EasyCGI Review: Customizable Hosting for All

Many web hosts have a clear target in mind for business. Some are great for online shops, and others create a helpful environment for startups. Still, others provide high-end servers for growing businesses. But sometimes, you need something in the middle. A one-size-fits-all service for a pretty standard website.

A Hosting Provider for the Masses

EasyCGI gets it just right, with a service that caters to no one specific, yet suits almost everyone. It’s not super simplified, but not code heavy, which is a difficult balance to strike. While it leans more towards independent customers, with its unmanaged servers and variety of coding language support, it’s not overly difficult to use.

This certainly isn’t a perfect service, or one with tons of variety, the starkest examples being a lack of cPanel, Windows-only shared hosting, and Linux-only unmanaged VPS. But beyond these complaints, it provides a service that ends up a great fit for a majority of small businesses.

Who Would Most Benefit?

What demographic is EasyCGI best for? Everyone from first-time website owners to expansive business veterans are looking for the best host, so it’s important to know who this particular service suits.

Looking for E-Commerce Hosting?

E-commerce features and compatibility are never specifically mentioned on the plan pages.

You can probably import your own store software, but there are no guarantees of support listed. So if e-commerce is the main focus of your website, there might be better providers. All you get here is a promise of “e-commerce-ready” with no explanation of what makes it so in the plan descriptions.

Primarily For Smaller Businesses

However, if you’re looking for Windows shared hosting specifically, and dislike it when hosts give the Linux version more attention, this is the place to go. For Windows VPS hosting, though, you’ll need to look elsewhere. It offers only Linux.

Finally, this service seems most suited for small businesses that are already established. There’s nothing in particular that makes it stand out as great for new users, and plenty of other hosts give more freebies (but less freedom).

There are a lot of advanced features, scripting and coding languages, and databases to make use of, and this may be overwhelming for people launching their first website and who have no programming experience. The price is also just decent — not cheap — but the server specs are powerful, and come with bandwidth restrictions. This is typical of mid-range shared hosting.

Great But Not Perfect

While some features would be great for customers who are beginning their first projects, such as the CM4all website builder and the cheap promotional price, some things are missing. A free domain and a one-click installer are some examples of features a host made for unseasoned users often has, which EasyCGI does not.

The company has a fair amount of details available about themselves in their ‘About’ section. Screenshot via Digital.com

In short, small-ish and decent-sized websites will fit in quite nicely here. But if you’re newer, a service more tailored to inexperienced customers would be a better fit.

EasyCGI offers 7 different hosting plans.

See All EasyCGI Plans

Windows Shared Hosting

Interestingly, EasyCGI’s major hosting types come in two separate operating systems. Shared hosting is run on a Windows platform, and you can pick between Windows Server 2003 or 2008. There are three plans, though the differences between them are minimal, except for the usual scaling up of resources.

• Advanced X: 3500 GB of data transfer per month, 350 GB of disk space
• Advanced X2: 5000 GB of data transfer per month, 500 GB of disk space
• Advanced X3: 7500 GB of data transfer per month, 750 GB of disk space

Not For Startups

Unlike many other shared hosts, this is a mid-range provider that perhaps doesn’t cater to startups, which means that a lot of features are not unlimited. What’s given is pretty generous, but you may find yourself ascending in plans just to get more of that precious bandwidth. The unlimited assets that are provided include:

• Domains
• FTP accounts
• Microsoft Access databases

Unfortunately, it runs with its own “EasyCGI Control Panel” so people accustomed to cPanel or even vDeck will have a learning curve here. But there’s no setup fee at least, and it comes with a pretty hefty list of useful features. They include email hosting, a shared SSL certificate, WordPress and forum software, and a lot of advanced technical functions.

EasyCGI Control Panel

With that said, there is nothing that makes EasyCGI’s control panel stand out. You get all the features you expect from a web hosting control panel, and the only difference is that things are configured and set up slightly differently.

The 10 most useful features of the EasyCGI control panel are:

1. Email hosting and management
2. SSL certificate management
3. Database management
4. Quick-installs for selected software
5. Website builder
6. Analytics
7. WordPress-friendly
8. Forum software
9. IP management
10. FTP functionality

There might be a learning curve you have to overcome, especially if you are familiar with other options and have come to expect things to be in a certain area.

Lack of E-Commerce

One thing that’s missing is any mention of online shopping support. It claims to be e-commerce ready, but in the feature list, there’s no mention of any specific shopping cart. However, this host seems to give a lot of technical freedom, so it may be as simple as picking up your favorite e-commerce platform. There just aren’t any freebies or direct support.

The array of plans offered is fairly narrow, e-commerce features is definitely short. Screenshot via Digital.com

All shared hosting plans come with a 30-day money back guarantee, as well as a 99.9% uptime guarantee. You will also get free, same-day set up (with no setup fees).

Overall, the shared hosting will work out pretty decently for most small to medium-sized businesses. The fact that you can’t use Linux operating systems, though, means you may want to look at the VPS solutions instead, or if that’s out of budget, a different provider.

Linux VPS Hosting

EasyCGI’s managed VPS server plans are appealing. The quality range runs from decent to rivaling that of a low-end dedicated server, so hardware power isn’t much of a problem. There are even a few features many other providers don’t have. Unlimited websites, no setup fee, and a 30-day money back guarantee are all things that can often seem a bit rare to find on VPS hosts.

Here is a breakdown so you understand the performance and resource differences side-by-side:

	Linux VPS X1	Linux VPS X2	Linux VPS X4	Linux VPS X10
Monthly Data Transfers	500GB	1000GB	2000GB	2000GB
Disk Space	20GB	30GB	50GB	100GB
Memory (RAM)	256MB	512MB	1GB	2GB
Burstable Memory	512MB	1GB	2GB	4GB

All of the above plans come with:

• OpenVZ virtualization software
• Choice of Linux Operating System
• Unlimited websites
• 1 IP address
• Firewall protection
• Perl, PHP, and SSI support
• 30-day money-back guarantee
• Same day setup for free

Datacenter and Hardware

Except for the hardware itself, these plans are unmanaged and give the customer full administrator access, so it’s up to you to get everything running. But you get that with:

• Helpful 24/7 support
• Unlimited email hosting
• Unlimited MySQL databases

Any Linux OS Available

Plus, you can pick any Linux OS you’d like. It’s not clear if there are limits to this. Even so, just the claim is interesting, considering most hosts lock you into a single OS or a choice between just a few.

In the VPS department, EasyCGI is flying high with 4 strong plans. Screenshot via Digital.com

It doesn’t come cheap in any way, but even so, this is some pretty solid VPS hosting if you’re looking for a slightly more self-reliant program. It’s not stuffed with bundles of unnecessary features, but everything included is a great help, and there’s little you’ll want for (except maybe cPanel). We do not think there are any features that make EasyCGI’s VPS hosting plans stand out, but that does not mean they are not a good option.

Rather, they are full-featured options that are comparable to its competitors, both in terms of resources offered and pricing.

See All EasyCGI Features

Cheap Add-ons

At checkout, there are a few paid enhancements you may want to pick up, a majority of them under $2 a month. For a shared server, you can choose:

• SSL certificate — necessary if you run an e-commerce site
• Security plan to protect against malware
• G Suite for larger businesses
• Backup and restore tool
• Email marketing add-ons
• Website builder
• Social linking
• SEO tools
• Store
• Google admin panel

It Has a Price

All of these are optional but some, like backup and security, are lucrative if you’re willing to pay the extra little bit. And it comes cheaper than many other host’s similar paid solutions.

VPS servers get only SSL, G Suite, and SEO tools. The two major add-ons are missing, which is a bit concerning, especially the lack of backup assistance. It looks like, if you purchase a VPS host with EasyCGI, that’s entirely up to you.

Other Tools and Services

Along with the add-ons mentioned above, there are a number of extra management services available for purchase. There’s no price tag on most of them, so it can’t really be said how expensive they are, but these features may be helpful for websites looking to get off the ground.

If the CM4all builder isn’t to your taste, there’s the “Website Builder” to try out instead. A free plan comes with all hosting, but there are two other plans to choose from if you’re fond of it and want access to an e-commerce shopping cart, more pages, and some other features.

Marketing Support and More

For smaller or even one-man teams, professional and marketing services could be a real help. You can get an online store set up, perform maintenance, create advertisements, and enhance an existing website across these two plans.

Finally, there are some assorted extras. A goMobi subscription to help build a responsive mobile website, SiteLock for protection from malware and WordPress optimization are all on the list. These cheap extras may be of interest to some, and they all seem fairly useful.

Customer Service and Technical Support

EasyCGI offers 24/7 technical support, so you can reach someone with your questions, comments, or concerns no matter what time of day it is. To do so, you can use any of the following options:

• The EasyCGI Trouble Ticket System
• Telephone
• Live Chat

In terms of self-help resources, there is a knowledgebase (though we think it could certainly do with an update, as well as more content) and software and control panel tutorials.

Alternatives to EasyCGI

If EasyCGI does not seem to be the right fit for your business, here are some other companies you might consider.

Aplus.net

Aplus.net is a small web hosting company focused on helping small businesses launch their websites. The company aims to be a one-stop shop for everything you would need, reducing the need to work with multiple vendors.

Aplus.net specializes in entry-level cloud hosting, but it also offers some VPS options. Its hosting plans are well priced and resource-rich. Hosting plan bonuses include a sitebuilder, marketing credits with Google Adwords, and email functionality.

HostGator

HostGator offers web hosting services ranging from entry-level shared hosting plans to top-tier dedicated servers. The company also acts as a domain registrar and serves resellers.

HostGator prides itself on offering an easy-to-use product, being affordable, and providing top-notch customer service.

Network Solutions

Network Solutions is a seller of a variety of internet-related services, including domain names, web hosting packages, security tools (such as SSL certificates), email hosting, digital marketing tools, e-commerce tools, and more.

Network Solutions offer a better all-rounder package of services. Screenshot via Digital.com

One feature of note in Network Solutions’ gamut of offerings is its “We Build It For You” option, which is great for someone who wants to outsource all of the tasks related to getting a website up and running.

Powerful Hosting for Many Websites

There are brand new startups and established businesses, but right in the middle there lies the majority of websites: simple, medium-sized ones looking for a new host to call home. This is exactly the kind of site suited for EasyCGI. Without too many freebies or guidance, and without large-scale dedicated servers, the average website will make its home quite comfortably here.

While it isn’t too flashy, EasyCGI has a lot of power hidden under the surface. It does its job and it does it well, giving customers freedom without becoming too overwhelming. Every single feature is straightforward and easy to get the hang of.

Visit EasyCGI

It’s a host designed to work for nearly everyone, without adhering too strongly to any niche. This may mean some features, especially e-commerce-related ones, are excluded. But it also means that, in a general sense, it outperforms. In this role — one of a host that strives to make everyone happy — it does so exceptionally.

Frequently Asked Questions

To wrap up the review of a perfectly competitive host, let’s cover a few basic facts about the process of being a client with them.

Where do I find my past invoices and receipts?

After logging into your EasyCGI control panel, select the sub-menu called ‘Billing Central’. From there, you are able to toggle as to how far back you’d like to go to get your historical data, followed by download options in PDF, paper print or email.

Is there an affiliate program?

Yes indeed. The EasyCGI affiliate program is free to join and allows you to get going immediately. There is a generous variety of marketing material available and your first commision payment happens after 15-30 days of your first earning referee. Check out the official site for further information on commisions.

How do I install an SSL certificate?

Log into your control panel. Find a section named ‘Additional Tools’ and click ‘SSL’. Select the domain name which you’d like to assign your nearly-uploaded SSL certificate to and proceed. Before it completes, you must confirm the whole process via email.

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