IX Web Hosting has been in the BigHosts.com Top 10 Web Hosting List for years because it provides a strong combination of value, features and service.

Now is an even better time to buy with its annual Valentine’s Day web hosting promotion. From now until Friday, February 15th, all shared web hosting plans are 50% off. This means you can get the full featured Expert Hosting Hosting Plan for as little as $2.96/Month.

To learn more about IX Web Hosting read our complete review, check it against other top 10 hosts in our expanded comparison chart and then visit IX Web Hosting to take advantage of this promotion — use the coupon code “bemine“.

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If you’re looking for a deal on a new web hosting package, here are some of the top web hosting offers for Black Friday, Cyber Monday and beyond:

• HostGator: 50% off on all web hosting services. This includes shared hosting, reseller hosting, VPS hosting, dedicated servers and Windows hosting! This is one of the biggest sales on web hosting every year but it only lasts one day.

 

• IX Hosting: 55% off the Expert Web Hosting Plan starting Friday, November 23rd and lasting through Wednesday, November 28th.

 

• FatCow: Monthly cost on its regular web hosting package has been reduced almost 15% from $3.67/month to $3.15/month until Tuesday, November 27th.

 

• iPage: One of the best deals as the monthly price has been slashed over 40% from $3.50/month to just $1.99/month from today until next Tuesday.

 

• HostMonster & BlueHost: Take $1 off the monthly price of $4.95 to $3.95 on Black Friday only.

Learn more about all these web hosting companies starting with our Top 10 Web Hosting list.

Debating between the industry’s “Top Host” (HostMonster) and the company voted “Best Features” (IX Web Hosting)? The two companies share a lot of similar features and benefits– it can be tough choosing between the two. To assist you in the decision-making process, let’s compare what the two companies have in common – as well as what they don’t – to help identify which one will best serve your hosting needs.

Compare Web hosting Features

Pricing
If you choose a 24 or 36-month package, both HostMonster and IX Web Hosting cost virtually the same – $3.95 a month.

If you are interested in making a shorter commitment (3-6 months), IX Web Hosting might save you a couple of bucks. HostMonster charges $9.95 per month for 3 and 6 month contracts, where IX Web charges $7.95 a month for 3-month and $6.95 for 6-month contracts, plus set up.

Set up costs for both HostMonster and IX Web Hosting are the same – a $30.00 set-up fee and $10.00 domain registration charge. Both of these fees are waived if you choose a 12, 24, or 36-month contract.

Update: In February 2011, HostMonster changed its minimum contract to 1 year and now charges $4.50/month whether you purchase a 1, 2 or 3 year contract. There are no set-up fees and a free domain still comes with every package.

Features
Both HostMonster and IX Web Hosting offer easy to use control panels. HostMonster uses cPanel, the industry’s most popular web hosting control panel today. IX Web Hosting uses H-Sphere, an easy to use control panel that looks very similar to a computer desktop, with obvious icons for E-mail, FTP, Tools, etc. Both services offer a wide selection of free software, scripts and Front Page extensions; allowing you to easily:

o Design and manage your website
o Start a blog or forum
o Open an online store
o House a customer list
o Conduct polls and surveys
o Host your own photo galleries and videos
o Measure your site’s performance
o And much, much, more

Both plans offer unlimited domain names and ample email accounts for any small business – however, IX Web Hosting caps its email accounts off at 2500. Both have shopping cart capabilities, spam filters, streaming audio/video options, and MySQL databases. Both also offer basically unlimited bandwidth and disk space.

Security
HostMonster and IX Web Hosting both employ the most current industry best practices to ensure optimal security:

o HostMonster employs SSH or Secure Shell Access; this allows you to make changes to your site and development environment within a secure channel. HostMonster also provides SSL (Secure Socket Layer) secure servers, ensuring that any information exchanged between your visitors and the website is encrypted and safe.

o IX Web Hosting manages its own data center and has taken all the precautions to ensure your website and data are safe. This includes a multi-layer security infrastructure that has been certified as “Hacker-Safe.”

Reliability
Both services use the latest servers to make sure your website loads quickly for visitors and performs its absolute best. HostMonster uses the latest quad processor servers for good website speed and performance. IX Hosting has multiple tier-1 Internet connections through telecom partners such as Verizon and BellSouth, offering a wide variety of ways for your website and visitors to connect. They both support a number of features, including multiple power supplies and a 24/7 technical staff.

Customer Service
Both HostMonster and IX Web Hosting have get high marks for responsive, friendly support. Both services provide:

o 24/7 Phone support
o 24/7 Live chat
o 24/7 Ticket system

Both companies boasts quick, responsive wait times and a phone support team that is based in the United States. If you prefer the DIY approach, both services support an extensive library of self-help articles, in-depth FAQs, and video tutorials.

Bonuses
In both instances, every new web hosting account receives a free domain for life and free set-up, provided you choose a 24-month plan or more. Each new customer also receives $100 in free marketing credits for use with Google and Yahoo Search Marketing to help you get more traffic. Both services offer a no-questions-asked 30-day money back guarantee.

Conclusion
When it comes to affordable, robust, reliable, and secure web hosting, HostMonster or IX Web Hosting both are excellent choices. If you’re signing up for a shorter plan, IX Web Hosting may be slightly less expensive, but otherwise the two companies cost comparatively the same. If you like and are accustomed to using cPanel to manage your site, you may prefer HostMonster, but IX Web Hosting’s “H-Sphere” is equally as intuitive and user-friendly. We hope this helps you in your decision making process – good luck with your website!

IX Web Hosting offers affordability, security, and reliability, the three most important things that most people look for when shopping for a website hosting provider. However, what most people do not know is that the affordability is even greater than you might think. If you know one little secret, you can get an even lower price than the one IX Web Hosting advertises!

Read the full IX Web Hosting Review

Features

Of course, before you start hunting for discounts, you need to know that IX Web Hosting will work for your web hosting needs.

IX Web Hosting does not use cPanel, but its H-Sphere web hosting is quite simple, offering you a “desktop” with icons pointing to the various categories you will need. The host’s website gives you a demo you can play with to see if you understand and like the control panel.

Other than that, the features are pretty standard. They include:

• 2,500 email accounts
• SSL Certificate
• Front Page Extensions
• MySQL Databases (50 of them)
• Languages: Perl, PHP, Ruby on Rails, CGI
• Shopping Carts
• Audio/Video streaming
• Spam Assassin
• Website Statistics
• Webmail
• Website Templates

In addition, you get a free domain name for life and free search engine marketing credits.

The Pricing Plan

Like most of the top web hosting companies, IX Web Hosting offers several plans. Most experts agree that the plan that offers the greatest mixture of affordability and features is the Expert Plan. This plan’s pricing breaks down as follows:

• Three months: $7.95 per month
• Six months: $6.95 per month
• Twelve months: $4.95 per month
• Twenty-four or more months: $3.95 per month

In addition, IX Web Hosting charges a $30 set-up fee and $10 domain registration fee. These are waived if you choose a one-year or longer plan. These are fairly comparable prices, but you have not yet found the secret to get the price even lower.

What’s the Big Secret?

IX Web Hosting wants to be the most affordable option out there, but they are still in business to make money. As such, they have created a way to reward the more observant customer by placing a secret link on the company’s website that gives those who find it an extra 20 percent off the provider’s price.

As per the rules of the site, we cannot give out the link to the discount. However, finding it is not difficult. When you enter the IX Web Hosting home page, scroll down to the bottom where you see all of the “fine print” links. There you will see “Secret Link.” Go ahead and click on it. It’s not a virus, malware, or anything else dangerous, but rather is the place you need to go to save money.

The Rules

The 20 percent discount is applicable to one, two, or three-year contracts. Also, it only works for new contracts, not existing ones that need to be renewed. The discount would drop the price to $3.16 per month for the two or three-year contract or $3.96 for the one-year contract. There is no other catch to getting the discount. You simply need to know where to look.