Web.com vs Hostwinds: guide for 2024

Final verdict

Looking over Web.com vs. Hostwinds, both hosting services offer a variety of unique features but cater to different user needs.

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  Hostwinds (Overall grade: 7.1)
  
  
  provides a broad range of hosting types, including cloud, VPS, and dedicated hosting, making it an excellent choice for high-traffic and multimedia websites. Their use of SSD drives, Litespeed web server, and Cloudflare CDN significantly boosts website speed and performance. Hostwinds also offers extensive nightly backups and comprehensive customer support. However, inconsistent international loading times and mixed customer reviews regarding their verification process and service speed put a slight damper on their otherwise solid offerings.
  
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  Web.com (Overall grade: 7.3)
  
  
  excels in WordPress and eCommerce hosting, thanks to features like automatic WordPress installations and custom eCommerce website design services. With a 99.9% uptime guarantee, unmetered bandwidth, and robust security features, Web.com ensures reliability and safety. They offer a user-friendly drag-and-drop website builder, making it accessible for beginners. However, its higher renewal rates and lack of advanced hosting types such as VPS and dedicated hosting limit its appeal for more demanding applications. Nonetheless, the comprehensive support and overall user-friendly experience make Web.com a strong contender in the hosting industry.
  

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: Web.com: A reliable hosting provider with strong uptime and support features.

Web.com guarantees a 99.9% uptime and delivers an actual uptime of 99.83% with quick server response times. They provide 24/7 monitoring and extensive customer support through multiple channels. Their features such as unmetered bandwidth, SSL security, and automatic backups make it a solid choice for various needs.

Hostwinds offers a 99.99% uptime guarantee but recorded an actual uptime of 99.89% during monitoring. Their server response times and international loading times can be inconsistent. They do have data centers in Seattle, Dallas, and Amsterdam and provide 24/7 cloud server monitoring with infrastructure redundancy. Despite these features, performance and reliability might not always match the guarantees.

🏆 Winner: Hostwinds offers a comprehensive set of features and services that ensure high-performance, reliable, and scalable hosting solutions for businesses and individuals.

When it comes to hosting speed, both Web.com and Hostwinds boast impressive capabilities. Web.com uses OPcode Cache and MySQL 8 alongside PHP 8.0 to enhance speed, though it does not specify SSD usage. Hostwinds, on the other hand, employs SSD drives and a Litespeed web server, ensuring quicker load times and improved PageSpeed scores. Hostwinds also has a strategic partnership with Cloudflare for a CDN, offering improved content delivery. It continuously optimizes network paths and provides website monitoring. Both services offer extensive data centers, though specific numbers and locations aren’t mentioned for either.

Website Speed

Web.com promises server response times that are up to 70% faster, thanks to performance upgrades like PHP 8.0, OPcode Cache, and MySQL 8. Hostwinds leverages SSD drives and a Litespeed web server, resulting in swift content delivery and enhanced website speeds. Additionally, Hostwinds offers Cloudflare CDN integration, which optimizes load times by decreasing the physical distance between the server and users. These features collectively contribute to Hostwinds providing faster website speeds.

Scalability

Scalability is robust with both services, but details about automatic upgrades are not clear for either. Web.com supports over 99.5% of customers’ bandwidth needs and offers scalable solutions for those who need more than the shared architecture. Hostwinds allows for instant scalability with quick upgrades to server resources based on requirements. Hostwinds also provides various tools and offers enterprise hardware, which supports the growth of websites without immediate need for plan changes. Costs for scaling were not disclosed.

🏆 Winner
Web.com: Offers a broader array of SSL certificates and advanced security features.

Technical security measures:

Web.com and Hostwinds both offer comprehensive technical security measures, but Web.com stands out with its wider range of SSL certificates. Web.com’s lineup includes Essential, Premium, Wildcard, Extended Validation, and UCC SSL certificates, whereas Hostwinds provides AutoSSL, RapidSSL, and Wildcard SSL options. Web.com’s PHP 8.0 and MySQL 8 offerings ensure faster content display and enhanced performance, while Hostwinds keeps its business hosting environments up to date with the latest PHP versions. Additionally, Web.com’s use of OPcode Cache improves loading times, while Hostwinds employs Litespeed Web Server and Cloudflare CDN for optimized performance. Finally, Web.com’s multi-site management capabilities add an extra layer of convenience for users with multiple domains.

Operational security measures:

Both hosting providers ensure operational security through various methods, but Web.com provides more detailed solutions. Web.com utilizes SiteLock for malware scanning and removal, CDN integration, and real-time threat management. Hostwinds continuously monitors their network and infrastructure, offering a Business Website Monitoring service that automatically resolves issues. Hostwinds’ nightly backups provide an added layer of operational security, similar to Web.com’s CodeGuard, which offers website backup and recovery services. While both offer full management support, Web.com also emphasizes unmetered bandwidth and a 99.9% uptime guarantee.

Compliance and certifications:

Web.com excels in compliance by adhering to GDPR and offering PCI compliance scanning through SiteLock. On the other hand, Hostwinds does not explicitly mention GDPR or PCI compliance in the provided information, suggesting users may need to contact them for specific details. Neither company specifies compliance with HIPAA regulations.

🏆 Winner
Hostwinds: A comprehensive and feature-rich hosting provider ideal for users seeking robust options and flexibility.

Web.com and Hostwinds offer diverse hosting solutions, each catering to different user needs. Web.com provides a user-friendly drag-and-drop website builder, which makes it easy for beginners to create a website without technical know-how. Hostwinds, on the other hand, includes the Weebly Site Builder, which is also beginner-friendly but slightly less customizable compared to other advanced builders. When it comes to additional services, Web.com offers a free domain and SSL certificate for the first year, which is a great starter incentive. Hostwinds impresses with free website migration and more robust features like unlimited FTP accounts and Free Dedicated IPs, which can be critical for larger businesses.

Web.com guarantees 99.9% uptime and offers unmetered bandwidth across all plans, ensuring reliable performance. However, it doesn’t explicitly mention the availability of SFTP/SSH in its standard plans, which might be a drawback for users needing secure access protocols. Hostwinds outshines in this department, offering SSH access for their Linux VPS and full administrator access for Windows VPS, making it a more versatile option for developers. Both providers offer email hosting services, but Hostwinds includes unlimited email accounts across all types of hosting solutions, making it a better proposition for businesses that require extensive email services.

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 Web.com and Hostwinds 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:

Web.com includes business email accounts with its hosting plans, suitable for basic communication and transactional emails. Hostwinds provides unlimited email accounts, making it suitable for extensive email campaigns. They also offer email features with support for unlimited subdomains, which can be useful for businesses with complex email needs. Neither provider mentions reselling third-party email services, focusing instead on their own integrated solutions.

🏆 Winner
Hostwinds: Hostwinds offers a comprehensive range of extensive features at competitive pricing, making it an attractive choice for users.

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.

Web.com provides a straightforward set of pricing plans for both shared and WordPress hosting, with competitive first-year offers but considerably higher renewal rates. On the other hand, Hostwinds offers unlimited resources across its plans (including bandwidth, storage, and domains), bundled with free SSL certificates and a lower monthly cost without varying renewal rates, making it appealing for long-term use. Besides, Hostwinds includes extensive support features such as nightly backups, Weebly Site Builder, free website migration, and constant monitoring. The comprehensive nature of Hostwinds’ offerings and the value for price make it a strong competitor in the hosting market.

Enterprise plans

Web.com offers scalable plans suitable for enterprises with their Premium Shared and WordPress hosting options, providing up to 10 websites and 40GB of storage. However, Hostwinds stands out in enterprise hosting with its Business Hosting plans and Managed Linux VPS services, offering unlimited resources, full management, nightly backups, specialized support, and customizable server configurations. These additional capabilities make Hostwinds a more versatile and resourceful option for large-scale businesses.

🏆 Winner Hostwinds: Provides an accessible platform with comprehensive features and support for all users.

Admin panels offered by Web.com and Hostwinds both cater to a wide range of users, from novices to advanced website managers. Web.com employs a user-friendly control panel that allows for centralized management of domains, email accounts, and website performance analytics. The drag-and-drop website builder simplifies site creation, making it accessible even for users with limited technical skills. Additionally, Web.com’s automatic WordPress installation and one-click setup help streamline the process for those using the popular CMS.

Hostwinds, on the other hand, leverages the familiarity and powerful features of standard cPanel. This enables users to manage all aspects of their websites through an intuitive interface. For those requiring no technical expertise, the Weebly Drag-and-Drop Website Builder and the Softaculous Apps Installer make building and managing websites straightforward. In addition, Hostwinds offers a Cloud Control Portal for its Cloud Server customers, granting full control over server settings and configurations. This mix of accessible tools ensures a user-friendly experience for both technical and non-technical users.

When it comes to migration tools, both Web.com and Hostwinds provide assistance. Hostwinds stands out by offering free, expert-led website migrations for various hosting plans, including shared, business, reseller, and cloud servers. This ensures a hassle-free transition from other hosting providers. Web.com’s migration services are less defined but are supported by their expert assistance and 24/7 product support, offering a dependable, albeit potentially less hands-on, migration experience.

Both Web.com and Hostwinds boast comprehensive help centers filled with articles, tutorials, and support documentation. Web.com’s knowledge base includes step-by-step instructions and blogs, coupled with 24/7 customer support through live chat, phone, and email. Hostwinds also offers round-the-clock support and provides extensive product documentation, tutorials, and a community forum for additional help. Both platforms ensure that users have ample resources to address their queries and learn more about managing their web hosting services.

🏆 Winner Web.com: Comprehensive user management features.

Web.com offers a detailed process for managing user roles and permissions, allowing account owners to add or edit contacts with ease. Each user can be assigned a specific role, either Administrative or Technical, based on the level of access they require. The platform supports multiple accounts and provides a clear pathway to invite new users. In contrast, Hostwinds does not provide detailed information on user role management, making it difficult to assess its flexibility and capabilities in this area. Clearly, Web.com scores higher in terms of user role customization and permissions management.

Web.com’s user interface for managing users is highly intuitive, beginning from the Account Manager dashboard. Users can access and manage different sections through the user icon located at the top right. This centralized approach simplifies navigation and ensures all related settings, including user roles and payment methods, are easily accessible. Conversely, without specific information on Hostwinds’ user interface, it remains a less compelling choice in terms of user-friendliness and functional access to user management tools.

In terms of access control measures and scalability, Web.com proves to be effective. Admins can control most aspects of the account, including billing and product management, while technical contacts have specific limitations. This clear distinction simplifies the management of user access levels. With explicit processes for setting user roles, updating billing info, and managing auto-renew settings, Web.com can efficiently handle a growing number of users. Hostwinds’ capabilities in this regard remain unexplored due to the lack of provided information.

Web.com user roles table:

🏆 Winner Web.com: Providing extensive 24/7 customer support alongside multiple service channels.

Web.com excels in offering wide-ranging customer support, featuring 24/7/365 product and technical assistance through phone, email, live chat, and a ticket system. They have an online help center teeming with knowledge base articles for self-help. Flexible support availability ensures users can resolve their issues at any time, making it a dependable choice for continuous support.

Hostwinds also offers 24/7/365 support through live chat, email, phone, and a support ticket system. They provide extensive tutorials, detailed documentation, and community resources. While they guarantee quick response times, Hostwinds carries mixed customer reviews, particularly regarding their verification process and service speed. The availability of free website migration adds a commendable advantage for new customers.

User feedback

The hosting provider offers a comprehensive solution for purchasing domain names, hosting, and website building, making it highly convenient for users managing multiple domains and websites. Users appreciate the convenience of having all services bundled together, but some express concerns about the limitations on hosting unlimited domains and the cost associated with individual website software. Overall, the service is satisfactory and well-rated, though there is room for improvement in accommodating users with extensive hosting needs.

Hostwinds hosting provider receives high praise for its exceptional customer service, prompt support, and reliable performance, with many users reporting significant improvements in site speed and uptime. Customers especially value the knowledgeable and responsive support team, finding them instrumental in resolving issues quickly. The user-friendly control panel and fair pricing further enhance their experience, though some note that the service can be pricier compared to competitors. However, a couple of reviews highlight issues with site migration and technical support, advising caution for WordPress users. Overall, the positive feedback significantly outweighs the negative, making Hostwinds a highly recommended choice for web hosting.

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