WestHost Review and Test Results

Review

HOSTING PLANS

WestHost offers three low-cost shared hosting plans: Personal, Preferred, and Business. Limited to one website, one MySQL 5 database (required for applications like WordPress), 10 subdomains, 100 e-mail accounts, and 100 FTP accounts, the Personal plan is the lowest-cost and includes the greatest number of restrictions, but we found both the disk space and bandwidth allotments to be more than adequate for most sites. The Preferred plan is geared towards larger, high-traffic sites like forums and news sites; while the Business plan is designed for shopping cart equipped e-commerce sites.

PURCHASE PROCESS

As is our practice for testing and reviewing purposes, we purchased the cheapest available plan — Personal — using the PayPal payment option. The 2-step WestHost sign-up process is beautifully brief and straightforward. There is no attempt to trick you into transferring your domain name away from your current registrar. Unnecessary options are not automatically added into the shopping cart, and there is no fine print to read concerning renewal rates. The price you see is the price you pay. Simply select your plan and renewal term, enter your billing information, and you are on your way.

WestHost and GoDaddy “Welcome” e-mails. Click to enlarge.

SETUP

The “Welcome” e-mail arrived approximately 9 hours after placing our order — indicating that new accounts are likely processed and/or approved manually. It remains the most comprehensive “Welcome” e-mail we have received to date. It provides complete account, cPanel, FTP, nameserver, e-mail, and support information. This allowed us to have our test site up and running in minutes.

For purposes of comparison, we have created a screenshot that includes both the WestHost and GoDaddy “Welcome” e-mails. It may seem like a minor point to some, but we have little use for the GoDaddy e-mail. It means that we will have to contact support or search for the answers to a number of pertinent questions:

• What is the control panel URL?
• What are the nameserver (DNS) settings?
• What is my FTP login information
• Is the FTP login the same as the control panel login?
• Is there a default FTP account, or will I need to create one?
• What are the mailserver names and port numbers?

Finding answers to the above questions is a waste of my time and GoDaddy’s resources. That information can be easily provided in a single e-mail as WestHost does. GoDaddy may have better looking spokespersons, but I’d rather deal with the smiling chubby guy at WestHost. He delivers.

In keeping with its committment to usability, WestHost provides the cPanel control panel for website administration. We have seen a number of different control panels, but we have yet to find one that can match cPanel for its wealth of features and ease of use. Further, installing applications like WordPress is quick and easy with the included Softaculous apps installer.

WestHost Speed Test Results Chart. Click to enlarge.

TESTING

WestHost speed and uptime testing began April 18th and was completed on April 27th. Speed testing results for our simple 1-page test site were somewhat average (see speed test results chart right). Site speed was fastest when accessed from California with a page load time of 1.1373 seconds. Site speed was slowest when accessed from Hong Kong, recording an average of 1.5431 seconds to load our test site.

All web hosting services reviewed by NCM Online are purchased and subjected to our 10-day test for uptime and speed. WestHost recorded an average speed of 1.4835 seconds to load our test site from 13 locations worldwide, and 1.1674 seconds from 7 U.S. locations. Tested for uptime every 15 minutes over 10 days, WestHost produced a perfect 100% reliability score (see uptime test results chart below right).

WestHost Uptime Test Results Chart. Click to enlarge.

Pros

• Very user-friendly
• Straightforward, 2-step sign up process
• “Welcome” e-mail includes information required to set up your site quickly
• Generous disk space and bandwidth
• 24×7, US-based phone, chat and e-mail support
• cPanel control panel
• Softaculous apps installer
• 30-day money-back guarantee
• A+ BBB rating

Cons

• Average page-load speeds
• 9-hour delay between purchase and receipt of “Welcome” e-mail

Conclusion

Perfect for inexperienced webmasters and web hosting newbies, WestHost provides reliable, low-cost hosting that is easy to buy, easy to use, and easy to maintain.

WestHost has earned 4.5 stars and is recommended by NCM Online.

Pricing and Features

Cheap website hosting company price comparisons based on 1-year term list price before coupon/promo codes or limited time/introductory offer discounts. These are the renewal rates for the second year of hosting. To ensure that you receive the most affordable WestHost pricing possible, please visit our Web Hosting Coupon Codes page for current discounts and special offers before making any purchases.

Plan	Personal	Preferred	Business
Disk Space	50GB	200GB	Unlimited
Bandwidth	1000GB	2500GB	Unlimited
Setup	FREE	FREE	FREE
Domain Name	$12.50	Free	Free
Included Websites	1	Unlimited	Unlimited
MySQL 5 Databases	1	Unlimited	Unlimited
Emails per Hour	1000	1000	1000
Sub Domains	10	Unlimited	Unlimited
Dedicated SSL Certificate	$33	$33
Continuous Data Protection (CDP)	$3/mo
Dedicated IP	$2/mo	$2/mo
Free File and Database Transfers
Exclusive WestHost Features
cPanel Control Panel
Toll Free 24/7 US Support
Instant Activation
Network Wide Backups
Ad-Free Hosting
WordPress Support
Softaculous Application Installer
SSH Access
Email Features
Emails per Hour	1000	1000	1000
Email Accounts	100	Unlimited	Unlimited
Email Forwarders/Aliases	100	Unlimited	Unlimited
SpamAssassin
SMTP Access
POP3/IMAP Support
Mailing Lists	X	Unlimited	Unlimited
Enterprise-Class Webmail
Exim
GnuPG PGP Secure Email Encryption
Auto-Responders	10	Unlimited	Unlimited
Advanced Hosting Features
PHP 5
FTP Accounts	100	Unlimited	Unlimited
Web Database Manager (phpMyAdmin)
Python
Private .htaccess
Supports Custom php.ini Files
Customizable MIME Types
Custom Apache Error Pages
Web-based File Manager
Cron Job Editor
DNS Zone Editor
Perl-CGI
Personal CGI-BIN
IP Banning Access
File Handlers
GD Graphics Library
ImageMagick 5+ Support
Server Side Includes (SSI)
PHP Nuke
cURL Library
Hotlink Protection
Data Center Specs
CentOS 5 w/Apache 2
Gigabit Ethernet
RAID 10 Redundancy
SAS 70 Type II Compliant
Tier 3 classification
Onsite WestHost Staff for Monitoring & Service
Cold Aisle Containment & Cooling
Redundant Power Sources
Multiple Network Carriers
VESDA Smoke Detection System
Disaster-Safe Location
24×7 Security and Digital Video Surveillance
30” Raised Flooring
Online Statistics
Analog Log File Analysis
Visitor Tracking Reports
Sub-Domain Stats
Access to Raw Log Files
Advanced Web Stats (AWStats)
E-Commerce Features
OsCommerce
Zen Cart
Magento
Shared SSL Certificate
Agora Cart
Cube Cart
Merchant Account Support
Pay Pal Support
Password Protected Directories
Web Design Features
CMS
FTP Client Support
Instant Blog
Instant Forums
Instant Guest Book
Dreamweaver Support
Price per Month*	$6.00	$11.00	$15.00

*Prices based on 1-year term before the application of coupon/promo codes and introductory/limited-time offer discounts. While you may pay less for the first year of hosting, the prices displayed on this page are the 1-year term renewal rates.

Company Information

WestHost was founded in 1998 as a self-financed venture and its goal has always been to offer the dependable and powerful web hosting for customers throughout the world. After more than ten years the company maintains strong financial growth and profitability while serving global clients.

In 2008 WestHost was acquired by the UK2 Group, a prominent hosting provider that further expanded its global presence through the purchase. The united power of the several hosting firms in the UK2 Group allows WestHost to provide clients with affordable yet exceptional web hosting.

The company has continued as a leader in the hosting business by following its original objective of combining the best technology available with outstanding customer support. The firm’s continued commitment to honesty and ethics has led to content customers and multiple industry awards.

The company’s large subscriber base requires a diverse range of hosting services. WestHost has tailored its offerings to fill these needs through services that are both flexible and scalable. The services available to clients include domain registration, shared, reseller and cloud web hosting, website design, e-commerce tools, dedicated servers, and account solutions for merchants.

WestHost’s offerings represent high value for an affordable price. Hosting packages contain free extra features that numerous competitors charge for as “add-ons.” The company’s US-based support provides prompt, informative answers presented in an easily understandable and friendly way. The firm offers a thirty day money-back guarantee in order to back its claims and give clients a chance to test drive its services.

WestHost is always focused and working towards meeting its clients’ needs. The company plans to continue as a low-cost, comprehensive Web hosting provider, with a dependable infrastructure, secure hosting environment, redundant and reliable connections, and high quality 24/7 client support. Premium hosting services are only be as good their supporting infrastructure. WestHost is meticulous in choosing where client data is hosted – at a Tier-3 center, which offers the security level that customers would expect at major banks and financial companies.

WestHost is headquartered in Providence (near Logan) in Utah, at the center of the beautiful Cache Valley. Utah State University and numerous expanding businesses that depend on high-quality web hosting are located in Logan. The firm proudly provides such hosting services and also helps support the local community. It aids community economic growth by offering programs, including Webucation, to local college and university students.

WestHost Corporate Headquarters 517 W 100 N Suite 225 Providence, UT 84332 800-222-2165 435-755-3433 Fax 435-755-3449 WestHost Website WestHost on Twitter WestHost on Facebook WestHost on Google+ WestHost on LinkedIn

How to Install WordPress

This video tutorial demonstrates the installation of WordPress on a WestHost shared hosting account using cPanel and the Softaculous 1-click applications installer.