Determining your site’s needs should be an essential and early step during the process of choosing a web host.
If you’re looking for affordability and long-term commitment, iPage could be the hosting service for you.
During my last decade as a web designer and tech enthusiast, I’ve had the opportunity to work with many of the top web hosts on the market as they’ve evolved.
With this background knowledge and dedicated research from the experts on the TYB Team, I’ve crafted this iPage review to help you familiarize yourself with the company and its services.
What is iPage Hosting?
Founded in 1998, iPage has veteran status in the web hosting industry.
Their platform hosts over 1 million sites from their two data centers.
They’re known for their highly-affordable pricing, replete with a free domain name, unlimited email, and a 30-day money-back guarantee.
iPage also boasts unmetered bandwidth and desk space, but it’s important to remember these features won’t exist on all web hosting plans.
Shared hosting, for example, comes inherently with limited resources due to its nature on a single server.
They promise reliability in their web hosting through a constantly-monitored data center and “regular backups,” though we’re not sure exactly how often.
The types of web hosting available at iPage include shared hosting, WordPress hosting — no VPS hosting, dedicated server hosting, or cloud hosting.
The lack of VPS hosting is a recent development. My support agent didn’t provide me with details on the situation.
However, she did recommend Bluehost — iPage’s sister site — as an alternative.
A quick note: if you aren’t clear on the different types of hosting, check out this guide. That way, you can gear your research toward the best plan type for you.
All that aside, iPage has become increasingly well-known in the last few years.
Recently, they’ve added a drag-and-drop website builder, eCommerce functionality, and a unique vDeck control panel to their rotation of web hosting tools.
Having a site builder within your web hosting service is a major plus for individuals and companies seeking efficiency.
With that additional feature, iPage comes closer to being an all-in-one resource for web development tools.
To conduct this review, I’m going to first cover a general look at iPage and its main features.
From there, I’ll explore their shared hosting and WordPress hosting plans, then their unique security feature, and finally, their site builder and free domain registrar.
Overall, iPage is an excellent option for owners of small sites who are looking for budget-friendly web hosting.
However, if you’re running an enterprise-level site, or anticipate high traffic, iPage might not offer all of the features to meet your site needs.
iPage General Review
All of the tech software that we review here at TYB has been thoroughly researched and tested by our team.
Some of these methods include:
- Independent lab testing
- Personal use/experience
- Third-party review research
- Company history research
- Demos and free trials
Now, let’s get into some quick ranking for iPage.
This feedback is based primarily on their shared hosting plans, though we also reviewed WordPress hosting.
Keep in mind, also, that these rankings take the full spectrum of iPage’s offerings into account.
To put it simply, iPage is a budget-friendly web hosting company, so it’s expected that their features may not be as advanced as options like Kinsta.
As such, we compared the service to other hosting providers within their price range for a more realistic rating system.
Overall Performance — 8/10
- Great value & affordability for price plans
- Highly beginner-friendly
- Free domain name registration (1 year) and email
- Site builder included
- Efficient setup
- No VPS hosting
Speed — 7/10
- Less database locations than other web hosting companies
- Average loading times
Uptime — 7/10
- 99.8% uptime — less than average, but this shouldn’t be a problem for low-traffic sites
Security — 9/10
- Full security suite
- Constant network monitoring and malware scans
- Free SSL included
Customer Service — 7/10
- Account required to start a chat, even for basic questions
- iPage promises to answer calls in two minutes or less, but our experience with customer service was on the slow side
- 24/7/365 customer support over phone or email
Ease of Use — 10/10
- Efficient setup — 6 minutes or less
- Beginner-friendly and optimized site-building experience
- Intuitive interface
- Designed to build simple sites
- 1-click installs for major apps
- On-site accessibility options
Variety of Hosting Options
Pros
- Frequent discounts
- Only one plan offering: maximum simplicity
- Scalability
- iPage offers $200 of marketing credits for promoting the creation of your site
- eCommerce options
- Generous features included in price plan
- Free domain name
Cons
- Limited subscription options: no month-to-month billing, only annual subscriptions
- Only one plan option: potentially limiting features
- Only Linux-based servers
- Limited types of web hosting offered — no VPS hosting or dedicated web hosting
- No free site transfers
iPage Web Hosting Review
iPage offers a wide variety of features and flexibility in its affordable price plan. Some of our favorites include the following:
- Unlimited sites
- Free domain, SSL, standard email, and site builder
- Scalable storage and bandwidth
- Unlimited MySQL databases
- Site builder included
- 1-click WordPress install
- Variety of CMS options
- Online store features such as PayPal integration
- Autoresponders for email
Core Features:
Building Tools:
Pricing
iPage only offers one price plan at the moment: the Go Plan.
It’s offered at different prices depending on the length of your commitment.
SSL Included & Activated?
There’s a free SSL certificate included upon purchase, but it required activation after purchase.
iPage offers an extensive guide on SSL activation in their online resource directory.
Our Take
For small businesses looking to create a site to advertise their products, iPage is a great option.
Although the features in this plan are limited compared to that of a pricier web host, given the highly affordable price tag, there’s immense value in these plans.
I’d recommend iPage under these specific circumstances. If you’re running a larger website or planning on seriously upscaling, it might not be the best option for you.
Even if they do claim to offer unlimited disk space and bandwidth, you’re inevitably going to hit a wall when scaling up on a shared hosting plan.
Plus, they’re not known for high speeds, which are essential for good conversion rates.
All this to say, know your needs before you purchase a web host. iPage offers stellar features depending on your needs.
Is it my favorite web host I’ve ever used? Of course not, considering their less-than-average uptime and speed.
Do I think they play a valuable role in the web hosting market? Absolutely.
WordPress Hosting
WordPress Hosting Plan Features
- Built-in site builder with pre-installed themes and plugins
- SiteLock security bundle on Essential plan
- Better speeds than shared hosting plan
- Specially-trained WordPress expert support team
- Free SSL certificate
- Free domain for one year
- Unlimited storage
- Unlimited bandwidth
Pricing
Like their shared hosting plan, iPage offers multiple price tiers depending on the amount of time you can commit to their hosting package.
WP Starter:
WP Essential:
SSL Included & Activated?
SSL is included but must be activated after purchase.
Our Take
I’d recommend iPage’s shared hosting plan before their WordPress hosting plan because of the affordability.
Their WP Hosting plan is a bit too pricey for their average loading times and uptime.
Consider other web hosting services that specialize in WordPress, such as WPEngine.
iPage Security Review
Sitelock
Sitelock is iPage’s premium security app that works on three price plans.
Essentials ($3.99/month, billed annually) is the entry-level option and features daily malware scans, blacklist monitoring, plus automated bot attack blocking.
Upgrade to Prevent ($14.99/month) for added database scanning and faster response times on all of your security needs.
Or, opt for the highest tier – Prevent Plus (24.99/month) — which includes continuous malware scans as well as PCI compliance scanning.
Features
Pricing
Our Take
SiteLock will keep your site extra protected from malware and other potential attackers.
It’ll also help prevent blacklisting, which can be extremely useful for
At TYB, we consider SiteLock to be a rock-solid product worth the small price point. We’d recommend it to anyone concerned with site safety.
iPage Website Builder Review
How it Works
iPage’s site builder is fairly trailblazing in its AI-powered functionality.
To use the builder, all you have to do is answer a few questions that an AI bot will pose for you.
From there, the site builder will create an initial site for you to tweak.
You can use it to create up to six free pages on your site, as well as choose from an image library.
If you need more pages for your site, opt for a paid plan for unlimited creation and advanced analytics.
This is also where you’ll discover eCommerce functions in your web hosting service. use the website builder to create your own storefront.
Website Builder Plans and Pricing
Our Take
This quality website builder is a generous addition to iPage’s web hosting plans.
It’s easy to use and comes with a pretty extensive image library to help you build a customized site.
It contributes largely to our overall high rating of iPage. We’d definitely recommend it if you’re looking for a customizable site with a simple interface.
iPage Domain Registrar Review
Starting Prices & Promotions
Ease of Use
iPage’s domain registrar is extremely easy to use.
Simply search for your desired domain name, and the site will inform you of its availability and price.
You don’t even need an iPage hosting account to explore their domain services.
Privacy
iPage domains come with Domain Privacy + Protection to secure your personal information and keep your website protected.
Our Take
iPage’s domain name registration didn’t blow our minds, but it also didn’t disappoint.
The domains are priced fairly and accessibly. We wouldn’t recommend outsourcing domain registration if you’re using iPage.
Alternatives to iPage Hosting Service
Hostinger
Both Hostinger and iPage are case studies for affordable web hosting without skimped-on features.
Of the two, I’d probably recommend Hostinger more.
Back when iPage offered VPS hosting, this may have not been the case. But now, its features are just a bit more limited.
Plus, Hostinger tops iPage when it comes to uptime and speed.
A2 Hosting
I’d rate both A2 Hosting and iPage high on the value scale, but at the end of the day, A2 offers faster speeds and feature-laden packages.
However, iPage is probably the better beginner package.
If you’re looking for simplicity on a small site, save money and time by opting for iPage.
With A2, however, you can scale up and switch between hosting types with ease.
Bluehost
Bluehost and iPage are hard to compare because they’re sister sites.
iPage is smaller and more beginner-friendly, while Bluehost offers advanced features.
The two work beautifully together. Bluehost covers all of the bases that iPage lacks, but iPage caters to the demographic who might be overwhelmed by Bluehost’s wealth of options.
Wrap Up!
iPage is an affordable hosting provider with great value for its limited packages.
It’s a great option for beginner website owners who want to stay away from overwhelming and uber-complicated web hosts.
If you’re looking for extra-fast load times and maximum bandwidth, look for a hosting provider that offers dedicated hosting, cloud hosting, or VPS hosting instead.
Do you think you’ll try out iPage? Let us know in the comments below!
Frequently Asked Questions
iPage is a great hosting company for small-scale sites with owners who are on a budget.
iPage has a stellar built-in AI website builder.
iPage offers average-level solutions for WordPress. We’d recommend WPEngine or Kinsta, which are both web hosts that are tailored to WordPress hosting.
iPage has a domain registration service that’s extremely easy to use.
iPage is owned by Endurance International Group.
