Founded in 1979, Network Solutions has been a domain registrar since the early days of the internet. As well as being one of the largest domain registrars, the company offers a basic range of shared web hosting packages and WordPress-specific hosting.
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Free marketing offer : None
Uptime: 99.9%
Website builder : Yes
Money-back guarantee: No
Price per month: $5.69-$31.61
Network Solutions is best suited for users for people who only need a basic website or are willing to pay extra for additional features such as Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificates and malware scanning. It is also great for those who are looking for domain management or already use this feature.
Shared hosting means you only pay for a share of resources rather than using dedicated hardware. This helps you lower the costs of running your website, as you won’t pay for storage, RAM, or CPU resources that you don’t need. While shared hosting doesn't have the same performance as dedicated hosting, for most individuals and small businesses, it offers better value for money.
Network Solutions shared hosting plans provide the basic functionality you need to get your website up and running. However, they lack features such as SSL certificates, which other browsers use to mark your site as safe, and routine security scanning to ensure your site doesn’t get hacked.
Network Solutions also offers shared hosting optimized for websites using the WordPress content management system (CMS). This means your WordPress-based site should load faster with this type of hosting than with a shared hosting package.
You can choose between three tiers of WordPress hosting depending on the amount of storage you want, the number of email accounts you need, and how many websites you’ll host.
In addition, the company’s WordPress hosting packages come with on-demand cloud-based backups as standard.
Network Solutions has a drag-and-drop website builder for users who need a basic but functional site without all the features and complexity of a CMS such as WordPress.
The website builder is available with its own hosting package, with introductory pricing between $2.95 and $4.95 per month for the first month. However, this jumps to $14.95 per month for the website builder and $44.90 per month for online stores after the introductory period.
You can hire a Network Solutions web design expert to produce an attractive blog, brochure website, or online store using WordPress or the Network Solutions’ website builder. The e-commerce package includes setting up website analytics and allowing your site to accept payments.
You can also hire Network Solutions to provide marketing services for your website. Options include search engine optimization (SEO) to help people find your website through Google or Bing, business directory submission that helps SEO and provides potential customers another way to find your business, and pay-per-click (PPC) advertising to drive more traffic to your website.
Network Solutions offers shared web hosting and WordPress-specific hosting. The basic hosting costs range between $5.69 and $31.61 per month when billed annually.
|
|
Starter |
Essential |
Premium |
Premium Plus |
|
Price (per month) |
$5.69 |
$9.96 |
$25.78 |
$31.61 |
|
Storage |
15GB |
300GB |
Unlimited |
Unlimited |
|
Websites |
1 |
3 |
10 |
10 |
|
Email accounts |
5 |
1,000 |
Unlimited |
Unlimited |
|
Domain name |
No |
Included |
Included |
Included |
Here’s a breakdown of the pricing structure for Network Solutions’ WordPress hosting:
|
|
WordPress for Entrepreneurs |
WordPress for Growing a Business |
WordPress for Professionals |
|
Price (per month) |
$7.99 |
$13.98 |
$18.98 |
|
Storage |
50GB |
100GB |
200GB |
|
WordPress sites |
1 |
3 |
5 |
|
Email accounts |
10 |
25 |
50 |
|
Domain name |
Included |
Included |
Included |
You’ll likely have to pay extra for added security for your website and visitors. For example, to avoid browsers warning visitors that your website is insecure, you’ll need to purchase an SSL certificate, which starts at $76.89 per year. Network Solutions does offer free SSL certificates, but only on its most expensive plan.
To protect your site, you’ll need to spend an additional $7.99 per month for malware scanning and $29.99 per month for more comprehensive security services.
Besides the cheapest standard hosting plan, most Network Solutions hosting plans include a domain name. The Essential, Premium, and Premium Plus shared hosting plans also include free malware scanning on your website. However, only the Premium Plus plan includes SSL certificates as standard.
Network Solutions’ WordPress hosting offers free on-demand cloud backups as well.
There’s no money-back guarantee for Network Solutions’ hosting plans. However, you can get a refund within 3 days of purchase if you aren't satisfied with the services.
Network Solutions tends to be a reliable host with limited downtime, with a 99.9% uptime guarantee.
Network Solutions doesn’t provide much detail on the technical specifications of its hosting packages. The Linux-based shared hosting appears to have adequate resources to run websites smoothly.
On the software side, you can install applications compatible with the usual web programming languages like PHP, Python, Perl, and Ruby on Rails, with MySQL available for databases.
Network Solutions’ services are fairly easy to use. They have their own dashboard and control panel systems, so the appearance may take a little getting used to if you’re used to other platforms.
However, usability is on par with other hosting providers. Tasks such as installing applications like WordPress and managing email accounts are straightforward.
Customer support is available through 24/7 live chat. Connecting to a customer support agent takes only a few minutes, and the support staff is polite and helpful.
If you prefer talking to support over the phone, a call support team is available 7 days a week from 7 am-12 am ET.
Self-service options include a knowledge base and a blog. Network Solutions’ knowledge base is comprehensive and regularly updated with answers to various issues—from simple set-up tutorials to more technical guides. The Network Solutions blog contains useful articles on topics like securing your WordPress website and creating SEO strategies.
Network Solutions’ plans are more costly than other web hosts offering comparable features. Although its basic plans are affordable, it’s likely most users will need a higher-tier package to access the features they need. So, unless you’re sure you can do without additional website security or SSL certificates, you should factor in purchasing these add-ons alongside Network Solutions’ basic web hosting package.