Liquid Web vs Aplus.net: Final verdict
Looking over Liquid Web vs. Aplus.net, 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.
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Liquid Web (Overall grade: 8.7)
shines with its high-speed hosting capabilities, 100% uptime guarantee, advanced technical security measures, and specialized hosting solutions like HIPAA and PCI compliance. The platform’s strengths lie in its robust infrastructure, quick response customer support, and varied managed hosting services including autoscaling for WooCommerce. The global data centers and refined speed-enhancing technologies ensure superior performance and reliability. Weaknesses are minimal but include higher price points in comparison and the absence of shared hosting plans.
Aplus.net (Overall grade: 6.1)
is best suited for users looking for reliable VPS hosting with pure SSD drives, unlimited storage, and bandwidth options. It’s an excellent budget-friendly choice, offering quick activation and convenient integrations such as QuickBooks. Despite these strengths, Aplus.net falls short with frequent downtime issues, less refined speed and security features, and less responsive customer support. The lack of detailed support for advanced technical measures and managed services makes it less ideal for high-demand business environments compared to Liquid Web.
 Overall grade:8.7 |
 Overall grade:6.1 |
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|---|---|---|
| Uptime and Availability | 9.4 | 6.0 |
| Hosting Performance | 8.5 | 7.6 |
| Hosting Security | 9.0 | 7.8 |
| Price | 8.4 | 8.1 |
| Hosting Features | 7.9 | 5.3 |
| Ease Of Setup | 9.3 | 5.9 |
| User Management | 7.8 | 0.0 |
| Customer Support | 9.6 | 8.4 |
| User feedback | 4.3/5 | 3.7/5 |
Hosting types offered
Both platforms provide a variety of hosting types, each designed to meet the different needs of users.
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| 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, ideal for ecommerce.
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.
9.4
6.0
🏆 Winner Liquid Web: A comprehensive hosting solution with 100% guaranteed power and network uptime.
Liquid Web stands out with its high availability hosting, ensuring uninterrupted service through multi-server environments and managed file replication options. Their strong 100% network and power uptime SLA offer a peace of mind that all routing devices will stay functional. The proactive monitoring around the clock and rapid hardware replacement guarantee provide an extra layer of reliability. With responsive support available within seconds, Liquid Web ensures minimal downtime and dependable uptime performance.
Aplus.net offers a 99.9% uptime guarantee, measured over a three-month span, with a data center based in Phoenix, Arizona. While the platform provides several support channels, including live chat and US phone support, responsiveness issues have been reported. Some users have voiced concerns about frequent downtime, affecting the overall reliability of this hosting service. Despite its offerings, Aplus.net struggles to meet the high standards set by its competitors.
Which one has better 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.
8.5
7.6
🏆 Winner: Liquid Web: Reliable, high-performance hosting with advanced features.
Both Liquid Web and Aplus.net offer distinct advantages in their hosting services. Liquid Web stands out for its high-speed hosting powered by AMD EPYC Processors, NVMe or SSD storage, and a 10 Gbps network, ensuring quick load times. Aplus.net, while reliable, offers less SSD storage capacity and fewer high-performance features. Liquid Web also excels with integrated caching methods and a global CDN, providing better performance optimization compared to Aplus.net’s basic cloud hosting and CDN integration. Liquid Web boasts multiple data centers globally, enhancing its infrastructure and reliability, slightly better than Aplus.net’s capabilities.
Website Speed
Liquid Web dominates website speed with features like efficient image compression, object caching, and global content delivery via Cloudflare. With AMD EPYC Processors and NVMe storage, websites hosted on Liquid Web load faster, providing users with a smoother experience. Aplus.net, though equipped with SSD storage and Cloudflare integration, lacks the refined speed-enhancing technologies and processing power of Liquid Web’s setups.
Scalability
Liquid Web provides superior scalability options, including automatic autoscaling for Managed WordPress and WooCommerce hosting. It offers a wide range of dedicated server options with Intel Xeon Processors, allowing for easy and cost-effective scaling based on specific needs. Aplus.net’s scaling requires users to upgrade plans manually, and while it offers various VPS and dedicated server plans, the automatic scalability and customized solutions of Liquid Web provide more flexibility and convenience.
Which one has better security features?
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.
9.0
7.8
🏆 Winner
Liquid Web: Offering comprehensive security features and compliance solutions.
Technical security measures:
Liquid Web and Aplus.net offer unique technical security measures. Liquid Web includes advanced features like DDoS attack protection, real-time monitoring, web application firewalls, and an Intrusion Detection System (IDS). Aplus.net provides daily malware scanning and removal via SiteLock, as well as black list monitoring. However, Liquid Web’s hardened server configurations and VPN options make it stand out as the more robust solution overall.
Operational security measures:
Liquid Web has a well-rounded approach to operational security. It offers firewalls, managed services, and 24/7/365 support. These features are complemented by their high-availability network, manned data centers, and physical security measures like CCTV and access card systems. On the other hand, Aplus.net offers strong password requirements, domain privacy, and Cloudflare CDN integration for added speed and security. Yet, the operational edge still leans towards Liquid Web for its detailed infrastructure support and rapid-response remediation.
Compliance and certifications:
Liquid Web shows extensive commitment to compliance with GDPR, HIPAA, and PCI standards. They offer GDPR-compliant data transfer, HIPAA certified hosting, and comprehensive PCI scanning services. Aplus.net emphasizes GDPR and PCI compliance through SSL certificates and password security, but details are not fully specified. Liquid Web’s documented adherence to various compliance standards makes it the more fortified choice.
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SSL certificate |
Yes |
Yes |
Additional security features |
DDoS protection, IDS, VPN |
Daily malware scanning, SiteLock |
PHP versions |
Multiple |
Not specified |
GDPR compliance |
Yes |
Implied |
HIPAA compliance |
Yes |
Not specified |
PCI compliance |
Yes |
Not specified |
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
7.9
5.3
🏆 Winner Liquid Web: Liquid Web offers comprehensive managed hosting services with robust support and performance guarantees, making it an ideal choice for demanding web projects.
Liquid Web provides a variety of fully managed hosting services designed for businesses needing high performance and uptime. Users benefit from proactive management of network security and availability, ensuring a highly reliable environment. They offer specialized hosting solutions such as HIPAA and PCI compliant infrastructure, which can be crucial for industries requiring stringent data protection standards. The vendor’s managed WordPress and WooCommerce hosting come with advantageous features like autoscaling and free staging environments, catering well to those reliant on these platforms. On top of that, the 24/7/365 human support with a swift response guarantee makes Liquid Web an excellent choice for those valuing customer service.
Aplus.net is appealing for users seeking autonomy over their VPS hosting environments. The cPanel control panel allows for easy management and customization, making the platform user-friendly yet flexible. The integration of pure SSD drives ensures fast server performance, suitable for growing businesses needing reliable speed and scalability. Free features, such as SSL certificates and data backups, add value without extra costs. Although it does not mention SSH access explicitly, the inclusion of unlimited FTP accounts supports varied file management needs. However, Aplus.net does not seem to offer the same level of managed services or guaranteed response times that Liquid Web boasts.
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Free Domain |
No |
No |
Free SSL |
Yes |
Yes |
Email Hosting |
Yes |
Yes |
Website Builder |
No |
No |
Staging Environment |
Yes |
No |
FTP & SFTP accounts |
Yes |
Yes |
Git and SSH Access |
Yes |
No |
Free Backup |
Yes |
Yes |
Money Back Guarantee |
No |
No |
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 Liquid Web and Aplus.net 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:
Email services at Liquid Web are provided through a partnership with Microsoft 365, offering a professional email and access to Outlook on a trial basis before transitioning to a paid service. Conversely, Aplus.net provides unlimited free professional email accounts, which is particularly beneficial for users requiring multiple email accounts without incurring additional costs.
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.
8.4
8.1
🏆 Winner Liquid Web: Offers a broad range of high-performance hosting options suitable for various business 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. Although some providers offer identical plans for WordPress and shared hosting, we have created separate tables for each to enhance clarity.
Liquid Web’s vast range of hosting plans spans Managed WooCommerce Hosting, Managed WordPress Hosting, Managed VPS Hosting, and Cloud Dedicated Servers. In contrast, APlusNet provides Cloud Hosting, VPS Hosting, and a Website Creator plan. Liquid Web’s plans are pricier but come with extensive features such as higher storage limits, increased bandwidth, and robust PHP worker scaling capabilities. APlusNet’s plans are cost-effective, offering unlimited storage and transfers for some plans and a free domain in many cases. While Liquid Web guarantees exceptional response times for customer support, APlusNet emphasizes flexibility in contract length and pricing, boosting their value for budget-conscious users.
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Spark $21
1 site, 15GB storage, 2TB bandwidth, includes backups and support. Value for price:8.5
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Basic Plan $9.75
2 websites, 100GB storage, 500GB bandwidth, standard email, free domain. Value for price:7.5
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Spark+ $43
3 sites, 25GB storage, 2.5TB bandwidth. Value for price:8.2
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Business Plan $18.33
10 websites, 500GB storage, 5000GB bandwidth, 50 email accounts, free domain. Value for price:8.0
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Maker $87
5 sites, 40GB storage, 3TB bandwidth. Value for price:8.0
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Professional Plan $25.92
Unlimited websites, unlimited storage, unmetered bandwidth, 100 email accounts, free domain. Value for price:8.3
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| N/A |
Basic Plan $9.75
2 websites, 100GB storage, 500GB bandwidth, standard email, free domain. Value for price:7.5
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| N/A |
Business Plan $18.33
10 websites, 500GB storage, 5000GB bandwidth, 50 email accounts, free domain. Value for price:8.0
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| N/A |
Professional Plan $25.92
Unlimited websites, unlimited storage, unmetered bandwidth, 100 email accounts, free domain. Value for price:8.3
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Essential $20*
2 vCPU, 2 GB RAM, 40 GB SSD, 10 TB bandwidth, AlmaLinux. Value for price:7.8
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Professional Cloud Hosting Plan $5.99
Unlimited websites, unlimited storage, unlimited bandwidth, 100 email addresses, free domain. Value for price:9.0
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Advanced $30
4 vCPU, 4 GB RAM, 100 GB SSD, 10 TB bandwidth, AlmaLinux. Value for price:8.0
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VPS 1024 Plan $31.99
1 site, 30GB SSD, 1TB bandwidth, 1GB memory, cPanel, Cloudflare CDN, SSL Certificate. Value for price:7.5
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Professional $40
8 vCPU, 8 GB RAM, 150 GB SSD, 10 TB bandwidth, AlmaLinux. Value for price:8.2
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VPS 2048 Plan $42.99
1 site, 40GB SSD, 1.5TB bandwidth, 2GB memory, cPanel, Cloudflare CDN, SSL Certificate. Value for price:7.8
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Elite $50
12 vCPU, 12 GB RAM, 200 GB SSD, 10 TB bandwidth, AlmaLinux. Value for price:8.5
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VPS 4096 Plan $53.99
1 site, 80GB SSD, 2TB bandwidth, 4GB memory, cPanel, Cloudflare CDN, SSL Certificate. Value for price:8.0
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Enterprise plans
Liquid Web’s Enterprise Hosting provides superior managed services, including security, databases, load balancers, file replication, and high-availability solutions. The high-performance hosting options feature ample storage and bandwidth, geared for businesses that require robust, reliable hosting. In comparison, APlusNet offers a custom-built Website Creator Pro plan and several add-ons like website design and security services. Liquid Web’s enterprise solutions cater to businesses needing advanced infrastructures, while APlusNet’s offerings are more budget-friendly and flexible, tailored to growing businesses and less complex needs.
Liquid Web vs Aplus.net: 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.
9.3
5.9
🏆 Winner: Liquid Web: Provides easy-to-use managed hosting solutions with robust support and migration services.
Liquid Web offers a range of control panels like InterWorx, Plesk, and WHM/cPanel, making it accessible for both technical and non-technical users. These interfaces are known for their user-friendliness, simplifying server and website management tasks. For WordPress users, Liquid Web takes it a step further with Managed WordPress Hosting, which includes automated updates and proactive monitoring. This significantly reduces the need for manual intervention, allowing users to focus more on content creation and site design.
On the other hand, Aplus.net offers a straightforward setup and account management process, highlighted by immediate account activation. This can be appealing to users looking to get their websites up and running quickly. Connecting to QuickBooks for seamless sales information transfer adds another layer of convenience. However, Aplus.net lacks the variety of control panel options and managed hosting features that Liquid Web provides, which may pose a challenge for less tech-savvy users.
Liquid Web provides complimentary migrations for new server orders, including support for major control panels such as InterWorx, Plesk, and cPanel. This makes the migration process smooth and hassle-free. Aplus.net does not provide detailed information about its migration tools or services, which may suggest that users have to rely on manual migration or third-party tools, potentially adding complexity to the process.
Liquid Web has an extensive Knowledge Base with articles, tutorials, and resources covering a wide range of topics. Their 24/7/365 human support ensures that users can get help whenever they need it, with specific response time guarantees. Aplus.net lacks detailed information about its help center or knowledge resources, making it less apparent where users can go for troubleshooting and 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.
7.8
0
🏆 Winner Liquid Web: Superior user management capabilities with flexible roles and easy accessibility in Plesk.
When comparing Liquid Web and Aplus.net for managing user roles, permissions, and accessibility, Liquid Web stands out due to its comprehensive user management features integrated into Plesk. Liquid Web allows for flexible creation and definition of user roles, offering four predefined roles: Administrator, Webmaster, Application User, and Accountant. These roles cater to various needs—from full access to limited views of subscription details. Conversely, the lack of information on Aplus.net’s user management limits the evaluation of its flexibility and role diversification. Liquid Web’s defined roles make user management efficient and tailored to different administrative needs.
Both hosting providers offer user interfaces to manage users, but specific details about Aplus.net are unavailable. Liquid Web, using the Plesk panel, provides a straightforward approach to user management. In Service Provider View, users can access settings via Subscriptions, while in Power User View, users are managed directly from the main menu. The intuitive layout and the clear separation of views ensure that administrative tasks are manageable. The Create User Account button and user role assignments make the interface particularly user-friendly and functional. Aplus.net’s absence of detailed user interface descriptions makes it hard to compare, but Liquid Web clearly offers a structured and efficient interface.
Regarding effectiveness in access control and user scalability, Liquid Web presents a clear advantage. The ability to create and manage various user roles ensures robust access control, allowing administrators to scale user management as the number of users grows. The additional administrator accounts feature adds another layer of flexibility in managing multiple admins. While the details for Aplus.net are lacking, Liquid Web’s structured role management and detailed access provisioning showcase its capability to handle expanding user bases efficiently.
Liquid Web User Roles Table:
| Role | Description | Access Highlights |
|---|---|---|
| Administrator | Full access to the Plesk control panel. | Complete control over server management functions. |
| Webmaster | Manage most aspects of subscriptions. | Cannot create new Plesk users or manage roles. |
| Application User | Limited access. | Restricted functions with minimal permissions. |
| Accountant | View subscription details only. | No modification rights, view-only access. |
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.
9.6
8.4
🏆 Winner Liquid Web: Liquid Web sets itself apart with its fast response times and dedicated support teams.
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Phone support |
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Live chat support |
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Chatbot |
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Email/ticket support |
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Enterprise support (dedicated agent, priority support) |
Both Liquid Web and Aplus.net provide 24/7/365 customer support via phone, live chat, and email/ticket. Liquid Web, however, guarantees an impressive 59-second initial response time for phone and chat inquiries and a 59-minute response time for helpdesk tickets. Conversely, Aplus.net’s support options, while praised for their helpfulness, do not specify such stringent response time guarantees.
Additionally, Liquid Web offers specialized support with dedicated teams for Windows and Linux users, nearly 250 certified technicians, and strategic support roles such as Customer Success Managers and Strategic Account Executives. In comparison, Aplus.net is noted for its user-friendly interface and has received recognitions for its service, but it lacks the depth and specificity of Liquid Web’s dedicated support options.
Liquid Web vs Aplus.net: User feedback
User feedback for the hosting provider is highly polarized. Many long-term customers highlight a significant decline in service quality, stating that the once-excellent customer support and reliability have deteriorated dramatically, causing frequent outages, slower load times, and unresponsive support. These users express frustration over questionable billing practices and ill-informed technical help, urging others to avoid the provider. On the other hand, some users praise the company for its proactive, knowledgeable, and prompt support, emphasizing excellent uptime and reliability. These contrasting reviews suggest a mixed experience, with some users experiencing severe service issues while others remain highly satisfied.
Aplus.net offers a comprehensive range of services that cater to various business needs, from web hosting and domain registration to marketing and security. Users appreciate its reliability, uptime guarantees, and the ease of accessing multiple services through a single platform. However, some users find the customer support slow and occasionally unhelpful, and there are concerns about outdated features and interface complexity. Pricing is deemed reasonable by many, but a few note that it can be higher compared to other providers.
Liquid Web vs Aplus.net: FAQ
Which platform is better suited for hosting WordPress websites?
Liquid Web is better suited for hosting WordPress websites, offering specialized Managed WooCommerce Hosting and optimized performance features. While Aplus.net also provides WordPress hosting, its lack of advanced features and support compared to Liquid Web makes it less ideal for high-demand WordPress environments.
Which hosting service offers better security features?
Liquid Web offers superior security features, including advanced DDoS attack protection, real-time monitoring, web application firewalls, and an Intrusion Detection System (IDS). Aplus.net provides daily malware scanning and removal via SiteLock and black list monitoring, but Liquid Web’s comprehensive security options make it the stronger choice overall.
Which hosting service offers more scalability options for growing websites?
Liquid Web provides superior scalability options, including automatic autoscaling for Managed WordPress and WooCommerce hosting and a wide range of dedicated server options with Intel Xeon Processors. Aplus.net requires manual plan upgrades and, while offers various VPS and dedicated server plans, lacks the automatic scalability and flexibility of Liquid Web.
What are the major differences in pricing and value between liquidweb and aplusnet?
Liquid Web’s plans are generally pricier but come with extensive features like higher storage limits, increased bandwidth, and robust PHP worker scaling capabilities. Aplus.net’s plans are more cost-effective, with offerings like unlimited storage and free domains for some plans. Liquid Web guarantees exceptional response times and managed services, while APlusNet emphasizes flexibility in contract length and pricing for budget-conscious users.
Which platform offers better customer support?
Liquid Web guarantees a 59-second initial response time for phone and chat inquiries and a 59-minute response time for helpdesk tickets, with specialized support teams and nearly 250 certified technicians. Aplus.net provides 24/7/365 support, but without specific response time guarantees, making Liquid Web the superior choice for customer support.
The making of this blog
We followed a clear, step-by-step process to write and research this article.
