While deciding on a web hosting service provider doesn’t quite have the glamor of creating the website, it does provide the foundation for your site viewers’ experience of your web presence. Without a fast and reliable website, people are just not going to be patient enough to wait around or to revisit your site.
We look here at InMotion Hosting and Arvixe, two popular web hosting services, and ask questions on your behalf. Our review gives you the information to help decide which, if either, of these hosting providers, offers you the features and pricing that you need.
Launched in 2001, InMotion has earned a solid reputation as a high-quality web hosting provider for businesses who want to have a web presence. InMotion has earned its listing as a Certified CNET Hosting Provider and its A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau.
Arvixe has been in business since 2003 and has been growing rapidly since 2009. Arvixe is also suited for the business audience and has also earned a solid reputation for hosting blogs. EIG bought Arvixe in 2014 and added it to its stable of web hosting companies.
Uptime and Reliability
Uptime. Uptime and reliability should be one of your first concerns when deciding on a web hosting service. InMotion and Arvixe hold themselves accountable to the industry-standard uptime of 99.9%, and both hit the mark consistently, according to independent monitoring companies. InMotion uses a unique Proactive System Management tool to keep track of their servers but doesn’t publish the results; Arvixe’s uptime stats come in at just over the 99.9% mark.
Performance. Both InMotion and Arvixe have Solid State Drive servers which increase the speed of processing and are available on all their hosting plans. Also, InMotion has Max Speed Zones which selects the closest data center for your website, and Smart Routing which reduces your website’s load time.
Arvixe uses its CloudFlare system which caches static content for later use, reducing the amount of processing necessary.
Reliability. One aspect of the reliability of a web hosting service is that they use multiple servers to store their websites. InMotion’s data centers are on the east, and west coasts of the United States and the company has plans to build centers in Europe, Asia, and South America.
Worldwide data centers bring websites close to where the majority of their viewers are. Arvixe has servers in the United States, Hong Kong, and Europe (Amsterdam). Standard additional measures to ensure reliability taken by both InMotion and Arvixe include redundant power and cooling and onsite monitoring.
Opinion on InMotion and Arvixe Performance
InMotion takes the lead here for its performance ratings, though with just a slight edge.
Compare Key Features
Note: The features of a web hosting service are often what differentiates it from its competitors. We take a look at the most important features and compare what InMotion and Arvixe have to offer.
Both Arvixe and InMotion are eco-conscious companies. Arvixe sponsors planting trees to offset its carbon footprint and uses outside air cooling in its data centers instead of air conditioning. InMotion’s first-ever green technology center is based in California, where is uses a state-of- the- art cooling system.
Domain Registration. Domain name registration and management are similar for InMotion and Arvixe. Both companies sell domain names and allow you to transfer in a domain that you already own. InMotion gives you a free domain name for one year when you sign up for a one year, or longer, web hosting contract. In contrast, Arvixe offers you a free domain name for as long as you use its services.
Website Builder. The RVSiteBuilder provided by Arvixe may not be too well-known, but it comes with 500 different templates, an image editor and drag-and- drop capability to make creating your website simple. And it’s free.
InMotion’s free Premium website builder comes with more features, including some that more advanced website builders will be pleased to see, such as allowing users to register on the site. However, the look of the finished pages with the Premium website builder aren’t too eye-catching.
Databases. Both InMotion and Arvixe offer SQL Databases with all their plans. InMotion has unlimited MySQL databases for its top plan, the Pro; Arvixe provides unlimited MySQL5 and Postgre SQL databases with all its PersonalClass and BusinessClass plans.
WordPress Hosting. Managed WordPress hosting is available through both InMotion and Arvixe.
InMotion’s managed WordPress hosting wins the AWA Member’s Choice award for this service. You can have WordPress pre-installed when you purchase any hosting plan. InMotion’s managed WordPress hosting handles all the WordPress updates and security fixes for you, so you just have to worry about your WordPress content. BoldGrid is InMotion’s free tool that allows you to quickly and easily build your WP site.
Managed WordPress hosting with Arvixe comes with pre-installed and pre-configured WordPress – all the technical work has been done for you. You have unlimited data storage and monthly transfers, but you can only have 6 WordPress managed sites. InMotion allows you unlimited sites.
With both service providers, the cost of managed WP hosting is included in their regular plans.
eCommerce Solution. Arvixe Hosting and InMotion approach eCommerce differently.
Arvixe has links on its site to some of the top names in eCommerce solutions, including Magento and OpenCart. Arvixe claims that if eCommerce software exists, they can host it.
InMotion comes with a variety of integrated eCommerce features. You can incorporate an eStore into your website using the Premium web builder and can download PrestaShop or OpenCart as a shopping cart. Upgrading your store further, or using a different payment option, does require plugins.
Backups. Our advice – and it also comes from some web hosting services – is to make your regular backups, even if your web hosting service provides this as a feature for you.
That said, both InMotion and Arvixe do provide some backup services for you.
With InMotion, you receive automated backup copies for accounts that are 10 GB and less – and the service is free.
Arvixe also provides a free daily backup service, although you have to pay to restore your website if it takes up more than 10 GB of space. Websites over 20 GB aren’t backed up at all.
Hosting Security. Security services are a selling point of both these web hosting companies.
Security is available at InMotion for various monthly fees. Your email is secure with McAfee Spam and virus protection software, and an SSL certificate looks after any sensitive data entered into your website. WordPress users have the free Sucuri Security plugin to keep their WordPress sites safe.
Arvixe provides SpamAssassin to protect your email boxes from spam and uses 6Scan daily to check websites and to review blacklist reports. You can also restrict access to parts of your website with passwords.
Control Panel. The industry-standard and highly-reviewed, cPanel is used by both InMotion and Arvixe for their Linux hosting options. The Business class package of InMotion has cPanel 11 with no personalized themes or branding for a clean look. Arvixe has also not branded cPanel so that it will be instantly familiar to users. With the Windows hosting the option of Arvixe, the control panel is DotNetPanel rather than the more common Plesk panel.
Opinion on InMotion and Arvixe Key Features
InMotion and Arvixe match almost feature for feature in this comparison. Arvixe pulls into the lead, feature-wise, with its for-lifetime free domain and higher website limits.
Hosting Plans & Pricing
Note: It’s difficult to figure out the real cost of web hosting. There’s promotional, highly discounted, cost, but that’s usually for a long-term contract of two- or three- years.
Then there’s the monthly cost that the price jumps up to after the initial term.
Then there’s the website builder, SSL certificate, backups, etc. to factor in and these may or may not be free.
And watch out for the sometimes amazingly high cost of your domain name renewal after the first year!
InMotion. InMotion has three Linux web hosting plans, all of which come with free SSD servers, unlimited disk space and monthly transfers, a free domain, free data backups and the ability to choose which data center your website is hosted on.
The Launch Plan is the plan for website beginners with two websites; it costs $5.99 per month with a two-year contract. Small businesses should look at the Power plan which costs $7.99 monthly; you can have up to 6 websites, and it is e-Commerce ready. The top-tier plan, the Pro, is for developers and growing businesses; for $13.99 per month, you get an unlimited number of websites and Pro-level support.
InMotion offers Linux-based VPS hosting with a choice of 3 plans ranging in price from $30 a month up to $75, all on SSD servers. All plans come with a free domain.
Arvixe. Arvixe offers both Linux hosting and Windows hosting. Its web hosting services are divided into PersonalClass and BusinessClass, each of which has two plans for both Linux and Windows hosting. All plans have unlimited disk space and monthly transfer.
The two PersonalClass Linux plans are PersonalClass at $4 a month and PersonalClass Pro at $7 a month, for a two-year contract. The difference between the two plans is the number of websites: 6 with the PersonalClass and Unlimited with the Pro plan.
The two PersonalClass Windows plans are slightly more expensive, at $5 and $8 per month respectively. As before, the Pro plan has unlimited websites, and dedicated application pools here, and the regular plan has six websites and dedicated application pools.
The BusinessClass plans are also broken down into BusinessClass ($22 per month for Linux and $27 for Windows) and BusinessClass Pro ($35 monthly for Linux and $40 for Windows) with an identical website and dedicated application pool limits to the PersonalClass plans.
The BusinessClass plans to increase reliability and uptime through decreasing the number of users on each server. Each BusinessClass plan comes with a free SSL certificate for life and a dedicated IP address.
Arvixe offers VPS web hosting in two plans, VPSClass and VPSClass Pro, which differ of disk space and memory. Both Linux and Windows VPS hosting is available. Dedicated hosting also comes in Linux and Windows options and single or multi-server choices.
Money-back guarantee. InMotion and Arvixe both have money-back policies. InMotion has an impressive unconditional 90-day money back guarantee. You get all your money back – no partial refunds here. Arvixe’s policy isn’t quite so generous, but it’s still better than most other service providers – a 60-day full refund period, no questions asked.
Opinion on Hosting Plans Pricing
Arvixe wins convincingly here for its cheaper plans when you use the generous discount coupon and for its full range of Linux and Windows hosting plans
Ease of Use
Control Panel. Arvixe’s control panel is the common industry-standard cPlanel. The highly-regarded interface allows you to access all of the features that you need to manage your website. You can access all your websites from this one interface.
Beginners in web design will find InMotion’s cPanel easy to learn and to use. The Softaculous 1-click installation script is accessible through the control panel, along with all the other essential tools and services.
One-click Installer. InMotion has 1-click installation for the more than 310 apps in its library, though Google apps take 3 Wizard-led steps to install. Arvixe uses the Softaculous library which has over 100 apps for Linux and Windows hosting, all of which install with 1-click.
Website Navigation. It’s incredibly easy to find information and the plans and pricing on Arvixe’s website. There are separate pages for the Personal and Business Class plans, along with a table of all their features, with individual tabs within for Linux and Windows Hosting. The InMotion website also presents all the info you need clearly; the plans and pricing structure and a comparison table of the features of each are right there on the web hosting home page.
Opinion on Ease of Use
Once again, it’s a close call here, but InMotion pulls ahead for the sheer volume of then 1-click apps it has available.
Technical and Customer Support
Never underestimated the importance of a readily-accessible and knowledgeable technical support team. Friendliness and a willingness to stick with you until your problem is solved don’t hurt either.
According to customer reviews, InMotion Hosting excels at customer support. All the support staff are based in the United States and have at least four years’ experience as customer care staff.
A nice touch is that, after signing up for web hosting, you receive a phone call from a new account specialist who helps with any questions you have related to packages and pricing. InMotion’s customer support team by available by email, phone, and live chat.
Arvixe’s technical and customer support staff are also US-based, and the phone support is available 24/7. However, we couldn’t find the phone number on the website. You also reach them via email and live chat.
For a monthly fee, you can purchase Priority Support which gets you access to an elite group of technical advisers at any time of the day or night. Recent reviews have reported that the quality of customer support has deteriorated. The latest update on the support page is six months before the time of writing this review.
Opinion on User Support
InMotion comes out clearly ahead for its continued excellent customer and technical service and support. Plus we have its phone number.
User Reviews
Note: While expert reviews tell you more about the technical aspects of web hosting providers, customer reviews let you know what it’s like to use these services day in and day out. Customers are often quite passionate about their stories of both the bad and the good experiences they have, so take their reviews at face value.
Negative Reviews for InMotion and Arvixe
InMotion. There are not many negatives about InMotion. Some users voice concerns about the limited number of websites and databases they can host at InMotion. Other customers are not too happy with the dated-looking templates of the website builder.
Arvixe Hosting. Since the end of 2015, (about the time of the purchase by EIG) complaints about Arvixe have increased and many centers around poor customer support, Users also report that downtime has increased, with websites going up and down like yoyos.
Positive Reviews for InMotion and Arvixe
InMotion. Customers praise InMotion for its superb customer service, its ease of use and the free data backups. The fast speed of its processing, due to the SSD servers, is also a hit.
Arvixe Hosting. Customers are happy with the cost of the hosting plans at Arvixe, especially when the discount coupons are applied.
Opinion on User Reviews
InMotion Hosting remains a favorite web hosting service with its customers, with consistently good reviews outweighing the negative stories. Since its purchase by EIG, Arvixe’s previous very good reputation has taken a hit from its subscribers.
Which hosting is best for you?
Both of these hosting companies have their advantages and disadvantages.
Reasons to Choose InMotion Hosting over Arvixe:
- Free data backups
- 90 days money-back guarantee
- High speed
- Over 300 apps
- Pre-installed WordPress
- Easy installation of Google Apps
Reasons to Choose Arvixe over InMotion
- Free domain for as long as with Arvixe
- Unlimited monthly data transfers
- Linux- and Windows-based servers
- Very low cost when using discount coupons
On paper, it’s a close call between InMotion and Arvixe, but the recent performances of each web hosting provider have made InMotion our choice. InMotion’s generous 90-day money back period lets you take it for a full test drive so that novice website owners can feel safe. It’s many 1- click apps and pre-installed WordPress also make it easy to use. Arvixe does provide Windows hosting and a business plan, so experienced eCommerce owners should look at these features.
Both InMotion and Arvixe are good options as web hosting providers for businesses, but maybe
you need a personal website. SiteGround may have the answers for you and convenience is the key there as it’s a one-stop- shop for all your web building needs. Many apps are available through a 1-click install, and the website builder is easy to use.
Do you have any questions about InMotion or Arvixe? Do you have experience with either of these providers or are you enthusiastic about an entirely different one? Leave your comments and let us know.
Mark is a serial entrepreneur and editor of www.aawebmasters.com. He loves web design, online marketing, social media, and e-commerce. He enjoys working with a variety of web professionals on many projects.