NetFirms is an old brand in the hosting industry, which is dedicated in web hosting, domain registration and e-commerce services. This NetFirms review focuses on NetFirms shared web hosting services, in terms of hosting plans, details of each plan and hosting performance. The in-depth review helps webmasters understand whether this web host is great for hosting a business site.
An Overview of Each Shared Web Hosting Plan
Having been in this field over 15 years (founded in 1998), this company has served millions of websites worldwide. NetFrims develops three shared web hosting solutions for websites that are created for different purposes.
The Plus Plan – Start from $3.49/mo to $4.95/mo. The plan is made for individuals who wish to create a personal site or small blog. It is much more affordable than other solutions. Also, the Plus Plan is ideal for some small businesses with limited budget.
The Advantage Plan – Start from $7.99/mo to $9.99/mo. It is most popular shared web hosting solution of NetFirms. This package is great for some small and medium companies that intend to develop their businesses online.
The Business Plan – Start from $10.99/mo to $14.99/mo. This is the most expensive plan of NetFirms. The Business Plan is great for business websites, especially for those having a higher demand of hosting flexibility.
Price and Freebies of Each Plan
NetFirms allows customers to purchase a solution for 1 year, 2 years or 3 years. The longer billing cycles come with more benefits. Besides that, each hosting solution includes a certain number of free domains. That saves customers a sum of money. The detailed price information of each plan is shown in the following table.
Billing Cycle
The Plus Plan
The Advantage Plan
The Business Plan
1-Year
$4.95/mo
$9.99/mo
$14.99/mo
2-Year
$4.45/mo
$8.99/mo
$12.99/mo
3-Year
$3.49/mo
$7.99/mo
$12.99/mo
Money Back Guarantee
30 Days
30 Days
30 Days
Free Advertising Credits
$175
$175
$175
Money Back Guarantee – NetFirms gives each customer the chance to try out the web hosting services. If the service is not satisfactory, customers have the right to ask for a refund within the first 30 days. The refund policy is not available for the free domain name. Note that, the money back guarantee is only valid for credit card payment.
Free Advertising Credits – All solutions include $175 free advertising credits in total. That includes $25 Yahoo!/Bing Search credits, $50 yellowpages.com credits and $100 Bonus Google AdWords.
Billing Cycle – There is no monthly billing cycle available for NetFirms customer. In other words, webmasters have to subscribe the service for at least 1 year. It is not an optimal choice for some beginners who just want to try out NetFirms web hosting services.
What’s in the Package?
NetFirms guarantees rich resources allocation to each website. Some basic resources, like disk space, bandwidth and email addresses, are allocated to customers without limitation. Besides the basic features, NetFirms also enables latest version of databases, Linux features and email features for each plan.
Feature
The Plus Plan
The Advantage Plan
The Business Plan
Disk Space
Unlimited
Unlimited
Unlimited
Bandwidth
Scalable
Scalable
Scalable
Email Accounts
Unlimited
Unlimited
Unlimited
Control Panel
vDeck
vDeck
vDeck
MySQL5
3
200
Unlimited
POP3/SMTP
phpMyAdmin
PHP5
Perl
Python
Ruby on Rails
Dedicated SSL
Control Panel – Each solution is integrated with vDeck control panel. The web-based file manager helps users create and manage all files in an easy manner. Also, this easy-to-use control panel is available for the management of domains, emails and hosting accounts.
Security – NetFirms pays close attention to website security. Each website is supported with Password Protected service, .htaccess, shared SSL and Secure FTP access. The Business Plan includes dedicated SSL certificates.
Create Website for Multiple Purposes – NetFirms allows customers to create websites for multiple purposes, like ecommerce sites, blogs, businesses sites, forums, wiki sites etc. Each plan includes a free 1-click installer that is available for the installation of multiple apps, like WordPress, Textpattern, osCommerce, bbPress, MediaWiki, etc.
How About NetFirms Support Service?
NetFirms offers 24/7 email support and phone support. The support team is responsible for solving any requests from customers. As for the questions for sales or anything puzzled, webmasters are encouraged to contact the support staff via live chat. That is a great method to get an answer immediately.
In addition, some other support methods bring much convenience to webmasters.
Instant Setup – NetFirms support team helps users set up their accounts without charging for extra fees. The account will be set up instantly.
Video Tutorials – Multiple video tutorials teach the way to manage website, set up account or use control panel in a vivid way.
Online Knowledgebase – That includes categories of guides, in terms of account, email, scripting, WordPress, site building, and so on. Some featured tutorials are also available here.
User Guides – This is where to search some beginner’s guides for email configuration, domain name management, account management, website design and web hosting introduction.
Customers who purchase the Business Plan can enjoy premium customer support. The premium support team is comprised of a group of agents who are more experienced than those of the general support team, which provides customers with fastest resolutions. Customers purchasing the other web hosting solutions need to pay an extra $24.95/mo for the premium support.
Review on Uptime and Speed
NetFirms is dedicated in green web hosting and supports all data centers with 100% wind energy. The Tier 1 data centers come with solid technologies, including independent climate controls, redundant power generators, video surveillance and security access reports. Those guarantee redundant power supply and high security level.
The uptime report indicates that this company fails to make good on the promise of 99.9% uptime. Honestly, NetFirms is far inferior to some reliable hosting providers that achieve perfect uptime, like BlueHost.
Is NetFirms a Great Web Host for Business Websites?
NetFirms develops three web hosting solutions for websites in different levels, which come with a wide range of price and features. This company allocates sufficient resources to each website. However, the long-term billing term is not suitable for webmasters who prefer to short subscription.
The following companies offer premium hosting produces and enable both long and short billing terms. All the web hosting plans utilize cPanel that is much more user-friendly than vDeck. Also, those companies enable more benefits for customers.
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