Namecheap Review

In my opinion Namecheap is one of the best domain registrars out there, but it is quickly gaining ground in the hosting services as well. Versatile and affordable, its hosting packages are attracting a lot of attention.

Founded in 2000, NameCheap.com is an independently owned domain name registrar that’s ICANN-accredited. Not only do they offer domain registration but they also provide consumers with a plethora of hosting services as well.

For users who are in need, NameCheap also provides various additional services including a website builder, email, and SSLs all complete with 24-hour customer support and standard 30-day money back guarantee. 

While the company primarily focuses on offering name registrations, we’re going to be discussing their hosting during this review. The main reason for that is because the company provides incredibly cheap hosting plans and we’d like to know why.

Under most circumstances, I prefer keeping my domain registration and hosting reviews separate from each other. However, in this case, I have a project I’m launching. Therefore, I chose NameCheap to determine how the service would hold up.

Features and Advantages Of Namecheap

Let’s take a look at some of the key features that make Namecheap a good hosting service provider.

UPTIME 99.88%

Namecheap has a good uptime level. No 100% but by no means bad.

SUPPORT

9/10 for support and assistance. Helpful and quick to get in contact with them, and for me they have always been able to sort any problems really quickly and efficiently.

COMPATABILITY

WordPress hosting which has 100% compatibility with all WordPress features and plugins.

Users will find a lots of pros when using NameCheap Hosting plans. Before making an ultimate decision, you’ll see there are quite a few reviews available across the Internet. The majority of these reviews are either based on personal experiences or user-generated anecdotes. While this isn’t a problem, I tend to approach things differently. In my opinion, there’s no such thing as a web host that’s considered “the best” in comparison to all the rest. When determining the “best,” you’re looking at which one will fit your project’s budget, experience, expertise, and goals most appropriately.

Namecheap’s Hosting Costs

One of the most significant benefits of Namecheap is the fact that its pricing is cheap.

Namecheap’s Pricing

Namecheap almost always falls under the pricing of other plans you’ll find with other hosting companies.

No matter which direction you decide to go, Namecheap does offer a substantial advantage regarding pricing.

Namecheap’s Values and Branding

Namecheap is an independent and privately-owned hosting company. In a technology world where a select few corporations own the majority of the hosting companies, this is a rarity.

It isn’t necessarily a positive thing to be private and independently owned, though. However, being held by large corporations isn’t necessarily a negative thing for hosting companies, either.

The one thing that’s making Namecheap excel as an independent company throughout the industry is their desire for transparency and how they define their brand values, which are each notorious for causing industry-wide confusion.

One of the companies most positive features is that they remain transparent regarding all their pricing and services. I like the way they prominently display their renewal rates, as well as have a list of hosting features that are expandable.

Ultimately, I believe this is a trustworthy company with a culture that’s solid. When picking a company with whom do business, this matters considerably.

Namecheap’s Onboarding and Account Managing

Signing up for a new web host, just like with any new product, involves a mix of emotions ranging from daunting to exciting.

One of the most significant features of using Namecheap is you’ll move from the onboarding process, which is signing up for your account, to the guided tutorial seamlessly. Once you reach the tutorial, you can move on to your new dashboard without any problems.

Once users are finished with the sign-up process, they’ll receive a welcome email that allows them to log directly into their services or one that provides them with directions regarding how to do so.

You will find an account backend featuring minimalist can clean designs. There are no hard upsells or flashing banners causing distractions or overwhelming users.

You can install WordPress software quickly and use a clean version without any additional themes or plugins.

Datacenter and Backup Choices

Bonus features are another area in which NameCheap does exceptionally well.

When users sign up, they can choose between US and UK data centers. In doing so, this allows users who are servicing visitors closer to the UK the opportunity to cater to them better.

Backups also occur twice per week for hosting accounts through NameCheap. It’s critical for users to perform backups independently but, when the company is performing them as well, this is an incredible safety feature. NameCheap includes all backups free of charge. Competitors including HostGator and Web Hosting Hub will often charge for this as a limited bonus feature.

Performance and Allocations 

As mentioned previously, the sole purpose of a web hosting company is to serve web files when an individual types in a user’s domain name. What’s missing from this scenario? If you think that it should read, “serve web files quick,” then you’re correct.

Because we’re living in a mobile age, website speed is vital. Even though server speed isn’t the only factor to take into consideration for the website’s overall speed, it’s an essential factor.

What’s worse is users could be experiencing what’s referred to as the “bottleneck” factor. What this means is, no matter how fast you speed or compress your site, it will only go as fast as the server responds.

Measuring response and speed is complicated. Only NameCheap’s network engineers can provide a definitive answer regarding what’s happening regarding the speed of the server. However, they do make the promise that, under most circumstances, “our Shared Hosting is 50% faster than the other guys.”

However, it’s possible for anyone to develop a ballpark measurement regarding the performance of a server.

This metric is referred to as TTFB (Time to First Byte), and it displays how fast servers will deliver the first byte of information following the receipt of a request.

Customer-Support Through Namecheap

For those who are seeking immediate responses and availability, they can utilize the helpdesk and chat. When I used the chat feature, the wait time wasn’t significant. My service was also very good, as well. However, when you are experiencing a complicated technical issue, text-based support can become tedious.

Should Namecheap just stick to Domain Names?

NameCheap isn’t primarily a Hosting Company. Domains are their thing.

In reality, while NameCheap does offer hosting services, it isn’t a hosting company and doesn’t specialize in these services. Instead, they’re a domain registrar. One of the main reasons user select this company for their hosting needs is because it’s easy to do so once they’ve registered for their domain.

When you think about the Internet services industry in a broader sense, hosting and domains are a natural complement for each other, so why shouldn’t Namecheap do both and VPNs?

Final Thoughts On Namecheap

Ultimately, my thoughts regarding NameCheap hosting are that it’s a good option for those who are seeking budget-friendly cheap hosting plans, cheap Domains, VPN and great customer service then NameCheap is the the one for you.