Small businesses and individuals new to hosting are an easy demographic to cater to. Shared hosting is cheap to provide and, in some cases, companies may trick inexperienced users into not getting the best deal.
Because of this, seeing a smaller provider with honest intentions and good quality hosting can be somewhat rare. StableHost seems to be an exception. With a tiny team of 15, all of whom are dedicated to you having a great experience, it’s very much differentiated from the impersonal, giant hosting companies that seem to be everywhere.
With a promise to put all its money into growing the business, and some great hardware and customer support to go along with it, it’s easy to trust that StableHost might be different. Let’s see if it keeps that promise.
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The company’s individuality shines through immediately upon seeing the sort of shared hosting it offers: clustered hosting. Like cloud hosting, the workload of the server is spread across multiple machines.
Most shared hosts run a set of websites on one single machine, so if that computer fails, everything goes down. Clustered hosting, though not as well known, aims to minimize this issue.
As for the features included, it’s all pretty solid. The basic plan gets a single website, as is typical, but beyond that it’s unlimited everything. Meanwhile, while the “Enterprise Hosting” comes at a price closer to general VPS costs, you get some extras like VIP support, double the inodes (files), and spam filtering. Perfect for larger businesses that still exist in a shared hosting environment.
And don’t forget the inclusion of cPanel, Softaculous, Apache, MySQL, and Varnish for all plans. SSH access comes at an additional fee, unfortunately, but the hundreds of free apps more than compensate — at least for basic users.
Overall, everything is pretty simple and easy to understand. There’s a plan for newbies, for small businesses, and for larger websites. The feature list is clear and every description is direct to the point.
And don’t forget reseller hosting. Whether you’re just starting off or have over 50 customers, each plan is a perfect fit. R1Soft backups, unlimited bandwidth, and a web builder ensure happy customers even if you’re new to the game.
See all StableHost plans
Fully Unmanaged VPS Hosting
VPS is the next step up, and it comes fairly cheap. Also running on cluster tech, these high-quality, modern servers offer maximum flexibility. You get an unmanaged, clean install, without even a control panel or OS chosen for you. If you want an operating system not offered, you can download it yourself.
Also included is access to Level 3 support, so no outsourcing. There’s a choice of three different host locations: Phoenix, Chicago, and Amsterdam. Finally, there’s no setup fees. And there’s a lot of plans so you won’t need to overpay.
In short, if you’re tired of VPS hosts that weigh you down and want a completely unmanaged, untampered-with experience, this might be what you’re looking for. The degree of freedom is unprecedented; it’s rare to see a host that doesn’t even force you to use cPanel or a certain OS.
Other Services
Along with web hosting, StableHost also provides domain registration. The search tool provides helpful suggestions in case you missed out on the ideal domain. You can add ID protection at a much cheaper rate than other sites, and just tick a box to get hosting with it. It’s not what this company is known for, but it seems like a solid enough choice.
It offers spam filtering as well, with a 15-day trial. If your corporate email is being bombarded with spam, you may like this.
There aren’t a ton of extras, but this just means that the company can focus on improving its web hosting experience.
A Short Feature List
There’s a lot this host has to offer, from backups to one-click installers to a unique hosting environment, so a quick feature list might help you out.
- cPanel: no relearning a control panel. For VPS, you have the option, but it’s not required.
- Unlimited Bandwidth: it goes without saying. Who doesn’t love having no bandwidth restrictions? This appears to apply to VPS as well.
- Softaculous: a one-click installer of popular plugins like WordPress, and practically necessary for many websites.
- Fast Customer Support: you won’t have to sit around with downtime with this host. There’s also a knowledgebase and video tutorials.
- Site.Pro Builder: if web design isn’t your strong point, try an easy-to-use DIY site builder.
- SSL Certificate: Let’s Encrypt helps gets you the coveted green address bar, and keep customers’ data secure.
- Email Hosting: unlimited accounts, forwards, and auto-responders; no stipulations. Don’t forget to buy the spam filter as well.
- Domain Registration: since you’re buying a host, you may find it easier to get the domain at the same time, rather than hopping between sites.
- Money Back Guarantee: managed and reseller hosting have a 45-day grace period. A lot of sites opt not to provide a guarantee for VPS hosting, but StableHost does provide a 7-day promise.
- Site Transfer: though it isn’t mentioned directly, it appears that there’s no fee or hard cap, only a warning that the company may not transfer from improperly optimized hosts.
- No Setup Fees: a great, if small, thing for VPS customers. Hefty setup fees are not uncommon.
A Couple Issues
StableHost is designed to suit most people, which is one of its major strengths. But there are a few demographics it doesn’t fit. Most businesses don’t target everyone, so this is to be expected.
No Dedicated Hosting
There’s no form of dedicated server or customizable VPS available, unfortunately. So if you have a high traffic site, you might have to look somewhere else for enterprise-level hosting. However, the largest VPS plan will accommodate most websites, so most customers have nothing to worry about.
If in doubt, contact the sales team. And keep in mind that the 7-day money back guarantee protects you in case you make the wrong call. Though, if even the highest VPS server doesn’t seem quite right, it’s probably time for a dedicated server anyhow.
It’s fair enough that the company doesn’t provide this service at this time. Dedicated hosting is expensive to run! But if your site is very popular or growing extremely fast, you don’t have much of a choice. It’s unfortunate that it doesn’t have any higher customization, even if it came at a higher cost.
24/7/365 Customer Support
General consensus indicates that the support is great and fast no matter your plan. And the StableHost technical team is available 24/7/265.
We like the fact that StableHost has their phone number in large font posted prominently on the site footer with an friendly “Get in touch” invitation. Customer support channels also include email, a ticket system, a knowledgebase, and FAQs.
Status updates are also posted.
Blends Into the Crowd
In this business, it’s pretty hard to stand out from the crowd. StableHost does have a unique logo and a well-designed site, and its clustered hosting is certainly an interesting, efficient approach.
But, there just aren’t a lot of things to make the company seem different, or new, or revolutionary. Some hosts get by with strong branding, or extremely cheap plans, or investing in a new and adaptable business like cloud hosting. But there are a lot of shared and VPS hosts out there already.
That doesn’t mean the company isn’t great or that it doesn’t offer some quality servers, it just means it’s not eye-grabbing in particular. But on the other hand, this might mean you have a great host all to yourself, right?
A Lot of Strengths
From its innovative method of shared hosting to its improvement-centric mindset, this host is certainly a solid choice if you’re in the market for affordable shared or VPS hosting. The company’s flaws are minimal and minor, and its unique approach to hosting more than makes up for the few problems there are.
There’s just a lot of upsides to using this company, and you’ll almost certainly be happy with the quality of hosting provided.
Unique Clustered Hosting
It’s good news for those operating on a shared host. Being able to run your website without worrying about your neighbors getting you on a spam blacklist seems like a dream come true. Suddenly, the major downfalls of shared hosting are gone.
Clustered hosting doesn’t appear to be that popular a form of shared hosting, but with its great benefits, it’s sure to take off soon enough. There’s no visible downfalls to this method over shared hosting, at least not for the customer.
So, you get a faster service with less risks at being associated with spamming, at no cost to you.
Lightning-Fast Customer Support
StableHost is eager to tell you about its support team, all of whom are experienced in — and have a passion for — web hosting. Bored interns aren’t something the company tolerates, so sit back and let the experts happily take care of you.
And for such a small company, it’s doing a great job. Not even the biggest hosts tend to be able to claim an hour-long reply at max. Sitting around and waiting for a serious issue to be solved is never good.
See StableHost for more information
StableHost offers many excellent plans that can provide for a range of people. Whether you have a tiny WordPress blog, a small start-up business, or a moderately sized company, your options are limitless. And if you’re searching for a VPS host that gives you a blank slate, you’ll be pleased.
And the best part is, the team shows much honesty and determination to keep the company and the servers top of the line. It’s a rare goal, trying to balance both having the best equipment in the business and making sure customers feel welcome, but it’s one the company excels at.
So if you’re in the market for shared hosting with a very beneficial twist, or hands-off VPS hosting where you’re fully at the wheel, consider giving StableHost a try. It’s great to have a company dedicated to you and your websites’ stability.