Netfirms

Are you keen on exploring more than a handful of web hosting service providers before deciding on a specific one? If the answer is yes, please do not miss out on this article. It could be useful for those who are willing to expand their horizon as far as different web hosting service providers are concerned.

We are happy to share some useful information about Netfirms. This is a reasonably well-known web hosting company from Canada. This article could also be described as a review that delves a bit deeper into the features of the web hosting products offered by them. We also will look at other aspects like value for the cost.

We are sure it will be informative and useful for all those website owners who are keen on exploring a few more options before they actually choose one. Looking at many options and going through the due-diligence process is critical. This is because there are many web hosting companies and separating the grain from the chaff is possible only based on information and knowledge.

Some Basic Information About NetFirms

This is a Canadian web hosting service provider and they started operations in 1998. They are almost 23 years old now and therefore it would not be wrong to mention that they are quite experienced in this field. Over the past 23 years, they have hosted a staggering 1.2 million domains across the world.

This is no small achievement and it certainly is testimony to the quality of web hosting that they have been able to offer. They were, in 2011, taken over by the tech giant Endurance International Group. Netfirms was drifting a bit in the initial years, but over the past few years, things are being pulled back and today, they are clawing back into prominence and are becoming quite popular with thousands of customers.

1. The Website Has Remained Constant

The website of this service provider has remained unchanged since 2012. While some users consider this as ok, there are others who believe that Netfirms has not moved ahead with time. However, this is not the case because over the past eight years, they have been able to add tons of clients to their list and this wouldn’t have happened without continuing value.

2. A Look At The Plans

There is no doubt that the basic hosting plan that they have is quite good and it offers customers reasonably good value for their money. You can start hosting plans from $3.49 per month and you will get a free domain along with unlimited webspace, bandwidth, with other add ons like email accounts.

The drag and drop website builder is also something that one needs to keep in mind and this can help install WordPress and others. However, the MySQL database is limited to just five and the customers get a maximum of 50 FTP accounts. However, this should be looked against the backdrop of the fact that their base package is available at a low cost of a few dollars a month.

3. Other Plans

Apart from the above plan there are some other plans that are also worth mentioning. They have monthly plans of $8, $11, $13, and $33 a month. These are all different with different add-ons and facilities. The $8 plan offers a database limit of 200 and supports 200 FTP. The $11 offers unlimited disk space and free domains. The $33 plan is an office VPS plan and therefore it offers a host of facilities and the most obvious being the Virtual Private Server.

4. Money-Back Guarantee

It would be pertinent to mention that Netfirms offers a 30-day money-back guarantee on the hosting fees. This is certainly a good way to ensure customers that they get the best value for their money. However, the returns are made only for those who had made payments using credit cards in the first place. This may not exactly be the right way to go about it for some potential customers, but at least you know upfront now.

5. Account Setup

Once the plan has been chosen the account setup comes into effect. Netfirms will send you an email asking you to register a new domain or specify the one you already own. The next step is to add various add-ons and these add-ons are dependent on the pack that you choose.

6. Customer Support

They have a robust customer support plan. It includes 24/7 support by email or by phone. The customer services are not tiered and this means customers get the same support irrespective of the package that they choose. However, unlike many other web hosting companies they do not have a community forum and this certainly is a big letdown for many new entrants.

Some More Interesting Features That Are Available

• Free domain registration.
• Linux-based shared hosting.
• Unlimited bandwidth and disk space.
• Hosting facility for unlimited websites
• 200 MySQL databases.
• Unlimited email account.
• Facility for one-click WordPress installation
• One of the few web hosting service providers that offer a shared SSL certificate. This gets upgraded to dedicated-SSL on Business Plan.

The Final Word

When we take into account the various features there are reasons to believe that overall Netfirms is a really decent web hosting company. Their packages are reasonably good, though there are some doubts about responsive service since there is no live chat or forums. There are other bigger players who are perhaps offering the same services but at reduced rates.

Netfirms has different types of packages to suit different segments and grades of customers. For example, they have a unique $33 a month VPS plan and this certainly is a big takeaway for those players who have a dedicated hosting server for themselves. Their after-sales services and support systems are also good but there always is room for improvement.