FatCow Review
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- The Good
- Price
- Excellent uptime
- Daily backup
- The Bad
- Slow response time
- Unlimited hosting is limited
FatCow is one of the few web hosting companies that offers a daily backup for free. Not only do you have peace of mind when hosting with FatCow, but you can also count on their strong uptime. As far as price is concerned, they have excellent introductory offers but their regular prices are higher than the industry standard.
- Price
- WordPress hosting
- $8.49/month
- Shared hosting
- $12.95/month
- VPS hosting
- $19.99/month
- Dedicated server
- $149.99/month
FatCow may have above-average prices when compared to some of their competitors, however, they do have promotional offers frequently, meaning you can lock in a much lower rate before your contract reverts to the regular amount. They also offer price points according to billing cycles. The longer the commitment, the lower the price. Don’t forget that they offer a 30-day money back guarantee so there is no risk.
- Features
- Point and click website building tools
- Online store and selling tools
- Customizable email
- Credits for online advertising
- Cloud storage
- Free domain name
- Unlimited mailboxes
- High storage and bandwidth
- 30-day money back guarantee
Starting off with a free domain name, credits for free advertising and a low introductory price is all good news for website owners no matter the niche. FatCow’s easy-to-use tools make it fun and exciting to build a website, whether it be for a new, local business, a blog or an e-commerce store. Their 30-day money back guarantee allows you to try them risk-free. Not a bad deal.
- Uptime
- 99.88%
- Response Time
- 1,600 ms
FatCow is right up there when competing with other big name companies. However, when it comes to page upload times, this is where FatCow falls short. Consider these numbers for 2017: January saw an average page upload time of 1,745ms, whereas February saw 1,619ms, March saw 1,623ms, April saw 1,710ms and May saw 1,511ms.
- Advanced Features
- PHP 4 & 5 Support
- CGI Directory
- MySQL Databases (unlimited)
- Python
- Script Library
- Joomla
FatCow offers advanced features that are easy to use for those with some experience. Since they offer help 24/7, you can explore these advanced features anytime and reach out for support when needed.
- Support
- 24/7 telephone support (free to U.S. customers)
- Live chat
- User guides
If you live in the United States, you can access FatCow Web Hosting anytime, day or night, via a toll-free number where you can reach billing or technical support. They also have live chat available. From here you can choose which department you need to reach, such as billing, sales or support. You can also access their knowledgeable “User Guides,” which are found on their contact page and discoverable from their footer menu.
FatCow: User Reviews
FatCow: Comments
According to FatCow, they offer “Great Hosting Plans. No Bull.” Taking this approach, FatCow strives to offer its customers an alternative in web hosting by offering a simple, customer-friendly hosting service. FatCow has been around since 1998 and is the perfect match for small to medium-sized businesses that want something easy, fast and high quality when building their website. In other words, no bull.
How Does FatCow Web Hosting Work?
To start hosting with FatCow and building your website, you’ll need to sign up for an account. But first, go ahead and click the “Get Started” button and follow the prompts. If you need a dedicated server or a VPS or WordPress hosting option, you can find those in the drop-down menu from the “Create a Site” tab on the header menu on the home page. Again, choose the plan that fits your budget and follow the prompts. Once you pay and verify your email address, you can begin building your website. Over time, as your website grows, you can advance your hosting options to fit your needs. FatCow is also designed to help your small business grow.
What Makes FatCow Web Hosting Stand Out?
FatCow has been around since 1998 and focuses on small to medium-sized businesses for its customer base. The company that owns FatCow also owns other hosting companies, such as BlueHost and HostGator. What makes FatCow a unique company, however, is that it powered by renewable energy. This is an advantage for those green websites out there looking for the perfect green web hosting partner. They also provide a massive amount of storage and bandwidth, more than most of their competitors.
Common Reviews of FatCow Web Hosting
Of 535 reviews on the website WhoIsHostingThis?, FatCow received three out of five stars on average. The scoring was based on FatCow’s support, features, uptime and value. Overall, FatCow scored well and got rave reviews from most of their customers, especially when it came to customer service and FatCow’s price. One customer, who had tried many different hosting companies, said, “I’ve now hosted over several years with five different hosting companies as I had yet to find a hosting company that cares enough to update continuously.FatCow is my last and final hosting company and YES I would recommend FATCOW to anyone who is looking for an affordable, progressive, up-to-date host.”
Of the negative comments, one in particular seemed to emanate from a misunderstanding about introductory versus regular rates. Another customer complained about getting too many promotional emails from outside sources after choosing FatCow as their hosting company. Some of the negative reviews were posted more than once, which helped to bring down FatCow’s overall score.
Is FatCow Web Hosting for Me?
If you’re looking for a low introductory price and don’t mind a long-term commitment, FatCow is a good choice for a web hosting company. They offer support around the clock and have easy tools to help you build a website. Considering your individual needs, however, will help you narrow down your choice when deciding which hosting company to choose.
- Are you aware of the regular rate versus the introductory rate for FatCow and other web hosting companies?
- Do you want to pay month to month or lock in at a much lower, annual rate?
- What is your monthly or yearly budget for web hosting?
- How many websites do you want to host?
- Are you an international or domestic customer?
- What do you predict will be your needed level of support when using a web hosting company?
- What kind of experience do you want to have with your web hosting company?
- What is most important to you? Price? Uptime? Customer Service?
- Are you a small, medium or large company?
FatCow’s goal, it seems, is to provide you with inexpensive web hosting as well as great customer service; their prices are low and they scored an A+ by the Better Business Bureau. Cheap doesn’t mean unreliable, however, so if you are looking for power and speed to drive your website – along with a renewable energy source – then FatCow is an affordable web hosting company that has a good uptime even if they tend to lag on page load time. However, they don’t make any promises; unlike other hosting companies that will publish the results of uptime on their home page, FatCow seems to let this number remain fluid.
For a beginner or expert, FatCow is a company packed with features, making it simple to design and build websites. If you love free stuff, then you can take advantage of things like free advertising and a free Yellowpages listing. As an environmentally conscious company, FatCow helps you decrease your carbon footprint and give your brand more credibility, especially if your brand has anything to do with being green.
When it comes to customer service, one reviewer described FatCow’s customer service as “old-fashioned.” If we take that statement to heart, it means FatCow offers excellent customer service in a friendly and polite manner while a fair price and a quality product.
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