InMotion is a very popular hosting platform that has been around for some time. Most people who host websites have at least heard of InMotion as it is considered one of the biggest hosting platforms available. According to statistics, they host more than 300,000 domains with two data centers. One of these is in Los Angeles and the other is in Virginia Beach.
InMotion Overview
InMotion was set up in 2001 and has other platforms as well that allows them to grow across the world. For instance, they’re known to own Web Hosting Hub, this platform is set up for bloggers and beginners and isn’t included with this review.
InMotion boasts that they’re the number one option for transfers, support and offer industry guarantees. The problem is that sometimes, long-established companies that offer these promises don’t always fulfill them, instead they rely on their reputation to build a client base. For some businesses, it works as they don’t have a resource-intensive option, but sometimes it doesn’t. Does InMotion have this philosophy?
Why Use InMotion?
InMotion does offer good performance within three key areas of website hosting performance: uptime, speed and support. And there are also a few more features that can make their platform an attractive option when it comes to hosting a website.
Their uptime is about 99.93% which isn’t the best in the industry, but other options experience much more downtime. When it is put into numbers, that is six hours of downtime over 12 months, not bad.
Another area where you can expect good service is the speed of your website. Speed is important for several aspects. The first is ranking. Fast websites will tend to rank higher on Google searches because they offer users better experiences. And when you can lose a lot of traffic and revenue if your website doesn’t load within four seconds, you’re going to want a speedy hosting option.
Luckily, InMotion has speed on its side. Its average loading speed is about 453ms. This isn’t too bad for the average host, but there are others like AWS and Google that offer faster loading times. But there are hosts out there that offer much worse loading times.
What is looking promising when it comes to InMotion is that the platform is continuously improving speed. Speed will also be better when you’re looking to reach customers who are based near the two data centres of the company. Therefore, if you’re a US company, you’re going to have better results than say if you’re selling to Australian customers.
Customer services is another important area for hosting companies and InMotion excels in this area. They’re available all the time, 24 hours a day, seven days a week and 365 days of the year. They offer support through live chat, phone, email and even Skype. Therefore, you can talk to those who can offer technical support through the best channel for you.
You can also look for answers yourself through an extensive knowledge base. This can be a good option to begin with as it allows you to improve your lessons.
InMotion is also pretty generous when it comes to the money-back guarantee. You can claim your money back for their services within 90 days of using them if you’re not happy with their services.
You’re also able to access a wide network of open source platforms. There are more than 310 applications that you can use on their servers. This is from the typical WordPress and Drupal to shopping carts, or even eCommerce systems like Magento. InMotion is pretty good for eCommerce companies. There is a lot of support for eCommerce stores and integrations with some of the top applications available for websites.
Most applications can be installed on your domain within one click. Those that have started out in building a website can also benefit from a free domain. But you must be signing up for their website hosting services for more than six months.
If you go with WordPress, you’ll also get access to Sucuri, which is a premium plugin. This provides your site with better security like remote backups, anti-spam/anti-virus protection and more. And if you’ve already got a website and would like to transfer, don’t worry, there is a free site transfer. But this doesn’t come with a guarantee of no downtime.
What are the Negatives of Using InMotion?
InMotion is a great option for new website owners, but there are some problems with the platform. The first is that all new customers for InMotion must be verified by phone. This is a security option that looks great, it does protect shared hosting servers and other infrastructure from being used by nefarious organizations, but it does mean that after signing up, there is a delay in getting your account. If you’re outside of the US, the time to wait can be much longer. And sometimes they might want a picture of your ID card.
In addition, you only get the best deals for a 24-month contract. If you want to have the best priced hosting options, you’re going to need to commit to them.
There are also some plan limitations on the website. There aren’t free automated data backups for your website, this has to be purchased and the cost goes up the more data you have. On payments, there are some problems that you might need to spend a lot upfront. Some plans don’t have monthly billing and this can be a significantly high cost.
You can also be limited on the servers. There are no window servers on their packages.
Final Word: Is InMotion a Good Choice?
InMotion is a great option for those who are new to website building. They offer a fast service for their hosting and good security. They are particularly good for those businesses that want to have eCommerce functionality. Yes, there are some problems with InMotion, particularly around pricing and the signup process, but they offer secure options for your brand.
You’ll also be glad to know that should you ever need support for your website, you will have that at hand with their vast customer support options.
