optimization out of the box compared to Register.com.
Scalability
InMotion Hosting offers flexible scalability with a variety of plans ranging from shared hosting to dedicated servers, allowing businesses to scale seamlessly. These options often include elastic scaling, whereby resources can automatically adjust based on your needs. InMotion’s dedicated servers start at $35.00/mo, making it accessible for growing businesses. Register.com also supports growth with scalable plans but doesn’t provide specifics on elastic scaling or dedicated server options. Cost details for scaling with Register.com are not provided.
Hosting security
and regulatory requirements
Score Components:
- Technical security measures (40%): This includes encryption, firewalls, DDoS
protection, secure configurations, server monitoring, access control and availability of security addons
(e.g Sitelock security). - Operational security measures (30%): Encompasses data privacy, backups and data
redundancy. - Compliance and certifications (20%): Adherence to legal and regulatory requirements
(e.g., GDPR, HIPAA) and possession of certifications (e.g., ISO 27001, SOC 2). - Business and reliability (10%): Factors in the provider’s reputation, uptime
guarantees, and customer support.
8.7
8.6
🏆 Winner InMotion Hosting: Comprehensive security measures make InMotion Hosting a strong choice for users requiring extensive protection.
Both InMotion Hosting and Register.com, have notable differences in their approaches to technical and operational
security, as well as in their compliance with regulations.
Technical security measures:
Both InMotion Hosting and Register.com offer robust SSL certificate options. InMotion provides free SSL certificates across all plans, whereas Register.com uses strong 256-bit encryption and offers Extended Validation (EV) certificates. InMotion supports PHP 7 and PHP 8, emphasizing security with JIT compilation. Register.com, on the other hand, offers multiple PHP versions, manageable via a PHP Manager. InMotion includes DDoS protection, malware scanning, and firewall software, whereas Register.com uses SiteLock for malware protection and offers Password Protection and raw log file access.
Operational security measures:
InMotion includes automatic backup solutions via its Backup Manager, SSH access for secure remote connections, and Spam Experts for email safety. Register.com provides CodeGuard for automatic website backups and customizable error pages for enhanced user experience. Additionally, Register.com’s Scheduled Tasks Manager supports operational efficiency. InMotion’s operational security is bolstered by Hack & Malware Protection and Safe Application Roll-Back, which aren’t specified in Register.com’s offerings.
Compliance and certifications:
InMotion complies with various regulations, including GDPR, CCPA, and handling of DMCA and trademark violations. Register.com meets GDPR and provides masking for EU residents, managing Data Processor and Data Controller roles. Both offer guidance on PCI compliance though InMotion suggests VPS or dedicated servers for meeting these standards.
|
|
|
|
|---|---|---|
SSL certificate |
Free SSL certificates |
256-bit encryption, EV certificates |
Additional security features |
DDoS protection, malware scanning, firewall, hack protection, SSH access |
SiteLock, password protection, raw log files, scheduled tasks |
PHP versions |
PHP 7 and 8 |
Multiple versions via PHP Manager |
GDPR compliance |
Yes |
Yes, with masking for EU residents |
HIPAA compliance |
Not specified |
Not specified |
PCI compliance |
Guidance available, recommend VPS or dedicated server |
SSL certificates for secure transactions, guidance available |
Hosting features
Score Components:
- Domains (20%): Assesses the availability of a free domain, domain purchase options, and
pricing - Email (15%): Considers if the provider offers full email hosting, or is reselling
third-party service, and if the email is only transactional or not - Website builder (15%): Checks if website builder is available, and it’s user
friendliness and overall the level of customization allowed. - Staging environment (20%): Determines if a staging environment is available, allowing
for testing changes before going live. - FTP & SFTP accounts (10%): Evaluates if and how easily users can access FTP and
SFTP accounts - Git and SSH access (20%): Assess whether Git is integrated into the hosting service and
if SSH access is provided
8.2
5.7
🏆 Winner
InMotion Hosting: Advanced features and robust support make it a top choice for diversified needs.
InMotion Hosting provides an extensive feature set tailored for both beginners and advanced users. Its cPanel includes useful tools like the Softaculous Application Installer for easy app integration, making website management straightforward. The hosting also offers NVMe SSD storage for enhanced speed and free SSL certificates, ensuring data security at no extra cost. Users benefit from unlimited bandwidth, automatic backups, and advanced caching, contributing to a reliable and fast hosting experience. Additionally, FTP/SFTP and SSH access offer secure file management, crucial for businesses requiring complex server interactions. Developer tools supporting multiple frameworks and languages further highlight its versatility, and 24/7/365 support ensures help is always available.
Register.com offers a basic but effective website builder for creating websites without extensive technical know-how. Its unique features include a script library and the ability to reset file permissions, which can be useful for troubleshooting. While it lacks a free SSL certificate, its password protection and custom error pages offer some level of security and customization. Register.com also provides website backups and domain pointers but lacks advanced caching and developer-oriented tools like GIT version control. FTP accounts are available, though the availability of SFTP is not clear, and the absence of SSH access might limit its suitability for more technical users.
|
|
|
|
|---|---|---|
Free domain |
Yes, for the first year |
No |
Free SSL |
Yes |
No |
Email hosting |
Yes |
Yes |
Website builder |
No |
Yes |
Staging environment |
Yes |
No |
FTP & SFTP accounts |
Yes |
FTP (SFTP not clear) |
Git and SSH access |
Yes |
No |
Free backup |
Yes |
Yes |
Money back guarantee |
Yes, 90 days |
Yes, 30 days |
a location.
As a result in rare cases the features mentioned here can differ from the ones you see on their websites.
Both providers support a range of users from beginners to experts with user-friendly website builders and WordPress staging areas. However, in terms of developer tools, both InMotion Hosting and Register.com offer robust options including SSH access, support for multiple programming languages, and Git for version control, thus appealing to developers looking for advanced capabilities.
Email services:
InMotion Hosting supports the creation and management of professional emails, offering features that cater to both transactional email services and more extensive email hosting needs with no explicit third-party integrations noted. Register.com similarly provides email hosting, suitable for managing routine communications but doesn’t highlight advanced features or third-party integrations for email campaigns. For businesses requiring robust email solutions, either can suffice, but InMotion’s comprehensive support might offer more reliability.
Price
Score Components:
- Plan value (40%): What each pricing tier offers.
- Transparency and clarity (30%): Clearness of pricing structures.
- Flexibility of plans (20%): Range of options to suit different budgets.
- Hidden costs (10%): Additional expenses not included in the plan.
7.9
7.0
🏆 Winner InMotion Hosting: A versatile hosting provider with competitive pricing and comprehensive features for various hosting needs.
Evaluating the pricing of plans among various hosting providers can be complex due to their differing pricing and renewal strategies. Additionally, certain plans require annual commitments, which adds to the difficulty of making comparisons. The prices listed are based on monthly commitments; plans requiring annual commitments are indicated. Additionally, although some providers offer identical plans for WordPress and shared hosting, we have created separate tables for each to enhance clarity.
When comparing the pricing plans of InMotion Hosting and Register.com, InMotion offers more diversified plans with competitive pricing and extensive features. InMotion’s WordPress hosting starts as low as $3.49/month, including advanced features like free domain, SSL, and website builder. Register.com, meanwhile, does not specify prices upfront and appears to offer less extensive features for WordPress. Similarly, for shared hosting, InMotion’s plans start at $3.19/month for basic features but extend to more comprehensive options like unlimited SSD and high performance. Register.com’s plans intend to cater to smaller needs with limited websites and emails.
|
|
|
|---|---|
|
WP-1000s $3.49/mo
Free domain & SSL, Website Builder, Premium Themes & Plugins, Advanced Caching, Unlimited Email, Free Migration, SSH, GIT, WordPress Multisite Value for price:9.0
|
WordPress Price N/A
1 WordPress Site, 50 GB Storage, 10 Email Boxes, On-Demand Cloud Backup, Domain Name†Value for price:7.0
|
|
WP-2000s $3.69/mo
Similar to WP-1000s with minor price differences Value for price:8.8
|
WordPress Plus Price N/A
3 WordPress Sites, 100 GB Storage, 25 Email Boxes, On-Demand Cloud Backup, Domain Name†, SSL included Value for price:7.5
|
|
WP Pro $11.49/mo
Unlimited Websites, 40x WP Performance, Unlimited NVMe SSD, Unlimited Bandwidth, Free Domain & SSL, Pro Level Support, Dedicated IP Value for price:9.5
|
WordPress Premium Price N/A
5 WordPress Sites, 200 GB Storage, 50 Email Boxes, On-Demand Cloud Backup, Domain Name†, SSL included Value for price:7.8
|
|
|
|
|---|---|
|
Core $3.19/mo
Free SSL, 2 Websites, 100GB SSD, Unlimited Bandwidth, Security Suite Value for price:8.7
|
Starter Price N/A
1 Website, 15 GB Disk Space, 1 Email Box Value for price:6.5
|
|
Launch $4.99/mo
Free domain & SSL, 25 Websites, Unlimited NVMe SSD, Advanced Caching, Unlimited Email Value for price:9.2
|
Essential Price N/A
3 Websites, 300 GB Disk Space, 3 Email Boxes, Domain Name Included†, SiteLock Value for price:7.1
|
|
WP Pro $11.49/mo
Unlimited Websites, Unlimited NVMe SSD, 40x WP Performance, Free Domain & SSL, Pro Level Support Value for price:9.5
|
Professional Price N/A
10 Websites, 500 GB Disk Space, 10 Email Boxes, Domain Name Included†, SiteLock Premium Value for price:7.3
|
|
|
|
|---|---|
|
VPS-1000 $14.99/mo
High-Availability Servers, cPanel & Cloud-Powered Reliability, Free Website Transfers, Isolated Resources Value for price:8.5
|
Premium Hosting Price N/A
10 Websites, Unlimited Disk Space, 10 Email Boxes, SSL, Domain Name Included†Value for price:7.4
|
As a result in rare cases the prices displayed here can differ from the ones you see on their websites.
Enterprise plans
InMotion Hosting provides high-availability VPS and configurable dedicated hosting options, starting at $14.99/month and $35.00/month, respectively. These plans include enhanced security and advanced management features. Register.com lacks comparable enterprise-level hosting options, making InMotion a more suitable choice for businesses requiring robust enterprise solutions.
Ease of setup
platform.
Score Components:
- Site migration (25%): Assesses whether the provider offers tools for site migration,
either automated or manual, and whether these services are free or require a fee. - Admin panel usability (35%): Evaluates the type of admin panel provided, such as the
standard cPanel or a custom solution, focusing on its accessibility and user-friendliness for both
technical and non-technical users. - Setup features (20%): Examines the availability and ease of use of various setup
features, including FTP accounts, file managers, email account setup, PHPMyAdmin, and easy CDN
configuration. - Help center quality (20%): Measures the quality and accessibility of the provider’s
help center resources, including articles and tutorials.
8.6
7.4
🏆 Winner
InMotion Hosting: Offers efficient website setup and migration tools alongside comprehensive support resources.
InMotion Hosting provides an easy-to-use control panel, cPanel, known for its user-friendly interface suited for both technical and non-technical users. The availability of a demo version allows users to familiarize themselves with the interface before diving into actual usage. Features such as one-click installs for various applications like WordPress and Laravel further simplify the setup process. On the other hand, Register.com employs a custom admin panel that integrates various functionalities like a Website Builder and FTP Account Manager. While this panel provides a range of features, users transitioning from a standard cPanel might find the new interface challenging at first.
InMotion Hosting excels in providing free migration tools to transfer websites quickly and efficiently using cPanel backup, ensuring no downtime. For more complicated transfers, their Launch Assist service helps move all files and databases seamlessly. Register.com, while equipped with multiple features like domain pointers and website backups, lacks specific dedicated migration tools. Users might need to rely more on manual transfers or external help, which could be cumbersome and time-consuming for non-technical users.
InMotion Hosting offers 24/7 U.S.-based customer support via live chat, ticketing, and phone support, coupled with an extensive online support center featuring step-by-step education channels and community forums. Their specialized WordPress tutorials and premier support services ensure comprehensive guidance. Register.com provides 24/7 customer service and multiple support resources like FAQs and blogs. While they also have dedicated support for accessibility issues and MyTime Support, their overall depth and breadth of support resources fall short of InMotion’s comprehensive offerings.
The platforms provide extensive knowledge bases filled with guides, how-to articles, and instructional content. InMotion Hosting offers a wide range of resources alongside 24/7 chat and phone support. Register.com also boasts a detailed help center with an intuitive search function and around-the-clock support via live chat, phone, and ticketing, ensuring comprehensive user support.
User management
accessibility.
Score Components:
- Role customization (40%): Flexibility in creating and defining user roles and
permissions. - Ease of management (30%): User interface and tools for managing users.
- Access control (20%): Effectiveness of access control measures for different user
levels. - Scalability (10%): Ability to manage a growing number of users efficiently.
8.7
0.0
🏆 Winner InMotion: InMotion Hosting offers advanced user management capabilities ideal for efficient website administration.
When it comes to managing user roles, permissions, and accessibility, InMotion Hosting stands out. InMotion offers extensive functionality in creating and managing WordPress user roles, from administrators to subscribers. This flexibility allows for precise control over who can perform what actions, ensuring an efficient workflow. On the other hand, there’s no specific information available for Register.com regarding user management, which puts InMotion at a clear advantage for those needing well-defined user roles and permissions.
In terms of user interfaces and tools for managing users, InMotion Hosting provides a robust set of options. Users can add new roles and modify existing ones through the WordPress dashboard or via WP-CLI, making it convenient for users with different levels of technical expertise. The inclusion of the User Role Editor plugin adds another layer of customization, allowing administrators to tailor roles to specific needs. With no available data about Register.com’s user interface and tools, it’s challenging to make a comparison, but InMotion’s offerings appear comprehensive and user-friendly.
Regarding access control measures, InMotion excels by providing efficient and scalable solutions for managing a growing number of users. Administrators can easily allocate roles and permissions, ensuring that even as the user base grows, the platform remains manageable. Options to create custom roles and assign specific capabilities further enhance the platform’s adaptability. There is no information about Register.com’s capability in terms of access control or user management efficacy, which makes InMotion the more reliable choice for handling an expanding user base.
InMotion Hosting User Roles Table:
| Role | Description | Access Highlights |
|---|---|---|
| Administrator | Somebody with access to all the administration features within a single site. | Full access to all site settings, content management, and user permissions. |
| Editor | A user who can publish and manage posts including the posts of other users. | Can manage and publish all posts, moderate comments, and manage categories. |
| Author | A user who can publish and manage their own posts. | Can publish, edit, and delete their own posts. |
| Contributor | A user who can write and manage their own posts but cannot publish them. | Can write and edit their own posts but must be reviewed by an editor before publishing. |
| Subscriber | A user who can only manage their profile. | Limited to managing personal profile information. |
Customer support
hosting provider.
Score Components:
- Support communication channels (30%): Measures the variety of customer support types
provided (live chat, chatbot, email, phone, etc.) - Availability (20%): Assesses the availability hours for each channel, including 24/7
support options. - Technical support quality (30%): Assesses whether the provider offers comprehensive
technical support, including hardware upgrades (e.g., HDD to SSD), software installations, and web
server configuration changes. - Enterprise support (20%): Checks if there are dedicated or priority support services
for enterprise-level customers.
8.3
8.4
🏆 Winner Register.com: Register.com offers award-winning customer support and multiple specialized services.
|
|
|
|
|---|---|---|
Phone support |
||
Live chat support |
||
Chatbot |
||
Email/ticket support |
||
Enterprise support (dedicated agent, priority support) |
N/A |
InMotion Hosting provides extensive customer support options including 24/7 phone support, live chat, and a comprehensive knowledge base. Their U.S.-based customer service team ensures clients receive prompt and helpful assistance. With the support ticketing system and forums, users have multiple channels to seek help and learn more about using their services.
Register.com offers award-winning customer support with live technical support and unique MyTime support for setup and tasks. Their 24/7 product support and various contact options ensure availability and accessibility for users. Although they lack enterprise support compared to InMotion Hosting, Register.com compensates with other dedicated resources like malware protection and automatic website backups.
User feedback
InMotion Hosting receives mixed reviews from users, highlighting several strengths and weaknesses. Customers appreciate the variety of hosting plans, transparent pricing, robust uptime, and exceptional customer support. On the downside, some users experience slow servers on lower-tier plans and encounter long waiting times for customer support. Additionally, the platform’s user interface has received criticism for being somewhat difficult to navigate, and there are concerns about service outages and higher prices for premium features.
Customer feedback on Register.com is notably polarized. A significant number of users commend the platform for its easy-to-use interface, extensive template selection, and generally satisfactory customer service, emphasizing that it meets basic web hosting and domain registration needs effectively. However, many users also express frustration over high costs, slow response times, and unaddressed technical issues such as unreliable email services and slow page loading speeds. While some customers have had positive long-term experiences, others warn against the service due to unreliability and poor customer support, resulting in business losses and dissatisfaction.
FAQ
Which platform is better suited for hosting WordPress websites?
Both InMotion Hosting and Register.com offer dedicated WordPress hosting with robust features and optimizations. However, InMotion Hosting provides more advanced options like NVMe SSD storage, advanced caching, and WordPress multisite support, making it superior for demanding WordPress applications. Therefore, InMotion Hosting slightly edges out as the better option for hosting WordPress websites.
Which hosting service offers better security features?
InMotion Hosting offers comprehensive security measures, including free SSL certificates, DDoS protection, malware scanning, and firewall software, making it a robust choice for secure hosting. Register.com also provides strong security with SiteLock for malware protection and Password Protection, but it lacks some advanced features like hack protection found in InMotion. Therefore, InMotion Hosting offers better security features overall.
What are the major differences in pricing and value between inmotion and registercom?
InMotion Hosting offers more diversified plans with competitive pricing and features like free domain, SSL, and advanced caching. Their WordPress plans start at $3.49/month, offering better value for features. Register.com doesn’t specify prices upfront and seems to offer fewer features for similar plans, leading to a lower value proposition compared to InMotion.
Which platform offers better customer support?
InMotion Hosting provides extensive customer support options, including 24/7 phone support, live chat, email support, and a comprehensive knowledge base. Register.com also offers 24/7 customer support with unique MyTime support for setup but lacks the depth and breadth of resources available through InMotion. Hence, InMotion offers better customer support overall.
Which hosting service offers more scalability options for growing websites?
InMotion Hosting offers flexible scalability with plans ranging from shared hosting to dedicated servers, allowing businesses to scale seamlessly with elastic scaling options. Register.com supports growth with scalable plans but lacks specifics on elastic scaling or dedicated server options. Therefore, InMotion Hosting provides more scalability options for growing websites.
The making of this blog
We followed a clear, step-by-step process to write and research this article.
