- Editor Rating
- Rated 3 stars
- Good
- PowWeb
- Reviewed by:
- Published on:
- Last modified:
- Speed
- Uptime
- Pricing
- Support
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Table of Contents
What is PowWeb Hosting?
PowWeb is a web hosting company, in operation since 1999. It was acquired by the services behemoth Endurance International Group or EIG in 2006 who own, among many other web hosting companies. The company is well known for its “One Plan, One Price” system.
PowWeb has always been known for offering hosting plans on the cheap, and new management hasn’t changed that. This PowWeb review will find out how well are its services.
Details | |
---|---|
Founded | 1999 |
Server Location | Boston, USA |
Services |
|
Unlimited Website | Available |
Unlimited Storage and Bandwidth | Unlimited Storage is Available and Scalable Bandwidth is Available with Web Hosting |
Domain Hosting | Yes |
Linux Hosting | Yes |
Windows Hosting | No |
WordPress | Optimized |
Joomla | Optimized |
Drupal | Optimized |
Magento | Optimized |
PHP Hosting | Optimized |
e-Commerce Hosting | Optimized |
Email Hosting | Yes |
SSL Support |
|
Dedicated IP | No |
Free Site Migration | Yes, Available at $150 Per Site |
Free Domain | Yes |
Domain Privacy Protected | $9.99 Per Year |
Money Back Guarantee | 30 Days |
24/7 Support |
|
Control Panel | vDeck Control Panel |
One-Click Installation | Yes, Through Script Instant Installer |
Website Builder |
|
Automated Backup | Daily Backup Available |
Content Delivery Network (CDN) | SiteLock CDN |
Security Features |
|
Payment Methods |
|
Endurance International Group Network (EIG) | Yes |
Social Profile |
PowWeb Reviews on Hosting Plans and Domain Service
PowWeb has some strong hosting technologies to back you up in all your hosting needs. Server systems work on RAID and load balancing technology to offer the combination of speed and redundancy. The highly customized control panel ensures deep and granular control over all aspects of your website.
PowWeb also supports DNS management, subdomain registration and custom error pages.
PowWeb offers only one shared hosting plan. Built on a solid platform with custom password protection and unlimited FTP access, shared hosting on PowWeb was a good experience. However, recently the quality of their service seems to be declined.
With multiple backend technologies like phpBB, osCommerce and Gallery 2, PowWeb makes a compelling case for itself as a full-featured budget brand. Also supported by PowWeb are PHP 4, PHP 5, Zend Optimiser, Perl 5, Sendmail, CGI-BIN, SSI, .htaccess, Cronjobs, Flash, Shockwave, MIDI, and much more.
Multiple marketing oriented tools are included to help generate positive transaction and drive more traffic to your website. The USD100 Google AdWords bonus, USD100 Bing Ad credits, and a free Yellow Pages listing are included.
It is a bit misleading to say the PowWeb monthly hosting price is $3.88. This can only be true if you select the two years or three years plan. Many new customers prefer the one-year subscription to test their service. In that case, it will cost $4.18 per month.
PowWeb Reviews on Reseller Hosting Plan
For web designers and developers, PowWeb also offers customized reseller packages with a dedicated management and support team to help business partners. PowWeb boasts of thousands of business partners in web designers and development studios around the world.
The hosting services are also e-commerce ready, with ShopSite Starter Shopping Cart, OsCommerce Shopping Cart, and SSL services.
PowWeb Reviews on Domain Service
PowWeb also offers simple and convenient domain transfer services. If you have an existing website and want to migrate it to PowWeb servers, the process is simple and straightforward. The technical support team does all the heavy lifting for you, including reconfiguring all technical and network parameters for optimal performance.
PowWeb Reviews on Email Hosting
PowWeb also supports email hosting through Microsoft Exchange for enterprise level data security and reliability. For enterprise and corporate clients, having reliable and secure email capabilities is essential for the smooth and coordinated operation, and PowWeb has some customized packages to do that.
The PowWeb Exchange Basic email hosting plan costs $38.85 per quarter.
PowWeb SSL
All PowWeb servers are secured by the latest online security and cryptographic technologies. Using SSL certification ensures that data remains secure and safe throughout the transaction. HTTPS support is also included with SSL certification services.
PowWeb Website Builder
PowWeb also features a drag and drop website builder to take all the work out of designing a website. Now even beginners and people unfamiliar with web development can build a very attractive website in just a few minutes. With a vast number of professional themes, Weebly, PowWeb’s chosen WYSIWYG web editor performs admirably and allows you to build your own custom website by yourself for free.
PowWeb Reviews on WordPress Hosting
WordPress hosting services are robust by all measures. PowWeb offers two tiers of WordPress services: Starter and Essential. The company includes a wide variety of curated themes and offers multiple preinstalled plugins to ensure that WordPress integration is as seamless as possible.
With a custom designed control panel interface, it is very easy for even non-technical personnel to operate the website and having total control over all services. There is also a dedicated technical support team staffed with WordPress experts to handle all technical queries and resolve any issues related to WordPress.
PowWeb Reviews on Support and Customer Service
PowWeb offers 24×7 customer support and technical help over the email and Live Chat. I have shared my personal experience with their Live Chat support in this PowWeb review. Whatever issues you run into, technical or otherwise, the talented support staff is there to help you resolve your problem to your absolute satisfaction. From billing issues to technical problems like DNS mismatch, the customer support is impeccable.
There is also extensive online documentation for people who are willing to do the work themselves or are simply interested in understanding how the system works at PowWeb. However, in case you do decide to contact customer service, the experience will be extremely good due to the high quality and training that goes into them. There is also a very active forum for the PowWeb community to discuss anything.
Trial #1 Excellent Live Chat Support from PowWeb
There are mixed reviews regarding their support. Some say their support is good and other people seem do not agree with this statement. So, I decided to test their support by myself. At the same time, I was hoping their support can clear my doubts. After activating the PowWeb Live Chat, I was informed that my waiting time was expected to be 5 minutes.
It’s acceptable for me as long as the waiting time does not exceed 10 minutes.
After 1 minute and 4.51 seconds, I got their reply. It was faster than expected. I knew they have provided email hosting services partnered with Microsoft Exchange. However, I was not sure whether I could have my own email account with them without subscribing the email Exchange plan. I asked them questions regarding the email hosting and I was satisfied with the answers provided.
Users can setup unlimited email accounts with their hosting account. Besides, webmail client software like RoundCube and SquirrelMail are also provided. Overall, I was impressed by the quality of the support provided. It was a good experience with PowWeb support.
Trial #2 Prodigious Live Chat Support
After seeing so many negative and positive reviews about PowWeb hosting company, I tested their live chat support few months back and I was happy with their services which they have given to me. But again I conducted a session of live chat support for this company and I was surprised that they are still providing outstanding services to non-customers as well.
I got the first reply from them after 01 minute and 01.39 seconds which was quite faster than my expectation. Suraksha S was the person who assisted me throughout the whole conversation and he answered my all queries in a polite and professional way. I rated him 9/10.
My full conversation with PowWeb customer support is given below:
Suraksha S has joined the chat!
Mike Lee: Hi, my name is Mike Lee and I have few questions about the PowWeb hosting services.
Suraksha S: Hi. Welcome to the chat Support. I apologize for the delay.
Suraksha S: Okay
Mike Lee: Is PowWeb Hosting provides free SSL service? How about paid SSL solutions?
Suraksha S: No Powweb will not provide free SSL service
Mike Lee: Okay
Mike Lee: How about Domain Privacy Protected Service? If yes then free or paid?
Suraksha S: We do provide both SSL and Domain Privacy but both are not for free.
Mike Lee: So how much your company charges for Domain Privacy Protected Service?
Suraksha S: $9.99 per year
Suraksha S: For SSL at the time of SignUp $19.99 per year
Mike Lee: Alright
Mike Lee: Is PowWeb Hosting offers Dedicated IP solution?
Suraksha S: No. However, our sister company ipage will
Mike Lee: Okay
Mike Lee: Is there any Free Site Migration Service?
Suraksha S: No there is no Free Site Migration.
Suraksha S: We will charge $150
Mike Lee: Alright
Mike Lee: Is PowWebHosting supports both Linux and Windows Hosting?
Suraksha S: We provide only Linux hosting
Mike Lee: Okay
Mike Lee: What type of control panel is being used by Linux hosting?
Suraksha S: vdeck control panel
Mike Lee: Okay
Mike Lee: How many data centers PowWeb Hosting has? What locations are these data centers/servers located?
Suraksha S: It is located in Boston, USA.
Mike Lee: Nice
Mike Lee: Is PowWeb Hosting is a part of Endurance International Group(EIG)?
Suraksha S: Yes.
Mike Lee: Does PowWeb offer a Content Delivery Network (CDN)?
Suraksha S: Directly with hosting plan we cannot provide it.
Suraksha S: However, we can provide through SiteLock
Mike Lee: Ok
Mike Lee: Any One-Click installation service for Content Management System like WordPress, Joomla, Magneto and Drupal?
Suraksha S: Yes, we provide it for free
Mike Lee: All of them?
Suraksha S: Yes
Mike Lee: Great
Mike Lee: What are the security features that PowWeb offers?
Suraksha S: We do offer SSL certificates and SiteLock
Mike Lee: Okay
Mike Lee: Any Website Builder tool offered?
Suraksha S: Yes.
Mike Lee: Can you tell me the name?
Suraksha S: WebsiteBuilder, Weebly, WordPress and more
Mike Lee: Great
Suraksha S: You can SignUp for hosting plan and check. We have 30 days money back guarantee.
Mike Lee: Good
Mike Lee: Thank you for your time and answering my all queries
Suraksha S: Are you satisfied with my help? Please click the âRate &Exitâ button on the top right corner of this chat window to rate my support.
Suraksha S: Thank you
Mike Lee: Sure
PowWeb Reviews on Uptime Performance and Server Status
Uptime Stats
PowWeb has an average server uptime record. It has maintained this status for a long time. For a budget hosting service provider, providing such uptime performance is expected. PowWeb is reported to have some downtimes and normally they will try to get their server up as soon as possible.
You should not expect too much from PowWeb as it is just a budget hosting service provider.
Uptime Stats – Target: 99.90%
October 2017 – 99.98%
September 2017 – 99.99%
August 2017 – 99.89%
July 2017 – 99.88%
June 2017 – 100%
May 2017 – 99.98%
April 2017 – 100%
PowWeb hosting company didn’t set any uptime guarantee so I used industry standard 99.90% just for checking the company’s SLA uptime stats. I started observing the uptime stats of PowWeb from past seven months (From April 2017 to October 2017).
This company achieved its target in 5 out of 7 months. But overall if we see all months’ uptime stats average of these months, then it comes out as 99.96% which is up to the mark.
Note: I update this PowWebuptime stats regularly, do bookmark this page if you are interested in checking their uptime performance again.
Server Response Test Speed
Same like uptime, I conducted a test of PowWeb server speed test on my own site which is hosted on this company. PowWeb scored A+ (October 2017) which proves that PowWeb server is working fine and is also reliable. I checked my website from eight diverse locations which are: Japan, Sydney, Bangalore, Sao Paulo, Singapore, London, US (E) and US (W). This company performed well in US as compared to Asian country like Bangalore, as it takes some time but overall sever speed of this company is great and best for the users.
Good and Bad of PowWeb
Good
- Budget oriented packages
- Decent customer support
- Wide variety of supported services for the price
Bad
- Many bad reviews across the web
- Some technical performance is subpar
- Do not provide VPS or dedicated hosting solution
- Only suitable for small website
Summary of PowWeb
PowWeb is a web hosting service provider on a budget if you choose the longer subscription terms. They certainly deliver a lot of services at a very low price, which makes it good for personal websites. However, for enterprise use or any other serious business oriented purpose, PowWeb fails to live up to the mark.
Subpar performance is a let-down, but it might be a good place to start if you are just beginning to get into web development or administration.
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