Looking for the best web hosting provider? You will agree with us that there are many options out there. So many that you’d think they pop up each day. Of course, that is not the case, but you certainly get the picture.
Only a few under-the-radar hosting providers manage to stand out in this sea dominated by big names. Despite being relatively silent, A2 Hosting does catch the eye. The provider offers several useful features, including fast loading speeds and responsive customer support.
A2 Hosting
A2 Hosting has been around for close to 2 decades, having been founded back in 2001 by Bryan Muthig. The company is independently owned and based in Michigan. Bryan worked as a UNIX systems administrator prior to that, and it’s his experience that perhaps helped the company grow.
The company features in almost all top 10 rankings of hosting providers today. It is not hard to see why when you take an in-depth look at A2 hosting.
Below are the strengths and cautions of the hosting provider.
Pros of A2 Hosting
Fast loading speeds
Site speed and performance are easily A2 Hosting’s strong suit. It doesn’t matter what hosting plan you are on, fast loading speed is guaranteed. A2 makes use of fast servers that offer your Turbo cache and OpCache resources to your account. The servers have less strain regardless of the hosting plan you’re subscribed to.
Multiple data centers
A2 Hosting has data centers across the world i.e. in Asia (Singapore), Europe (Amsterdam), and USA (Michigan). The free Cloudflare CDN service also helps choose the fastest route to your site’s visitors.
Excellent uptime
Not only does A2 Hosting promise an average uptime of 99.9%, but it also lives up to its claim. You don’t have to worry about your site being offline even when you are on the most basic shared plan.
Scalability
Scalability is an essential factor for any site-owner projecting growth of their site. A2 Hosting caters to your growth needs. You can start with the shared hosting plan before moving to the VPS or even a dedicated plan when your traffic grows.
Guaranteed security & responsive customer support
A2 hosting has several security measures to ensure your site’s data is always secure. If your website deals with payments or menus that require signing up with personal credentials, you can rest easy knowing all that information is protected.
If your site is hacked, the support team will be readily available to fix any security issues. The customer service at A2 is excellent and highly-rated. You can get in touch with them in case you experience any problems.
Cons of Using A2 Hosting
Migration fees
A2 hosting charges you some miscellaneous fees when you switch data centres or when you downgrade to a lower plan. The same applies when you migrate from a provider that didn’t use cPanel.
High renewal charges
Like many hosting providers, A2 Hosting has a very high renewal rate compared to the signing up fee. Hosting providers, including A2, tend to set a lower fee when you sign up to a plan for the first time. Once you have signed up, they increase the renewal fee.
Navigation issues
You’ll probably notice the crowded homepage and other pages as well when you visit the company’s website. Navigating through the site, especially when you want to sign up, can be challenging.
Verdict
A2 Hosting is quite good in that it has something for everything, but the platform is especially excellent for hosting WordPress sites. It is also perfect for new bloggers, and the scalability provided ensures you can scale up as your site grows.
