Hostpapa Review

Summary review

HostPapa is an independent web hosting company based out of Toronto, Canada. In addition to offering hosting services, the company now offers domain names, emails, and a subscription-based drag-and-drop website builder. On their homepage, HostPapa makes a bold claim that you can “create a website for your business in just minutes using our highly customizable website builder!”

Now, while you can certainly build a stunning website without any designer or coding skills, what sets HostPapa apart from other website hosts/builders is its full-featured editor. This means access to HTML and CSS editing that gives those with technical experience more flexibility to build a site that matches their branding and aesthetic.



Pros

+ All plans include a free domain registration
+ Reasonably priced
+ Guaranteed uptime of 99.99%
+ 24/7 customer support in multiple languages - email, phone, and live chat
+ Hundreds of mobile-friendly and responsive templates
+ Social media integration
+ HTML and CSS editing
+ Free 30-minute training session

Cons

- No free backups
- Upfront payment required for the hosting packages
- You can’t get the website builder without purchasing a hosting package first

Who is Hostpapa for?

HostPapa’s (DIY) Online Website Builder is targeted towards small businesses looking to establish an online presence without too much hassle. Their enterprise plan is also ideal for anyone looking to sell their physical and digital products online.

Main Features

Before we discuss all the relevant features of HostPapa’s DIY website builder, please note that it is not a standalone service. You MUST register your domain with HostPapa first. If you already have an existing domain, you can transfer it over or simply purchase any of the 4 hosting packages as each plan includes free domain registration.

Ease of Use

Building your site is as easy as dragging elements from your dashboard and dropping it into position on your chosen template. Boasting of a user-friendly and intuitive interface, building your website can be summarized in 5 easy steps: pick your template, modify according to your preferences, add images, add text, and publish under your domain!

E-commerce

If you plan to sell on your website, you need to sign up for HostPapa’s Enterprise package which gives you full access to e-commerce tools. Under this plan, you will be able to do the following:

- Sell physical and digital goods
- Add or import products
- Customize product page and categories
- Add product options
- Manage orders
- Manage checkout page
- Manage taxes and shipping
- Track inventory, shipments, and payments
- Automate abandoned cart recovery emails
- Customize email notifications
- Send customer invoices
- Set up discounts and promotions
- Offer free samples
- Integrate with other channels such as Facebook, Shopzilla, Yahoo! Shopping, Amazon, eBay, and Instagram
- Offer your store in multiple languages



Payment Processor

HostPapa’s online store has PayPal, PayPal Express, and Square payment gateways already built-in. However, if you’d rather use a different processor, you’ll be happy to know they support quite a large number of payment gateways including but not limited to: 2Checkout, Ecwid Payments, Paywise, Network Merchants, Alipay, Authorize.net, Bitpay, PayOnline, Stripe, Worldpay Online Payments, PayPal Advanced, PayPal PayFlow Link, Intellect Money.

Shipping

There are three shipping settings available: Flate rate, custom table (weight, quantity, cart total), or carrier-calculated. You’ll also be able to create destination zones and apply shipping rules for certain geographical areas. This is necessary if you plan to sell worldwide.

Templates

You’ll get access to 120 templates on HostPapa’s entry-level plan and about 230 themes on a premium package. Once you’ve selected your template, it’s easy to customize to match your business’ needs and branding. Each of the template is optimized for desktop and mobile viewing and you can preview your site on both platforms before going live.



Apps and Extensions

From shopping carts to blogs, HostPapa boasts of over 400 free apps that you can utilize to add functionality to your website. You can also add widgets to connect your site to your social media accounts, add a contact form to grow your email list, or, if you have a physical store, embed your Google Map location.

Support and Knowledge Base

You can see HostPapa’s dedication to providing stellar customer service. There’s a prominent Support dropdown menu along with a toll-free phone number and a chat button right on top of the website. There’s also another Customer Tool section right in the footer section. This isn’t just for show either. HostPapa offers 24/7 multilingual customer support via email, phone, and live chat. That’s on top of an FAQ section, guides and video tutorials, free one-on-one training sessions, and an extensive knowledge base with over 2,000 articles!

Pricing and Plans

HostPapa currently offers 4 website builder plans. See the plan comparison below.

The Bottom Line

To conclude, this seems like a decent choice if your domain is already with HostPapa anyway. It’s easy enough to use for total beginners yet powerful and flexible enough for those with prior web design experience. The only downside is that you will need to commit to a 12, 24, or 36-month term. Still, as an all in one package, Hostpapa is a good choice.