Did you know most hosts have a “specs page” listing the fine details of each plan?
Well, when you compare NameHero’s specs and pricing to other hosts, you’ll realize why NameHero is getting so popular. Here are the spec pages for SiteGround, Hostinger, A2, Cloudways, and Bluehost. Do your own research. You’re going to see four key differences:
- You get more CPU/RAM for cheaper compared to… everyone?
- NameHero uses NVMes on all but 2 plans (most hosts use slower SSDs).
- NameHero uses LiteSpeed on all plans (most hosts use Apache or Nginx).
- You can use the LiteSpeed Cache plugin with QUIC + Redis (a very fast set up).
But let’s face it, you’re probably considering NameHero because they use LiteSpeed so you can use the LiteSpeed Cache plugin + QUIC.cloud CDN + Redis which is “the new setup.” So why not use Hostinger or A2 who also use LiteSpeed? Hostinger uses slower SSDs and even though people think they’re cheaper, you only get 1-2 CPU cores on their WordPress plans compared to up to 4 cores on NameHero – for basically the same price. As for A2, only their higher plans use LiteSpeed and downtimes are a mess. Even compared to Cloudways or SiteGround’s cloud hosting, NameHero’s managed cloud plans include more CPU/RAM, NVMe, yet it’s still cheaper.
Why more people aren’t using NameHero is beyond me. Most cheap hosts sacrifice quality whether it be support, uptimes, or security. But NameHero seems to cover it all. The one major con is their data centers are only located in the US + Netherlands. I hope they’ll add more soon. You can also check out Ryan’s YouTube videos (the CEO) who is a genuinely down to earth guy.
- NameHero Versus [Your Host]
- LiteSpeed + LiteSpeed Cache + QUIC + Redis
- Better Uptimes Than Comparable Hosts
- Cheap Hosting Doesn’t Always Have Bad Support
- Security
- Green Friendly
- Start A New WordPress Site
- Request A Free Migration
- Configuring LiteSpeed Cache
- Configuring QUIC.cloud CDN
- Pros & Cons Of Using NameHero
Affiliate Disclaimer: I used affiliate links in this post and really appreciate your support. I still encourage you to do your research and not just take my biased advice.
1. NameHero Versus [Your Host]
Here’s a challenge for you:
Whatever hosting company you’re using, pull up their specs page (see links below) then pull up NameHero’s specs page as well as their managed cloud hosting to do a side-by-side comparison.
With the hosts listed below, you’ll likely find NameHero has a better value. Whether it’s because they have more CPU/RAM for a cheaper price or use NVMe storage instead of slower SSDs. Or because all NameHero plans use LiteSpeed which is faster than Apache, efficient with less chance of CPU limit issues, and LiteSpeed Cache’s server-side caching + QUIC.cloud CDN.
Hostinger uses slower SSDs and you only get 1-2 CPU cores with less RAM than NameHero. Both Hostinger and NameHero use LiteSpeed servers on all their hosting, unlike A2 Hosting. Outside of speed, Hostinger uses a more buggy hPanel while NameHero uses standard cPanel, they had a security breach in 2019, and is infamous for writing fake reviews and being sneaky.
A2 Hosting only uses LiteSpeed on higher plans (Turbo Boost + Turbo Max). You get less CPU cores and less RAM (physical memory) on all A2 plans except Turbo Max (which is the same as NameHero). However, A2 Hosting uses Raid-10 on all plans while NameHero only uses Raid 10 on their 2 lower plans, then RAID 1 on their 2 higher plans. You should take into account A2 has more downtimes on their network status page compared to NameHero’s network status page.
SiteGround uses SSDs with Google Cloud N2 machines which have slower CPU clock speeds than Google Cloud C2 (what Kinsta uses). Their CPU limits are found under servers resources → CPU seconds + executions. Since LiteSpeed is so efficient, you’re less likely to run into CPU issues on NameHero. SG Optimizer plugin also isn’t up to par compared with LiteSpeed Cache.
Cloudways is who I use (Vultr HF) which is probably their most popular plan. But I’ll admit they’re expensive compared to NameHero’s managed cloud hosting, especially since you don’t get nearly as many CPU cores on Cloudways. NameHero also solves many issues Cloudways has like full root access, email hosting, cPanel, and LitSpeed instead of Apache (LiteSpeed Cache is also better than Breeze or WP Rocket). Both these plans use NVMe, MariaDB, and PHP-FPM.
Bluehost, HostGator, and GoDaddy don’t clearly list their specs/technology and instead use terms like “optimized” and “unlimited.” Any time a host doesn’t clearly list at least the basic specs, you can assume they’re not great and targeted towards people who don’t know better.
2. LiteSpeed + LiteSpeed Cache + QUIC + Redis
All NameHero plans use LiteSpeed servers which means you can (and should) use LiteSpeed Cache. Then you have QUIC.cloud which is a freemium CDN built for LiteSpeed with 70 PoPs. Other speed bloggers like WP Johnny are already on LiteSpeed – so that tells you something. There’s no need to purchase a premium cache plugin or CDN like you would with most hosts.
You can use the free LiteSpeed Cache plugin on any hosting company, but you won’t have access to LiteSpeed’s “exclusive features” which is shown on their plugins page.
- Faster server-side caching – LiteSpeed’s server-side caching is faster than WP Rocket and most cache plugin’s slower file-based caching, and it also addresses core web vitals.
- HTTP/3 with QUIC – Ryan from NameHero made a YouTube video on how to set this up.
- Less chance of CPU spikes – LiteSpeed is capable of handling 2x of websites than Apache and can handle potentially thousands of clients with minimal impact to memory or CPU. You can activate Redis in LSC which has more efficient memory usage than Memcached.
- Image optimization – most cache plugins don’t have this. LSC has extensive image optimization settings including lossless compression, WebP, and image placeholders.
- DDoS protection – LiteSpeed comes with quite a few security and anti-DDos features.
- Redis + Memcached – Ryan has a YouTube video on how to set this up (I prefer Redis).
- Better APO compatibility – Cloudflare’s APO is “kind of” compatible with LiteSpeed (you may need to do research in Facebook groups/forums), but it’s not compatible with Rocket.
- More control of public/private caching – LiteSpeed Cache has a lot more settings that give you better caching control for logged-in users, public/private cache, as well as ESI.
Ryan from NameHero has a video on setting up HTTP/3 with QUIC using LiteSpeed Cache:
3. Better Uptimes Than Comparable Hosts
I’m not doing another BS uptime test since it depends on which plan, server, and node you’re using. Most hosts should have an uptime status page showing scheduled maintenance + major incidents. Pretty much every host has a major outage at some point, so I like to look at 4 things:
- How long was the outage?
- How did they respond to the outage?
- Do they have an uptime status page on their website?
- How “bad” is the routine maintenance on their uptime status page?
NameHero’s major outage was in December, 2021 for 2 days. Ryan (NameHero founder) posted a detailed response. Read it yourself and make your own judgment (he takes full responsibility and it sounds like he worked as hard as he could). Their uptime status page usually shows “average maintenance” with relatively short downtimes compared to most hosts.
Fun fact: On most host’s terms and conditions page, they state that scheduled maintenance does not count towards their uptime guarantee. You can advertise a 99.99% guarantee, then have as much downtime as you want as long as it’s scheduled.
So how does NameHero’s uptimes compare to other hosts?
- SiteGround’s DNS was blocked for 4 days. On Twitter, they said “there is no blocking on our end” but then 2 days later, said they fixed it. They never advised customers to move to an external DNS. Google rankings dropped and some websites completely disappeared from search results. SiteGround does not have a public uptime status page on their site.
- A2’s major outage was over 2 weeks. At that point, your response doesn’t mean much.
- Hostinger hasn’t had a major outage from my research, but their uptime status page usually shows alarmingly large amounts of maintenance which can have long downtimes.
- Cloudways resells cloud hosting from multiple providers, so you’ll need to check Vultr, DigitalOcean, or whatever cloud host you use with. Vultr had bad downtime issues in the past but it seems to have cleaned up in recent years. DigitalOcean has been more reliable.
4. Cheap Hosting Doesn’t Always Have Bad Support
I get it, most cheap hosts skimp on support. NameHero doesn’t.
NameHero’s support is phenomenal and you can get a hold of them through phone (855) 984-6263, live chat, or by opening a ticket inside your dashboard. You will usually get a response in minutes. Some hosts like SiteGround intentionally make it difficult to reach their support. Cloudways support has also had some complaints for giving answers that are “overly technical.”
Which is probably why NameHero has a 4.7/5 star TrustPilot review and was awarded the best web hosting company of 2020 on findbesthosts.com. I’ve only used it a few times (which is a good thing). They also keep a log of all their support’s feedback and publish it on their website.
5. Security
NameHero uses Security Shield to protect your website against malware, DDos, and other types of attack. They use a firewall that detects attacks in real-time and implement patches automatically. They also have a malware scanner add-on (you can activate it at checkout). I believe NameHero requires the use of two-factor authentication using Google Authenticator.
6. Green Friendly
In a blog article announcing NameHero’s Kansas City data center, they also said:
“Additionally we’re taking an enormous green initiative to be extremely efficient to help protect our environment.”
I emailed Ryan (NameHero CEO) asking for additional info. Here’s his response:
To start, we chose a location that is located underground, in what used to be an old limestone mine. This not only provides protection from natural disasters (tornadoes not uncommon) but also natural temperature control (underground stays around ~68 degrees year round).
Inside our facility all systems are designed to be extremely efficient. Even the lightning throughout shuts off automatically and only turns on with motion (i.e. someone walking in the hall or entering a room).
Our primary energy partner is Evergy whom we have a very special partnership with where a good portion of our supply comes from renewables (i.e. wind). They’ve already committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2045 with 50% of all their energy being emissions-free.
We utilize Flywheel energy inside (instead of the “old school” backup UPS systems that contain chemical-based batteries):
Just some advantages:
- Response – it can promptly store huge bursts of energy, and equally rapidly return them
- Efficiency – charges/discharges are made with very small losses; as an electrical storage system a flywheel can have efficiencies over 97%
- Maintenance – flywheels do not require cooling nor do they pose the chemical recycling/maintenance issues of conventional batteries
- Lifespan – flywheels have a typical lifespan of about 20 years, while a lead-acid battery needs to be replaced every three to seven years – and even sooner for high cycle applications
Given we’re a cloud-based service provider, our entire infrastructure relies on virtualization, which does not use near the amount of equipment that “old school” dedicated servers use. With over 300K sq foot expansion space possible, we don’t have to stack equipment as tight as most providers, eliminating a lot of the “dense racks” that virtualization typically creates. This provides for even more efficient power/cooling usage.
We’re looking to create the “new age” of data centers by constantly optimizing our efficiency; utilizing what’s necessary, eliminating the unnecessary (i.e. always trimming the fat/bloat). A good example of this is within our core network infrastructure, that utilizes new software defined network technology to operate in a spine/leaf fashion where we can collapse the “old school” three tier networking model, and thus eliminate many pieces of “old school” hardware that’s still utilized in many data centers across the country (a hypervisor can also serve as a router/firewall eliminating more hardware that utilizes power/cooling resources).
7. Start A New WordPress Site
Starting a new WordPress site is easy with cPanel.
Login to cPanel through your NameHero account and search for “WordPress Manager by Softaculous.” Make sure you leave the directory field blank and to use HTTPS so SSL will be installed automatically. Click Install, add your WordPress login details, and install WordPress.
If you’re using a domain from someone else (GoDaddy, NameCheap etc), you can change nameservers in your account under Domains → My Domains → 3 Dots → Manage Namesevers.
NameHero’s general dashboard is also easy. You’ll find links to login to cPanel, change nameservers, open a support ticket, register/transfer domains, and manage plans, and billing.
8. Request A Free Migration
You can request a free migration here.
NameHero includes 1 free website migration within the first 30 days of placing your order. It includes migrating your cPanel (emails, databases, etc) for accounts less than 8GB compressed.
9. Configuring LiteSpeed Cache
On NameHero, you’re going to be using the LiteSpeed Cache plugin which should give you better results than WP Rocket and other cache plugins. Below are tips for configuring the LiteSpeed Cache settings. Install it, then leave all settings as default except the ones below. Instructions for setting up QUIC.cloud are shown in step 10, so make sure you follow those too.
10. Configuring QUIC.cloud CDN
Ryan from NameHero already made a video on setting up QUIC.cloud with LiteSpeed, but I listed the steps below as well. There’s a lot of good stuff there and I recommend watching it.
11. Pros & Cons Of Using NameHero
- LiteSpeed server on all plans.
- LiteSpeed Cache is a great cache plugin.
- QUIC.cloud has 70 PoPs with many optimizations.
- All are included with your NameHero plan for free.
- All were built to work in conjunction with each other.
- LiteSpeed = faster site, more sim. visitors, less CPU issues.
- More CPU/RAM for better value compared to similar hosts.
- NVMe storage on higher Turbo Cloud + Business Cloud plan.
- NVMe storage, MariaDB, PHP-FPM on all managed cloud plans.
- Uptime status page shows less frequent maintenance/downtimes.
- Support does not seem to be sacrificed even though it’s cheap hosting.
- Free domain on higher plans, SSL, email hosing, other standard features.
- Ryan (founder and CEO of NameHero) is a genuinely down to earth guy.
- The 2-day outage I mentioned previously.
- Data centers are only in the US + Netherlands.
- Shared hosting plans can’t freely add CPU/RAM.
- Lowest 2 shared plans don’t use NVMe and only have 250k inodes.
- 1-3 year contract with higher renewal prices (standard with shared hosting).
Summary
NameHero’s great, I don’t get why more people don’t use them.
A few things to point out:
- I appreciate your support if your sign up with my aff link (but not expected).
- I recommend the ID protection add-on which costs $6/year to prevent spam.
- NameHero automatically applies your coupon code at the Review & Checkout page.
Otherwise, you can get started for a little as $40 for your first year.
Cheers,
Tom
This was such a quality article. I’m planning to move to Name Hero soon. Even though many bloggers rave about Big scoots, I’m not so enthused. It’s not about the price either. I don’t see a lot of benefits on their page especially when it comes to storage. Could you do a comparison between NameHero and Big scoots if possible? Thanks!
I’ll try to do it soon! I’m focusing on the tutorials in my nav menu and adding a few more, but when those are done I will make a point to do this or at least try BigScoots and do a review… but it may take a couple months.
Hey Tom, great article. Looks like Namehero is really great. Why do you stick with Cloudways? It looks that Namehero with Litespeed + QUIC cloud is even better. What are your thougts?
Hey Tomi,
I’m sticking with Cloudways because I see no reason to move at the moment. TTFB, price, and support have all been great to me with no weird CPU issues like I had with SG. I just wish they would replace Apache with LiteSpeed and maybe improve their Breeze/CloudwaysCDN.
I started writing about NameHero mainly because it serves a different type of person. Not everyone wants to launch a server, spend the extra money to buy a better cache plugin than Breeze (or CloudwaysCDN), get their domain separately, go through email hosting workarounds, and jump through a few hoops like you would on Cloudways. NameHero is just easier and more standard you could say.
I don’t know, maybe I’ll see what happens with each of them and consider moving to NameHero cloud instances later this year. Can’t say for sure.