Award Winning Web Hosting from 1&1
“It’s our goal to be the first in the market to bring you innovative products at competitive prices without compromising strength and reliability. We started as pioneers in the web hosting industry and will continue to use innovation and forethought to keep 1&1 moving in this direction.” – Oliver Mauss, 1&1 Internet CEO
With a long and successful history dating back to 1988, 1&1 are responsible for over 18 million individual domains, looking after over 10 million personal and business customers in the process. the company has several headquarters around the world; with U.S. operations ran from the Pennsylvania area. 1&1 considers themselves to be the world’s largest provider of web hosting services; a core product that is complemented by a comprehensive portfolio of Internet related products.
Web Hosting Solutions from 1&1
The primary hosting service available from 1&1 is a shared hosting platform. this is a fairly standard web hosting solution that places each client domain on an individual section of a large server. since the cost of server maintenance is shared between thousands of clients, the cost to individual clients is considerably lower than with a dedicated or VPS solution.
Features of 1&1 Web Hosting
Whether customers need Windows or Linux-based hosting, 1&1 web hosting packages include a comprehensive choice of included and optional features.
- Up to $100 free Google AdWords credit
- Up to $100 free Yahoo! and Bing credit
- Up to $50 free Facebook advertising credit
- Disk storage space between 50GB and unlimited (depending on package)
- Unlimited bandwidth
- Free domain name with premium packages
- Between 100 and unlimited subdomains
- IMAP and POP3 email supported
- 2GB email storage included per account
- Customers login to a proprietary control panel (as opposed to cpanel)
- 1&1 Click and Build Applications including WordPress, Drupal and more (65 in total)
- Free website builder
- Downloadable green credentials logo
- Optional GeoTrust Dedicated SSL certificate
- Dual hosting as standard on all packages
- Optional Simple SEO
- Free site analytics in premium packages
- Daily server backups
- Password protected directories
- Site promotion with search engine submission
Types of Hosting Packages
- Standard Web Hosting for Personal and Business Use
Whether a personal or business customer, there are a variety of hosting packages available to suit every possible purpose.
- 1&1 Starter: the perfect package for those just starting out or who just need the basics.
- 1&1 Unlimited: A middle of the road option for those who require more functionality than is provided with the starter package but do not need all the features that come with the business package.
- 1&1 Business: A fully loaded solution that is most suited to larger businesses.
Regardless of the package chosen, 1&1 accepts monthly payments as opposed to requiring an upfront annual fee. Monthly subscription fees are payable at the start of each month and must be settled by a valid credit/debit card or via PayPal.
1&1 does not currently offer any form of reseller hosting packages.
What Customers say about 1&1
The following testimonial is one of several that feature on the 1and1.com site:
“the 1&1 site is very easy to use and their customer service are always helpful. Everyone has told us that the website looks good, and is very easy to use.” – Zachary Hall, the Kitchen Door Store
Despite winning the ‘Web Hosting Provider of the Year’ award for 2011 from start Your Business magazine, customer reviews found elsewhere on the Internet do not tend to be all that favorable. Admittedly, there is a tendency for customers to be more eager to post a review when they are unsatisfied with a service, but it is fair to say that there are a considerable amount of negative reviews about 1&1. Complaints tend to be more prevalent in the U.S. as opposed to the U.K and appear to be largely focused on the customer service rather than the product itself. It’s definitely something that customers who might need a bit of hand holding should keep in mind when choosing a web hosting provider.
Despite the negative reviews centered about 1&1 customer service, the company itself promises:
- 24/7 Phone & Email Support
- Internal 1&1 Support Forum
- 90-Day Money Back Guarantee
Coupons and Discounts Available
1&1 offers a respectable solution that starts at a particularly low price point without taking any available discount into account. Customers searching for a 1&1 coupon on the Internet will generally find that the coupon code will often relate to discounted domain names as opposed to web hosting. that said, the company is fairly generous with its hosting packages and regularly runs a special offer whereby customers who opt for the Unlimited and Business packages can get their web hosting half price for the first 12 months.
Like many web hosting companies, 1&1 consider that their technology sets them apart from their competitors. 1&1 boasts over 70,000 professional quality web servers that, when combined with the performance of Cisco and Foundry routers, provide a 99.9% uptime guarantee to customers. the infrastructure is housed in state-of-the-art and incredibly secure data centers in the U.S. and Europe. perhaps more importantly, 1and1.com is the only web hosting company to offer dual hosting as standard on all packages.
Upon review, 1&1 appears to have an excellent suite of products available at a price point that is both realistic and affordable. Admittedly there are some negative reviews about the customer service, but such reviews can usually be found about any web hosting company. 1&1 seems to be a serious contender for a quality web hosting solution.
