Best Hosting Hostinger Review 2023: Choosing a web hosting provider is always about determining which services are the most enjoyable and worth the investment. After that, we decide if they outweigh some of the negative sides or are better when it comes to competition. With this in mind, we did a full test and review of Hostinger and discovered that they are great in almost every aspect.
Hostinger is one of the best web hosting services in terms of affordability and performance. They offer shared, WordPress, cloud, and VPS hosting services. All their plans are configured to address your basic needs as a beginner and as they increase when your business scales in 2022. You can also bring your existing sites to them if you want high-quality web hosting services and performance without breaking the bank.
However, the big question is, does Hostinger really deliver, or it is just another host making promises for marketing purposes? Do they even have the infrastructure and commitment to power sites effectively? If you really want to know, keep reading our Hostinger review for 2022.
How We Reviewed Hostinger?
To answer your questions and address your concerns with 2022 real data, we decided to give Hostinger some of our product quality tests and provide you with a review. The process involved us purchasing one of their hosting plans and using it just like everyone would.
The only difference is that we took note of the things we loved and those we did not. We were thorough and ready to critique or commend the services when required. Hence, this Hostinger test and review article is a great guide to determine if you should build a relationship with them or not.
We did a review of Hostinger in every area of their services and the general indicators of a good web hosting provider. From our results, we are confident of their services and recommend Hostinger as the #1 hosting company for all your 2022 and future website projects.
However, since it sounds a bit far-fetched without justifications, we have decided to back our claims with actual findings, experience, and screenshots. Here is our full review and test results of Hostinger.
Onboarding Process-
Hostinger’s onboarding process is quite beginner-friendly and intriguing. After purchasing the premium shared plan for the review, we logged on to the hPanel to begin the setup.
Hostinger prompted us to claim our free domain, proving that they did not go back on their word. However, since we already had our domain for the test and review, we went straight to set up.
Account Setup-
Hostinger’s account setup is very straightforward.
It was more like we had a virtual tour guide telling us where to go. The setup gives you two options; to build a new website or transfer an existing one to them. If you already have a site on any CMS, you can easily migrate it for free by sending a request to the migration team.
The team only needs your domain name and login URL, admin username and password, and your previous hosting company’s name, which you can select from the drop-down menu. After sending them these, they will migrate the site for you and make it ready in less than two business days. We find this helpful if you do not know your way around WordPress or CMS installations.
Alternatively, Hostinger can upload your website’s files immediately to your public_html directory if you have the backup zip file.
Hostinger makes this so simple that you will not have to do anything else after that. The site will be up and running, provided all your previous files are in the uploaded folder. If your site uses databases, you can import them through the hPanel in just a few clicks.
However, we created a site with the drag-and-drop builder instead. The whole process took only about 15 mins. During this time, we built an eCommerce store and a logo for about 5 mins using Hostinger website builder and AI Logo Generator. That was fast and easy!
Afterward, we installed WordPress on our site with a single click and could log in to our backend automatically from the hPanel. As a result, the Hostinger account setup passes our review on beginner-friendliness and straightforwardness in 2022. We couldn’t have had this easier.
Website Builder Test and Review
Our test and review of the Hostinger website builder was a fantastic experience. It is beginner-friendly, and anyone can find their way around it easily. It gives the option to choose a template or build from scratch.
So, we chose a blank page to experience some challenges. It really is a WYSIWYG – What You See Is What You Get – drag-and-drop builder. You need no knowledge of website design or builders at all.
It allows you to add three sections – the header, body, and footer. The elements to add to these sections are at the left-side corner of the builder. We went for the e-commerce section, and editable products were automatically imported to the page. We then added the footer section with a click from the elements sidebar. However, even though we added an e-commerce section, there is also an option for blogs if that is what you need. You will also have access to many useful templates to choose from.
Furthermore, Hostinger’s builder allows you to set the SEO of your newly-built website for both Google and social media. If you also want to host your site on WordPress, you can easily export it and import the file into your WP installation – just like a migration.
Lastly, the AI Logo Generator is excellent and easy to use. We give it a 9 out of 10. You can choose from a template of logos and customize yours based on shape and color. This process took us less than a minute since it was just about 5 straight clicks. The Hostinger AI Logo Generator gave us four files of a high-resolution PNG logo in different sizes: small, medium, large, and extra large.
Our review shows that Hostinger has one of the best website builders in 2022, and their free AI Logo Generator is also powerful enough to save you from the extra dollars spent on a logo designer.
Speed Test-
One of the most significant indicators of a good hosting company is its ability to deliver lightning-fast websites. Speed is an essential quality of any site on the internet, and it takes only a split second to lose a customer to slow-loading pages. Thus, we performed the Hostinger review for 2022 using the three most reliable speed test tools; GTmetrix, Pingdom, and Google’s PageSpeed Insights.
GTMetrix-
GTmetrix is a free tool designed to test websites for speed, performance, and optimization issues. It also gives suggestions on what is causing these problems and a grade for the performance of web pages when viewed by real users. Here are the metrics GTmetrix uses:
- GTmetrix Grade: The Performance column shows how well real users enjoy your pages regarding load speeds and visual stability. This value is calculated from Lighthouse – a Google web page audit project using the core web vitals. At the same time, the Structure column explains how well-built your pages are by inspecting the images, texts, HTML, CSS, JS, and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS).
- Time To First Byte (TTFB): This metric measures the time it takes your web servers to fulfill the first request of the user’s browser. An ideal TTFB is 0.8s or less.
- First Contentful Display (FCP): This metric measures the time it takes for the first item on your web page to display on your user’s screen. This could be a text, picture, etc. An ideal FCP is 1.8s or less.
- Largest Contentful Display (LCP): This metric measures the time it takes for the largest item on the web page to fully display to the visitors. An ideal LCP is 2.5s or less.
- First Input Display (FID): This metric measures how interactive your page is when users click on images, and elements, type to search, or scroll through. An ideal FID is 300ms or less.
- Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): This metric measures how stable the elements of your pages are. Factors that affect your CLS are slow-loading web pages that have elements that do not fully display and make users mistakenly take unexpected actions. An ideal CLS is 0.1 or less.
We performed this test and review with the starter website created by Hostinger upon WordPress installation. The default theme was Twenty Twenty-Two with no further customization. Also, note that the LiteSpeed Cache WordPress Plugin was installed automatically, and we did not alter the settings. Therefore, this is the out-of-the-box speed of Hostinger.
Our test website got a TTFB of just 223 ms, meaning that our Hostinger LiteSpeed servers responded quickly to the browser’s requests. We also recorded an FCP and LCP of 460 ms and 638 ms, respectively, to prove that Hostinger LiteSpeed caching technologies are working effectively.
Furthermore, our CLS was at 0.07, which is pretty high but better than the benchmark (0.1). We attributed this poor CLS to the theme and not the server. However, we think a little optimization with the LSCWP plugin could make a difference.
Overall, we had a fully loaded time of 844 ms. It is less than a second, and it surely screams fast to us. We also recorded a GTmetrix grade A with 99% and 97% performance and structure ratings, respectively. It is proof that even Hostinger shared hosting plans can deliver lightning-fast websites in 2022. Now, imagine what the cloud and VPS hosting plans can deliver!
Here is a summary of our first Hostinger speed test results with GTmetrix:
- Time to First Byte (TTFB) – 223ms (almost 600ms faster)
- Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) – 638ms ( almost 2s faster)
- Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) – 0.07 (0.03 faster)
- Fully loaded time – 844ms (very fast!)
We installed the Neve WordPress theme for the second test and imported a starter website with all its content. This test aims to see how fast our site can still be when there are more elements like images, buttons, and big fonts. We also did not perform any further optimization.
On our test and review with GTmetrix with a server from Vancouver, Canada, we recorded a TTFB of 314ms. This is a speed drop from our first test but still very fast. Our FCP and LCP also increased to 528ms and 679ms, respectively, due to the large image on the homepage. But this is still faster than anything we have seen on the internet.
However, regarding fully loaded time and CLS, we recorded 769ms and 0.00, respectively. This is an outstanding load speed for a fully functioning website and better than our first test. As a result of this improvement, we recorded a GTmetrix grade A with 100% and 98% for performance and structure, respectively. This is proof that our Hostinger servers can deliver correctly configured websites at lightning speed in 2022.
Here is a summary of our second GTmetrix speed test results:
- Time to First Byte (TTFB) – 314ms (almost 500ms faster)
- Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) – 679ms ( almost 2s faster)
- Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) – 0.00 (outstanding!)
- Fully loaded time – 769ms (very fast!)
PageSpeed Insights and Pingdom Tests
PageSpeed Insights is a Google-owned speed and performance test tool. It also considers the core web vitals to inform on the performance score of a web page on a scale of 1-100. Here are the results we recorded for our Hostinger test website:
Mobile Test Results
- 100 performance score
- FCP – 1.1s
- LCP – 1.6s
- CLS – 0
Note that performance is lower on mobile devices than on desktops because the former has slower processors. However, the speed is still better than the benchmark, and it is one of the fastest on the internet in 2022.
Desktop Test Results
- 100 performance score
- FCP – 0.3s
- LCP – 0.5s
- CLS – 0
From our PageSpeeds Insights reports for desktop, we noticed a much better Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) at 500 ms. Our FCP also decreased to 300 ms. This indicates how fast Google perceives the test website and could help improve SEO performance.
During the review, we also recorded a load time of 267 ms from Pingdom with a test server from Washington, DC, USA. This indicates how fast your websites can load with Hostinger hosting plans in 2022.
Response & Load Tests-
In real life, there is always a possibility that so many visitors will be on your sites simultaneously (peak hours). Since normally, this can make your web servers lag, especially if they are unmanaged or overcrowded, we decided to test and review the strength of our Hostinger servers during peak hours. For this test, we used a tool called Loader to send visitors to the site within 1 minute.
First Response & Load Test Results-
We sent 20 visitors to the site for our first test within one minute. The fastest response time recorded by the visitors was 45 ms, and the highest was 309 ms. We then recorded an average of 58 ms response time per client. The results show that Hostinger servers can adequately accommodate 20 visitors per minute on our websites and still deliver top speed.
Second Load Test Results-
Moving to our second load test, we upped the challenge by sending 50 visitors in a minute. We recorded an average response time of 51 ms with this new configuration. The visitors also experienced the fastest response time at 45 ms and the slowest at 295 ms.
Thus, the results show that our Hostinger website can deliver effortlessly to 50 unique visitors navigating a page within one minute.
Third Load Test Results-
We sent 1000 visitors per minute for our last load test. The values recorded show that our website delivered an average response time of 47 ms to each visitor. We also recorded the fastest and slowest response times of 43 ms and 301 ms, respectively.
This indicates that you do not have to worry about traffic surges on your Hostinger websites.
Hostinger’s Uptime Test-
Great uptime is one of the most important qualities of a good host. Downtime, even for a few minutes per day, can lead to losing potential clients and, of course, dollars. Hence, we decided to put Hostinger’s promise of 99.9% uptime to the test. For this, we used a tool called Freshping. This tool sends traffic to our web servers every 5 minutes and records the downtime and uptime.
From 24-hour monitoring with Freshping, we recorded 100% uptime on our servers. If this continues every day or at least for most of the year, there is no doubt that Hostinger can deliver one of the best uptime in the industry.
However, due to the thoroughness of this review, we also checked their uptime status page for the past 90 days in 2022. Hostinger recorded 99.99% uptime for both shared and cloud-hosting web servers. This is way higher than the 99.90% uptime guarantee on these servers, which is quite impressive!
24/7 Customer Support
Hostinger has a stellar team of specialists committed to helping you solve your problems. You can contact them through live chats, ticketing, or email systems 24/7/365. Hostinger’s support has one of the best specialists in the industry, and there are no WordPress problems they cannot solve.
The only issue, however, is the period of waiting before you get a reply. It is not very encouraging. But you can peruse their Knowledge Base or frequently asked questions area to see if your concern has been previously addressed.
The Knowledge Base has everything you need to get your website up and running. It has several tutorials on how to get started, use the hPanel, website builder, manage domains and DNS, and other common issues in comprehensive how-to articles and videos. You will also learn how to use the traditional cPanel, and manage your PHP versions, files, databases, SEO, and SSL certificates. From our Hostinger review of its content, you can never go wrong with Hostinger Knowledge Base.
Performance Technologies
Technologies used by a web hosting company matter regarding the services’ speed, uptime, and reliability. While outdated technologies are a red flag, new ones like HTTP/3, LiteSpeed web server software, SSD storage, etc., will favor your websites’ overall performance and success. Here is a review of some of the technologies used by Hostinger in 2022:
Web Server Software
Hostinger uses the best web server software on the market today; LiteSpeed. This software is known for its high tolerance for multitasking. It uses fewer resources for demanding processes and is suitable for delivering top performance, making it the best software for high-traffic sites.
Unlike competitors, LiteSpeed software powers all of Hostinger’s plans, including shared hosting. A perfect example is Bluehost, which uses Apache, an older software for its web servers. Apache is also fast, but LiteSpeed is known to be multiple times faster. This means you are getting the best speed in the market for the lowest price.
As a result, we recommend any of Hostinger’s plans if you are interested in beating your competition with unmatched speed without breaking the bank in 2022.
LiteSpeed Cache for WordPress (LSCWP)
Hostinger also uses LiteSpeed Cache for WordPress (LSCWP) to deliver optimized and faster WP websites. You will also get the free The good news is, you don’t have to subscribe to a specific plan since it is available on shared, WordPress, and cloud hosting at no extra or hidden costs. Thus, your WP eCommerce sites on these plans will work with lightning-fast performance.
Super Fast SSD Storage & HTTPS/3 Implementation
Hostinger uses fast SSD storage to keep all the data on its web servers. With this, your visitors will experience a seamless download of files in your disk space without negatively affecting your web servers. Unlike old hard drive disks (HDD) that overheat and can cause your servers to lag, SSD storages do not and use fewer resources. Thus, you can rest assured that no matter how media-heavy your websites or web pages are, they will load at lightning-fast speed.
Furthermore, Hostinger uses the latest Hypertext Transfer Protocol, HTTPS/3, on your webservers for optimizations. It allows browsers to connect easily with your web server multiple times to retrieve information on your web pages independently for faster rendering and load times.
That is, if there are 50 elements on your web pages, the browser can connect to your servers to deliver them simultaneously rather than in sequence, which leads to longer load times. An occurrence that will increase your bounce rates and cut your SEO performances.
Multiple Data Centers
Hostinger has about 7 data centers on 4 continents worldwide. They are in Brazil, India, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Singapore, the UK, and the United States. In collaboration with Cloudflare CDN, these data centers make Hostinger websites deliver the fastest loading times to visitors from anywhere in the world.
You will also have the chance to choose your preferred data center location during your onboarding process to where most of your visitors are. Or, you could pick a data center closer to your location if you are a local business.
Money-Back Guarantee
Forming a relationship with Hostinger is not a do-or-die situation. Thus, to establish their confidence in the quality of their services and your satisfaction, they provide a full, no questions asked refund on all hosting plans within 30 days of signup. However, after this period, you will only get a partial refund of your unused services.
Therefore, you can rest assured to buy their 4-year or 48-month plan to test Hostinger today since you will get your money back if you can cancel within 30 days if you are not impressed. However, we strongly doubt your impending dissatisfaction with their services.
However, the 30-day money-back guarantee does not cover domain registrations and renewals. Instead, you have only 96 hours from the time of purchase to file a request.