A2 Hosting Review - Website Screenshot

A2 Hosting Review

TL;DR: What We Think of A2 Hosting

In the past one of the best hosting providers around, today A2 Hosting has slightly lost its shine. Pricing is above market average and performance is no longer top of its class. Still, reliability is decent and their attention to detail can be seen in prudent plan revisions on occasion.


Suitable for:

Beginners-friendly, Small Business, International Website, Eco-friendly, Developers-friendly, or eCommerce

A2 Hosting Review - Website Screenshot
HostScore
58.07%
Promo Coupon*

Website: https://www.a2hosting.com/

A2 Hosting Pros & Cons

A2 Hosting Pros

  • Server locations in North America, Europe, and Asia
  • Free website migration assistance
  • Developer-oriented features even on shared hosting
  • Custom performance optimizations tools available in higher shared plans

A2 Hosting Cons

  • Steep price increase during the renewal
  • Free site transfers mainly for cPanel installations
  • HTTP/2 only on TURBO plans
  • Lowest shared plan does not support automatic backup

Evaluating A2 Hosting: A Breakdown of Performance, Security, and Other Key Features

A2 Hosting’s origins trace back to 2003 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where it was founded by Bryan Muthig. Starting as a hobby project offering web hosting for friends and family, A2 Hosting swiftly transitioned into a professional business focusing on high-performance hosting solutions, particularly for WordPress sites. Responding to customer demands for speed and reliability, A2 Hosting pioneered SSD hosting to boost website loading times and developed the A2 Optimized solution, enhancing WordPress site performance through optimized settings for speed and security.

In the following sections, we’ll take a closer look at how A2 Hosting performs across critical areas like hosting speed, server security, customer support, and overall value.

What Can You Expect from A2 Hosting in Terms of Speed & Uptime Performance?

A2 hosting offers dependable hosting services with a focus on steady website functionality. While all shared hosting plans come with free CDN and pre-optimized WordPress environment, advanced speed features like built-in cache, NVMe SSD, and Litespeed servers are only available in higher plans.

Is Your Website Safe with A2 Hosting’s Security Measures?

Yes, websites hosted at A2 Hosting are safe. The hosting provider implements a range of security measures designed to protect your data and ensure website reliability. Key server security features include:

  • DDoS protection, which shields your site from malicious traffic.
  • Web Application Firewall (WAF), which blocks potential threats before they reach your site.
  • Automatic Malware Scanning, which identifies and removes harmful code to prevent damage.

Additionally, A2 Hosting offers free SSL certificates with an easy installation system, enabling users to secure their websites effortlessly. This encrypts communication and protects the data exchanged between your site and its visitors.

With these measures in place, you can trust that your website is well-protected against online risks.

What Can You Expect from A2 Hosting’s Customer Support?

A2 Hosting offers a range of 24×7 customer support options to ensure users get timely assistance. Help is available via live chat and email. Additionally, you can also access the knowledge base for self-help guides and troubleshooting. User feedback indicates that customer support is generally satisfactory, with response times and issue resolution being adequate, though not exceptional.A2 Hosting Support PageA2 Hosting Support Page

Is A2 Hosting’s Pricing Justified by the Value and Features It Offers?

A2 Hosting is reasonable priced when weighed against its feature offerings and long-term cost. At $2.99 per month (renews at $12.99/mo), basic shared hosting allows you to host 1 website with 24/7 customer support, a free domain name, and 30-days money back guarantee. Higher plans with better features like VPS starts at $2.99/mo, cloud hosting at $/mo and dedicated hosting at $109.99/mo.

How is A2 Hosting Rated Based on Overall Market Satisfaction?

Overall user satisfaction with A2 Hosting appears to be mixed, with several positive aspects and some areas of concern.

Many customers appreciate A2 Hosting’s service quality and performance. Feedback often highlights their outstanding server speed performance and helpful customer support.

However, there have been a few negative experiences reported, including issues with website hacking, server downtime, and longer wait times for live chat support on certain days. While these issues do not appear to be widespread, improvements in these areas could enhance user satisfaction.

For additional insights, please refer to the user reviews section below.

Is A2 Hosting Suitable for Beginners?

Yes, A2 Hosting is well-suited for beginners. Its user-friendly interface and helpful technical support team are particularly useful those new to web hosting.

Is A2 Hosting Suitable for Small Businesses?

Small business owners will also benefit from similar features as newbies do at A2 Hosting. Additionally, its website builder is a plus for small business owners looking for rapid website building.

Is A2 Hosting Suitable for Web Developers?

Web developers can benefit from the extended tools A2 Hosting has. Not all web hosts will offer such a wide variety of developer-friendly features that you can get with shared hosting plans including Apache Tomcat server, PHPng, IonCube, Python, and Node.js. The best part is that these come at standard shared hosting price with no additional cost.

Is It Possible to Host Custom Email with A2 Hosting?

Yes, you can host your own email accounts with A2 Hosting. This significantly reduces your costs by eliminating the need for expensive third-party email services.

How Easy Is the Onboarding Process with A2 Hosting?

Signing up with A2 Hosting can be a little bit daunting at first simply because they have so many plans to choose from. There is unfortunately also a bit of in-house jargon which may confuse users, such as “A2 Optimized” and “Turbo Servers” to get used to.

Users who are not very familiar with web hosting may have to spend some time delving through their knowledge base to get used to all of this along with their system. If you are familiar though, the experience shouldn’t faze you.

At the end of the day though, remember that A2 Hosting offers free site migration, so why should you worry about the move-in process?

Does A2 Hosting Offer a Free Trial?

Yes, A2 Hosting offers a 30-day free trial period. If you are not satisfied with their services for any reason, you can cancel within this period and receive a full refund.

Try now: Visit & Sign Up at A2 Hosting Official Website

A2 Hosting Plans & Pricing

A2 Hosting provides a range of web hosting plans designed to meet the needs of different users, including Shared, VPS, Dedicated, and Reseller Hosting. The company also offers specialty services such as Managed WordPress, Email, and Game Server Hosting.

  • Shared Hosting: Starting from $2.99 – $14.99 per month
  • VPS Hosting: Starting from $2.99 – $99.99 per month
  • Dedicated Hosting: Starting from $109.99 – $529.99 per month
  • WordPress Hosting: Starting from $11.99 – $41.99 per month
  • Email Hosting: Starting from $1.59 – $2.59 per month

Web hosting prices are subject to change, and promotional rates may only be available for a limited time or for new customers. To ensure you get the most accurate and current pricing details, we recommend visiting the official A2 Hosting website.

Consider Renewal Prices When Choosing

When evaluating hosting options, keep in mind that many providers offer substantial discounts during the initial signup period, but prices can rise significantly upon renewal. It’s crucial to research and compare renewal rates alongside introductory offers to get a clear picture of the long-term cost.

To help you in making an informed decision, we have prepared a summary table below comparing the initial signup and renewal costs of A2 Hosting services with several other providers we monitor.

Compare A2 Hosting’s Signup Cost Against Competitors

Web Host Shared Hosting Signup Fees Shared Hosting Renewal Fees VPS Hosting Signup Fees VPS Hosting Renewal Fees
A2 Hosting $2.99 – 14.99/mo $12.99 – 29.99/mo $2.99 – 99.99/mo $8.99 – 239.99/mo
Cloudways $ – /mo $ – /mo $ – /mo $ – /mo
Webempresa $2.97 – 8.97/mo $118.8 – 358.8/mo $ – /mo $ – /mo
SiteGround $3.99 – 10.69/mo $17.99 – 44.99/mo $ – /mo $ – /mo
HostPapa $2.95 – 12.95/mo $12.95 – 34.99/mo $19.99 – 249.99/mo $19.99 – 249.99/mo
ScalaHosting $2.95 – 14.95/mo $9.95 – 29.95/mo $29.95 – 169.95/mo $49.95 – 239.95/mo

Caution: Prices May Vary Web hosting prices can change frequently. For the most accurate and up-to-date pricing information, please visit the official A2 Hosting website.

Final Thought: Is A2 Hosting Right for You?

A2 Hosting: A developer-friendly choice with a cost consideration. A2 Hosting stands out for its broad selection of server locations and its unique offerings for developers, such as affordable Node.js and Django hosting options in a shared environment—a feature not commonly found with other providers.

However, the journey with A2 Hosting comes with its challenges. Users are met with significant renewal price increases, a factor that can’t be overlooked. Moreover, its once-praised hosting performance has seen better days, leaving it trailing behind its former glory. For those drawn to its developer-centric benefits and initial affordability, A2 Hosting remains an attractive option. Yet, you must weigh these against the realities of rising renewals and a performance plateau.