Netfirms vs Name.com: guide for 2024

Netfirms vs Name.com: Final verdict

Looking over Netfirms vs. Name.com, both offer unique strengths and weaknesses tailored to different user needs, with each receiving an overall grade of 7.3.

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  Netfirms (Overall grade: 7.3)
  
  
  offers a variety of hosting plans with a focus on reliability, especially for eCommerce and high-traffic websites. Their promise of 99.9% uptime, supported by data centers in New York and Toronto, ensures stable performance. With features like free SSL certificates, unlimited disk space on higher-tier plans, and a free domain for the first year, Netfirms is well-suited for small businesses and those new to web hosting. However, some downsides include the lack of explicit support for SFTP and SSH access, and their advanced security features, while robust, might not be necessary for every user.
  
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  Name.com (Overall grade: 7.3)
  
  
  excels with its emphasis on security, user-friendly features, and flexibility. Their 99.99% uptime guarantee, paired with a global network of data centers, ensures reliable performance. With cloud hosting powered by DigitalOcean, one-click WordPress setups, and automated backups, Name.com provides a streamlined experience for developers and businesses requiring robust security measures and scalability. Despite a higher entry cost for cloud hosting, the features offered, such as comprehensive support including 24/7 ticketing and a user-friendly design editor, make it a solid choice for those seeking advanced functionalities and customization.
  

Hosting types offered

Both platforms provide a variety of hosting types, each designed to meet the different needs of users.

Although both offer a variety of hosting plans tailored to different needs, in
certain cases, one platform may prove to be more suitable.

Detailed comparison

🏆 Winner Name.com: Reliable and secure hosting with an excellent uptime guarantee and user-friendly features.

Netfirms offers a promise of 99.9% uptime but lacks an explicit guarantee on its official site. Over a two-week test, the uptime performed impressively, showing 100% with minimal spikes in response time. Their data centers in New York and Toronto support their stable performance. The 24/7 customer support and 30-day money-back guarantee add to their service appeal.

Name.com stands out with its 99.99% uptime guarantee and an average response time of 220ms. Their reliability metrics, including minimal downtime, underscore their performance. Offering free automated backups, secure hosting with regular server monitoring, and a user-friendly design editor, Name.com ensures ease of use. Their comprehensive support includes 24/7 ticketing and a 30-day money-back guarantee, making it a solid choice for hosting needs.

🏆 Winner
Name.com: Offers broad range of hosting solutions with a focus on reliability, security, and scalability.

When considering general performance, Name.com stands out with its use of cloud hosting powered by DigitalOcean, providing better CPU performance per dollar compared to AWS and Google Cloud. Name.com offers a global network of data centers, enhancing performance and reliability, coupled with free automated backups and regular server monitoring. Netfirms, while competitive, offers scalable bandwidth and 99.9% uptime, with performance optimization tools such as SiteLock. However, Name.com’s integration with 2nd gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors and multiple global data centers gives it an edge.

Website Speed

Name.com focuses on website speed through its cloud hosting infrastructure, resulting in efficient load times and enhanced performance for resource-intensive applications. Additionally, Name.com provides one-click setup for popular CMS like WordPress, ensuring smooth and quick deployment. Netfirms also boasts an impressive 99.9% uptime and scalable bandwidth across plans, including a free SSL certificate and SiteLock security. Still, the advanced hardware used by Name.com ensures better CPU performance per dollar spent, which can be critical for site speed.

Scalability

Name.com offers excellent scalability, allowing you to easily upgrade memory and disk space as your website grows. They support various configurations for cloud hosting, emphasizing seamless scalability options. Netfirms offers a wide range of plans, from shared to dedicated hosting, with the latter providing high customization and enhanced security but at a higher cost. Netfirms’ scalability is somewhat dependent on plan upgrades, whereas Name.com allows for more elastic scaling without necessarily upgrading the entire plan.

🏆 Winner
Netfirms: Offers comprehensive security features across various domains, including SSL certifications, GDPR compliance, and PCI standards.

Both Netfirms and Name.com, have notable differences in their approaches to technical and operational
security, as well as in their compliance with regulations.

Technical security measures:

Both Netfirms and Name.com offer various SSL certificates. Netfirms provides Domain Validated, Organization Validated, E-commerce SSL, and Wildcard SSL, including a free SSL through Let’s Encrypt. Name.com offers Domain Validation, Organization Validation, Extended Validation, and Wildcard SSL. For PHP support, Name.com clearly outlines support from PHP 7.0 to 8.0+, while Netfirms doesn’t specify supported PHP versions. Netfirms includes SiteLock Security Plans with varying degrees of protection, whereas Name.com offers SSH access, HTTP/2 support, and secure code management via Git. Both services ensure strong website security, but with different additional features.

Operational security measures:

Netfirms provides daily malware scans, blacklist monitoring, and automated malware removal with their SiteLock plans. Their advanced plans include features like DDoS protection, web application firewall, and continuous malware scans. Name.com offers automated backups, regular monitoring, spam protection, and password-protected directories. Netfirms also secures personal information through domain privacy protection and domain security alerts. Name.com provides secure email encryption and enterprise webmail interface, emphasizing email security. Both hosts offer comprehensive operational security features, but Netfirms offers more advanced site protection services.

Compliance and certifications:

Netfirms is compliant with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and ensures secure credit card transactions through Payment Card Industry (PCI) compliance. Netfirms also partners with SiteLock for PCI scanning. Name.com adheres to GDPR but does not explicitly mention PCI compliance. Both hosts process data lawfully and ensure user data privacy, but Netfirms provides more detailed information concerning security standards and compliance.

🏆 Winner
Name.com: Offering a broad suite of hosting features and comprehensive email services. The platform edges out as the winner due to its provision of a free domain for the first year.

Netfirms and Name.com both present distinct advantages to cater to different customer needs. Netfirms shines with its marketing tools, unlimited disk space, and scalability. One of its standout features is the free domain for the first year, which is particularly attractive to new users. Netfirms offers a robust infrastructure for eCommerce solutions and provides 24/7 support to assist users, making it ideal for small businesses and personal websites looking for comprehensive plans at a competitive price. The lack of explicit mention of SFTP and SSH access might be a downside for developers seeking advanced access capabilities.

Name.com, on the other hand, stands out with its emphasis on security, including free automated backups and SFTP and SSH access. The availability of tools like Git and its reliable service with a 99.9% uptime guarantee enhance its appeal to developers and businesses needing advanced functionalities and reliability. Name.com’s feature of automated backups every 48 hours coupled with a one-click setup for popular CMS platforms like WordPress is an added advantage. It also provides a spacious playground for customization without compromising on user-friendliness, thanks to cPanel support and powerful cloud hosting options.

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 Netfirms and Name.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:

Email services at Netfirms offers email hosting services but does not specify advanced features such as transactional email capabilities or integration with third-party email services. Conversely, Name.com provides a more comprehensive suite, including secure email encryption, webmail interface, and an allowance for up to 100+ email accounts. This makes Name.com a preferable choice for businesses needing robust email solutions to manage their communications effectively.

🏆 Winner
Name.com: A versatile provider offering a range of plans from simple one-page websites to scalable cloud hosting with competitive pricing.

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.

Netfirms offers several shared hosting plans starting at $3.95/month, featuring scalable bandwidth and unlimited storage across its higher-tier plans, while Name.com provides both web and cloud hosting options with flexible pricing. Name.com’s cloud hosting begins at $6.00/month for 25GB SSD with 1GB memory, and their shared hosting covers a broader range from $6/month to $18/month for more extensive feature sets including unlimited websites and disk space. Both providers offer free SSL certificates and domain names for a year, but Name.com distinguishes itself with additional offerings like the Wix Website Builder and WordPress Hosting.

Enterprise plans

For enterprises, Netfirms’ Business Plan offers comprehensive features including unlimited websites, storage, and databases at $14.95/month. Name.com’s Business Plan, priced at $18/month, also delivers unlimited websites and storage but adds the advantage of unlimited email accounts. While both provide essential scalability and security features, Name.com stands out with its broader cloud hosting options, offering more flexibility for businesses with diverse hosting needs.

🏆 Winner
Netfirms: Offers streamlined setup and extensive support resources.

Netfirms employs a control panel that integrates Google Workspace, aiming for a seamless user experience with tools like free SSL, marketing tools, and scalable bandwidth. The 24/7 technical support makes the panel accessible for both non-technical and technical users. Name.com, on the other hand, uses the popular cPanel interface, renowned for its user-friendliness and one-click WordPress installation. The platform’s simplicity enables even beginners to manage their websites efficiently. Name.com also includes free daily backups, making it a highly accessible choice for new and experienced users alike.

Netfirms includes onboarding assistance, 24/7 technical support, and automated backups, making migration easier for users. Name.com offers free automated backups and one-click installation options, facilitating a seamless transition. Netfirms also provides 24/7 phone support, whereas Name.com relies on a virtual bot outside of live chat hours and support tickets for personalized assistance. Both providers ensure site migration can be handled without extensive downtime or complications.

Both Netfirms and Name.com provide automated site migration tools. Netfirms includes onboarding assistance, 24/7 technical support, and automated backups, making migration easier for users. Name.com offers free automated backups and one-click installation options, facilitating a seamless transition. Netfirms also provides 24/7 phone support, whereas Name.com relies on a virtual bot outside of live chat hours and support tickets for personalized assistance.

The platforms provide extensive knowledge bases filled with guides, how-to articles, and instructional content. Netfirms’ knowledge base offers articles and guides covering a vast array of topics, from website backup and GDPR compliance to online security and PCI compliance. The 24/7 phone and chat support ensure users receive timely assistance. Name.com has a comprehensive Knowledge Base, with categorized articles covering hosting, domains, email, SSL, and more. Daily live chat support and support tickets provide additional resources for users seeking help. Both providers deliver extensive and quality help center resources, creating a user-friendly support environment.

Winner Netfirms: Comprehensive user management capabilities for WordPress hosting.

Netfirms and Name.com offer different experiences in managing user roles and permissions. Netfirms provides a well-defined hierarchy of user roles with clear distinctions between administrative, editorial, and basic subscriber capabilities. With roles like Administrator, Editor, Author, Contributor, and Subscriber, Netfirms ensures that site owners can allocate permissions precisely based on the user’s function. By contrast, Name.com lacks specific information on user role management, meaning users may need to explore their official documentation or customer support to understand their offerings.

Managing users is straightforward with Netfirms, thanks to its intuitive WordPress Dashboard interface. Adding and editing users involves clear steps: logging in, navigating to the Users menu, and filling out necessary details. The interface is user-friendly, ensuring even those with minimal technical knowledge can manage user accounts efficiently. While we don’t have direct insights into Name.com’s interface, the absence of detailed information suggests that its user management tools may not be as prominently featured or simplified.

Access control measures in Netfirms are effectively structured, accommodating growing user bases without overcomplication. Each role has distinct access levels, minimizing the risk of unauthorized actions. This is particularly beneficial for sites needing stringent editorial oversight. For Name.com, the lack of specifics on access control measures means potential users might face uncertainty, potentially impacting efficiency and security when dealing with an increasing number of users.

Netfirms user roles table:

🏆 Winner Netfirms: Offers extensive around-the-clock customer service with multiple contact methods.

Netfirms excels with 24/7 availability across phone, web chat, and email, promising quick response times. Users praise the knowledgeable representatives and the convenience of saving chat transcripts. However, there are occasional complaints regarding their billing and cancellation processes. Customers paying with credit cards benefit from a 30-day money-back guarantee which helps ease decision-making for new users.

Name.com provides a more structured support schedule with live chat available from 12am to 5pm MST and virtual bot support during off-hours. They also offer various support avenues including social media. Despite limited support hours on the phone, their support ticket system and knowledge base provide helpful resources. They have a similarly favorable 30-day money-back guarantee and are commended for their reliable service and user-friendly interface.

Netfirms vs Name.com: User feedback

Based on user reviews, the hosting provider appears to offer decent uptime and moderately reliable customer support. However, users frequently report slow server performance and connectivity issues that significantly hamper the experience. While some appreciate the low costs and basic domain registration services, others criticize the clunky system, confusing server setup, and unreliability, especially when working with CMS tools. Overall, the service seems better suited for those with low budgets and high patience.

User feedback for the hosting provider reveals a mixed bag of experiences. While many users appreciate the straightforward domain registration process, easy-to-use interface, and competitive pricing, there are significant concerns regarding customer service. Negative reviews often highlight slow response times, unhelpful support, and issues with account management. Users also express dissatisfaction with hosting services, citing technical difficulties and a lack of advanced features. However, some long-term users remain loyal, finding the platform reliable for domain-related solutions despite its shortcomings in customer support.

Netfirms vs Name.com: FAQ