Just Host is a relatively young webhost that has had my attention for a while now. At launch, the company immediately set itself apart with an economy-oriented hosting package that was cheaper and more plentiful than almost any other on the market was. That was the good news. The bad news is that the initial reaction to them was mixed and passionate at both ends. To me, that was an indication of a company that meant well but had stumbled out of the gates.
So I bided my time, kept an eye on Just Host and then finally decided to review them when it had all settled down. It didn’t take as long as I would have expected, and by the time I returned, Just Host had made remarkable strides with consumer perception. The passion among existing clients was still there, but the fiery critics were all gone. Just Host looked to have finally reached its potential, and they were offering a super attractive hosting package that I couldn’t wait to try.
Value for Money
Just Host’s basic plan, the one I experienced, is $3.45 per month. That price includes a free domain, and there are no setup costs or hidden fees, but it does require a 48-month commitment. At a 12-month commitment, the price rises to $5.95. It is $6.95 on a 6-month basis, and $7.95 on a monthly basis. Obviously, the value is only there at twelve months or more. Fortunately, Just Host has an anytime money-back guarantee, which we took advantage for the purpose of this review.
In addition to the free domain and basic service, the plan includes both stellar customer support and 99.9% uptime, both of which we’ll talk about more in the coming sections. It includes unlimited storage and unlimited transfer, so there’s no tricky language at work here. It also includes unlimited domain hosting, unlimited email accounts and unlimited MySQL databases. Finally, it includes cPanel, Site Builder, $100 in ad credits and a sophisticated ecommerce shopping cart solution.
Concerning uptime, Just Host promises 99.9%. They have the newest equipment in their own datacenters, and they’re fully equipped with generator-powered UPS. They also have 24/7 onsite monitoring, so are able to react to problems immediately. It is important to note that there is no actual guarantee for uptime, and historically, Just Host has been closer to 99.97% than 99.99%. However, during our test period, we experienced no issues or downtime at all.
In addition, as we mentioned earlier, Just Host has an anytime money-back guarantee. They promise a simple cancellation process with no questions asked, and we even put that to the test to ensure veracity. So if at any point you feel that uptime is an issue, you can simply opt out. And if you choose the 48-month plan to maximize your savings and then decide the plan isn’t for you, you can opt out. Just Host had my account cancelled and the money refunded within a day.
Support
When it comes to choosing the right webhost, monthly rate is important. Support is however just as important and Just Host delivers a level of customer support that we’d be willing to pay more for than the $4.45/month we agreed to. They provide an extensive knowledgebase and 24/7 live technical support. Early on in the process, we put them to the test by calling them in the wee hours of the morning, and then we asked them a series of question, each increasing in difficulty.
First, we asked for details about the datacenter. Where is it located? How do the redundancy system and UPS systems work? Next, we asked the support representative about limitations on incoming and outgoing email attachments — there weren’t any. Finally, I asked the rep to explain the process of editing the .htaccess file, and over the phone, she explained it all, and then even directed me to additional reading material in the knowledgebase.
• Phone
• Live Chat
• Email
• Web Form
• Support Ticket
The points above show ways that you can get in contact with their support team.
Ease of Use
Just Host use the well-know control panel cPanel so if you’ve used it before you’ll have no problem managing your website. Never used it before? Doesn’t matter as cPanel is extremely user-friendly and it won’t take you more than a couple minutes to get the hang of it. Promise you.
We Like
• The economy plan well outperforms most plans in this price range.
• cPanel is the best control panel available, and it’s especially well optimized here.
• Just Host really puts their money where their mouth is with the money-back guarantee.
Important to Know
• Just Host does not scale well to enterprise-level solutions.
Just Host
For those who want an individual or small business Web presence, Just Host is a terrific option. It includes everything you need at startup, and they’ll have you up and running within moments. The cPanel control panel is powerful, and it is well supported by an extensive knowledgebase, which makes it accessible to newbies willing to dive in and teach themselves. If you run into any trouble, the live support will help you overcome it. Read full expert review of Just Host