Nexcess Review
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9/10 |
| Website: | http://www.nexcess.net/ |
| Contact: | http://www.nexcess.net/about/contact |
| Phone: | +1-866-639-2377 |
| Location: | United States |
| Cost: | From $6.95/month |
| Year Founded: | 2000 |
I’m a web designer and SEO specialist, and have been for quite some time. Many of my friends have similar backgrounds. The other day, a few of us got together for lunch. It wasn’t a working lunch, just a chance to catch up.
Still, I noticed that we spent most of the time talking about internet stuff. Specifically, we spent almost the entire lunch sharing horror stories about hosting companies we’ve dealt with over the years. I just don’t know what it is about web hosts. When they’re good, you barely notice them. But when they’re bad… well, every internet professional in the world probably has at least one web hosting story which will make you laugh.
I’m not here to share a horror story about web hosting. Quite the opposite. I’ve been using Nexcess for about six months now. I have some great things to say about Nexcess, as well as a few not-so-great things. Check out my full report below:
About Nexcess
Nexcess is a web hosting company. They’re actually a very large web hosting company, with offices and data centers across the world. Their global headquarters is in Southfield, Michigan. They also have data centers in Dearborn, Michigan; San Francisco, California; and Miami, Florida. Their Miami data center is their “hosting gateway to South America.”
Across the pond, they have an office and data center in Byfleet, Surrey, in the United Kingdom. Rounding out their international presence is a 2500 square foot facility in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Not bad for a company which literally started in a Michigan garage.
Nexcess Products and Prices
Nexcess does it all. From small shared sites to massive load-balanced server clusters, they can handle basically anything. The offer more services than practically any other web hosting company I’ve ever seen. Here are some of the major areas:
1. Shared Hosting
There are four shared hosting packages. They range from $6.95 to $21.95 a month, billed annually. The basic features of each plan are the same, with each plan offering more storage space, data usage and so on.
2. WordPress
Simple WordPress hosting services start at $11.95 a month, with their top-of-the-line package running at a monthly $141.95.
3. Magento
4. ExpressionEngine
5. Dedicated Servers
There simply isn’t enough room to discuss in detail everything Nexcess provides. It’s easier to just say that if you’re looking for something related to web hosting, Nexcess probably has it. Some additional services include:
- Clustered Servers
- Content Delivery Network
- Domain Registration
- Reseller Hosting
- SSL Certificates
- Michigan Colocation
- Improved Search Engine Placement
No matter what type of hosting package you have, upgrading is just an email away. As your site grows, a Nexcess team member will personally help you review your options and manage your growth.
Criticism of Nexcess
Nexcess is big. This can be a bit confusing for novice users. If you just want to host one website, and you don’t have a lot of experience with web hosting, you might feel a bit overwhelmed with all the options.
Even for a seasonal professional, it can all be a bit much to take in. Here’s my tip. Whenever I was in need of a product or service for one of my hosted sites, I would search through the site a bit. If I couldn’t find what I was looking for, I simply emailed the Nexcess team and asked them to help me out. Someone emailed me back every time. Usually within two days, and often with 24 hours.
Nexcess is also on the more expensive side. Obviously, something like a $140 monthly hosting package for a WordPress site is pretty high end. However, you absolutely get what you pay for.
While you can almost certainly find cheaper options, with Nexcess you’re really paying for peace of mind. You’ll know your sites will be fully optimized, the hosting will be reliable and support will always be there when you need it.
Nexcess Customer Service
Nexcess support is highly praised on the Internet. Their Client Showcase page features hundreds of satisfied customers. Plus, their average rating on CustomerLobby is a five out of five – and they have almost 400 reviews!
I had no problems during the previous six months I’ve been with them, and I’m glad to see this was pretty common for most users.
Their support staff is available every single day of the year. If you have a question or concern, you can go to the Nexcess site and submit a ticket. You can also log into to your client portal and live chat with a team member. Email is another option. Also, you can call. They have toll-free phone numbers for the U.S, the U.K. and Australia. So far, you can’t contact the Nexcess team via carrier pigeon, but based on their existing accessibility it’s safe to say that might be a future possibility.
Interesting in learning on your own? They have a large knowledge library with hundreds of articles.
Final Thoughts
Nexcess is not some small-time operation. They have offices in three countries. They offer a massive amount of services. They’re also on the high end when it comes to pricing.
So I’m pleased to report that they still act like they’re running a small shop out of a garage. I was just one guy who used Nexcess to host one site. Yet every time I emailed or otherwise communicated with them, they acted like I was the most important customer in the world.
Nexcess was a rare case where I noticed a web hosting service not because they did something wrong, but because they did everything right. They’ve earned my loyalty and my highest recommendation. The only downside I can foresee is a significant decrease is the hosting horror stories I can share with my buddies.