Hostpapa Features
Let us begin with the features of HostPapa. Unlike other hosts, HostPapa only has one plan, and that includes all the basic, standard features of a web host, and then a few more. Here is what you get with HostPapa's web hosting plan, at a glance: 1-year web domain registration, unlimited disk space, monthly bandwidth and add-on domains, FTP access, and the eco friendly guarantee - so you can rest assured that you are contributing to the planet. Out of these features, we find the unlimited disk space and add on domain registrations the best, as these features are only offered in advanced plans of other hosts. In addition, HostPapa have a 30-day money back guarantee, in case you are not satisfied with their service. Uptime is guaranteed at 99.9%, which is among the best in class.
The cPanel control panel used is powered by vDeck, a very easy to use interface that provides you with a free website building tool as well. You have no setup fees as well. Also, HostPapa has something you won't find with any other web host - free marketing credits! That's right; you get $50 worth of Miva Pay Per Click Advertising credits and Facebook Ad Credits, $75 worth of Amazon Product Ads and $20 worth of Bidvertiser Advertising Network credits. As if that was not enough, HostPapa also gives you free SEO tools that guarantee indexing your website in Google within 24 hours of publishing it.
Moving on to other features, you have unlimited email accounts, SMTP, virus scanners, spam filters, unlimited email forwarding, and webmail. HostPapa also lets you register international domains and parked domains in their unlimited domain registration part. You also get free DNS management and Register Transfer for your domains. Coming to the security, HostPapa's webhosting is capable of SSL encryption, lets you password protect your files and directories, and provided you with .htaccess support. Unlimited MySQL 5.1 Databases and phpMyAdmin support is given free of cost in the databases part as well.
The website building software provided by HostPapa lets you create instant websites, and include polls, user forms, comments, surveys, help centers, ticket systems, mailing lists, guestbooks, bulletin boards, blogs, web auctions, image and video galleries, and much more. In addition, HostPapa supports Flash, Macromedia Shockwave, allows users to download audio and video, and has real time support for all multimedia content. Customer service is the number one priority at HostPapa, with round the clock customer support available in multiple languages, with live email and telephone options. There are video tutorials in the extensive knowledgebase provided by HostPapa to all its users that explain everything in a detailed manner.
Other Considerations
So why should you go for HostPapa? Apart from all the features mentioned above, the most important factor is the price. HostPapa is very affordable (at $4.95 per month), but only if you sign up for 3 years in advance. Also, HostPapa is very reliable; customers have reported very low downtimes, if any, and no loss of data at any point of time. This is because HostPapa's facilities are state of the art, and maintained by very capable personnel. Not to mention all the free marketing credits you get, and the sense of satisfaction that comes with using renewable energy.
On the flipside, though, HostPapa provides only one, universal web hosting plan, which may not appeal to all people. There are beginners and experienced users, and the features provided in the single plan by HostPapa may not all be necessary by the beginners, who need the least possible features to begin working with websites. Also, the cheap monthly fee is only if you sign up for 3 years, which is quite a long time. Otherwise, you need to shell out $6.95 and $5.95 per month for 1 year and 2 year subscriptions, respectively. Another negative aspect about HostPapa that users reported was the inefficient customer support system. Not only is the system not always available (people do not attend to your calls sometimes), but the support staff do not seem knowledgeable enough to assist users, according to some people.
However, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages by a large margin, and if you are looking for a reliable, eco friendly, and affordable webhost, HostPapa is your best bet.
