PowWeb Review

PowWeb is a web hosting provider that has been serving customers since 1999. The company offers a range of hosting plans that cater to the needs of different users, including shared hosting, VPS hosting, and dedicated hosting. PowWeb’s hosting plans are known for their affordability, with pricing plans that offer great value for money. 

The company prides itself on providing fast and reliable hosting services with exceptional customer support, all while offering competitive pricing plans. PowWeb also offers a variety of additional features and tools, such as website builders, one-click installs for popular applications, and free SSL certificates. 

With its focus on providing high-quality hosting services and excellent customer support, PowWeb has gained a reputation for being one of the most reliable and affordable hosting providers in the industry. In this review, we’ll take a closer look at PowWeb’s hosting plans, features, and performance, to help you decide if it’s the right hosting provider for your needs.

Overview

PowWeb Hosting is a company that offers web hosting services to individuals and businesses. Established in 1999, the company provides a variety of web hosting plans, including shared hosting, WordPress hosting, VPS hosting, and dedicated hosting. 

PowWeb’s hosting plans come with unlimited disk space, bandwidth, and email accounts, making it an attractive option for businesses with high traffic websites. The company also offers website building tools, domain registration, and marketing services to help businesses establish their online presence. 

PowWeb prides itself on its 24/7 customer support, including phone and live chat support. With its comprehensive hosting solutions and user-friendly interface, PowWeb is a reliable option for businesses of all sizes.

Customer Support

PowWeb Hosting is a web hosting company that offers a range of hosting solutions, including shared hosting and website builder hosting. Along with their hosting services, PowWeb provides a variety of customer support options to help their clients get the most out of their hosting experience.

One of the key customer support options from PowWeb is their 24/7 support team. This team of experienced technical experts is always available to assist with any hosting-related issues or questions that clients may have. They can provide support via phone, live chat, or email, depending on the client’s preference.

PowWeb also provides a comprehensive knowledge base on their website. This knowledge base includes a wealth of information on hosting-related topics, including how to manage your hosting account, troubleshoot common issues, and configure your website. Clients can use the knowledge base to find answers to their questions or to learn more about the hosting services that PowWeb provides.

In addition to their live support and knowledge base, PowWeb provides a range of tools and resources to help clients manage their hosting services. For example, their custom-built control panel provides easy access to server settings, application management tools, and other important details about your hosting service. They also offer a variety of integrations with popular applications like WordPress and Joomla.

Overall, PowWeb provides a comprehensive set of customer support options for their hosting clients. Whether you need help resolving technical issues or simply want to learn more about the hosting services they provide, the PowWeb support team and their online resources are always available to help.

Plans & Pricing

PowWeb Hosting is a popular web hosting provider that offers reliable and affordable hosting solutions for businesses of all sizes. The company has been providing hosting services since 1999 and has gained a reputation for its high-quality services and customer support.

PowWeb offers a single shared hosting plan, which includes unlimited disk space, bandwidth, and email accounts. The plan also comes with a free domain name, free website builder, and a range of other features such as access to a range of scripts, applications, and databases. Additionally, the plan includes a free security suite that provides protection against malware and spam.

The pricing for PowWeb’s shared hosting plan is competitive and starts at just $3.88 per month. The company also offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, which allows customers to try out the service risk-free.

Here is a markdown table for the various plans and pricing available from PowWeb Hosting:

Ratings

• Overall Score: 100/100
• Reliability: 90/100
• Usability: 80/100
• Customer Support: 70/100
• Features: 60/100

Highlights

• One plan, one price
• Easy sign up process

PowWeb Review

PowWeb is a web hosting company owned by Endurance International Group, one of the world’s top web hosting companies. Despite being owned by EIG, PowWeb operates mainly independently.

Getting Started With PowWeb

When you initially try to sign up for the hosting service, you are presented with only one option. Under its “One Plan, One Price” Perfect Hosting Solution, you’ll have access to unlimited disk space, scalable data transfer, and PowWeb’s proprietary “Load-Balanced Hosting” solution.

This solution distributes the load of a single website across multiple physical servers to prevent effects on end-users or downtime should a dedicated server go down.

There are also a host of other great offers for the Perfect Hosting Plan offered by PowWeb. For this review, we’ll go with PowWeb’s only hosting plan. You can either register for a domain or transfer an existing one. You are given a free domain name for a year.

On the next page, you’ll have to enter your biodata. Input your first name, last name, email, nation, state/region, zip code, city, address, and phone number on the contact information page. Next, you’ll need to enter your payment information, which may be done with a credit card or through a PayPal account. Then you may choose the time frame for which you’ll be making the initial purchase.

You will also be offered extra paid services such as domain privacy + protection, WordPress Optimization, Website Builder, Sitelock Website Security, Google Workspace, and Site Backup. While attempting to pay for my web hosting, my payment was rejected – twice.

My transactions were marked as ‘high-risk’, so they requested a photocopy of my government-issued ID to be sent to Powweb’s compliance team to complete my purchase. With these, you are set to get started.

PowWeb will send your payment confirmation and login credentials to the email address you used when registering. You will also receive an email with all the details, including the login information and the control panel URL. You will be able to change your account password using the link they will provide you. You may get a mail requiring you to validate your domain.  

Using and Managing Your Website on PowWeb

When you first log into the PowWeb website, you are greeted by a screen prompting you to answer a few questions. After answering the questions or dismissing the pop-up, you’ll see a summary screen that displays information about your domain and common actions.

You’ll have access to your dashboard, site builders, account settings, billing email management, website security, DNS & Nameservers, and help. On the domain tab, you’ll have access to manage all your domain and launch your webmail.

You can also purchase and import domains. You’ll have access to info about your plan, server information, and dedicated hosting tools on the hosting tab. I especially like the unlimited storage, bandwidth, hosted domains, subdomains, and FTP logins on the PowWeb One Plan.

You’ll have access to free tools like Google My Business and a logo maker in the Business Tab. What screen are you shown the very first time you log in to the website? What do you have access to?

PowWeb CPanel

PowWeb uses its own control panel instead of cPanel. However, the custom control panel available at PowWeb is similar in functionality to Cpanel and allows you to, among other things:

• Use a WebsiteBuilder and a WordPress one-click installer
• Create and manage databases and DB users
• Back up your website files
• Create FTP users and email addresses
• View website statistics
• Manage and add domains
• Monitor disk usage and view server information
• Schedule cron jobs
• Edit your server’s .htaccess file

In the email you received, you’ll see the link to the control panel. Alternately, you can easily access the control panel from your domain by clicking on the block icon near your name in the upper-right corner. 

Once you enter, you will be greeted by this screen. Here, you have quite a few tools. While they may appear bewildering, after we go through them all together, you should fit in quite nicely with PowWeb’s web hosting services.

E-Commerce Professional

The e-commerce professional directs you to a page where you subscribe for Ecwid, a one-stop eCommerce solution for small businesses looking to sell online. The cheapest plan starts from $4.74/mo or $40.95 yearly.

FTP

FTP allows you to configure FTP accounts and upload Webpages directly to your accounts. Using an FTP client will also let you manage your website’s files through the data center.

FTP SubUsers

Clicking on FTP SubUsers will direct you to the same pages as FTP.

File Manager

The file manager allows you to manage your files. The FileManager also allows you to edit HTML files. By clicking on the settings tab, you can hide and unhide System Files. You can also opt to use a Richtext editor for HTML files as well.

MySQL Databases

MySQL is an open-source relational database management system that uses Structured Query Language (SQL), the most popular language for adding, accessing, and processing data in a database.

Here, you can create a new database and check your pre-existing databases to modify and repair them. You can schedule a database backup here as well.

ShopSite Starter

PowWeb One Plan comes with ShopSite Starter, which allows you to have a basic store running in as little as 15 minutes. You can also upgrade to ShopSite Manager and Manager Pro here.

Site Restore and Backup

The Site Backups and Restore tool allow you to restore files from PowWeb’s system backups. You have the option of restoring files automatically by replacing your current files with the backed-up versions or downloading them and restoring your content manually.

Note that PowWeb’s system backups are only kept for a few days, so you might want to back up your site files locally.

Visitor Statistics

PowWeb provides statistical programs that automatically analyze the site’s daily raw visitor log files and displays them in a summary form which you can access using this tool.

Website Creator by CM4ALL

The Website Creator is a limited-version site builder that comes with this web hosting company.

MOJO Marketplace

In the MOJO Marketplace, you can buy themes, services, and plugins for your WordPress website.

Constant Mail

PowWeb offers you email marketing via Constant Contact.

Microsoft Advertising Credits

Depending on your location, you might be offered $100 in advertising credit from Microsoft.

.htaccess Editor

This menu has a host of options allowing you to Set .htaccess commands.

Archive Gateway

The Archive Gateway allows you to compress individual files and archive select directories of your website.

CGI and Scripted Language Support

This menu allows you to enhance your website using scripting access. Languages you can use are Perl, PHP, and Python.

Comodo CDN

If you require CDN services for your website, you can get it starting at $6.99/mo here.

Disk Usage

You can view available and allocated disk space under this sub-menu.

Schedular Jobs

Schedular Jobs are tasks you have set to run at a specific day, time, or interval. The Control Panel interface allows you to run PHP and Perl Scripts or Unix command line string at specific intervals.

Server Information

Using this Control Panel tool, you can access server information configured for your online business.

Web Cache Control Tool

Caching can make your site load incredibly fast by letting your visitors load unchanged content out of their browser and letting their servers serve your content very quickly. You can use this Cache-Control Tool to turn the caching of files off or on and select how long you want to cache different file types.

Change Catch-All

This option allows you to select the option for handling emails sent to addresses that do not exist at your domain(s).

Mail Tool Settings

This option allows you to select your preferred WebMail and Newsletter client.

Manage Spam Filter

The spam filter can test incoming e-mail to determine whether or not it looks like spam.

PowWeb Website Builder

Mojo Marketplace

PowWeb’s user-friendly site builder allows for independent web design and almost all the features you can imagine. Here you can install apps such as WordPress, Joomla, AbanteCart, and phpBB through scripts. In your control panel, click on Mojo Marketplace. 

Select “one-click install” on the Mojo Marketplace to set up WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, OpenCart, Magento, Prestashop, and more. You can find other available software and programs on PowWeb’s shared web hosting platform here.

WordPress Themes

You can install WordPress directly through your domain dashboard as well. Select WordPress on your summary page to get started. On the next page, you’ll see an advertisement card.

On the next page, you’ll be prompted to either use your existing hosting plan or choose an optimized hosting plan for WordPress. Here, we went with the existing plan option, after which the wizard prompted us to add a Site Title. Thereafter, you will create an admin account for WordPress, after which you’ll have access to free themes.

Alternatively, you could use PowWeb’s AI-powered website builder. Select a plan which fits your need. We went with the starter plan, after which our website was set up automatically. You can answer the questions to have a website built for you. The stock website looks like this.  

PowWeb Customer Support

PowWeb boasts about their excellent customer service and support staff, so I decided to close my account and see how quickly they would respond. I opened the chat support, entered my name and email address, and answered the questions. I was politely asked why I wanted to cancel, and after I explained, the customer support team representative canceled it.

However, because I used up my domain credit when registering, a $15 non-refundable fee applies. The customer support representative mentioned that it might take 7-10 days before I receive the refund. To my surprise, I was refunded the same day!

Buyer’s Guide For PowWeb

Plans and Pricing

PowWeb’s use of a “one plan-one price” model simplifies decision-making. Its only shared hosting plan is competitively priced at $3.88 per month if you pay for 3 years.

However, it will cost you $11.95 to auto-renew, which is close to the industry average. There is no monthly billing either; all payments are processed yearly. PowWeb’s hosting plan also includes a 30-day money-back guarantee.

If you open a new hosting account, register a new domain with PowWeb, and use up your “domain credit,” you will be charged a $15 non-refundable domain additional fee. PowWeb, like most hosting companies, does a lot of upselling after you pay for hosting.

You can purchase PowWeb’s product with a credit card or through PayPal. Check out PowWeb’s current deal for the “one-plan one-price” hosting plan here.

Server Speed

PowWeb’s infrastructure is high-speed and flexible. Because PowWeb uses load balancing technology, its servers are provisioned quickly (in under a minute) and feature scalable bandwidth.

The result is faster page loading times that are more stable than traditional shared hosting providers. The usage of cloud hosting also speeds up the entire process.

Security and Backups

PowWeb uses its own software updated regularly to add new features, fix bugs, and protect against security holes. If a problem arises with the software powering your website, PowWeb’s service tech support is very responsive and will make sure that you are up and running again.

PowWeb’s hosting plan includes daily backups for all files, databases, e-mails, and an unlimited number of websites.

However, unless you purchase PowWeb’s backup software service, they should be stored on your own hard drive in a zip file, not encrypted format. This means that you will be responsible for restoring them if you ever need to. An uptime guarantee is to be expected with such strong levels of backup and protection.

Customer Service and Technical Support

If you run into any technical issue with your hosting, PowWeb has highly trained experts ready to walk you through the process so that you can resolve it quickly. They are available 24/7 by phone, live chat support, or e-mail.

At the time of this writing, they answered my inquiry within a few minutes. E-mails generated by PowWeb’s hosting plan (e.g., account confirmations) contain links to “how-to” articles that explain how to use the services provided by the company. They are also categorized into separate files for easy reference.

Ease of use

Instead of providing its clients with various hosting plans to select from, PowWeb recommends a single package that will satisfy all of your needs.

This package provides several appealing features to reach that objective, including free domain registration upon enrollment, unlimited disk space and expandable bandwidth, a user-friendly and charge-free website builder, and a 30-day money-back guarantee. If you want to examine all of the information, choose the “See all features” option right below the highlighted ones.

All of the offered features are presented plainly. However, instead of utilizing the industry-standard cPanel (or Plesk for Windows users), PowWeb offers a proprietary control panel, which is neither the most user-friendly nor the most feature-rich option available.

From there, you can install WordPress and other popular software via Mojo Marketplace, which works well but not as quickly as Softaculous. In addition, a drag-and-drop user-friendly website builder is available, which will help you get your website up and operating as quickly as possible.

Features of PowWeb

The following features are included with the “one plan” hosting plan:

• There is no restriction to disk space, data transfer, or bandwidth.
• Unlimited domains
• DNS management
• Unlimited FTP users
• Personalized error pages
• Backups are performed daily, and access to restore is available with a single click.
• Script Installer – for installing WordPress, phpBB, osCommerce, Gallery 2, and other applications
• Supports PHP4, PHP5, Perl5, Sendmail, and Zend Optimizer are all available
• Flash, Shockwave, MIDI, and multimedia files are all supported
• Credits for search engine advertising
• MySQL and phpMyAdmin, as well as Webalizer and AWStats
• Email accounts with an unlimited number of recipients
• Shopping cart and shared SSL certificate

Pros

• Reasonable first-term prices for new users
• Fast and responsive live chat help
• Generous email sending limits
• Credits for a free domain
• Exceptional uptime for hosting
• Custom DNS and cron tasks are excellent features.

Cons

• Single hosting plans.
• Only credit card payments are eligible for the 30-day money-back guarantee
• Infrequently updated blog
• Almost dead social media presence
• Out-dated user interface
• Limited and clumsy control panel
• No monthly terms or company offers offered to new customers
• Uber-expensive renewals
• Occasional issues with the website’s load speed
• Restoration of a website backup is at a premium

Final Thoughts

PowWeb provides new users with an affordable and attractive option. However, to take advantage of its best qualities, you must stay committed for two years. Even worse, the renewal fees are much higher than the industry standards. Additionally, PowWeb reviews aren’t good. Other web hosting providers seem to be doing a better job, especially for medium-sized businesses.

Setting up a website on PowWeb was also quite effortless with their website builder, and the customer service was quite responsive. However, PowWeb charging a non-refundable $15 for domain credit came as a shock. On their homepage, PowWeb stated the domain names to be free. 

However, On their 30-day guaranteed return page, it was implied that there would be no charge if they chose not to hold on to the domain. PowWeb misrepresented that.  

Regardless, Powweb is a good choice if you intend to start your first website or want to host dozens of simple low-traffic blogs and don’t mind the occasional downtime that comes with hosting on a shared server with unmetered resources. Overall, I would recommend that you try it out if possible before committing long term. This would conclude our PowWeb review.