Latest Updated Jun 15, 2008

Due to their global status as a domain registrar, Dotster is often compared to GoGaddy. First launched in the year 2000, they are relatively new to the business, but have managed to supply more than 3 million domain names. Their inexperience, however, may be a contributing factor to why they seem to continuously fall behind the competition in regard to web hosting. While they only offer 5 GB of storage and 250 GB of bandwidth, Dotster does provide an excellent service with reliable customer support, which has made them a viable solution for many users.

Reliability (5/5)

Dotster houses top of the line servers from their data center in Phoenix, Arizona. This facility is specifically designed to secure their high-powered equipment. Dotster utilizes redundant data backup systems and backup generators to protect sensitive data in the event of a power outage, assuring that their servers remain operational 24/7. With the industry standard uptime guarantee of 99.9%, Dotster is able to ensure the continuous functioning of their customer’s web sites.

Price Value (2.5/5)

While Dotster’s basic plan is reasonably priced at only $5.25, this certainly isn’t the best value on the market. The plan includes 5 GB of storage and 250 GB of bandwidth, not nearly enough in comparison to other companies. Dotster only provides 10 email accounts, 50 MB of mailbox disk space. and a single MySQL database. Their most attractive features include Frontpage plug-ins, password-protected directories. and remote access to the database. In order to keep pace with the competition, we believe Dotster should either slash their cost of services or make significant upgrades to their features.

Control Panel (5/5)

Dotster makes it easy to implement their available features with the remarkable cPanel program interface. This control panel is user-friendly an ideal for the novice designer and experienced webmaster just the same. cPanel is even more valuable for subscribers of their advanced VPS packages, as they are able to manage more domains and increase functionality. Dotster adds strength to their web hosting service with one of the best control panels available today.

Customer Support (5/5)

Dotster has stepped it up a notch in regard to customer service. Reliable support is available via telephone, email, and the intuitive FAQ section. Most recently added is the live chat feature for domain registrants, along with 24/7 chat support for hosting concerns.

Summary (3/5)

Dotster is certainly lacking in several areas, but compliments it by providing excellent support and easy to use features. In order to remain competitive in this fierce industry, they need to implement major upgrades, especially in regard to the capacity of storage and transfer. The fact that Dotster improved the quality of support leaves us hopeful that they’ll eventually improve the overall quality of service.

For only $5.25 per month, sign up with Dotster and enjoy powerful software for your website. Spend $150 and enjoy 25% during the Father’s Day sale!

Visit Dotster Official Site