In this post, I will do a SiteGround Review and provide with an overview of their services and what works for me. I will provide an honest and objective account of my experiences with them.
Note: I am an affiliate for SiteGround because I like their services. In this review, I am not making things better than they are just so that you sign up for SiteGround through my links. My goals are to be as objective and honest as possible in all the information I provide. You don’t have to use my affiliate links but if you do, thanks for keeping Tropical U.P running!
Sign-Up Process
The Sign-Up process for SiteGround is very easy. You select the package that you want, and you fill in your personal information and details. If you sign up for hosting it gives you a free domain for the first year, in case you already have a domain they offer to transfer your hosting for free.
SiteGround has an elaborate anti-fraud protection system, meaning that all information provided during the sign-up has to be confirmed. Verification me is a very positive point as they go out of their way to ensure everything is correct and legitimate.
A few weeks ago I tried to help a friend out and sign her up for hosting. My friend’s address was in the Netherlands, but SiteGround system detected that I was doing the registration from Vietnam. Their support contacted me through live chat and one of their customer service reps even called me to ensure everything was legit.
Yes, the sign-up process could mean that they contact you to verify some of your details. The support on live-chat connects within a minute, and you never have to wait for a long time.
After Sign-Up
After you have successfully paid for your hosting (+ domain name), you could receive an email that asks for further details. Required information includes ID and written confirmation of the charge to your credit card (or debit card in some cases). Verification is a joint practice for many hosting companies as they need to validate further your information.
Once you have provided the last personal information, the account will be activated. You can immediately access your hosting account and start to familiarize yourself with the members area and cPanel.
In case, you have brought a domain name it could take up 72 hours before the DNS servers have updated, and the name points to your account.
Website Transfer
If you already had a domain name and hosting by another company, SiteGround offers you a free transfer from your account. Once you sign-in to your members account for the first time, you will be able to fill in the details of your previous hosting provider.
SiteGround needs the URL where they can access your cPanel, your username and password and the websites that you want to transfer. After you have provided this information, they will create a support ticket for you where you can also automatically track their progress.
I have used their website transfer before, and I must say that the process was very easy and convenient. They say that they only move one site to your new hosting account, but they changed all websites that I was hosting with a previous hosting provider. The entire process took only a few hours, and they were very helpful and supportive.
Adding External Addon Domains
I don’t focus on just one domain name, and I manage multiple websites at the same time. SiteGround easily allows you to add domain names to your hosting account. Once the name servers point towards SiteGround, you can set up additional websites in seconds.
I do not have a lot of experience with registering new domain names with SiteGround itself. I buy and manage all my domains with Namecheap and changing the nameservers with Namecheap is almost instantly.
Hosting Quality Itself
In a SiteGround Review, we have to talk about the quality of the hosting itself. In my time with SiteGround I have not experienced any downtimes or other major problems.
Aside from uptime and the speed, I think that the support of a hosting company is the most important aspect. Having an online business means that you rely on technology, sometimes problems are bound to happen and when they do you want have access to support. Reliable support is where SiteGround stands out.
SiteGround Review – The Verdict
Overall SiteGround is a very reliable hosting partner. When dealing with their support team you realize that they are a little bit more personal, this is a welcome change compared to other bigger hosting companies.
The sign-up process is very straightforward, and they go out of their way to protect you against fraud. Their fraud protection protocol could mean that for your personal situation that the sign-up process takes a little bit longer. I do not see this as a problem as fraud protection is an imperative topic and SiteGround handles it very professional.
Hosting is not going to make the difference between success and a failure. Dealing with a reliable hosting provider takes away some of the stress that comes with starting an online business. Support is where SiteGround has won me over and where others have unfortunately failed.