A2 Hosting was originally launched as Iniquinet in August 2001, and was renamed in 2003. The company is based in Ann Arbor, Michigan (hence the ‘A2’ in its name). Its datacenter is close by, and it is privately owned.
At A2 Hosting, you can view packages in six different currencies, and you’ll be billed in that currency when you buy. The site content is provided in English only, as is its technical support material.
Hosting Plans
A2 Hosting offers a number of interesting features for developers. For example, it provides multiple versions of PHP, along with an easy-to-use version switcher, so you can change the version used on your account without the need to ask support to get involved. The company’s also very keen to promote its green credentials: it has partnered with Carbonfund.org and promotes recycling and hardware reuse.
Hosting is provided in four categories: shared, reseller, VPS and dedicated. It separately lists a range of green hosting packages too.
Shared hosting is based on an unlimited resource model with a low monthly fee, although the lowest cost plan comes with a long, 36-month contract attached. A2 Hosting offers shared packages on CloudLinux or Windows. Customers can create their own site by hand, or install a one-click package with Softaculous. On sign-up, you can also choose from datacenters in the USA, Europe, or Asia. Most shared plans include Server Rewind, a completely customized backup tool that offers restore points for files and databases. You can pay to upgrade to offsite backups if you want additional peace of mind.
There are three reseller plans available, all with WHM and SSD storage. Resellers can host up to 100 client accounts.
VPS and dedicated hosting is split into three categories: Managed, Unmanaged, and Core. Unmanaged VPS is very attractively priced, but you’ll need server admin experience to use these plans securely. Core VPS plans are similar to managed VPS plans at A2 Hosting, but Core includes root access while Managed does not.
Cloud hosting is similar to VPS hosting, but with the added advantage of a cloud infrastructure and dynamic capacity scaling. All cloud plan resources are completely customizable.
Dedicated hosting is available in four flavors. There is one that semi-dedicated and three that are fully dedicated.
Uptime
A2 Hosting’s main datacenter is located in Michigan and boasts a redundant network, uninterrupted power, diesel generators, static-free floors, air conditioning and SSAE16 certified security: that includes a gated parking lot and key-operated entry to the premises and servers. As part of its eco-friendly initiative, it tries to re-use old hardware when it’s practical.
In 2015, A2 Hosting added two more datacenters. The company now allows customers to choose between the Michigan datacenter, a facility in the Netherlands, and a facility in Singapore.
A2 Hosting provides a 99.9% uptime guarantee. If downtime exceeds 0.1%, and A2 Hosting verifies that figure, it will credit you with 5% of your monthly fee for every hour that your website is offline, up to a maximum of 100% of your monthly fee.
Support
A2 Hosting’s technical support is provided via phone, live chat, and ticket. It provides six different telephone numbers for different locations. You can also contact the support team via Skype, which is great if you’re outside its main territories and need to control long distance call costs.
Guarantees and Money-Back Offers
A2 Hosting operates an Anytime Money-Back Guarantee. In effect, this is quite similar to guarantees offered by its competitors: customers benefit from a full a 30-day money-back guarantee, but cancellations after that results in a prorated refund on unused months. If you cancel 120 days or more after signing up, you’ll be refunded by PayPal. The policy also doesn’t cover domain registrations, setup costs, migration costs, or SSL certificates that are more than 7 days old.
Summary
A2 Hosting has moved away from offering geeky hosting features, and towards a more general purpose attitude to hosting. It’s made its entry level packages more appealing to novices over the last couple of years, but without losing the sophisticated technical features that made it attractive to developers, such as the ability to choose a VPS with or without root access. The Server Rewind tool is also a massive plus for people who are just starting to experiment with coding, and its support for multiple currencies makes billing easier for people outside the United States. The choice of server locations makes A2 Hosting a good all-round choice, offering plenty of room for your website to improve and grow.
A2 Hosting Introduction
A2 Hosting was originally launched as Iniquinet in August 2001, and was renamed in 2003. The company is based in Ann Arbor, Michigan (hence the ‘A2’ in its name). Its datacenter is close by, and it is privately owned.
At A2 Hosting, you can view packages in six different currencies, and you’ll be billed in that currency when you buy. The site content is provided in English only, as is its technical support material.
Hosting Plans
A2 Hosting offers a number of interesting features for developers. For example, it provides multiple versions of PHP, along with an easy-to-use version switcher, so you can change the version used on your account without the need to ask support to get involved. The company’s also very keen to promote its green credentials: it has partnered with Carbonfund.org and promotes recycling and hardware reuse.
Hosting is provided in four categories: shared, reseller, VPS and dedicated. It separately lists a range of green hosting packages too.
Uptime
A2 Hosting’s main datacenter is located in Michigan and boasts a redundant network, uninterrupted power, diesel generators, static-free floors, air conditioning and SSAE16 certified security: that includes a gated parking lot and key-operated entry to the premises and servers. As part of its eco-friendly initiative, it tries to re-use old hardware when it’s practical.
In 2015, A2 Hosting added two more datacenters. The company now allows customers to choose between the Michigan datacenter, a facility in the Netherlands, and a facility in Singapore.
A2 Hosting provides a 99.9% uptime guarantee. If downtime exceeds 0.1%, and A2 Hosting verifies that figure, it will credit you with 5% of your monthly fee for every hour that your website is offline, up to a maximum of 100% of your monthly fee.
Support
A2 Hosting’s technical support is provided via phone, live chat, and ticket. It provides six different telephone numbers for different locations. You can also contact the support team via Skype, which is great if you’re outside its main territories and need to control long distance call costs.
Guarantees and Money-Back Offers
A2 Hosting operates an Anytime Money-Back Guarantee. In effect, this is quite similar to guarantees offered by its competitors: customers benefit from a full a 30-day money-back guarantee, but cancellations after that results in a prorated refund on unused months. If you cancel 120 days or more after signing up, you’ll be refunded by PayPal. The policy also doesn’t cover domain registrations, setup costs, migration costs, or SSL certificates that are more than 7 days old.
Summary
A2 Hosting has moved away from offering geeky hosting features, and towards a more general purpose attitude to hosting. It’s made its entry level packages more appealing to novices over the last couple of years, but without losing the sophisticated technical features that made it attractive to developers, such as the ability to choose a VPS with or without root access. The Server Rewind tool is also a massive plus for people who are just starting to experiment with coding, and its support for multiple currencies makes billing easier for people outside the United States. The choice of server locations makes A2 Hosting a good all-round choice, offering plenty of room for your website to improve and grow.