Netfirms vs WPX Hosting: guide for 2024

Netfirms vs WPX Hosting: Final verdict

Looking over Netfirms vs. WPX Hosting, 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.

• 
  WPX Hosting (Overall grade: 8.3)
  
  offers exceptional speed and reliability, featuring a custom CDN, daily malware scans, and a standout support system with 30-second average response times. While more expensive, its plans provide immense value with extensive security features, a high uptime guarantee, and advanced WordPress optimizations. This makes WPX Hosting ideal for businesses focused on performance and needing robust support structures, particularly for WordPress, ecommerce, and high-traffic websites.
• 
  Netfirms (Overall grade: 7.3)
  
  provides solid hosting solutions, including dedicated hosting suitable for high-traffic sites, unlimited disk space, free SSL, and robust 24/7 customer support. However, it lacks some advanced performance-enhancing technologies and explicit free migration services. Its simpler interface and lower entry costs make it a viable option for small businesses and beginners. Yet, its limited speed optimization tools and absence of WordPress-specific enhancements might hinder more demanding hosting requirements, illustrating why WPX Hosting outranks it for more comprehensive needs.

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 WPX Hosting: Outstanding performance with unparalleled uptime and availability.

Netfirms provides a stable hosting experience, showcasing 100% uptime during a two-week test period with excellent data centers in New York and Toronto. Offering 24/7 customer support via phone, live chat, and ticketing, Netfirms ensures that help is always at hand. Despite lacking an explicit uptime guarantee on its website, it still holds a commendable reputation in the hosting space.

WPX Hosting promises a remarkable 99.95% uptime, minimizing downtime to a mere four hours annually. With a swift 30-second average support response time, daily backups, and an array of security features like free malware removal and high-speed CDN, WPX offers exceptional reliability. Their strong uptime guarantee and proactive support set them apart as the winner in hosting uptime and availability.

🏆 Winner: WPX Hosting: Fast and optimized solution with lightning-fast customer support for any business needs.

When comparing the performance of Netfirms and WPX Hosting, WPX Hosting emerges as the superior choice. WPX Hosting offers a high-speed custom CDN with 37 endpoints worldwide, ensuring faster load times and optimal website performance. They provide powerful CPU and ample RAM, handling traffic spikes and business growth efficiently. Netfirms offers customizable shared and dedicated hosting plans but lacks the innovative speed-enhancing technologies found in WPX. While Netfirms includes SSL and WHOIS protection, WPX emphasizes speed optimization through PHP workers and rapid customer support response times, setting itself apart in the performance category.

Website Speed

WPX Hosting outshines Netfirms regarding website speed, boasting a 99.95% uptime and free speed optimization services. With WPX’s custom XDN technology and high-speed CDN, websites load quickly and handle high traffic efficiently. Netfirms guarantees a 99.9% uptime and includes scalable bandwidth in their plans, but they lack the advanced speed optimization tools that WPX provides. Free malware removal and proactive clean-ups further enhance WPX’s speed capabilities, making it a clear winner in this department.

Scalability

WPX Hosting offers elastic scaling, adapting seamlessly to business growth without the need for manual upgrades. They feature automatic backups, free site migrations, and include extra resources like CPU and PHP workers to manage high traffic loads. Netfirms allows customization and provides scalable plans, but details on whether they offer automatic scaling are unclear. Dedicated hosting plans are available at a higher cost with Netfirms, but WPX’s no hidden costs and straightforward pricing make scaling more transparent and manageable.

🏆 Winner WPX Hosting: Provides robust security features specifically designed for WordPress sites, including a unique DDoS mitigation service and proactive monitoring.

Technical security measures:

Netfirms offers a variety of SSL certificates, including Domain Validated, Organization Validated, E-commerce, and Wildcard SSL certificates, with warranties up to $1.75 million. WPX Hosting, on the other hand, provides free Let’s Encrypt SSL certificates that auto-renew for continuous protection. WPX also excels in brute-force defense and has a constantly updated Web Application Firewall (WAF) to protect against cyber threats. Both hosts offer daily malware scans, but WPX has a tailored intrusion prevention system for WordPress sites.

Operational security measures:

Netfirms collaborates with SiteLock to provide varying levels of site security, including daily malware scans, blacklist monitoring, and DDoS protection. Their top-tier plan even adds continuous malware scans and a 4-hour response time. WPX Hosting emphasizes proactive monitoring, regular updates, and a high-speed custom CDN with hybrid DDoS protection as unique operational measures. WPX also backs up hosted sites daily for a period of 28 days and offers one-click restores, adding a layer of reliability that’s particularly valuable for site owners.

Compliance and certifications:

Both Netfirms and WPX Hosting meet GDPR requirements. Netfirms ensures lawful data processing and offers comprehensive rights to EU residents. WPX Hosting also complies with GDPR but processes data outside the EEA, adhering to GDPR standards. Netfirms is PCI compliant, facilitating secure credit card processing, whereas WPX relies on external providers for credit card processing, thus sidestepping the need for PCI compliance. Neither hosting service mentions HIPAA compliance.

🏆 Winner: WPX Hosting: Offers high-speed and secure hosting with excellent customer support.

When comparing Netfirms and WPX Hosting, both providers offer robust features but cater to different user needs. Netfirms shines with its inclusion of eCommerce solutions, marketing tools, and an SSL certificate with every plan, highlighting its appeal for small businesses and online shops. Users can also benefit from unlimited disk space and scalable bandwidth, ensuring flexibility as their sites grow. However, the lack of explicit SFTP and SSH support might be a drawback for more technical users. The free domain for the first year present in Netfirms is an attractive offer for beginners, although its more expensive plans might not justify the transition as requirements increase.

WPX Hosting, on the other hand, stands out with its focus on speed and security, boasting a custom CDN, daily malware scans, and free malware removal. Their investment in infrastructure is evident with the inclusion of LiteSpeed servers and Redis cache. This makes them an excellent choice for performance-focused websites. WPX also provides an intuitive staging area and one-click WordPress installation, which could greatly appeal to developers. The emphasis on superior customer support with a 30-second live chat response and comprehensive security features, including brute-force protection and DDoS protection, underscores their commitment to reliability and security. WPX is undoubtedly more expensive, but the feature-rich plans offer significant value for money.

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 WPX Hosting 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 and WPX Hosting both offer email hosting services, enabling users to set up multiple email addresses associated with their domains. Netfirms does not explicitly detail any limitations on email capabilities, whereas WPX provides unlimited email boxes with robust spam filtering. WPX’s commitment to security in email services is evident, offering advanced measures to protect against spam and foul play. Neither provider appears to offer transactional email capabilities directly or reselling of third-party services for email campaigns. WPX’s offer might be more appealing due to the absence of extra fees and spam filtering capabilities.

🏆 Winner WPX Hosting:WPX Hosting scores slightly higher overall, mainly due to the robust features included in their plans and the transparency of what’s included.

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 a range of shared hosting plans starting at a lower price point, but WPX Hosting stands out with its dedicated WordPress and WooCommerce hosting solutions, albeit at higher prices. WPX Hosting includes features like free malware removal, site speed optimization, and high uptime guarantees, making it a premium choice for businesses needing reliable and feature-rich hosting. Moreover, WPX’s plans provide more advanced support and additional features, such as hybrid DDoS protection and high-speed custom CDN, further validating its higher score.

Enterprise plans

For enterprise-level plans, Netfirms offers considerable affordability with unlimited websites, storage, and scalable bandwidth within its Business Plan. In contrast, WPX Hosting’s higher-tier plans like the Elite and Hyperstore provide extensive features including better RAM, PHP workers, and site speed optimizations. While more expensive, WPX Hosting offers a more robust set of options tailored to business needs, making it a favorable choice for enterprises requiring advanced hosting solutions and enhanced performance.

🏆 Winner WPX Hosting: Efficient setup and rapid migration with superior support.

Netfirms utilizes a control panel integrated with Google Workspace, making it easy to manage your hosting and domain from one place. This integration allows for a more seamless experience if you’re working primarily with Google services. The control panel offers straightforward options, minimizing the need to switch between different platforms. Non-technical users benefit from an intuitive interface and 24/7 technical support, ensuring assistance is always available.

WPX Hosting provides a custom-designed control panel which is both fast and responsive. The navigation is designed to be user-friendly, allowing both technical and non-technical users to efficiently manage their services. The control panel supports features for managing services, account details, support tickets, and migrations, all accessible from one centralized location. Its simplicity and speed contribute to an ease of use, ensuring users can perform their tasks without unnecessary complications.

WPX Hosting offers free site migration services. Users simply need to create an account, select a hosting plan, and submit a migration request. WPX ensures the migration is completed within 24 hours at no cost. Netfirms, on the other hand, while it provides general support for setup and migration, does not offer explicit free migration services, which could be a deciding factor for users looking to switch hosting providers without extra expense.

Netfirms provides a comprehensive knowledge base and 24/7 customer support via phone and chat. Articles range from website backups to GDPR compliance, ensuring users have plenty of resources for troubleshooting and learning. WPX Hosting also has an extensive help center with a variety of articles and guides. The average case resolution time of 15 minutes evidences their commitment to swift support. The knowledge base covers topics such as setting up websites, managing hosting plans, and more.

🏆 Winner
Netfirms: Offers extensive user role customization within WordPress for better content management and administrative control.

Netfirms provides extensive capabilities for managing user roles and permissions in WordPress, allowing site owners to define five distinct user roles with varying levels of access. This flexibility is beneficial for managing multiple contributors and ensuring that administrative and editorial tasks are well-organized. On the other hand, WPX Hosting’s user management focuses more on backend operations, including database and FTP users, without the detailed role-based access control seen in Netfirms. WPX does offer multi-user account access, but it does not match the detailed role-specific permissions available in Netfirms.

Netfirms has a straightforward interface within the WordPress dashboard, where site owners can easily add, edit, or remove users. This centralized approach through the WordPress dashboard streamlines user management tasks. WPX Hosting, in contrast, requires users to manage database and FTP settings through their hosting account portal. While both interfaces are user-friendly, Netfirms’ approach is more integrated with the website’s content management system.

Access control in Netfirms is precise, allowing administrators to designate roles that fit specific needs, from full administrative privileges to simple content publication rights. The platform’s ability to handle numerous user roles ensures scalability as the site grows. WPX Hosting offers solid foundational access controls, notably through its multi-user account access and database user management. However, it may fall short in handling diverse roles and permissions needed for a growing site compared to Netfirms.

Netfirms User Roles Table:

🏆 Winner
Netfirms: Netfirms excels with its 24/7 availability across multiple contact methods, providing a seamless support experience.

Netfirms offers 24/7 support through phone, web chat, and email, with rapid response times for each method. Their representatives are knowledgeable and provide direct answers, making the customer experience generally positive. Additionally, they offer a 30-day money-back guarantee for credit card payments and provide priority support for the highest tier hosting packages.

WPX Hosting focuses on fast and effective support via live chat and support tickets, boasting an average case resolution time of just 15 minutes. They also offer a comprehensive refund policy within the first 30 days and free services such as malware removal and site speed optimization. Their proactive approach includes daily malware scans and managed web application firewall, contributing to a high level of security and performance for their customers.

Netfirms vs WPX Hosting: User feedback

User feedback on this hosting provider is mixed, with significant criticism and some praise. Many users appreciate the good uptime, active customer support, and affordability of domain registration. However, frequent complaints include slow server speeds, poor usability, and unsatisfactory load times, which hinder site performance and development. Additionally, some users have faced issues with server reliability and confusing setup processes.

WPX Hosting consistently receives praise for its extremely fast and helpful customer support, often resolving issues within seconds via live chat. Users also appreciate the hosting speed, ease of use, and included features like their custom-built CDN. However, some users experienced limitations and performance issues with larger, high-traffic websites and have cited a lack of advanced features such as SSH access and more robust email security. On the whole, while the support and speed are lauded, a few users found the service lacking for more critical or large-scale requirements.

Netfirms vs WPX Hosting: FAQ