Network Solutions vs Liquid Web: guide for 2024

Final verdict

Looking over Network Solutions vs. Liquid Web, 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: 8.4)
  
  
  is an exceptional hosting provider, particularly for businesses with high demands on performance and reliability. Offering 100% uptime guarantees and quick response times for support inquiries, Liquid Web ensures a minimal disruption environment. Their hosting options span from managed WooCommerce to enterprise-level VPS and dedicated servers, equipped with advanced security features and compliance certifications. The inclusion of dedicated IP addresses, integrated firewalls, and CloudFlare CDN further solidifies their robust hosting solutions. While they cater primarily to large enterprises, the comprehensive support and proactive management services make them an industry leader, albeit at a higher price point.
  
• 
  Network Solutions (Overall grade: 7.4)
  
  
  offers accessible and versatile hosting solutions, ideal for individual users and small businesses looking for cost-effective options. Their plans cover shared hosting, cloud hosting, and scalable options with essential security features like SSL certificates and automated backups through CodeGuard. Although their uptime is reliable and they provide 24/7 support, the overall user experience is hampered by a less intuitive control panel and occasional slow customer service responses. Their pricing model is more budget-friendly, but it lacks the advanced infrastructure and scalability found in Liquid Web’s offerings. Network Solutions is a solid choice for users prioritizing affordability and essential functionality.
  

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
Liquid Web: A hosting provider with a 100% uptime guarantee and proactive monitoring services.

Liquid Web shows a slightly superior performance in terms of reliability and speed. Both hosting services have impressive uptimes, with Liquid Web slightly edging out Network Solutions with a 99.99% uptime over a 3-month period compared to Network Solutions’s 99.89%. This difference in uptime is reflected in the number and duration of outages, where Liquid Web experienced 3 outages totaling 12 minutes, while Network Solutions had 5 outages totaling 2h 12 minutes.

Liquid Web’s advantage is more pronounced in terms of server response time. It boasted an average response time of 389ms, which is significantly lower than the shared hosting industry standard and faster than Network Solutions’s average response time of 670ms, which can peak up to 1152ms. This suggests that Liquid Web is not only more reliable in maintaining uptime but also in delivering faster website loading speeds, making it a preferable option for users prioritizing performance.

🏆 Winner
Liquid Web: Superior performance and support.

When comparing the general performance of Network Solutions and Liquid Web, there are notable distinctions. Liquid Web stands out with its 100% network and power uptime guarantees, utilizing AMD EPYC processors in their VPS hosting, and Intel Xeon processors for dedicated servers, combined with NVMe or SSD storage. Network Solutions, on the other hand, boasts reliable 99.9% uptime and includes CodeGuard for automatic backups but primarily offers standard SSD storage. Neither service explicitly mentions built-in plugins for performance, but Liquid Web provides free SSL certificates exclusively for Managed WooCommerce Hosting. CDN services are not mentioned by either provider. Liquid Web’s infrastructure includes fast redundant networks, enhancing their overall speed and reliability.

Website Speed

Liquid Web’s website speed benefits from AMD EPYC and Intel Xeon processors, along with NVMe or SSD storage, ensuring quick data access. They also feature a 10 Gbps network and dedicated gigabit uplinks, promising rapid website load times. Network Solutions offers a strong 99.9% uptime and includes SSL certificates for encryption, but specific details on their SSD quality and additional speed-enhancing features are not provided. As such, Liquid Web provides a more clearly defined and potentially faster hosting environment.

Scalability

Liquid Web provides straightforward scalability with the option to easily upgrade or downgrade VPS services and free monthly autoscaling to adjust server resources as needed. They offer dedicated servers, enhancing scalability options further. Network Solutions provides multiple hosting tiers but doesn’t specify if they offer automatic scaling or the ease of upgrading plans. Detailed pricing for scaling was not provided for either service, making it difficult to assess the cost implications.

🏆 Winner Liquid Web: A superior choice for those seeking robust security measures and extensive compliance options.

Both Network Solutions and Liquid Web, have notable differences in their approaches to technical and operational
security, as well as in their compliance with regulations.

Technical security measures:

Network Solutions offers a range of SSL certificates, daily malware scans, SiteLock, and CodeGuard for automatic backups. Liquid Web provides powerful SSL certificates, data encryption, firewalls, and DDoS attack protection. Liquid Web also employs a Web Application Firewall and an Intrusion Detection System. While both providers offer SSL, Liquid Web’s additional features like firewalls, VPNs, and DDoS protection make it a stronger contender in technical security.

Operational security measures:

Network Solutions includes CodeGuard for auto backups and nsProtect Assured Website Seal for business legitimacy. Liquid Web offers 24/7/365 on-site support, hardened server configurations, and secure data centers. They also provide real-time monitoring, rapid-response investigation, and intrusion detection. Liquid Web stands out due to their extensive operational security measures including firewalls, VPN, and high availability network infrastructure.

Compliance and certifications:

Network Solutions highlights data encryption and implies GDPR/PCI compliance without explicit details. Liquid Web is explicit about its PCI, GDPR, and HIPAA compliant hosting solutions. They also offer quarterly scans and Executive Reports for PCI compliance and hold several security certificates, including SSAE-22. With Liquid Web’s comprehensive compliance features and certifications, it is the clear winner for regulatory adherence.

🏆 Winner: Network Solutions: Comprehensive hosting options that cater to a variety of needs.

When comparing Network Solutions and Liquid Web, both hosting providers offer a myriad of features that suit different types of users. Network Solutions provides detailed packages ranging from basic to premium, which include various features such as malware protection, unlimited email hosting, and free domain name registration. Their higher-end packages also add essential security features like SSL certificates and auto malware removal. These services, combined with their developer tools and 24/7 support, make Network Solutions an attractive option for those looking for versatility and security.

On the other hand, Liquid Web stands out with its fully managed hosting services, which include proactive management, automatic OS updates, and enterprise-level solutions. They boast high availability hosting, compliant solutions for HIPAA or PCI requirements, and customizable hosting for complex environments. With features like CloudFlare CDN, dedicated IP address, integrated firewalls, and a strong support system, Liquid Web is ideal for businesses that require a robust, high-performance hosting environment. Their unique selling point lies in their VMware Private Cloud offerings and guaranteed 100% uptime for network and power, although they do not specify a free domain or an included website builder.

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 Network Solutions and Liquid Web 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 Network Solutions offers email hosting with capabilities that range up to unlimited email boxes in their higher-tier packages, providing versatility for businesses of different sizes. Their email services are well-suited for both transactional emails and regular communications without noted third-party integrations. Liquid Web, however, supports email hosting with robust infrastructure like Plesk and proactive monitoring, ensuring high availability and security for large-scale operations. Both providers deliver strong email hosting, but Liquid Web focuses more on enterprise-level solutions.

🏆 Winner
networksolutions: networksolutions 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.

Comparing networksolutions and liquidweb, networksolutions offers more flexible and budget-friendly plans in the realm of shared hosting, providing inclusive features like email boxes, domain names, and security enhancements. Liquidweb, on the other hand, emphasizes high-performance with plans tailored for WooCommerce, WordPress, VPS, and dedicated servers, offering greater storage and bandwidth capacities but at higher price points. Both have excellent support, but networksolutions is more accessible for individual and small business users, while liquidweb caters to more advanced, enterprise-level needs.

Enterprise plans

For enterprise-level hosting, liquidweb offers extensive options with cloud dedicated servers, managed WooCommerce, and VPS hosting plans with high-performance specifications, large storage, and bandwidth capacities. Networksolutions provides robust shared and WordPress hosting plans with emphasis on accessibility and included security features, but their offerings don’t quite match the extensive scalability and advanced tech options found in liquidweb’s plans. Liquidweb is better suited for large enterprises with high demands for storage, performance, and scalability.

🏆 Winner: Liquid Web: A comprehensive hosting provider that excels in ease of setup and support services.

Network Solutions uses a tried-and-true approach with an accessible FTP-based system and website builders. This method suits users familiar with traditional file transfer protocols and wanting to manage their website content independently. Their admin panel allows for straightforward access to FTP credentials, making it friendly for users comfortable with this method. Technical and non-technical users alike will benefit from the easy-to-use website builders that enable the recreation of existing websites with minimal hassle.

Liquid Web offers a more hands-on experience, assisting users in choosing the optimal hosting plan and managing complex hosting environments. Their admin panel is tailored for both new and experienced users and boasts straightforward navigation to critical functionalities such as server updates and security management. The user-friendly layout is coupled with proactive management services, ensuring that critical updates are not missed, and simplifying administrative tasks regardless of technical proficiency.

Network Solutions provides migration assistance ensuring low downtime, crucial for businesses looking to maintain continuity. Liquid Web also offers migration support, but with a more hands-on approach that covers site stores and applications, making it particularly suitable for multifaceted online businesses. Both services are integrated into their support plans, which means no extra charges for this crucial service.

The help centers for both providers are comprehensive and provide a wealth of information. Network Solutions offers an Online Support Center with user guides and tutorials that are beneficial for troubleshooting and general inquiries. Liquid Web’s industry-leading Knowledge Base is continually updated with articles and tutorials on a wide array of topics. Both providers ensure 24/7 availability, but Liquid Web’s promise of initial response within 59 seconds for phone and chat support set it apart in terms of accessibility.

🏆 Winner: Liquid Web: Effective and comprehensive user management features.

When comparing the user management capabilities of Network Solutions and Liquid Web, Liquid Web emerges as the more flexible option. Network Solutions offers three primary user roles—Primary Contact, Admin Contact, and Technical Contact—each with varying levels of permissions primarily focused on administrative tasks. However, Liquid Web, utilizing the Plesk control panel, provides a broader range of customizable user roles. These include Administrator, Webmaster, Application User, and Accountant, with the option to create additional user roles, thus offering enhanced flexibility in defining roles and permissions.

In terms of user interfaces and tools, Network Solutions provides a straightforward, menu-driven interface for managing users and roles. The process involves navigating through the Account Manager page to access user management features. Liquid Web, on the other hand, offers a more diversified interface via Plesk, where users can manage accounts either in Service Provider or Power User views. This dual approach in Liquid Web’s interface offers more streamlined access to user management tools, making the process less cumbersome.

Assessing access control measures, Network Solutions has a more basic set of controls primarily centered around administrative needs, such as payment information and contact details. These measures suffice for small to medium-sized user bases. In contrast, Liquid Web’s use of Plesk introduces more granular control, supporting a larger number of users efficiently. With dedicated roles such as Accountant and the ability to create custom roles, Liquid Web better accommodates the needs of growing businesses requiring detailed permission structures and flexible user management.

Network Solutions user roles table:

Liquid Web user roles table:

🏆 Winner Liquid Web: Extensive 24/7 support with quick response times and dedicated teams for specialized needs.

Networksolutions provides a range of customer support options, including phone support, live chat, and email/ticket support, available 24/7. They also offer various contact numbers for different support needs, based on their specialty areas such as domain and general customer support. Their consultant services are highly accessible, ensuring customers can readily get assistance during extended working hours.

Liquid Web, on the other hand, stands out with its commitment to extremely quick response times across all support channels, guaranteeing a response within 59 seconds for phone and chat, and 59 minutes for email/ticket support. They also provide higher-tier support features like Heroic Support®, managed hosting advisors, and dedicated support teams for both Windows and Linux users. Their support is tailored for enterprise clients with dedicated account managers, illustrating a more personalized and immediate approach to customer service.

User feedback

User feedback on this hosting provider highlights several key strengths and weaknesses. On the positive side, many users find the interface user-friendly and appreciate the ease of navigating through the platform, particularly when managing domains and webpages. However, there are significant concerns about the provider’s customer service, which many describe as unresponsive and ineffective at solving technical issues, often resulting in prolonged waits and unmet assurances. Additionally, users criticize the high costs, frequent upselling, and lack of timely communication during server outages, which collectively detract from the overall user experience.

Customer feedback for this hosting provider is mixed, with significant polarization in user experiences. While some have praised the company for its reliable uptime, exceptional support, and proactive monitoring, others have experienced severe dissatisfaction due to frequent downtimes, unresponsive customer service, and unethical billing practices. Long-term customers, in particular, have noted a sharp decline in service quality and support efficiency, attributing it to recent management changes. Despite positive reviews highlighting excellent technical support and overall reliability, a growing number of users advise against using this provider due to these negative aspects.

FAQ