EIG owns other hosting companies that you may have heard of such as HostGator and Bluehost. If you know how they work, then you might have a feeling of how JustHost works too.
For this review we purchased a shared plan on JustHost to host a WordPress site. Over time we monitored JustHost to see how well it did to host a website, what the uptime and speed was like, and whether it is worth using.
As always, our reviews are unbiased and honest. So, with this in mind, let’s take a look at JustHost.
General Overview and Information
Uptime (early to mid 2022): 99.1 percent
Speed (early to mid 2022): 636 ms
Apps: Has an easy installer that takes one click to add some of the most-used apps
Support: Live chat 24/7, forum and phone
Pricing: Starts at around $3.95 every month (but renews at $11.99 a month)
Hosting Plans: VPS, dedicated, and shared hosting
Features: 50 GB worth of storage, unlimited bandwidth, five email accounts, free SSL certificate, free domain to register, a website, website builder, easy WordPress install, and 30 day guarantee for your money back
Website Transfers: Costs $149.99
Our Overall Verdict: 3 out of 5 stars
Pros: Using JustHost to Host
Here are some of the pros when it comes to using JustHost:
1. Security Is Good
While there are many things that should be at the top of your list when it comes to choosing a website hosting service, security should be your number one priority.
What is great about JustHost is that they have a lot of security on offer to ensure your site stays secure. For example:
Reports on Dashboard
Security maintenance
Alerts via email
360 vulnerability scanning everyday
A security badge that is verifiable
360 scanning for database, applications, downloads, and so much more
If a threat does become detected you will receive real-time alerts to both your dashboard and email. This means you can jump into action as soon as something goes wrong.
If you leave your website when it has been compromised, it may be blacklisted.
2. Includes A Free Domain
Every new sign-up to JustHost will receive a free domain name, no matter which plan that you choose. However, once the year is over, you will have to pay to renew the domain.
You also have the option to migrate one WordPress website for free. If you have more WordPress websites to transfer over, then you will need to pay a fee for each one.
3. Money Back Guarantee Plus Helpful Add-ons
If you don’t want to fully commit to the JustHost service but would like to try it out, then you can take full advantage of the 30 day money back guarantee.
You might even enjoy the JustHost experience and decide to stick around for the long run.
However, do keep in mind that this refund will only apply to the hosting service, not anything else. So if you have a domain, then you will not get a refund on the price paid.
You do get one free domain at JustHost, however you will have to pay for any extra domains if the plan allows you to host extra.
Also, it is worth noting that if you do use the free domain during this 30 day period, JustHost will take off $15.99 to cover the cost of the free domain. Sneaky!
4. Reliable Customer Support
There are a lot of things that you will want out of a hosting provider, however, there is something that you might want above all else: reliable and good customer support.
Having the confidence that you can reach out to the customer support team who will be helpful is a real game changer. There is nothing worse than spending days trying to resolve a simple issue.
Or even worse, trying to resolve a big issue that has you tearing your hair out for weeks. No thank you!
JustHost actually offers three different types of customer support. They are: forum, live chat, and phone.
We decided to check out their live chat seeing as it is the most commonly used way of communicating with customer support these days.
At first we had to wait around ten to fifteen minutes just to connect with the customer support team, but once we did, we found that our questions were answered well.
While we did not have an urgent problem or a serious concern, they were really good at responding. However, it could be different if they were to answer an issue with backup, for example (see below in cons).
5. Has An Uptime Percentage Of 99.91 Overall
A lot of people consider uptime to be a key factor when looking for a hosting service. It is easy to see why, as the more time your website is online, the higher the chance people will see it.
While your site may have some downtime overnight during local time, this could be daytime somewhere else. You will want as much uptime as possible to make sure all of your customers worldwide can view the website.
This will cause you to lose both traffic and much needed profit. This can also affect your Google ranking if it happens often.
JustHost has an average uptime of 99.91 percent over a few months. While average, it also is not the worst. There have been reports of them doing well and then having difficult months.
During our time of usage, JustHost was quite good overall.
6. Added Instant Server Provisioning For Customers
It is not a rare occurrence that you can spend a few hours signing up to a hosting service.
There are times when you are asked to spend an hour on the phone, no matter where you are in the world, or just a quick phone call to verify you are who you say you are.
While annoying, it happens all too often. With JustHost you can use instant server provisioning on all dedicated, VPS and premium servers.
You will find it is much faster and easier to sign up with JustHost via this.
7. Speed Is Average But Okay
Speed is another factor that is important when it comes to your website. If a website takes a long time to load, then it is likely that the user will leave.
This is bad for your page views, which in turn may damage your conversions, and so on. Basically, you want the pages to load in fast so people stay on your website and will return.
It also helps adverts to load in too, which is important to monetize sites that do it this way.
While the standard speed is 850 ms for most websites, JustHost did well at 636 ms. While not super fast, it is considered average. It is certainly a speed that is fine for a website.
Obviously faster is better, but there is no reason to complain here.
Cons: Using JustHost To Host
The thing with JustHost is that they actually provide some good services. For example, they have a few key factors to note when it comes to finding a great hosting provider.
One of them is making sure that they have a decent enough uptime.
The more time your website stays online, the better chance your visitors can find you. The last thing you will want is to have lots of downtime that include website errors and the like.
Another key area is speed. As we have stated in many reviews, speed does matter when it comes to a person visiting your website. If a page takes ages to load, then they are likely to go elsewhere and never return.
Lastly, you need good customer support. If the provider can help you to solve problems and make sure that you have a great experience while using the service, then you are likely to stick around.
When was the last time somebody slated a business because they had good customer service. Exactly, never!
Even though JustHost have glowing green ticks when it comes to the above three points, they do have a few downsides too.
1. You Cannot Guarantee Backups
When a hosting provider promises that they backup your data, whether that be each day, or weekly or monthly, you accept and trust that the service will be carried out by them.
However, when it comes to JustHost, it is impossible to know whether they are actually doing the backups that they say they offer. This is why JustHost says they backup, but will not guarantee it.
This means that they are not confident with this service and cannot promise that if your data fails you will be able to retrieve it.
What is even worse, the company does not generally take full responsibility – or any at all – for backups which have failed.
This has resulted in people losing their websites altogether. Also, if you have a site that is over 30 GB, then they cannot backup for you.
If you want to use JustHost and backup your site, then use a tool to backup. If you do, you could look at spending an extra $2.99 each month.
The extra money spent will be worth it to hold on to your website.
2. You Need To Commit For 3 Years For The Cheapest Deal
While JustHost appears to be quite cheap at $3.95 a month, it is easy to get sucked in.
However, that lovely rate is actually for when you sign up to their 3 year deal. You will also need to pay for it all upfront.
Not so cheap now, right?
If you want to only pay for 12 months, then it is $5.95 each month, which again you will need to pay upfront.
However, if you want to pay monthly to avoid being stuck in a contract, then expect to pay $7.99 every month.
While the prices do not sound too bad now, once the time is up, the prices go up too. It also depends on the plan you want to invest in too.
JustHost Plans And Pricing
Here is a quick look at the different plans and pricing that JustHost offers to its customers:
Basic Plan
Pricing: $3.95 (which renews at $11.99 a month) Storage: 50 GB Bandwidth: Unmetered Websites: 1 Email Accounts: 5 Features of Interest: n/a
Plus Plan
Pricing: $6.95 every month (which renews at $14.99 a month) Storage: Unmetered Bandwidth: Unmetered Websites: Unlimited Email Accounts: Unlimited Features of Interest: Spam expert
Choice Plus Plan
Pricing: $6.95 every month (which renews at $17.99 a month) Storage: Unmetered Bandwidth: Unmetered Websites: Unlimited Email Accounts: Unlimited Features of Interest: Spam xpert, CodeGuard Basic, and a domain with protection and privacy
Is JustHost Something That We Would Recommend?
When it comes to JustHost there are pros and cons that determine whether it is worth using and why it is better to try another company.
The customer support that JustHost has is generally good, though some users have had trouble trying to get in touch with a real person and it takes ages for a problem to be resolved. Despite this, issues do usually get fixed.
The uptime is good too, which can make a hosting server reliable if you are looking to keep your website online. However, the speed on JustHost is average at best.
Unfortunately for JustHost, there are better host providers out there who offer their services for a much better price, if not similar.
If you are seriously looking for a site host, then it is worth looking at other providers first. There is a chance that you may end up feeling nervous and pulling your hair out with JustHost.
However, just like with everything, your own personal experience may be different to ours.
Hello, my name is Matthew Jacobs and I have made a living on various blogs and websites. But, trust me, I haven’t always been able to say that with such confidence.
Hopefully this website can teach others and help you in getting your blog out there, capitalizing on it as much as you can, and can serve as the kind of resource I wish I had had. So, what are you waiting for? Get out there and make a name for yourself!
