InterServer started as a dream of two enthusiastic and tech-savvy high school students named Mike Lavrik and John Quaglieri. They wanted to build a company that offered affordable data services without compromising the overall level of service and support. This dream came true in 1999 when they co-founded InterServer. The company is based in the United States, with headquarters in Secaucus, United States, and operates two onshore data centers: one in Secaucus and one in Los Angeles. As a result, users in the United States should expect nothing short of lightning fast. InterServer facilities guarantee 100% uptime and 99,9% network uptime, while sharing data in their data centers in the "About" section of their website and all, in the smaller details. The "About" section itself is one of the most comprehensive we've seen so far, which is commendable. We can even see all the InterServer staff, including their short biographies. Unfortunately, the Minister for Defence, Morale and Mental Health (yes, we're talking about the resident dog) didn't get his own section, which we'll gladly read. InterServer's main website is simple in style, easy to navigate, and has all the information you'll need before deciding whether or not to start your hosting journey with them. The same goes for his blog, which is full of articles, although less and less have been published lately. Her social media accounts are a bit sloppy as well, but they seem to come alive from time to time.
InterServer shared hosting plans start at just € 2.50 per month (Image credit: InterServer)
Packages and prices
For those who find it essential to try to save as much money as possible, the best bet is InterServer's Linux-based shared hosting plans that start at just $2.50 per month and still include a list of impressive features. Some of them are unlimited cloud storage space, unlimited bandwidth, infinite number of FTP accounts, weekly backups, Let's Encrypt SSL certificate, one-click installations and easy-to-use cPanel as control panel. However, if you want shared hosting with Windows as the operating system, it will cost considerably more at €8.00 per month and will come with Plesk for your control panel. If you're looking for something more ambitious than shared hosting packages, you can choose between a cloud VPS (optimized for Linux, Windows, WordPress, Webuzo, or storage) and various dedicated server packages. InterServer offers a 30-day money-back guarantee only with its shared hosting packages. Its services can be paid through major credit cards (Mastercard, Visa, American Express and Discover) and PayPal.
Ease of use
If you're not sure what you want, choosing a web hosting plan with InterServer can be a bit overwhelming due to the sheer number of types, options, and features available. However, if you're here for a well-structured yet easy-to-use hosting solution, you might be relieved to learn that one exists, and that it's a good one, too. In addition to everything we mentioned above, this plan includes free website migration services "no matter what control panel or account access you have on your old host," which is a nice bonus. To create an account with InterServer, you'll go through a fairly simple process where you'll be asked to decide what to do with a domain name (register a new one or use an existing one), provide your email address, create a password. And confirm that you have read the "Terms of Service" agreement (even if you haven't). Finally, you will need to continue to provide your personal information (name, address, company name, phone number, etc.).
You can manage your InterServer site using the industry standard cPanel (Image credit: cPanel) Since InterServer typically limits the number of daily subscriptions to 100, your technical team has more time to spend with each customer. So your newly created account and website should be available without any delay. From its interface (a bit clumsy), you will easily access a control panel that you have previously chosen (cPanel in our case and to our liking).
InterServer also offers one-click installs for hundreds of popular apps (Image Credit: InterServer) Installing WordPress (or any of the many apps available) is easy with Softaculous and should be completed in less than a minute. However, if you prefer to design your site with a proper website builder, SitePad's drag and drop builder is available and will include 200+ professional and beautiful themes and 100+ amazing widgets (image/video slider, galleries of photos, 'images, Rich Text and so on).
We use GTmetrix to measure the uptime and response time of our InterServer site (Image credit: GTmetrix)
Speed and experience
By using the latest server optimization and security technologies, InterServer claims they can deliver "super fast" speed to their users' websites. After reading this, as usual, we had to check with GTmetrix (our speed test tool) if they keep their word in practice. After running several speed checks on the main InterServer website, we have come to the conclusion that they are about as far from breaking promises as possible. The page loaded in 4.9, which is about half the average result. On top of that, all vital web metrics (total block time, largest content, cumulative layout change, etc.) were above average, resulting in a very encouraging A rating (99%). Since InterServer has partnered with Cloudflare (which should imply reliability of the service), they offer an industry standard three nine (ie 99,9%) uptime guarantee. After monitoring their main website's uptime performance for two weeks, we had no reason to doubt their promises. The report indicated 100% uptime with no downtime, which is always welcome.
Support
InterServer describes their support as "epic", raising our expectations for the support options they provide as well as their overall level of service. There are several ways to get in touch with this "epic incarnation" and these include phone number, ticket, email, and live chat. The team should be available 24/7 (we use the term "should" since they weren't available when we tried to reach them), but you'll probably have to wait a bit if you're trying to get them. through anything but a phone. In addition to English, phone support is provided in a few other languages, as InterServer has opened native language call centers in Mexico, Brazil, and Israel.
InterServer offers many step-by-step tutorials on their site (Image credit: InterServer) As for self-help options, there are several, although they seem all over the place. Its knowledge base (titled “InterServer Step-by-Step Tutorials”) consists of over 400 articles divided into six main categories. Although it offers quite detailed and easy-to-follow guides (images included), getting the one you need can take a while because it isn't the best organized. On top of that, there's an FAQ (with about ten questions answered briefly) and a YouTube channel (containing about thirty fairly minimalist how-to video guides).
Competition
Bluehost and InterServer are US-based web hosts that offer a full range of hosting services at competitive prices, and both aim to provide full customer support (although they could use some improvements in this department). Entry-level plans are similarly priced (it's $2.50 with InterServer, while it's $2.95 with Bluehost), but there are a few differences in terms of the features on offer. Bluehost offers free domain registration (for the first year), unlike InterServer. However, InterServer places fewer restrictions on its features (including storage, bandwidth, and email accounts), while you'll have to purchase Bluehost's core shared hosting plan to get the same. HostGator is another popular option for people looking for a web host, especially in the United States. Like InterServer, it offers a wide range of options and features at an affordable price. However, HostGator offers a free domain name registration to encourage newcomers, whereas there is no free domain with InterServer. When it comes to pricing, Namecheap seems to be a more affordable option than InterServer, as their cheapest shared hosting plans start at just $1.58 (and cost $2.88 after renewal) and include a free domain with all their yearly contracts. . However, both hosts include unlimited nice features, free backups, a free SSL certificate, a free website builder, and a 30-day money-back guarantee, and since both are based in the US. , US customers will not. go wrong with anyone. . InMotion Hosting is another US host with a wide range of hosting options, unlimited features, and 24-hour customer support. However, since InMotion Hosting has plans for Linux servers only, if you want to use Windows, you'll need to go with InterServer. .
Final verdict
In addition to offering a wide variety of hosting types, a handful of great features, more than enough available apps, and unlimited resources for your website, InterServer offers exceptional performance while maintaining a sufficient level of security. Of course, there is still room for improvement, mainly when it comes to customer support, but given the affordable prices, InterServer is a great option. However, if the lack of strong support is an issue for you, check out HostGator, Bluehost, and Hostinger before making any life-changing decisions.