Liquid Web Hosting Review (2023)

If you run a high-traffic website, you’re going to need a web host that offers ample resources in their price plans.

Liquid Web is a reliable option that’s well worth considering due to its high-availability hosting solutions.

I’ve worked for over a decade as a web designer and tech expert. I’ve had ample experience with most major web hosts on the market, and I love helping people discover the right fit for them.

Choosing the wrong web host can create overwhelming challenges like difficulties switching providers, a sore wallet, and frequent site downtime.

Better to avoid that altogether by doing research. As such, here’s the Tweak Your Biz 2023-updated Liquid Web review.

What is Liquid Web?

Liquid Web is a major web hosting company that specializes in managed hosting plans for growing businesses, large enterprises, and agencies.

They’re known for the robust server resources on their dedicated hosting plans, their value-packed VPS options, and their customizable options.

They’re also known for not offering any shared hosting plans — why is that?

Liquid Web is “devoted to web and cloud professionals.”

This isn’t to say that shared hosting doesn’t belong in this category, but a quick look at Liquid Web’s plans and pricing lets you know that they’re playing the big leagues.

If you’re running a site that far outweighs the resources of shared hosting plans, you may find this a relief.

By not offering shared web hosting features, Liquid Web can better devote attention and top-tier craftsmanship to their large-scale hosting.

But what do these options entail?

With managed hosting, your business’ servers are securely housed at a web host’s data center.

But Liquid Web takes it one step further than other hosting services; they can manage all aspects of your site including administrative duties and technical support no matter how complex or demanding.

Liquid Web is currently staffed by over 250 administrators, tech experts, and engineers.

Their team is dedicated to constantly building the most advanced, fastest, and most reliable web hosting service to fuel your website.

They have customers in over 150 locations, four server data centers, and 500k sites under their management.

They currently host some big-name brands like Eddie Bauer and Porsche.

All this is to say, yes — Liquid Web is pricier and more limited that other major hosting providers like HostGator and Bluehost.

However, they fill a particular gap in the market for big-name businesses and enterprises.

If you’re looking for extra-robust hosting support, Liquid Web likely offers everything you need and more.

Liquid Web General Review

At TYB, our team is constantly testing and researching web hosting services as they evolve and update.

As such, this review of Liquid Web is tailored for the current year — 2023 — replete with extensive research.

This research was conducted by me and a handful of other enthusiasts on the TYB team and included methods such as:

• Independent lab testing
• Personal experience
• Demo engagement
• Third-party review research

You can rest assured that we’ve thoroughly examined Liquid Web before putting together this written review.

Without further ado, here’s a quick overview of some major highlights and pitfalls of Liquid Web.

From there, we’ll get into details about the major features that Liquid Web offers.

Overall Performance — 8.5/10

• Passed stress testing in most third-party reviews
• Excellent uptime
• Average speed
• Reliable tech support
• Relatively easy-to-use
• Tons of add-on options to enhance site performance

Speed — 7.5/10

• Best speed results in the United States as that’s where their major data centers are
• Around 2 seconds average loading time
• Optimizations available for enhancing speed

Uptime — 10/10

• 100% uptime during our testing and according to most third-party reviews
• Service level agreement guaranteeing great uptime or 10x back downtime

Customer Service — 8/10

• 24/7/365 availability over phone, live chat, or tickets
• Huge knowledge base available on Liquid Web website
• Near-instantaneous response over web chat + compensation for long waiting times
• Not as much actionable help as you’d expect from a managed hosting service

Ease of Use — 8/10

• Plans are fully managed with Interworx, cPanel, or Plesk control panel
• Liquid Web builds server for you
• Simple, albeit outdated interface for account management
• Domains require separate purchase and installation unless they’re from Liquid Web

Variety of Hosting Options

• Dedicated server hosting
• VPS hosting/managed VPS hosting
• Cloud hosting
• Reseller hosting
• Managed WordPress

Pros

• Powerful server specs
• Excellent customer service
• Highly reliable uptime
• Great hosting plans for larger companies
• Robust features in packages
• 30-day money-back guarantees on many plans

Cons

• No shared hosting plans
• Pricier than other web hosts

Liquid Web Hosting Review

Dedicated Hosting

Dedicated Hosting Features

• Linux or Windows operating systems
• Data centers in Michigan, Arizona, or Amsterdam
• At least 16 GB RAM in any package
• At least 5 TB bandwidth in any package
• At least 259 GB Acronis Cyber Backups in any plan
• Custom solutions
• Bundle plans with add-ons like ServerSecurePlus and Interworx
• Standard DDoS Protection
• CDN from Cloudflare
• Backup drive
• Advanced security with ServerSecure
• cPanel, Interworx, or Plesk
• Remote server management with IPMI
• Dedicated IP address
• SSD storage
• Guaranteed uptime or 10x downtime credit

SSL Included & Activated?

SSL is included for free by Let’s Encrypt.

Once the server is built, the team at Liquid Web can set up your SSL via the following:

• Chat
• Ticket
• Phone

Our Take

Liquid Web prides itself on offering the ultimate hosting experience for its customers—dedicated servers.

Dedicated servers give your website exclusive access to a server’s entire resources, making it so much more powerful than traditional shared hosting services.

This also explains Liquid Web’s higher-than-average prices, particularly if you’re comparing it to the shared hosting of other web hosting platforms.

If you require the resources offered in a dedicated server plan, you likely have the budget.

At Tweak Your Biz, we believe Liquid Web is one of the best dedicated server hosting offerings because of its high-security options and top-notch servers.

When you pay the premium prices at Liquid Web, you’re going to be receiving a premium, reliable product.

Cloud Hosting

Cloud Hosting Plan Features

• At least 16 GB RAM in any plan
• At least 5 TB bandwidth in any plan
• Standard and High-Performance options
• Managed web hosting only
• Linux or Windows compatibility
• DDoS attack protection
• Cloudflare CDN
• Advanced security
• Free data transfers
• Unlimited sites
• cPanel or Plesk
• Dedicated IP
• Root access
• 100% guaranteed power and uptime assurance
• Fully managed support

SSL Included & Activated?

SSL is included and can be activated via a request sent to Liquid Web.

Our Take

If you’re looking for robust cloud hosting that meets your needs, look no further than Liquid Web.

Featuring CentOS 7 Linux or Windows operating systems and ample flexibility to expand server resources as needed, it’s an ideal choice for any large business looking for managed web hosting.

Prices begin at $149 per month (15GB of RAM, 452GB of storage, 5TB monthly data) with the option to scale up depending on desired configuration – up to more than $1,100 per month should you require such a setup.

Liquid Web’s cloud hosting proved to be highly speedy. We also experienced zero downtime during our tests.

With Liquid Web cloud hosting, you’ll receive managed hosting with the processing power of a traditional dedicated server.

This is an excellent alternative option if you foresee needing extra scalability — cloud hosting’s instant provisioning should make plan switches seamless.

VPS Hosting

Linux VPS Hosting Pricing:

Windows VPS Hosting Pricing:

VPS Hosting Features

• Linux or Windows VPS options
• Value bundle options
• Prorated price plans
• 100% uptime
• 24/7/365 support
• Default backups
• Fast SSD
• At least 4 GB RAM in any plan
• Free data transfers
• Free InterWorx sites
• Plesk or cPanel
• Cloudflare CDN
• Integrated firewall
• DDoS Attack protection
• Scalability with minimal downtime
• Managed VPS hosting features

SSL Included & Activated?

SSL is included with Liquid Web VPS hosting but requires activation via customer support.

Our Take

Liquid Web offers arguably the best VPS hosting plans on the market.

They include managed web hosting features like default backups and uptime scanning.

However, what we’re most impressed by are Liquid Web’s affordable prices when it comes to VPS.

Their RAM totals and included storage are generous, making these plans highly value-packed and worth the price tag.

Liquid Web also charges according to the number of days per month that you use their VPS hosting, rather than a flat rate. This can be super helpful for saving money if applicable.

VPS hosting offers more robust and consistent system resources than shared hosting, making it the ideal solution for organizations with large-scale operations.

Liquid Web is a great VPS option because they truly strive for optimization for each customer. You can see this with their customizable plans and a multitude of server options.

Managed Hosting (eCommerce)

Managed WooCommerce Hosting Features

• Thousands of WooCommerce storefront themes available
• Beaver Builder page builder included
• Mobile responsive storefronts
• Additional plugins included for free, such as abandoned cart and page builders
• Custom fields for segmenting products and content
• Customizable product catalogs
• Staff and team accounts
• Store management interface
• Optimized SEO capabilities via WordPress
• Up to 30 stores, depending on the plan
• White-glove migration

SSL Included & Activated?

SSL is included with all of Liquid Web’s managed WordPress and managed WooCommerce plans.

These certificates require activation after purchase.

Our Take

Liquid Web’s managed WooCommerce plans are any store owner’s dream, from small businesses to large enterprises.

These plans are packed with value. It’s hard to believe that these low priced plans include all of the following:

• A CMS
• A page builder
• A multitude of plugins

There’s also massive variety in their pricing with budget solutions for any small business.

These managed WooCommerce plans won’t only set you up with an amazing-looking storefront — they also come with the perks of Liquid Web’s hosting.

These perks include stellar uptime, fast speeds thanks to their ample SSD storage, and access to a responsive support team.

Alternatives to Liquid Web

Hostinger

Hostinger and Liquid Web are both renowned web hosts that offer exceptional services to potentially vastly different users.

With the difference in the market being the case, the decision boils down to what you require from your service provider.

Hostinger’s features make it a great option for any of the following:

• SMEs
• Beginners
• Professionals

They offer shared hosting, cloud hosting, and WordPress hosting for small-to-medium sites.

If you’re after more than just basic capabilities, Liquid Web is likely better suited with its hosting features for developers, larger organizations, and even enterprises.

As you might’ve guessed, Hostinger is less expensive than Liquid Web. However, their plans offer larger amounts of storage, bandwidth, and security, as they’re geared for major sites.

The main difference between Liquid Web and Hostinger is that Liquid Web offers fully-managed hosting plans, while Hostinger’s are simple-to-use and unmanaged.

Ultimately, either site could be the right fit, depending on your specific needs.

A2 Hosting

Liquid Web offers more intensive and robust hosting plans than A2 Hosting.

Some of these features include higher uptime, full management for the entire server stack, and near-instant tech support.

A2 Hosting offers the advantages of shared hosting plans are faster speeds than Liquid Web — however, the latter isn’t a huge difference.

Even though A2 made our list for fastest web hosting and Liquid Web didn’t, Liquid Web offers premium add-ons to help enhance site speed.

Ultimately, the decision between the two will depend on your needs.

But take it from us — if you run a large-scale website, opt for Liquid Web.

HostGator

HostGator is a unique player in the web hosting industry.

The company offers both regular hosting options like shared and WordPress hosting, as well as “Pro Hosting” features — dedicated, VPS, and reseller.

HostGator’s plans are more affordable, more diverse, and widely well-respected.

However, when it comes to dedicated and VPS hosting… you’ll get what you pay for.

This is why we recommend Liquid Web at the end of the day.

Liquid Web’s 100 uptime guarantee, feature-packed plans, enhanced security, and managed features make it the clear winner, even against this popular hosting provider.

However, if you run a small site and are looking for affordable hosting, you can’t go wrong with HostGator.

if this is the case, check our comprehensive list of the best cheap web hosting of 2023.

The Bottom Line

If you run a large-scale website, you need a large-scale hosting provider.

We’d have to recommend Liquid Web — their services are built for people and businesses in your situation.

They simply don’t disappoint.

At the end of the day, you know what’s right for your business.

Make sure to conduct extensive research before jumping the gun on a hosting provider!

Do you have any questions about Liquid Web or hosting in general? Let us know in the comments below!

Frequently Asked Questions