Dot5 Review: Good Features & 24/7 Support
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Year in Business: 5
Dot5 is a good value because it offers all the features needed in a basic web hosting package, provides 24/7 phone and live chat support, and only costs $3.95/month.
In addition to industry-leading disk space and bandwidth, there is a simple control panel that makes it very easy to manage your website, unlimited e-mail accounts, FrontPage extensions, and support for unlimited domains. Also included is a free website builder and free website templates so that you can get online quickly and cost-effectively.
But there's more: Dot5 also gives away free services like search engine marketing credits for Google and Yahoo, a listing in the Best of the Web Directory, as well as a RatePoint subscription. RatePoint enables your website to easily collect and display customer reviews along with a trust seal that improves sales. All of these items will help increase your website's visibility and traffic.
If you need help utilizing all these features, there are plenty of support options. You can always contact a Dot5 representative via phone or live chat, or, if you prefer to help yourself, there are over 200 articles on web hosting topics in addition to a library of more than 140 video tutorials. This can help you become more effective at managing a website.
If you're like most people and want to save money for other things (like gas), but still want a solid product and service, Dot5 is a good choice. For a limited time, you can get special $3.95/month pricing by clicking below.
Price & Plans
Dot5 Hosting offers one feature-rich plan with several different payment options, which are outlined below:
Quarterly - $6.95/month
6 months - $6.95/month
12 months - $5.95/month
24 months - $3.95/month - special
There is an annual $8.95 domain registration cost on the Quarterly and 6 month plans. Domain fees are free for the first year if you choose a 12 or 24 month package.
While shorter plans offer flexibility, the 24 month special offer is a much better value. Here’s why: the cost of a Quarterly contract is about $185 if you continually renew it over 2 years (including the domain fee). Meanwhile, the 24 month plan costs about $104 (including the domain fee in year 2). This saves over $80, which is equivalent to a 40% discount.
Features
See table (left) for a list of key features and benefits for Dot5's hosting plan. For a complete list of features, visit Dot5 Hosting.
Service
Phone support, live chat and the online ticket system are available 24/7. There is also a self-help knowledge library that contains nearly 200 articles on various web hosting topics as well as 140+ video tutorials. This is great for the “do-it-yourselfer.”
Space
Many web hosts are now offering unlimited disk space. While no host can truly provide unlimited resources, Dot5 Hosting easily supports the average website that uses 20 megabytes or less (1 gigabyte = 1,024 megabytes).
Bandwidth
In addition to disk space, many web hosting companies are also offering unlimited bandwidth. Again, no web host can provide infinite bandwidth each month, but Dot5 easily supports the typical website that uses 10 gigabytes or less. If your site has very high traffic (several million page views per month) or is very image intensive, consider a dedicated or VPS hosting plan.
Security
Dot5 Hosting utilizes SSL (Secure Socket Layer) servers to ensure that any information exchanged between your visitors and the website is encrypted and safe. Its data center also includes many advanced security features such as motion sensors, video surveillance and biometric access controls (verifies authorized personnel via fingerprints, like in the movies).
Reliability
Dot5 data centers use a pooled server environment, giving any server on the network the ability to access website files when a request occurs. This means that the first available machine will serve your web page, delivering faster loading times and 99.9% website uptime.
Ease of Use
vDeck is one of the cleanest and most well organized web hosting control panels we have seen outside of the major brands like cPanel and Plesk. Regardless of your hosting experience, you’ll find it easy and fast to manage a website with this tool.
Freebies
Every new web hosting account comes with a free domain and free set-up as long as you choose a 1 or 2 year plan. Free marketing credits are also included for Google and Yahoo! Search, as well as a free RatePoint membership and listing at Best of the Web (one of the last good web directories). The value of all these items is well over $200, but you get them free.
Guarantees
All accounts come with a full 30 day money-back guarantee. If you are unhappy with the service for any reason, just ask for a full refund. Like most hosts, set-up fees are non-refundable – another reason to go with a longer contract.
Discounts
For a limited time, Dot5 is discounting its hosting plan from $4.95 to $3.95/month. So click below to visit Dot5 and take advantage of the increased savings while it is still available.