Yahoo Web Hosting Review: Best Brand
Location: Sunnyvale, CA
Year in Business: 15
While a little more expensive than other hosting services, many will find the cost of Yahoo web hosting worthwhile because of the piece of mind that is provided by one of the world's most famous Internet brands.
Yahoo also provides many competitive features such as easy-to-use design tools as well as unlimited disk space, monthly bandwidth and e-mail storage. Other valuable and unique services that Yahoo web hosting offers is the VeriSign seal and the ability to accept online payments via PayPal. The Verisign seal is one of the top symbols of credibility and trust that a website can display. Why not instill this level of confidence in your website visitors? Of course, PayPal is the most popular payment service and a must have if you sell merchandise or services online.
In addition, Yahoo offers a variety of free and trial services for driving more customers to your website. This includes $75 in credits for Yahoo/MSN Search marketing, listing in Yahoo enhanced local results, and a free e-mail service to build better relationships with your website visitors.
Given Yahoo's reputation, you can bet that good and timely customer service is an integral part of its web hosting plans. Live phone support is available 24/7 so you can get help anytime. There are also starter guides, online tutorials and a comprehensive help center if you prefer to help yourself.
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Price & Plans
Yahoo web hosting is available in 3 different different plans:
Basic - $2.50/month (first 3 months, then $4.99/mo recurring)
Advanced - $4.00/month (first 3 months, then $7.99/mo recurring)
Premier - $6.00/month (first 3 months, then $11.99/mo recurring)
The $25 set-up fee has been waived and a free domain comes with each package.
Choosing the best plan is a trade-off of price versus features. If you prefer to save money, the Basic Plan provides ample disk space, bandwidth and e-mail accounts for a smaller site. For those that would like to maximize features, the Premier package is the way to go as it offers unlimited disk space and bandwith for just $3 more per month.
Features
See table (left) for a list of key features and benefits in the Premier Plan. For a complete list of features for all web hosting plans, visit Yahoo Web Hosting.
Service
Phone and e-mail support are available 24 hours/day, 7 days/week. This means you can get quick answers to your questions from a real person anytime. For those that prefer to learn on their own and become more effective website owners, online guides and video tutorials are available.
Space
Many web hosts are now offering unlimited disk space. While no host can truly provide unlimited resources, Yahoo Web 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 Yahoo Web Hosting 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
Yahoo web hosting utilizes SSL servers (Secure Socket Layer) to make sure that any information exchanged between your visitors and the website is encrypted and safe. For instance, visitors that submit information via a form wold be protected. In addition, Yahoo provides the VeriSign seal so that you can communicate the site's security level and build trust with visitors.
Reliability
Yahoo has more resources than many of its competitors which makes reliability one of its strongest selling points. This translates into having the latest equipment and technology that delivers 99.9% uptime for its web hosting customers.
Ease of Use
Similar to many of its other services, Yahoo web hosting includes a very user-friendly control panel that makes it easy to manage a website – from checking stats, to adding e-mail accounts and website functionality. It's simple to augment a site with useful features such as Yahoo maps or site search; allowing visitors to explore your website for more specific information.
Freebies
All new web hosting accounts receive a free domain and free set-up. In addition, Yahoo gives its customers $75 in search marketing credits for Yahoo and Bing search engines. Also included is a an e-mail service and detailed guides to search engine optimization, advertising online, and converting visitors into customers. These tools are a great way to increase traffic to your website and come at no additional cost.
Guarantees
Yahoo web hosting backs all its new plans with a 30 day money-back guarantee. If you’re not satisfied with the service for any reason, just ask for a full refund.
Discounts
In addition to the free traffic-driving tools from above, new customers also receive a 30% discount for Yahoo's Local Enhanced Listings, which will give your website exposure in Yahoo's search results and deliver more visitors.