Our rating: 4.8 (Excellent). InterServer offers a variety of web hosting options that range from entry-level shared hosting options to ultra-premium, lightning fast dedicated servers. Is InterServer right for your website? Read experts’ unbiased InterServer review before you sign up.
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About InterServer
Founded in 1999 by Mike Lavrik and John Quaglieri, InterServer offers its customers a variety of website solutions and services. In addition to its hosting services, InterServer offers colocation services for those who prefer to own the hardware they use.
I’ve been using Cloudways since January 2016 for this blog. I happily recommend Cloudways to my readers because I am a proud customer.
Over the past twenty or so years, InterServer has grown to where they operates four data centers (three in Secaucus, NJ and one in Los Angeles, CA). Its staff of 14 are based in Secaucus, NJ as well.
Why Choose InterServer?
This in-depth InterServer review contains everything you need to know about InterServer. Read our InterServer review before making your choice..
InterServer offers a variety of internet-related and website services, including web hosting options. Their hosting ranges from entry-level shared plans to premium cloud and VPS plans, email-only hosting, domain names, dedicated servers, and colocation services. Furthermore, the company emphasizes scalability. This means that growing websites will appreciate the ability to purchase additional resources without having to move their websites to a new plan or a different host.
Furthermore, InterServer bundles a lot of features, functionality, and bonuses with their web hosting plans (even at the shared hosting level). These include SSD storage as a standard offering, website builder tools, email functionality, caching, security tools, support for unlimited domains, and free professional services (like website migration).
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InterServer Review: Hosting Plans and Solutions
When reviewing the web hosting solutions offered by InterServer, you will see that there are many. They include:
- Standard Web Hosting
- Pro Hosting
- ASP.NET Hosting
- VPS and Cloud Hosting
- Dedicated Servers
- Colocation Services
The following sections of this InterServer web hosting review will take a closer look at all of the options offered by InterServer. Our goal is to help you make an informed decision on which type of hosting is best for you.
Standard Web Hosting
Shared hosting is an entry-level hosting type where multiple websites are placed onto a single server. All of the websites are free to access the physical server’s resources as needed. At InterServer, Standard Web Hosting is the entry-level option. Nevertheless, the plan available comes with everything needed to get a website online and should be more than enough for most users’ needs.
InterServer’s Standard Web Hosting plan comes with:
- Unlimited SSD storage space and data transfer
- Weekly backups
- Support for an unlimited number of FTP accounts
- A free CloudFlare CDN
The default operating system is CloudLinux. You will get a cPanel Control Panel that allows you to use a GUI for things like cron jobs, file management, and more. The control panel is also where you would go to check on your website’s resource usage, view billing details, and handle file transfers via FTP.
Standard Web Hosting customers also get email functionality. You can set up as many email accounts as you would like, and you can access your inbox using most email programs.
The email inboxes, which can be accessed from most devices, are 25 GB in size. All emails are automatically secured using end-to-end encryption. The email service also comes with spam filtering and supports SSL encryption.
Using the included cPanel Control Panel, you’ll also have access to over 450 cloud apps that can add features and functionality to your website. If you are a WordPress user, this hosting plan comes with an easy-to-use WordPress installer and includes automatic updates. Those who have an existing website can take advantage of the free website migration services.
If you find your website compromised, hacked, or otherwise exploited, you will find the included Inter-Insurance valuable. The InterServer team will help you with troubleshooting and identifying the root cause, restoring your site, and implementing improvements to prevent the issue from happening again.
You may also like: How to Start a Blog – A step-by-step guide for beginners
This hosting plan does not come with a free domain name, so you can register a custom option for one year. The cost is $1.99.
Term | Introductory Price | Renewal Price |
Monthly | $5 | $5 |
12 month term | $4.50 | $4.50 |
24 month term | $4 | $4 |
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SitePad Website Builder
Those who do not currently have a website will find the included SitePad Website Builder useful.
SitePad comes with 350+ themes that you can use to start building a website. You can customize your template as much (or as little) as you would like using the included drag-and-drop editor. If you want to add features and functionality, you can add any of the 40+ widgets available. When done, you can publish with just one click.
All of the sites built using SitePad are responsive, with the generated code optimized so that your site performs well and loads quickly for visitors.
Pro Hosting
Pro Hosting is InterServer’s reseller web hosting option. If you:
- Are interested in starting your own web hosting business
- Want to include web hosting in your existing portfolio (i.e., you are a web designer or developer, and you want to offer your customers web hosting as well)
Then Pro Hosting is something you should consider.
With Pro Hosting, you can create as many new accounts as desired. Each account that you create comes with the features available in the Standard Web Hosting account. Each account also comes with its own cPanel Control Panel for account and website management.
InterServer offers five different Pro Hosting plans from which you can choose. Each varies in terms of the disk space allocated and the bandwidth supported. However, all options allow you to create as many cPanel accounts as you’d like. They also include the Web Host Manager tool for client management and do not require the payment of setup fees upon account initiation.
Read: VPS vs Shared Hosting – which should I use?
There are several additional features that you can opt for when purchasing Pro Hosting, including dedicated IP addresses and private DNS servers.
InterServer offers instant account setup, so you can start using your account almost right after your purchase. InterServer also takes daily backups of your environment so you will lose little if something should happen to your server.
Get InterServer Pro Hosting for only $19.95/month here!
ASP.NET Web Hosting
Most of InterServer’s web hosting options are Linux-based, so those using Microsoft technologies will find the ASP.NET web hosting option interesting. It is very similar to the basic Standard Web Hosting package in that you get unlimited storage, data transfer, and email, as well as free website migration. You’ll also get a free SSL certificate.
The biggest downside, however, is that the number of websites you can host on your account is capped at 25.
Due to the differences in operating system, this package comes with the Plesk Control Panel, not cPanel. Other than that, most of the other features are identical to those that come with the Standard Web Hosting Package. These include email functionality, the WordPress installer and automatic updates.
Get InterServer Windows ASP.NET Hosting for only $4/month here!
E-Commerce Hosting
InterServer offers an e-commerce hosting solution designed to support online sales platforms like AbanteCart, OpenCart, and WordPress + WooCommerce.
E-commerce hosting is a managed web hosting service that boasts no hidden costs (e.g., per-transaction fees). It also requires no coding skills since you can install your sales platform using the provided scripts and offers you the security you need.
Your web hosting plan comes with a free SSL certificate, free site migration, unlimited storage and data transfer, and email functionality.
Get InterServer Ecommerce Hosting for only $5/month here!
Private Email Hosting
InterServer offers stand-alone, secure email hosting if all you want is to receive email using an address that features a custom domain name. You’ll get 25 GB inboxes for your email, which can be accessed from most devices, as well as protection against spam messages and viruses. All emails are automatically secured using end-to-end encryption.
InterServer promises a 100% uptime guarantee for its email services, and offers unlimited aliases, group lists, and forwarding functionality. You will also get free email migration so that you can bring your old emails over to InterServer. The team at InterServer will do all of the work once you provide them with the location of your emails, as well as your credentials.
The Private Email Hosting plan does support a website, since you get all of the features that come with the Standard Web Hosting package.
Get InterServer Private Email Hosting for only $5/month here!
Virtual Private Server (VPS) Hosting Review
If you have a large, resource intensive, or heavily-trafficked website and shared hosting is not sufficient for your needs, you can consider one of InterServer’s virtual private server (VPS) hosting plans.
InterServer offers support for a variety of operating systems, including:
- Debian
- CentOS
- Ubuntu
- Arch Linux
- Windows
- CERN Linux
- Funtoo
- Gentoo
- Openwall
- ALT Linux
- SuSE
- Scientific
- Fedora
- openSUSE
- Slackware
InterServer offers several types of VPS plans that you can choose from. You can get the operating system of your choice regardless of which VPS type you choose. The one exception, however, are those who want to run Windows on their servers. For that, you will need to choose the Windows VPS plan.
Unlike many other web hosting companies, there are a lot of VPS options on offer. The following InterServer VPS hosting review snippets should help you narrow down the list of options to just those that fit the needs of your website.
Cloud VPS
As its name implies, InterServer’s general use Cloud VPS plan is a cloud-based option offering you a great deal of flexibility. It comes with the CentOS operating system and the bread basket control panel. However, if you want a different control panel (e.g., cPanel), you can purchase it as an add-on during the checkout process.
When purchasing your VPS hosting plan, you can choose the number of CPU cores you would like to power your “slice” of the server. As you increase the number of cores, InterServer will automatically increase the allocation of memory, SSD storage, and bandwidth.
If you purchase four or more “slices,” InterServer will include managed support with your plan. This gets you assistance with security patches, diagnosing why a service might have failed, and control panel issues.
InterServer offers easy provisioning, which means that you can deploy additional VPS instances/slices, as well as any options you want for that instance, using your control panel if necessary.
You can choose where your deployment resides. You can choose from the West Coast data center in Los Angeles, CA and the East Coast data centers in Secaucus, NJ.
Get InterServer Cloud VPS Hosting for only $6/month here!
Windows VPS
Those who are building websites and apps using Microsoft technologies would find InterServer’s Windows VPS hosting plans to be of interest. When purchasing, you can choose the allocation that best meets your needs. You choose the number of “slices” you need (each slice comes with a CPU core and a fair amount of memory, storage, and bandwidth).
Windows VPS plans come with:
- SSD storage
- A static IP Address
- Private name servers
- Automatic server updates
- A 99.9% uptime guarantee.
Get InterServer Windows VPS Hosting for only $10/month here!
InterServer WordPress VPS
InterServer offers a speciality VPS hosting plan geared toward those who have used WordPress as their content management system (CMS).
These VPS plans offer faster speeds and better performance since they come with NGINX web servers, are preconfigured with FastCGI, speed optimizations, and improved caching. In general, all of the resources allocated are designed to optimize the performance of your WordPress site.
You can choose the number of CPU cores that come on your WordPress VPS instance, and InterServer will then include the allocation of SSD storage, memory, and bandwidth that they deem appropriate.
InterServer promises instant provisioning, so that you can get up and running in seconds (not days or weeks). You’ll also get an easy-to-use control panel (which means that you don’t have to rely on the command line for server-related tasks.
The plan comes with a 99.9% uptime guarantee.
InterServer offers free migration services with the promise that you will see little to no downtime during the migration period.
Get InterServer WordPress VPS Hosting for only $6/month here!
Webuzo VPS
The Webuzo VPS option is a premium hosting option that features the Webuzo control panel. With Webuzo, you can deploy only the software you need, even if you have no previous experience with control panels. Currently, there are over 100 apps that you can choose from, and InterServer’s Webuzo plans begin with the following resource allocation:
- 1 CPU core
- 2 GB memory
- 30 GB SSD storage
This plan is very similar to the InterServer VPS reviewed in a previous section.
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Dedicated Servers
If you need the fastest, most secure, and most resource-rich hosting around, a dedicated server is for you. With a dedicated server, everything on that physical instance is for your use only; you do not have to share anything with another website.
The dedicated server options all come with:
- Protection against Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks
- 10 TB of data transfer
- 24/7 uptime monitoring
- Data migration services
- Managed support
All new dedicated services can be provisioned in just four hours. InterServer offers a variety of options from which you can choose.
If you want a control panel for use with your dedicated server, you can purchase one of the following options: cPanel/WHM, PLESK, DirectAdmin.
In addition to the general use dedicated servers, InterServer offers the following variants:
- Storage Servers: If you have a large amount of data, you may be interested in a variant of InterServer’s Dedicated Servers called the Large Storage Servers. They are high capacity dedicated servers that feature up to 120 TB of storage space.
- 10gbps Dedicated Servers: This option is for those who want optimal performance when it comes to uplink speeds. Rather than offering a theoretical maximum, these options get you a guaranteed level of performance for an additional cost.
- GPI Dedicated Servers: InterServer’s GPU Dedicated Servers feature “massively parallel architecture” feature lots of smaller, highly efficient cores capable of mean feats of multitasking. This is one of the most powerful, yet scalable options when it comes to dedicated servers.
- Rapid Deploy Servers: Most of InterServer’s dedicated hosting options can be provisioned and ready for use in about four hours. However, if you are in a rush, the company also offers rapid deploy options that can be ready in 15 to 20 minutes.
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Colocation Services
InterServer offers colocation services. You provide the physical server on which your website is hosted. InterServer provides everything else, including:
- The secured, physical location where the server resides
- The power it needs to run
- The network infrastructure for it to connect to the internet.
In short, they are undertaking the work to make sure that your server has the physical resources it needs to stay available to those on the internet 24/7.
Students and Nonprofit Organizations
InterServer offers free hosting to nonprofit organizations and discounted hosting services for students. If you fall into either category and want to take advantage of these offers, you can do so by reaching out the the InterServer Sales Team.
Domain Names
InterServer is a domain name registrar, which means that you can purchase a custom domain from the company for use with your website. The company can also help you with things like domain name renewals or transfers of existing domains from your old host.
InterServer does not include a domain name, free of charge, with its web hosting packages. However, you can purchase one for just $1.99 during the checkout process.
Get domain names for only $1.99/year here!
SSL Certificates
SSL certificates are important for two reasons. First, they are required to encrypt transactions between your website and user; this means that if unauthorized parties intercept the transmissions, they cannot view its contents. Second, a major factor of SEO is how secure your site is; those without SSL certificates (which are, by definition, less secure) will be penalized in search engine rankings.
InterServer offers all users with the cPanel Control Panel a free SSL Certificate. If, however, you want a more robust certificate or you aren’t using cPanel, you can purchase one using your InterServer account dashboard.
Uptime and Service Level Agreements
InterServer makes several claims regarding uptime and offers several different service level agreements (SLAs). First, they guarantee that the network will be available 99.9% of the time, excluding scheduled maintenance. Second, they guarantee 100% uninterrupted electricity.
If InterServer fails to meet either guarantee, you can submit a ticket within seven days requesting compensation for the outage. You would be eligible for up to 50% of your base monthly fee each month.
According to the InterServer users reviews, Performance and ease of use makes thousands of online businesses trust InterServer.
Technical Support and Customer Service
If you ever have any questions, comments, or concerns, you can get in touch with the InterServer support teams 24/7 via:
- Ticketing system
- Live chat
- Telephone
- Fax
Those who are interested in the DIY-approach will find the company’s knowledge base useful. InterServer also offers a variety of text-based materials to help you get started. Topics include:
- Getting Started
- WordPress
- Migrating to InterServer
- Joomla
- E-Commerce
InterServer Pricing and Payment
The price you pay for web hosting depends on what type of hosting you choose, as well as the specific plan you choose.
Furthermore, InterServer offers discounts in exchange for a lengthier contract. For example, those who purchase the Standard Web Hosting package will see a predetermined price. But, those who agree to a three-year contract will pay less than those who choose to pay on a month-to-month basis in the long run.
The premium web hosting options (e.g., VPS hosting and dedicated servers) do not require long-term contracts.
We do want to mention the InterServer Price Lock Guarantee, however. This guarantee means that the price you pay when signing up is the price you pay during the life of your contract. You will not pay less during the initial contract period, then pay more upon renewal.
Payment Methods
InterServer accepts a variety of payment methods. They include:
- Most major credit cards (e.g., Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover)
- Debit cards that feature a Visa or MasterCard logo
- PayPal
- Checks
- Money Orders
Those who purchase Dedicated Servers may also pay using wire transfer.
Refunds and Money Back Guarantees
All shared hosting accounts are backed by a 30-day money back guarantee. If you cancel within that period, you will receive a full refund of all monies paid. However, your refund will exclude any domain name registration fees. For all other account types, there are neither refunds nor guarantees.
InterServer User Reviews
In this InterServer hosting review, we have tried to write about everything you need to know about working with InterServer. Don’t take our word for it, however — we recommend seeking out InterServer customer reviews written by those with actual experience for additional perspective.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Take a look at the answers to some frequently asked questions about InterServer.
Is InterServer a good web host?
InterServer is an experienced web host with a long track history of providing solid web hosting options and customer service. The company offers a variety of web hosting options at fair prices. They also have some more unique offerings (especially in terms of colocation services and dedicated hosting).
What payment methods does InterServer accept?
InterServer accepts most major credit cards (e.g., Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover) and debit cards that feature a Visa or MasterCard logo. They also accept PayPal, checks, money orders, and, if you opt for a dedicated server, wire transfers.
Does InterServer offer free backups?
If your hosting plan comes with a control panel featuring backup functionality, you can manually backup your site free of charge. However, InterServer offers backup services that vary in price based on the type of hosting you have and how much data is currently in use.
Is InterServer a good option for WordPress sites?
InterServer’s web hosting plans are more than sufficient for hosting WordPress sites. Depending on the option you choose, you might also find yourself receiving features that make managing your WordPress site easier, too. Some examples include one-click installation and automatic core updates.
How many applications and websites does InterServer let me host on a single account?
In general, you can host as many applications and websites using a single InterServer account as long as you abide by the company’s Terms of Service.
Best InterServer Alternatives
If InterServer does not fit your needs, consider following hosting companies as alternatives.
Web Host | Our Rating | Starts at | Review |
Bluehost | 4.9 | $2.95 | Bluehost review |
A2 Hosting | 4.9 | $2.96 | A2 Hosting review |
HostPapa | 4.9 | $3.95 | HostPapa review |
You may also like: The best web hosting providers or your personal website or small business.
InterServer Review: Wrapping Up
InterServer offers a variety of web hosting options that range from entry-level shared hosting options to ultra-premium, lightning fast dedicated servers. The company also offers colocation services and domain name-related services.
Though InterServer may not be the sleekest or shiniest web hosting provider in existence today, the company has been around for about twenty years. It’s fairly lengthy history means that it has the experience needed to help you with your website-related projects, no matter how big or small.
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More LessAccording to the InterServer reviews and experts’ opinions, InterServer is best for who looking for affordable web hosting solutions and top-notch customer support.
Ready to get started? Head to InterServer to sign up for a new hosting account today!