Founded back in 2003, A2 Hosting is one of the few independently owned companies that offer web hosting services. They provide great hosting solutions to website owners of all types and sizes. If you are interested in the details of their services, keep reading our A2 Hosting review.
What we Need to Know About A2 Hosting?
| Our Rating: | Our Verdict on A2 Hosting Review: 4.6 |
| SPEED: | 297 ms (May 2018 to this Month) |
| UPTIME: | 99.99% (March 2018 to this Month) |
| SUPPORT: | 24/7 Live Chat, Email, Phone, Ticketing |
| APPS: | WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, OpenCart, and Magento |
| FEATURES: | Unlimited Bandwidth, Free SSL, Cloudflare CDN, Anycast DNS, Anytime Money-Back, Website Staging, DDoS Protection, and more. |
| HOSTING PLANS: | Shared, WordPress, VPS, Reseller, and Dedicated Servers |
| SITE TRANSFER: | Single Free Site Transfer with Shared Hosting ($10/site afterward) |
| PRICING: | Starting at $2.99/mo (renews at $8.99/mo) |
A2 Hosting is one of the oldest providers around. They are originally from Michigan and started in 2001 under another name (Iniquinet). Later on, in 2003, they changed the name to A2 Hosting.
You can now find services like Shared, WordPress, VPS, Dedicated, and Reseller Hosting available on their site. Famous for their fantastic performance and speed, they have optimized WordPress, Drupal, and Joomla servers.
When we talk about features, we cannot fail to note that A2 provides feature-rich solutions with excellent speed optimization. It is vital for hosting services to get what you pay.
To ensure that A2 gives this what they are talking about, we show you what they are capable of in today's A2 hosting review and will introduce you directly to its features, speed, support, functions, and everything a customer needs to know.
The company exclusively owns all of its web servers, meaning that each server is ultra-reliable, high-powered, monitored 24/7/365, and expertly tuned by their team of engineers. Currently, A2 Hosting has four data centers across the globe – two in the US (Michigan and Arizona), one in Europe (Amsterdam), and one in Asia (Singapore).
Now, let's dive into the A2 Hosting review and determine if it is worth the money you pay for it.
A2 Hosting Noticable Features
Depending on the different plans A2 provides, you will get various features. But, some features are not included in all the plans, which we will cover in this A2 hosting review.
Main Features: A2 Hosting Review
- Super Boost
- Guru Support
- Free Migration
- Money-Back Guarantee
- WordPress Compatibility
- Drupal Compatibility
- Joomla Compatibility
- Magento Compatibility
A2 also provides automatic backups to your website. A2 is an easy-to-use hosting service, and even a beginner can host a website on it.
There are a lot of solutions that A2 Hosting provides. We listed some of them below:
- Analytics (Analytics software offer website owners with statistics regarding their websites)
- The auction, Ad Server (Ad serving solutions include everything from Analytic programs to gain better insight into your web traffic to pixel tracking for your ads)
- Schedule
- Chat
- Cloud, and more
Turbo Servers
A2 Hosting provides turbo servers that offer optimized performance on their solutions. Having speed hosting services can improve your website SEO and decrease your site's bounce rate.
Control Panels
A2 Hosting has two different WordPress hosting solutions, and they both provide different control panels.
The shared WordPress hosting uses the Cpanel, which provides:
- Turbo Option (For Faster Speed)
- A2 Optimized WordPress
The managed WordPress Hosting uses the Plesk control panel, which offers a little bit more features like:
- Turbo Optimized (Up To 20X Faster)
- A2 Optimized WordPress
- Easy WordPress Backups
- Site Staging
- Free Jetpack Personal License
- WP-CLI Pre-Installed
The A2 Hosting StartUp Plan is recommended for a single website and is very affordable.
- 20X Faster Web Hosting
- Free Account Migration
- Solid State Drive Speed Boost
- Slightly Expensive
- Free Domain not Included
Domain Registration
With A2 Hosting, you will get the speed and the Uptime, but you can't forget about your domain. You can either register a new domain or transfer an existing one to get your site up and running.
Their most popular extensions breakdown as follows:
- .biz – $17.45
- .com – $14.95
- .io – $49.95
- .net – $14.95
- .org – $14.95
- .ca – $14.95
- .cc – $19.95
- .co – $34.95
- .in – $11.95
- .us – $14.95
While you might not get the cheapest deals on domains directly through A2 Hosting, it's an option if you don't feel like going through the hassle of transferring one.
A2 Hosting Transparency and Independence
We don't think that a company is “good” or “bad” simply due to its size. It's all about tradeoffs.
Using a large corporation has several significant advantages. They usually have the resources to offer large-scale, all-encompassing solutions. They have cheaper unit costs, which they may pass to the customer. They are also more stable than small, start-up businesses.
Small companies are usually more agile, closer, & more responsive to the customer and less likely to view customers solely through a Net Promoter Score lens.
In the world of hosting – it depends on your goals and preferences. There is no correct answer.
A2 Hosting Review
It means it's a significant advantage that A2 Hosting is a founder-owned, independent company – simply because that is so rare in 2017. Most hosting companies are brands of Endurance International, GoDaddy, or the Web.com group.
And not only is A2 Hosting independent, but they also are stable and growing and use their independence to promote transparency and accessibility that a big brand simply can't match.
If you are looking for a hosting company rather than a hosting brand – A2 Hosting will tick that box. If not, you can ignore this section and keep focusing on your priorities.
A2 Hosting Uptime and Speed Test
This feature provides an ultra-fast hosting experience. A2 has turbo servers with the latest SSD technology to provide super-fast hosting services to all its users.
As we all know, fast Hosting and website speed is an essential Google ranking factor, and without it, your website will not succeed.
As you plan to work with this web hosting service provider, you should be aware that they don’t take responsibility for issues to do with ISPs and browser caching. Such problems often stem from the lack of upgrades and maintenance. They, however, try to deliver what they promise to their customers to ensure that you have no problems with your site.
Though they may not be perfect, the company makes up for its flaws with SwiftServer. It is a form of advanced technology which increases hosting performance. A2 hosting provides you with fast speed for your website. To achieve this, they have spent a lot of time studying different hosting solutions.
It led to the discovery of caching, which uses any hard disk or ram. It provides you with a full-speed web experience.
Thanks to the incorporation of the quadruple redundant network, you can remain connected even if the hosting data center links are down.
A2 Hosting Review
Sometimes, websites go down due to different reasons. It is bad for business since it can cost you a lot when it comes to revenue and make it hard to gain new clients.
The technical experts in A2 work tirelessly to ensure that your site remains live.
The company promises its customers a 99% uptime guarantee and uses advanced data centers to ensure that your site keeps up with the latest security patches.
Let’s get into the details.
| Month & Year | Server Uptime | Server Response Time | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| February | 99.98% | 318 ms | Excellent |
| January | 100% | 325 ms | Excellent |
| December | 99.99% | 420 ms | Excellent |
| November | 99.99% | 328 ms | Excellent |
| October | 100% | 280 ms | Excellent |
| September | 99.98% | 415 ms | Excellent |
| August | 99.99% | 302 ms | Excellent |
| July | 99.98% | 409 ms | Excellent |
| June | 100% | 429 ms | Excellent |
| May | 99.94% | 386 ms | Good |
| April | 99.97% | 511 ms | Excellent |
| March | 99.99% | 418 ms | Excellent |
To provide you the accurate information for the A2 speed, we have made a speed test using the Pingdom and GTmetrix speed test on a Generatepress WordPress lightweight theme hosted on the shared A2 web hosting.
On Pingdom, the website loading speed was 1.22 seconds, a good result for Google. The Uptime we estimated from the test was 99.7% Uptime.
Of course, these results are relative because they can change over time. A2 has 4 data centers on 3 continents, and the best connection you get is the USA.
Data Center Options: A2 Hosting Review
- USA – Michigan
- USA – Arizona
- Europe – Amsterdam
- Asia – Singapore
But if you have the opportunity to spend more money for some of their “turbo,” you will get more speed.
Ease-of-Use
A2Hosting scores excellent marks for ease of use and customer onboarding, which starts with a welcome email sent minutes after you complete your order for services. Many other companies just provide you with a link to their site and no instructions, but A2 Hosting provides you with information on your plan, account, DNS, FTP, email, etc. You can have your first site up and running within just a few minutes.
Your account includes the latest version of cPanel, optimized to A2. Through cPanel, you can view information on your site and carry out various administrative tasks. Even if you have minimal experience (or are a complete greenhorn) with website administration, you should be able to find your way around pretty quickly. Needless to say that each plan comes with a Softaculous 1-Click install for virtually anything open-source.
If you are an advanced webmaster, you will find the cPanel easy to use but not overly simplistic or basic; plenty of advanced features are available. You can, for example, create a private nameserver or modify the A-records.
A2 Hosting Support
Finding support is straightforward. No matter where you're at, a top bar that sticks around the website has two options: “sales and support” and “chat.” The first will direct you to the knowledge base, which contains categories to get you where you need to go. Below the categories, you'll find multiple ways to contact A2 Hosting.
Live chat, email, and phone support are present, splitting email support into general support, sales, and billing. It's worth noting that you can access phone and live chat without an account. The same goes for sales emails, but billing and general support emails require your account credentials.
Agents are helpful and responsive, but not the fastest. Live chat responded quickly, but that's the expectation. On the other hand, ticket-based support dragged its feet. It took a couple of days to receive a response, and though it was detailed, we couldn't help but feel A2 Hosting could've been more prompt.
It's unlikely that you'll need to reach out to support much, though. The knowledge base covers many topics, ranging from managing your billing to troubleshooting your website if it gets infected. There's a balance between troubleshooting, clarifications, and tutorials, which we like to see.
Plus, the articles are detailed. A2 Hosting provides screenshots and deep instruction for topics as mundane as paying invoices in the client area. Other than the sluggish responses on email, we're impressed with A2 Hosting's support system.
A2 Hosting Features to Boost your Business Site
A2 Hosting stands out from the competition to make sure your business site performs optimally:
- SSD Drives to enhance speed and performance
- Cloud Hosting increases reliability
- Cloudflare CDN improves site loading time
- Multiple back-ups
- Unlimited storage and data transfer
- 24/7 support on all hosting plans
- A 99.9% uptime guarantee
- A range of SSL certificates to keep your site secure
- Advanced technology to make your site load 20 times faster
A2 Hosting Shared Hosting Pricing Details
Shared Hosting is a great option for beginners and other groups of people that don't expect much traffic on their website. With a shared hosting subscription, you will share servers with other users. A2 Hosting has four different shared hosting plans:
Startup: $2.99/month – A2 Hosting Review
- 1 website
- 100 GB SSD Storage
- 0.7 GB physical memory
Drive: $5.99/month – A2 Hosting Review
- Unlimited websites
- Unlimited storage
- 1 GB physical memory
- Server rewind backups
Turbo Boost: $6.99/month – A2 Hosting Review
- Unlimited websites
- Unlimited Storage
- 2 GB physical memory
- Server rewind backups
Turbo Max $12.99/month – A2 Hosting Review
- Unlimited websites
- Unlimited Storage
- 4 GB physical memory
- Server rewind backups
The difference between the features that come in each plan isn't significant. We find the Drive Plan the best buy plan. You get two significant upgrades from Startup Plan; unlimited websites you can host and automated server backups. Two more expensive plans don't come with such significant boosts in features, so we advise that, for shared Hosting, you stick to the Drive plan.
All A2 shared hosting plans come with free site migration and a free SSL certificate. You will also get access to an easy-to-use site builder with each shared hosting plan. The real surprise among A2 shared hosting features is 1-click website staging. However, the biggest pro of A2 shared Hosting is SSD storage.
Most hosting providers use SSD storage as a privilege of more expensive hosting types. With A2 Hosting, you can enjoy the improved performance of SSD storage, even with their cheapest plan.
A2 Hosting Managed VPS hosting
Virtual Private Servers, or VPS, give you the cost benefits of Shared Hosting with the performance and control of Dedicated Hosting. VPS is a cost-effective hosting option that allows you to have dedicated resources, increased security, and complete control of your environment.
Turbo plans provide even more speed and performance with 20X faster servers! With a VPS Managed Hosting plan from A2, they take care of much of the maintenance, security, and network performance while providing you with 24/7 support.
All plans include 2 dedicated IP addresses, free migration, and a free SSL certificate.
Leave the hosting challenges to A2 Hosting while you attend to your customers. Benefit from their hassle-free and seamless hosting plans. Here are the several ways in which opting for a2 managed VPS hosting services would benefit your business:
1. Enjoy Full Root Access – With full root access, you can tailor your managed server to meet your specific needs as you're not sharing it with other entities.
2. Cost Savings – With managed virtual Hosting, you can eliminate expenses incurred on hiring dedicated staff to take care of the technical administration and management tasks.
3. Scalability – Managed VPS hosting services also provide scalability, a crucial requirement for growing businesses. With rising traffic, they can quickly ramp up your server resources to meet the increasing demands.
4. Security – With managed VPS hosting, you get an IP address unique to your server, which offers increased website security.
A2 Hosting Managed Bare Metal Dedicated Hosting
Managed Bare Metal Dedicated Hosting lets you have the customization options and dedicated resources for your own BMD server. At the same time, A2's Guru Team handles the configuration and optimization of the hardware, core server software, network, and security, including deploying patches and updates.
A2 hosting's new servers give you CPU choices, NVMe storage options, and pre-configured Turbo options to get the highest speed and performance possible.
Choose Your CPU: Select the dedicated plan with the processor of your choosing.
Ultra-Fast NVMe Storage Options: NVMe storage offers up to 3X faster read/write speeds with Turbo
High Performance: A2 hosting is built for speed and performance. Their new BMD servers purr.
Ultra-Reliable Servers: Depend on A2 Hosting! A 99.9% Uptime Commitment backs your account.
A2's SSD dedicated hosting servers have the same configuration as servers in unmanaged dedicated hosting plans. The difference is that with unmanaged servers, you have to install software, tools, libraries, etc., by yourself. In short, there is less work you have to do with a managed server, but you also get less control over the server.
A2 Hosting Reseller Hosting
Easily host your customers or launch your own hosting company with A2 hosting fully white-labeled Reseller Hosting solutions. Your customers will love their faster sites, hosted on 20X more secured Turbo servers.
After all, faster sites have better SEO rankings, lower bounce rates, and higher conversion rates. You'll love their expert Guru Crew Support and ultra-reliable servers backed by 99.9% Uptime Commitment.
A2 Hosting Reseller Hosting Features:
High-Performance: A2 Hosting Review
A mere 1-second page load delay impacts your bounce rate, SEO rankings, conversion rate, and ultimately your bottom line! You won't have to worry about this when choosing A2 Hostings screaming fast SwiftServer platform! Your sites come hosted on their speed optimized servers with your choice of server location, free SSDs, LiteSpeed web server, and up to 20X faster Turbo Server option, leading to better website performance! A2 Hosting Turbo Servers now feature AMD EPYC Servers with NVMEe drives with:
- 40% Faster CPU Performance
- 2X Faster To First Byte
- Can Handle 9X More Traffic
- 3X Faster Read/Write Speeds
Developer Friendly
Since the launch in 2003, they have focused on loading your account with the best versions of the most popular development software. Their servers support older versions too! Just some of the development software available in your account includes:
- PHP 5.6, 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4 or 8.0 (Choose Your Version)
- MySQL 5.6/MariaDB
- PostgreSQL 9.6
- Python 3.4
- PERL 5.10
- Apache 2.4
- Node.js 12
- FTP / SFTP
- Free SSH Access
- SSL & Free SSL
Easy-To-Use
At A2 Hosting, your Reseller Hosting account includes the user-friendly WHM control panel! Use CPanel reseller hosting to create and manage your customers' cPanel accounts quickly, create and edit hosting packages, manage SSL Certificates, control DNS, and much more! It couldn't be easier to use!
Free Site Transfer
Are you ready to move your site to A2 Hosting but nervous about doing the actual site migration to their servers by yourself? Don't be! In most cases, they can move your site for free. Just contact their friendly 24/7/365 Guru Crew Support team to request that they move your site for you!
It's a worry-free migration! That means there are no more barriers to getting your hands on all of the site speed optimization resources!
A2 Hosting Security
A2 is definitely among the companies that offer excellent security opportunities. Data protection is undoubted of paramount importance to any user.
A2 implements hardware firewalls that are designed to protect your server from attack.
Besides, it also uses DDoS security, which ensures that any attacks on your server are denied.
A2 Optimized Software
Some of us enjoy tweaking our software, tinkering with the settings to squeeze out every performance drop. Others prefer things to work right out of the box with the best settings possible.
With this feature, A2 Hosting punches above its weight, with software settings pre-tuned for maximum security and top performance. You can apply this optimization option to popular software like WordPress, PrestaShop, Drupal, and Joomla, which means that we don't have to worry about page load speeds
To give you a rough idea of how much better the software is with A2's Optimized Software, Optimized WordPress runs up to 6 times faster than non-optimized sites!
They've even thrown in their A2 Optimized Site Accelerator for users with the Turbo plan, which has pre-configured caching options to help your site load faster. You've got 3 caching options:
- Turbo Cache – for up to 20x faster load speeds
- OPcache/APC – cuts php page response times in half
- Memcached – keeps your data in memory for quick retrieval
Money-Back Guarantee
If your website goes down, it can cost you a great deal in revenue and potential new clients.
A2 Hosting provides a 99.9% uptime guarantee, and the technical experts work tirelessly to ensure your online business remains live at all times.
A2 Hosting uses the most advanced data centers and industry best practices to ensure your site has the latest security patches.
Try A2 Hosting for yourself. If you decide that, for whatever reason, A2 Hosting isn't ideal for your needs, you'll receive a full refund within 30 days or a pro-rata refund on the unused services if you cancel after 30 days.
Pros of A2 Hosting:
- Claims of 99.9% uptime are ubiquitous among web hosts, but not all hosts deliver. A2 is serious about providing you with 99.9% uptime. Customers we work with who have used A2 Hosting for years have also reported a downtime-free experience.
- You are going to be hard-pressed to find faster servers anywhere. It is where all reviews agree: you can say goodbye to slow load times and resulting high bounce rates. The “Turbo” plan delivers the highest speeds, but you will get fantastic speeds even with the “Lite” or “Swift” plans.
- Automatic kernel updates, HackScan, and spam management features for email are practical security tools to keep your website virus-free, safe, fast, and functional.
- Many web hosts are sorely lacking when it comes to onboarding. When you get started with A2, even if you are a complete newbie, you should find that the resources provided will ease your transition into website administration. A2 Hosting’s cPanel is easy for beginners to use but offers plenty of advanced functionality for experts. So wherever you fall in terms of experience, you should find A2 very accessible.
- One-click integration for Magento and Prestashop and pre-installed OpenCart make it a breeze to get started selling online. Fast load times, unlimited bandwidth, and actual 99.9% uptime keep customers on your site, ready to spend money.
- If you need help, A2’s knowledgeable team is standing by, ready to assist you 24/7. Wait times are short, and agents will work with you to make sure you have thorough answers to your questions.
Cons of A2 Hosting:
- It is hard to come up with many cons for A2Hosting, but this host will cost you more than some competing services. It may not be ideal if you are on a very tight budget.
- A2 does not offer as much in promotions and credits as many other hosts.
A2 Customer Opinions
Statement of User 1: A2 Hosting Review
Excellent product, Excellent company, Excellent Customer Service! I can't say enough good things about A2 Hosting! I'm not being paid to say this, I've had them as my WordPress Site host for over 2 years, and there's always a live person who can help me even if it's midnight! I've never experienced downtime either.
Statement of User 2: A2 Hosting Review
The support Gurus have consistently earned 5 stars and an A+ in knowledge, effort, courtesy, and overall customer engagement. I just know they are there for me when I ask. No question is beneath them. These Gurus, I believe, look forward to hearing from their customers—a real noticeable difference in support care and customer service.
Some other customer opinions screenshots we listed below: A2 Hosting Review
Who A2 Hosting Is Best for?
A2 Hosting offers outstanding plans with inclusions focused on delivering high-speed and secure websites. Its tools and features are best for those building websites that consume a lot of storage. It is also beginner-friendly, with a site builder and templates you may customize.
A2 Hosting is best for: A2 Hosting Review.
Businesses with existing sites looking to move to a faster provider: If your business grows and needs more power and speed, then A2 Hosting is for you. It allows you to transfer your domain and provides free site migrations, unlike Bluehost, which charges extra for that service.
Reseller hosting providers with an existing clientele with various budgets and needs: Those looking for a reseller hosting service with multiple payment options—specifically on a monthly, annual, and triennial basis—can go for A2 Hosting. It is one of the best reseller hosting providers for its flexible payment terms and advanced features for its service speed.
Small businesses with a high volume of business emails: If you are on a budget and are looking for a web hosting company that offers unlimited business emails, try A2 Hosting.
Businesses that handle sensitive information: If you are looking for a secured web hosting service for your eCommerce, legal, or medical website, then A2 Hosting is for you. It provides perpetual features—even on its entry-level plan. All plans include dual firewall, brute force defense, reinforced distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) protection, virus scanning, server hardening, 24/7/365 security monitoring, and kernel updates.
Best for businesses with content-heavy websites: Despite A2 Hosting’s slightly higher price tag than most basic web-hosting providers, it is still an excellent choice for those who prioritize speed, reliability, and performance. It also provides unlimited storage and unmetered bandwidth, ideal for companies looking to build sites with rich content, such as a huge online store with many product photos.
Companies with an international presence: A2 Hosting lets users choose from its data centers across three continents to ensure fast website loads for its visitors.
Who A2 Hosting Isn’t Best for?
A2 Hosting is an excellent choice for businesses with heavy consumption. Since it is packed with comprehensive tools for said usage, its plans have slightly heavier. The web hosting company that's best for you is the one that fits your needs most.
A2 Hosting is not recommended for: A2 Hosting Review
- Businesses with very basic web hosting needs: While A2 Hosting is considered affordable, it isn’t the cheapest option in the market. It’s because this web hosting provider is packed with excellent features for speed and security. Those who don’t need these extras and are starting can not stick with A2 hosting.
- Those looking for better green hosting companies: While A2 Hosting has its own green hosting initiatives, nothing beats GreenGeeks’ 300% green energy match. It also provides outstanding web hosting services at lower prices.
A2 Hosting provides robust packages that ensure excellent website performance. However, if you're a beginner and just wanted to put your name there, this provider is over the top.
FAQs about A2 Hosting Review
-
What is A2 Hosting?
A2 Hosting is a web hosting company with data centers located worldwide. Shared, WordPress, cloud, VPS, and dedicated hosting options are all available. You may expect fast website loading times worldwide with their data centers located in North America, Europe, and Asia.
-
Is A2 Hosting good?
A2 Hosting is a good web host, especially for small companies. Even their entry-level plans come with a surprising number of extras. Even their most basic plan offers SSD storage, which exemplifies their suitability for small organizations. A2 Hosting is a good choice if you watch for hidden fees or conditions.
-
Is A2 Hosting owned by EIG?
EIG (Endurance International Group) is a large hosting company that has acquired many smaller companies. A2 Hosting is not one of those companies. A2 is an independent company that has remained founder-owned since founded in 2001.
-
Is A2 Turbo Server worth it?
A2 Turbo is only worth it if you make regular, active changes to your .htaccess files and your PHP files and do not feel comfortable installing your caching plugin or researching the basics of website speed.
Final Words on A2 Hosting Review
Our final verdict about A2 Hosting is that we can trust them. They provide great speed solutions with optimized turbo servers. Also, the support is knowledgeable and responds fast.
You want your website to be speedy, and if you have any issues to be fixed fast. So, A2 is one effective solution to this problem.
What do you think of A2 Hosting? Let us know in the comments below, and, as always, thanks for reading.
