Namecheap Review

You’ve probably heard about Namecheap, but as a market for budget-friendly domain names. But in this Namecheap review, we ask the question: How do Namecheap’s hosting services stack up against our tests? Richard Kirkendall founded Namecheap way back in 2000. Since then, it’s gone on to have nearly 18 million domain names under management. But just because Namecheap has had exceptional success in domain registration doesn’t mean it can do the same with hosting. Or does it? We’ve kept tabs on Namecheap since 2017 and have more than five years’ worth of data on its performance to go over. From our findings, we can break down the advantages and disadvantages of Namecheap based on its page load speed, uptime, and other critical features to examine when selecting a web host.

• Speed: 403ms (Refer to: Compare Top Web Hosting Providers)
• Uptime: 99.95% (Refer to: Compare Top Web Hosting Providers)
• Pricing: Shared Hosting 12months Plan: $1.98/mo.-5.98mo. depending on different datacenter location and hosting plans
• Money Back: 30 days money back guarantee.
• Renew: $4.48/mo.-10.48mo. depending on different datacenter location and hosting plans
• Customer Support: 24/7/365 Live Chat.
• Other Features: See the detailed information on namecheap website screenshot below.

The following are the primary benefits of using Namecheap hosting:

Acceptable Uptime

Namecheap had pretty decent uptime numbers in 2022. For instance, between January and December 2022, Namecheap had an average uptime of about 99.93%. Within that time frame, it had four low-performance months. The web host’s lowest-performing months were April (99.77%) and June (99.79%). This amounts to about an hour and a half of downtown per month. In February and March 2022, the uptime was 99.89% and 99.87%, respectively. But in every other month since, Namecheap maintained nothing less than 99.90% uptime.

Exceptional Page Load Speeds

One of the most outstanding features of Namecheap’s hosting services is its blazing-fast load speeds. Within the past year (January through December 2022), Namecheap recorded a remarkable average load time of 329 ms. Sometimes, speeds got even faster. For instance, Namecheap recorded an average loading time of 294 ms in August 2022. And even on its worst month (October 2022 at 373 ms), its loading speeds were below 400 ms.

Budget-Friendly Shared Hosting Plans and Renewal Prices

Namecheap’s shared hosting options. Namecheap has pretty affordable prices for shared hosting. Take, for instance, the most basic plan, called Stellar. You’ll pay $1.98/month for your first year, billed at $22.88/year. Afterward, you revert to the standard $44.88/year. If you opt for the two-year plan, your monthly charge drops to $1.58, billed at $37.88 for two years. After that, you’ll pay $83.88 for your next two-year period. The Stellar plan comes with a free domain offer, up to three websites, 20 GB SSD storage, and 30 domain-based mailboxes. For the Stellar Plus plan, you pay $2.98/month for your first year, adding up to a $34.88 fee. If you choose the two-year plan, you’ll pay $2.28/month for a $53.88 fee. Afterward, the plan renews at $118.88 every two years.

Customer Support

Namecheap’s customer support page. Namecheap offers reliable customer support services for all its customers. To access them, you can contact a support person using live chat 24/7, regardless of location. To begin, launch a support ticket to report a problem. On the form, you can add as much detail about your problem in the ticket’s body and attach support files too. However, Namecheap’s preferred support option is to refer to its extensive knowledge base. The easy-to-use library of information has plenty of how-to articles and guides that take you through Namecheap’s services. These guides are neatly arranged into categories, making it easy to find what you’re looking for. Whether you have a billing or domain problem, there’s a guide ready to assist you.

Free Domain and Website Migration

You probably knew about Namecheap because of its recognition as a domain name registrar. Not content with keeping domains and hosting separate, Namecheap offers a top-level domain name for free for your first year with a shared hosting plan. Afterward, it will renew at the regular price.

The following are the drawbacks of using Namecheap hosting:

Lack of Data Centers

Compared to other hosting providers, Namecheap has far fewer data centers, with just three. One is in Nottingham, UK, another is in Phoenix, Arizona, and the last is in Amsterdam in the Netherlands.

No Telephone Support

So, what happens when you have a massive website problem and need to speak to the support team? Well, you can’t get someone via phone support, only through live chat. That can be quite frustrating, especially if your problem is extensive and the knowledge base and live chat aren’t sufficient.