iPage™ receives top reviews on most hosting sites, but I recommend you read my entire review right now. In fact, please do not leave this page, as there are several things you need to know that other sites don’t tell you.
Plus, you’ll even learn cool things about web hosting.
In this iPage review, I tested my own account, called them on the phone and researched credible resources to help you make your own decision.
Why iPage Is Number One
iPage™ hosting has been in business since 1998 – focusing on putting together the perfect hosting plan for any and all small/medium-sized websites.
Their hosting is an affordable, wise choice for new bloggers and online entrepreneurs.
Are They Reliable?
This company has been in business over 10 years and has accumulated a team of expert staff. They now host over 1 million websites worldwide.
If you’re concerned about downtime affecting the success of your website, then you’d be happy to know that iPage offers a 99% up-time guarantee on all servers.
iPage utilizes Dell hosting servers and employs staff to monitor them 24/7 and ensure that any problems are fixed before customers are affected. I wrote a program that monitors uptime and they’ve done well in the past few years:
Uptime Data: 99.67% Uptime Based on 106,751
checks since Saturday, October 10th, 2009
Quick Guide To The iPage Essential Plan
They offer one hosting plan: the iPage Essential Plan. I initially thought that one plan couldn’t possibly meet all my needs. I was impressed when I what was included:
- Free domain name for 1 year (renews at $14.95/year)
- Host unlimited domains/websites
- Unlimited hosting space (200,000 file limit. Most big sites never reach that)
- Unlimited data transfer (perfect for everything except video streaming which requires a different bandwidth setup)
- Free online store (take payments, sell your products/services)
- Free blog (1-click install)
- Free advertising credits (Facebook Ads, Google Adwords, and more)
The deal sounded too good to be true and I was skeptical if there were any hidden costs. There was nothing hidden, but you should know that the domain costs $14.95/year after the first year. If you want to transfer it somewhere else, you can easily do so as you own it.
I like how iPage doesn’t try to trap you into their services.
The iPage Essential Plan includes the right features to suit most bloggers and small businesses who want to create website. However, if you were looking for more advanced features, then there are lots of optional add-ons to choose from, including:
- Domain privacy ($8.99 per year)
- SSL certificates (starting at $59.95 per year)
- Voice over IP Services (starting at $8.95 per month)
Their Customized vDeck Website Control Panel Is Easy To Use
The administrator control panel is where you can find everything you need to build, maintain and manage your website. You’re given a log in account immediately when you sign up for an iPage hosting plan, so you don’t need to wait around to begin creating a website.
The website control panel is very intuitive to use and easy to navigate around. Here’s a tutorial iPage uploaded toYouTube, which takes you around the back-end:
I like the layout and display for the administration panel. It’s simple, clean and user friendly.
New Webmasters Love The Drag-and-Drop Website Builder
Designing and building your website is easy with their Drag and Drop Site Builder (included in your hosting plan).
There are lots of templates to choose from and as the name suggests, you simply drag and drop what you want to include on your site.
You can easily change things around, edit pages and delete content in just a click.
If you are more advanced with website building, then the essential plan also includes Content Management System plugins for Joomla!, Drupal, Mambo and e107, just to name a few. Installing and setting up a CMS has never been easier and faster.
Lastly, if you’d like to see a live example, I found some live examples of sites built and hosted with iPage the Customer Websites section.
Setup WordPress Websites In Just 1 Click
During our iPage review process we found that they offer a 1-click installer feature so you can have your WordPress blog up and running in less than two minutes.
The step-by-step guide is simple to follow and hassle-free.
Whether you’re setting up just one blog, or 50 blogs, you’d find the 1-click WordPress installer a very useful tool to maintain, update and upgrade your WordPress sites. Check out our iPage WordPress Setup tutorial to learn more.
You Can Sell Products And Take Credit Card Payments Online
You can create an e-commerce site at anytime with iPage with the free online store builder. Unlike other hosting plans, iPage allows you to choose from popular Shopping Carts such as ShopSite, osCommerce and AgoraCart. These Shopping Carts also make it easy for you to integrate PayPal.
A Shopsite Starter plan is free and included in your existing hosting plan. This plan allows you to have up to 15 products and has an easy-to-use setup wizard with lots of great themes to choose from.
You can easily manage your orders in the backend and select shipping and handling options.
See how simple it is to setup an e-commerce site with iPage.
Customer Support Is Available 24/7 (877-472-4399 or support@ipage-inc.com)
I hated it when I was with my old host, VPS.net and their SANs kept self-destructing, so my site was going down for days, multiple times. All they did was keep saying the problem is fixed… Then the next day it happened again. This is NOT the kind of support I experienced at iPage.
Can you believe that VPS.net, a high level VPS hosting company for serious businesses, doesn’t offer phone support? I can call iPage and get a geeky support person in North America helping me through a solution right away. I rate iPage’s customer support 5/5. That’s amazing for a shared host with so many customers.
If you can’t find what you’re looking for in their comprehensive knowledgebase, then you can easily find an iPage support staff via phone, e-mail or live chat 24/7. I’ve tried the live chat function a couple of times and the longest I had to wait to speak to someone was only 45 seconds.
Most calls get picked up in under 2 minutes and you are helped by a friendly, proactive expert.
You Can Spy On iPage’s Customer Support Below…
I used Skype to record a phone call with iPage support staff. You can listen to the call below and see how a nice tech guy handled my problem.
Can I Get My Money Back If I Need To?
Your hosting plan includes 30-day money back guarantee so you can try it out and see how it fits to your individual needs during this period. If you decide you don’t like it, iPage will send you a full refund.
After the 30 days have passed, you can STILL get a refund for the rest of your prepaid hosting that you have’t used yet.
For example, let’s say you sign up for 1 year and after 8 months you’re not completely happy with the service. iPage will refund the remaining 4 months to your credit card.
My iPage Review Conclusion: Best Web Host 
This company provides very affordable hosting with unlimited space and data transfer. You receive free useful tools to build and maintain your website just the way you want it.
Creating a blog, website or online store is easier with iPage’s 1-click installers and step-by-step instructions.
I am very impressed with their customer service. With over 10 years of experience, their staff are friendly and very helpful.
The money back guarantee means you get a refund if you ever become dissatisfied. Plus, the guarantee on the servers is very assuring, especially if you run an online business.
Overall, I am very pleased with them and I highly recommend this company to host your website. But don’t just rely on my review. See what people say in the comments section below. If you wish to share any feedback or experience you’ve had with iPage, please do share your review below.
Use This 50% Off Discount Link To Sign Up For Just $2.95/month!
Overall Rating: 4.2/5
By: BackRoomBlogger
Date: July 14, 2009
I love that they offer…
I love that they offer WordPress 1-click install. I’m gonna stick with them a long time. They’re inexpensive but not CHEAP if you know what i mean.
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