HostPapa is an independent, Canadian web host that has been in business for over a decade. Although the company has grown to have offices around the world, the program plan still has something for everyone. That being said, its low speed and in-depth user experience means it does not have the go-to chops with our excellent web hosting providers.
However, it is worth considering, especially with a strong privacy policy, the features of smörgåsbord and a reputable website builder. In this review of HostPapa, we will go over all that and more, discussing our service information after launching the WordPress website with its own less expensive shared program.
That experience was good for the most part, but there were a few shortcomings in the end for HostPapa. Although you get a lot for your money, the price is high too, if you consider HostPapa can do better in the speed department, that is not good.
HostPapa Dashboard
HostPapa client location is confusing. The dashboard of your dashboard shows your paid invoices and recent tickets, but most of the page is dedicated to providing new domain registration. You do not currently have any domains or domains in your home page dashboard.
Hostpapa CPanel
The saving grace of user interaction is cPanel, which, as you can learn from our excellent web hosting with cPanel guide, is our favorite way to manage web hosting. Having said that, it is in a window inside the dashboard, which makes the connector visible in a strange way. For example, useful server information that often fills the right side of cPanel is stuck down.
Hosting Types
As mentioned, the HostPapa website is no easy task. That’s because it offers a long list of services. Despite the appearance, there are many types of hosting, however, it offers only two: shared and VPS. However, there are many programs under each type of hosting, which allow you to customize your hosting package for the platform you are using.
If you want to know what VPS sharing or hosting means, read the overview of our hosting types.
Shared programs, simply called “web hosting,” come in three stages. The differences between the many tiers, are similar to A2 hosting (read our review of A2 Hosting), so we recommend that you check out more HostPapa comparisons for details. In short, however, the top tiers have more features and better performance.
There are also website builder programs. If you have skipped ahead, see the “Features” section to get our thoughts on the website builder. It is free with your shared hosting package, but if you want to take full advantage of the website builder, you will need to upgrade to one of the four HostPapa website builders. Similarly, there are four categories of online stores.
Security
HostPapa has a dedicated “security” section on its website, but you will not need to visit it if you are using a basic website. The three most important safety features we look for are in all systems, which have a solid list of paid upgrades if you want to close hatches.
There’s a lot going on that you won’t see, though. The Apache servers that HostPapa uses are protected by ModSecurity web security program, malicious detection, blocking of the denial of service denial and Patchman scanning. Also, your data is stored in RAID-10 configuration (read our guide on what RAID is) and transferred to inactive carriers.
Unfortunately, default backups are not included in all programs. Only shared Business Pro shared plans come with 1GB of automatic storage, and daily backups. You can take backups by hand – read our guide on how to back up WordPress guide to learn how – but you will need to upgrade to make it happen automatically.
Alternatively, you can add daily backups to one of the default programs. SiteLock, which detects and removes malware on your website, as well as Protection Power, which does the same thing while integrating features such as CDN and malware removal assistance, are also available.
Speed and Uptime
We test website speed using the Pingdom Speed Test and Load Impact. Those tools allow us to test individual user information, as well as how the website will work under load. Our test is done with a free version of WordPress in a less expensive system. That way, we can minimize the variables involved during website loading.
Also, we do nothing on the site other than installing WordPress. If temporary storage or congestion continues, the web host has added, not us. Those are the steps any website should take, however. You can learn how to use caching and compression on your site on how to improve the website loading times.
The Pingdom Speed Test yielded smaller results than good. Our website got 90 out of 100, which, although it looks good, is not very good. Keep in mind that our test website has nothing in it, so a little difference of points makes a difference. In this case, there is a lack of continuous storage, which is important in improving website loading times.
The Final Verdict
Clunky, long-lasting, and seemingly lost, HostPapa can do much better. The largest web host is available, with an excellent support system, open program offerings and a decent privacy policy. However, the incomprehensible control panel, the website details unlike the high speed leaves a lot to be desired.
If HostPapa were cheaper, it would be a home run, but considering that it will run in the same way as leading web hosts, the standard is different.
What do you think of HostPapa? Are you planning to try it? Let us know in the comments below and, as always, thank you for reading.
