LunarPages Reviews
LunarPages is a hosting company that specializes in scalable web hosting solutions geared towards developers, businesses and industry-leaders. Windows and Linux hosting packages are both part of their hosting services that cover shared, VPS, cloud and dedicated hosting categories.
In this LunarPages review, we examine the plans, features, and capabilities of this hosting company that aims for the stars.
Company Overview
Lunarpages is regarded as a high-end hosting that serves merely 150,000 customers. Even though they serve only a fraction of the number of customers boasted by other players in the industry, Lunarpages have won over some big-name companies like Sony, Citrix, Dell, and Microsoft. They achieved this by offering highly specialized plans that focus on quality over quantity.
The company was launched way back in 1998, but instead of allowing itself to be swept up by big hosting conglomerates, Lunarpages continued growing on an independent path embracing the newest technologies and striving for excellence.
Their top-condition data centers operate out of Las Vegas, NV., Irvine, CA., and Hawthorne, CA.
Hosting Plans
Lower cost shared hosting plans are provided for personal and business use. Plans in the Personal category start at $3.95/month with the Starter Linux hosting. The Basic Linux and Windows hosting packages each include a free domain name and unlimited storage. Plesk is included for free with the Windows plan, while cPanel can be added to the Basic plan for $2/month.
Business shared hosting packages start at $22.95/month with the Premium plan and go as high as $62.95/month for the Enterprise option. Free domain registration is included with every package, while resources range from 20 GB storage and 200 GB bandwidth to unlimited storage and bandwidth. Plans in this category are PCI compliant and include a dedicated IP/SSL certificate and cPanel.
Also in this category, you will find Developer Reseller hosting kicking off at $19.95/month with brandable control panel, cPanel & WHM, 50 GB disk space, and 500 GB bandwidth.
As you can see, shared hosting plans aren’t particularly appealing for those looking for low-budget options. What is more, many features that other companies offer as standard with shared plans, LunarPages makes them available only for a fee (e.g. spam filtering, malware blocking, etc.). Let’s see if things are different in their specialized plans.
Things do turn for the better with the default Scalable Cloud VPS plan that includes 2 Cores CPU, 50 GB SSD enhanced storage, 2 GB RAM, and 1000 GB RAM. All resources can be increased for an additional daily charge. You can choose your operating system from different Linux and Windows version, as well as your control panel, however, you will be charged an additional $10/month if you prefer cPanel or Plesk over the default LunarPages control panel. A free domain registration is included with each plan in this category.
Customers that need a more customized plan, can opt for a Personal Cloud Hosting package that can be tailored to the exact needs of your business.
Dedicated servers with Linux and Windows start off at $99/month. Both Linux and Windows hosting include three plans each and they feature SSD storage, up to 10 TB bandwidth, 32 GB RAM, and 4 x 275 GB storage.
Dedicated plans include dedicated chat support, Remote Desktop Access, free domain name, and choice of control panels (some available only for an extra fee).
You can register a domain name with Lunarpages and you can use their website builder or web design services to launch a website.
Customer Support
Lunarpages support is offered via live chat, phone, and email ticketing system. Support is US-based. Other than these channels, the Lunarpages website has sections dedicated to FAQs, wiki pages with how-tos and tutorials, community forum, and an Uptime blog to keep you abreast of new changes at Lunarpages and the hosting industry.
Given the premium nature of the hosting services offered by this host, you’re not likely to run into any issues with customer support.
Hosting Features
We’ve touched on some of the features included with the plans available at Lunarpages. Here’s a quick overview of the most notable features that make this company stand out:
- PCI compliant hosting — useful for industries where PCI compliance is an operational requirement (e.g. businesses that process credit card payments);
- 99.9% uptime;
- State-of-the-art data centers located in the US;
- DDoS protection (switches, firewalls, routers, intelligent hardware);
- 24/7 network monitoring and support;
- Scalable cloud hosting plans;
- Windows and Linux hosting plans;
- Free domain registration;
- Managed hosting available as an add-on with Shared hosting, Scalable VPS Cloud hosting, and Dedicated hosting;
- Ad credit with some plans.
Although LunarPages does not advertise a money-back guarantee on their website, their Terms of Service does mention a 30-day money back guarantee for all new accounts and renewals.
Pros & Cons of LunarPages
Lunarpages focuses on scalability and offering customizable services to customers who can afford premium costs. For this reason, they are not the best choice for beginners or individuals looking for cheap shared hosting options.
Here’s what you should know about the pros and cons of LunarPages:
Pros:
- Reliable PCI compliant hosting;
- Scalable hosting packages with Linux or Windows OS;
- Independently owned web host;
- 9% uptime;
- SSD enhanced storage;
- Data center level and account level security;
- 24/7 support.
Cons:
- Shared hosting packages are expensive for the features they include;
- cPanel control panel available only as an add-on with some plans.
Conclusion
As a beginner or a small business on a shoestring budget, you may not see the appeal of LunarPages compared to other offerings on the market, and rightfully so. Even though the company rolls out multiple shared hosting packages for personal and business use, these don’t come cheap, and those that do, aren’t very feature-rich.
Premium customers, on the other hand, may find that LunarPages is right up their alley – they’re a reliable host, with excellent uptime, highly scalable plans, and they implement the newest hardware and security technologies. Premium customers are happy to pay extra for the better performance, security, and US-based support offered by this host.
