A2 Hosting Full Review: A Green Web Host
Content
Briefly, A2 Hosting is an environmentally friendly web hosting service, that has a lot to offer with each shared hosting package for an affordable price. Non-profit businesses can benefit from a discount!
Not only that!
You’ll also get a partial money-back guarantee anytime, and a full one for the first 30 days.
Pros
Cons
Quick Stats
A2 Hosting is not just another web hosting website; it's also an environmentally friendly service. A2 Hosting feels a moral obligation to focus on saving the planet and reducing its impact on the environment. Non-profit businesses can also benefit from a discount! That's not the only reason you should consider A2 Hosting to host your website, but also for their speed, unlimited bandwidth, and their money-back guarantee anytime.
Types of Hostings Available
A2 Hosting offers top-notch shared hosting, but that's not the only thing it offers:
- WordPress Hosting: If you want to host your WordPress website, you can do so on A2 Hosting only for $2.99/month.
- Reseller Hosting: A2 Hosting is one of few web hosts that gives you the chance to sell your server to third parties. Plans start from $18.99/month.
- VPS Hosting: You can choose between managed or unmanaged VPS Hosting, depending on what you're looking for.
- Cloud Hosting: Start hosting your website with cloud hosting, only for $4.99/month.
- Dedicated Server Hosting: Get your own server and resources for $129.99/month.
We're here today to focus on their shared hosting plan. So, let's take a look:
If this is your first website, you're probably wondering what plan suits you best. Well, if you're a small/medium business, you're on the right page because a shared hosting plan is what you need.
In shared hosting, you'll be sharing a server with other customers; this way, you'll pay a lower price and get some traffic for your website.
Depending on your choice and the benefits you need, you can choose one of the four shared hosting plans offered by A2 Hosting.
A2 Hosting's four shared hosting plans details:
| Startup | Drive | Turbo Boost | Turbo Max | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Websites | One | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Storage | 100 GB | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| E-mails | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Domains | One | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Max. files amount | 600,000 | 600,000 | 600,000 | 600,000 |
| Backup | NA | Automatic | Automatic | Automatic |
| Database | 5 | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Starting Price | $10.99 | $12.99 | $15.99 | $22.09 |
| Renewal Price | $10.99 | $12.99 | $20.99 | $25.99 |
A2 Hosting Pricing
If you sign up for A2 Hosting's shared hosting plans, with the Startup plan and the most affordable for $1.99/month, the plan includes hosting for one website, 5 databases, and unlimited storage. Of course, you can buy any extra features you need along the way.
On the other side of the spectrum, the Turbo Max, which is for $9.99/month, includes many more benefits than the Startup plan. These include unlimited websites and databases and 20x faster page loads due to their Turbo Server.
You can pay for the plan you choose either monthly or up to one to three years in advance. Renewal prices are higher, like any other web hosting service; therefore, the longer you'll pay, the lower the price gets.
A2 Hosting isn't the cheapest for the features offered in their service, but they have an anytime prorated refund or a full refund for the first 30 days. In comparison, other hosting services' money-back guarantee is for a month or so.
Payment Methods
A2 Hosting offers multiple payment methods if you want to pay for your plan. Besides the usual payment methods, credit cards, and PayPal, you can also use Skrill, UnionPay, bank transfer, or even check or money orders. That's right, choose a payment method that comforts you.
Ease of Use
After you choose a plan, the next step is to build your website, and if you're a beginner, you'll want an easy-to-use website. Lucky for you, A2 Hosting has an easy-to-use cPanel, along with excellent customer service to help solve any issue.
There's more! One-click integrations for different applications like WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal are available, as well as e-commerce integrations like OpenCart and Magneto.
If you're an advanced user, you can select your preferred PHP version, access embedded analytics, and run Python scripts to add tools and features.
However, their checkout page can be frustrating due to all the add-ons and purchase options available. An example can be the overpriced domain, other add-ons. The good news is A2 Hosting doesn't auto-select paid options; you'll have to check them yourself.
You can also download applications during the sign-up process, making it easier for users to work on their websites.
Customer Service
A2 Hosting won the "Best Customer Service Awards." Yes, that's right! A2 Hosting, or the Guru Crew Support Team as they liked to be called, are one of the best customer service support team available out there.
They are available 24/7 through phone, live chat, e-mail, and social media. You can even watch tutorials or learn something from their knowledge base full of articles and tutorials, as you can see in their popular category below.
To make it even better, they answer quickly and can help solve any problem you face. If your issue requires some time, they have a ticketing system that enables you to track the issue. However, before contacting an agent, you need to leave some contact information, which some don't prefer.
A2 Hosting e-mail customer support is the most informative and friendly way to contact them regarding any question. Replies are quick and contain helpful links and information.
Security
Security is one of the essential factors to look at when building your website. Luckily, A2 Hosting has a good security system.
SSL Certificate
Starting from the basic plan, every plan comes with a free SSL certificate and Cloudflare CDN. You also have the chance to purchase the advanced SSL certificate for more security.
Password Protected Directories
For extra security, you can protect your data from the cPanel. If you don't know how refer to A2 Hosting's knowledge base with detailed articles to guide you.
Spam Assassin Protection
All plans come with spam protection. To know how to control it and filter your inbox, you can refer to A2 Hostings 'How to Stop Unwanted Email Using Spam Filter'; it'll give you a detailed article on enabling/disabling spam filters.
Hotlink Protection
If you want to protect your bandwidth, A2 Hosting offers hotlink protection. This way, other websites won't be able to link to your data. You can enable it from the cPanel.
24/7 Network Monitoring and DDoS Protection
Best of all, your account comes with HackScan protection. Their servers are protected by a 24/7 service to protect your files from any viruses, or any threat, including DDoS and brute-force attacks.
Two-Factor Authentication
If that's not enough, you can use the 2-factor authentication by letting visitors identify themselves through e-mail and phone numbers, making the login process more secure.
Site Backup
You don't have to worry about your website. A2 hosting includes automatic backup with every plan except the Startup plan.
With all of these security measures, your website will be well-secured online and offline.
Load Times, Reliability, and Features
Uptime & Speed
It's in your best interest to choose a web hosting service with excellent uptime. Lucky for you, A2 Hosting has one of the best uptimes, with 99.9%. In addition, loading times are 20x faster for Turbo plans.
Features
Let's take a closer look at their other features. Needless to say, the features vary in each plan depending on the price. To be more specific, each plan comes with an SSL certificate and a free cPanel. But if you're using the Turbo plans, you can benefit from better backup. Unfortunately, on-demand backups are not available with any plan; instead, you can purchase them for $2 a month.
You can also easily migrate your website, unlimited bandwidth, and storage; you can design the website of your dreams. And here's an added feature for businesses, you can benefit from their unlimited e-mails in any plan.
To enhance your site, you can benefit from the free SSL certificate and any application of your choosing.
For Advanced Users
Advanced users will be happy to know there is multiple development software available with A2 Hosting. These include:
- PHP 5,7,&8
- MySQL Database
- PostGreSQL 9.6
- Python 3.4
- Perl 5.10
- Apache 2.4
- Node.js 12
- FTP/SFTP
- Free SSH Access
It's impressive, right? That's why you should give it a try.
Server Locations
Finally, A2 Hosting benefits from its server location as they have four servers located in Michigan, Arizona, Amsterdam, and Singapore.
E-Commerce
E-commerce has become very successful in recent years, that many shops only sell their products online. These websites need to have the right tools and security to help build a safe website for customers.
A2 Hosting has plenty of e-commerce tools. From PrestaShop to OpenCart or any other app you choose, you can build your website. Don't forget to purchase an SSL certificate to secure your customer's data and transactions.
Conclusion
All in all, A2 Hosting is an environmentally friendly web hosting service with great customer service, affordable prices, and an anytime money-back guarantee. Depending on the hosting plan, you choose the package changes accordingly. However, don't be tricked by their low prices as there are some add-ons and poor backup.
Do we recommend it?
Yes, we do! But it's all up to you.