Is Namecheap Hosting (And Domain) Good for WordPress?

Well the name is Namecheap, but is it worth it?
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Read along and find out.
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But before we get started, let’s take a moment to talk about the number of websites which go live each moment, each day.
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Any guesses?
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You will be surprised when you hear the number. Are you ready?
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Well, according to Internet Live Stats, there are over 1.5 billion (150 crore) websites that are live as of October 2020. And in fact, this number keeps increasing with each passing second.
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Yes, by the end of this sentence, easily one website would have gone live.
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And probably by the end of this blog, so many websites that you and I would not even be able to keep track of.
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In this ever-increasing era of websites, if you are joining the party, I am sure you know you definitely need 2 things to get started (apart from your laptop/desktop and an internet connection).
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Domain and Hosting, right?
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Now, if you are considering Namecheap as an option, this is going to be your go-to guide.
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So to understand all that you need to, about Namecheap, continue reading till the end.
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We will dive deep into how Namecheap is as an option to begin with, for WordPress Hosting and purchasing a Domain Name.
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Let’s begin with the Domain Name
When you purchase a Domain Name, what is important?
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You should spend some time thinking of what domain name you want to purchase. Once you build your website there, it does not mean that you can never change it back.
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You can – but it will cost you time and money (to hold on to 2 Domain Names).
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So it is best if you put in some time in choosing the right domain name for yourself and only then proceeding.
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Factors to check before you Purchase a Domain?
Before you make the purchase, it is important that you check the purchase price and the renewal price for your domain.
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These are the 2 important factors which should be your decision makers primarily.
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What about the Free Domains that are Offered?
Sometimes you will also get offered a Free Domain Name when you buy your Hosting Plan.
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So it is a good practice to always ensure that you check what your Hosting Plan has to offer.
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But the above option comes with a disclaimer.
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More often than not, the Domains that these Hosts provide have restrictions in terms of the Top-Level Domain that can be there for the Domain you choose.
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What does this mean?
In case you are confused, let me tell you, this is fairly simple.
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The top-level domain (commonly referred to as the TLD) is the last part of any domain name that is available out there on the Internet.
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For ex: In the domain name, “kamnajain.com” the last part is “.com”. And that is what the TLD is.
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That’s all.
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So when you sometimes go for a Free Domain Name which the Host provides, they have restrictions on the TLDs, wherein the condition is that only if you buy a Domain Name with certain TLDs such as “.online”, “.fun”, “.store”, ‘host”, etc. only then will it be free.
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So make sure you check these terms first.
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What is the Verdict for getting a Domain from Namecheap?
In one line: I would recommend it.
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Let me tell you why.
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From my Experience, what I have seen is that in terms of pricing, more often than not there are 2 websites which offer the most reasonable pricing for Domains.
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One is Namecheap.com.
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And the second one is something which sounds similar. It is known as Name.com. In maximum cases, Name.com has been seen to provide the cheapest Domain Name followed by Namecheap.com.
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Point to Remember
So whenever you want to buy a Domain Name, my advise to you would be that you check out the Pricing and the Renewal Pricing in some of the popular websites such as godaddy.com, hostinger.com, apart from name.com and namecheap.com.
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Compare the pricing and then choose the provider accordingly.
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Let’s get into the Hosting Part
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When I got started with WordPress, anytime I looked at purchasing a Hosting Plan, whenever I read the details, it all looked Greek and Latin to me.
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So if you are fairly new to this Wonderful World of WordPress, what I will do is that, I will list down some common factors which you should consider before you buy a Hosting Plan.
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After we list down the factors, we will have a look at how Namecheap performs for each of those factors.
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Sounds like a plan, yeah?
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Come on! Let’s do this!
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I am so excited. Because when I was starting out, I really wished to come across an article like this.
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So if I can make this decision-making process easy for you, I would be more than happy. 😀
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So as a general rule, I will just list down the factors which you should consider before you make a Hosting Decision before we jump into understanding and reviewing what Namecheap has to offer.
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Factors to check before you Purchase your Hosting Plan.
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1. No. of Websites you can host in the plan
2. No. of Sub-domains
3. No. of Databases
4. No. of Email Accounts
5. Whether they offer a SSL Certificate
6. The Bandwidth
7. Storage
8. Free Domain offered or not
9. Support Service
10. Uptime
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    If you would like to understand what each of these factors implies, stay tuned for my upcoming blog post. Where I will explain each of the above factors in details.
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    For now, let us view Namecheap considering each of these factors.
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    How do Namecheap Hosting Plans perform?
    So, each plan will definitely be different.
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    In this review, we will consider the Shared Hosting Plan as the Base for our Review.
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    The Stellar Plan under Shared Hosting, to be precise. So let’s get started!
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1. No. of Websites you can host: 3 Websites
   You are good to begin with 3 websites.
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   Once you start building your website, if you start taking freelancing projects, having more than 1 website is always an advantage.
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   That way, you do not have to invest more of your time and money in getting another Hosting Plan.
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   And in case after some time you feel that your Hosting is lying unused, you can get in touch with your friends / people in various communities to see if anyone would like to share it with you, hence even reducing your costs.
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   The Vote for this Feature is a: Yes
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2. No. of sub-domains: 30 sub-domains
   In the duration of your journey with WordPress, you would require more sub-domains.
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   Either to connect your domain with other services like landing pages, etc. or even for installing more sections under your website. For ex: support.namecheap.com.
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   30 is an ample number.
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   The Vote for this Feature is a: Yes
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3. No. of Databases: 50 Databases
   Namecheap’s Shared Hosting Stellar Plan offers 50 Databases.
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   You would require this anytime you install WordPress on a sub-directory or on a sub-domain.
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   And the availability of databases as large as 50 in number is definitely more than enough for 3 websites.
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   The Vote for this Feature is: Definitely Yes
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4. No. of Email Accounts: 30 Email Accounts
   Most hosting companies will give free Email Accounts which you can use via different Webmail Services.
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   Namecheap provides 30 Email Accounts. This can approximately come to 10 Email Accounts per Domain if we host all the 3 Websites. Which is good enough.
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   And if you are planning to go for a Premium Service Provider like Gsuite, then this feature does not hold any value.
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   But if you would like to set up a custom email account using the Email Accounts provided by the host, even in that case, these are sufficient.
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   To learn how you can configure these custom Email IDs with your Gmail Account for Free, watch out for my upcoming tutorial on how you can do that.
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   It is one of the most fun hacks I have cracked. And you will love it too.
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   Verdict on the No. of Email Accounts: Good to Go

5. SSL Certificate: Free for the 1st Year
   Namecheap provides unlimited SSL Certificates. So for all the domains that you add, the sub-domains you create, you will get a Free SSL Certificate.
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   And this also gets activated easily.
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   Once you configure your Domain & Hosting, and install WordPress, wait for about 15 minutes, and you will see that the SSL Certificate Activation also takes place automatically.
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   The process is smooth and a no-brainer.
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   However, like most other Hosts, the SSL Certificate is free only for the First Year. So make sure to notice that.
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   If you do not want to increase your costs the next year, you can go for a Free SSL Certificate from Let’s Encrypt or from Cloudflare.
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   I have known both of them to be reliable.
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   So from the SSL Certificate point of view as well: It is a Yes.

 

6. Bandwidth: Unmetered Bandwidth
   Well honestly, most Hosting Providers promise Unmetered Bandwidth.
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   This technically implies unlimited bandwidth for your website to load to as many visitors as required.
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   In reality, they do not offer unlimited bandwidth. Most of the Hosting Companies don’t/ But what they do offer is, enough bandwidth for the blog / website to function smoothly.
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   In that light, the verdict from the Bandwidth point of view is also a: Yes
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7. Storage: 20 GB SSD
   So unless you are making a very video-heavy website you are good to go with 20 GB.
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   This does not mean you cannot have videos at all. What this means is, unless you plan on including tons and tons of videos, it will not be a problem for you.
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   But I understand. You may want to keep a tab on how much disk space is being used.
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   In case you want to do that, you can check your “Disk Usage” in your Cpanel, after you purchase your Hosting.
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   However, for beginner and intermediate level, eyes-closed, 20 GB of storage for even 3 websites will easily suffice.
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   So again it is a: Yes!
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8. Free Domain: Yes but T&C Apply
   Yes, that’s true!
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   There are terms and conditions that apply to the free domain that is provided.
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   The free domain is sufficient only for those who are building a blog for experimental purposes and are not very serious about its success.
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   The TLDs (as discussed in the Domain Section) that are offered are not the usual ones. They offer Domains with TLDs such as .fun, .website, .shop, .online.
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   So only if you would like a Domain Name having one of these as TLDs, then consider the Free Domain Name as a Freebie. Otherwise, you will need to get a new one yourself. But you can’t blame them for this, because a lot of .com domains are premium domains and that can definitely not be promised if you think about it.
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   Verdict: The Free Domain is sufficient for Experimentation, not necessarily for Professional Purposes.

By the way, Below is a list of all the TLDs they offer:

 

9. Support Service: Yes
   For choosing a Domain and a Host, it is vitally important to see what is the level of support they offer.
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   Why support is important is because, repeatedly, you would need to make certain configurations, update settings, reach out to resolve some errors, clarify your doubts and so on.
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   For all the obstacles faced, having an active support team, is extremely beneficial.
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   The good part about Namecheap is that they have Live Support.
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   For the price they offer, the support provided is really impressive. They seem to be over-delivering there.
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   Anytime a challenge is faced, their team is there to clarify and guide further.
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   And trust me, once you start setting things up – you will realise how valuable having a go-to support service is.
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   Verdict in terms of the Support: Definitely Yes.
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10. Uptime: 99.9% Guaranteed
    Because of various reasons like Hosting Quality, DNS Issues, DDos Attacks and other Malicious Activities, a website is prone to being down.
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    This can negatively impact and hurt the website. For the companies which have eCommerce websites, for them it even leads to losses in terms of sale and not just traffic.
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    Namecheap offers 99.9% Uptime Guarantee. And in case that is not met, they offer certain perks.
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    Most Hosting companies claim to provide 99.9% Uptime Guarantee, anyway.
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    As far as I have explored Namecheap, they have provided reliable uptime guarantee.
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    Verdict is: Yes.
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Conclusion

In conclusion, Stellar Shared Hosting at Rs. 116/month (when paid annualy) for 3 websites is a great deal.
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The advantages that Namecheap offers are in terms of the Service and Support they provide.
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Plus, at this price point, with the number of databases, sub-domains, SSL Certificate, Support, it is definitely worth it.
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If you are someone who is new to the World of WordPress, or are setting up a Website which is not very heavy and dynamic, Namecheap is the best choice.
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If you are planning on creating an image-intensive heavy website, wherein you would keep updating a lot of images, manage eCommerce, and so on, you would want to consider better and at the same time more expensive hosting options such as WPX Hosting.
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I hope this gives you a fair idea which allows you to take an informed decision – whether you would like to go ahead with Namecheap or not.
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Comment below – Did you find this helpful?
And if you are someone who is already using Namecheap, how has your experience been so far?

If you wish to buy your hosting from Namecheap, please click here

Note: Prices on the Namecheap website may vary from those mentioned in this article.

P.S. Important Tips: Before you Purchase

1. Always make sure that you check the prices in an Incognito Window only. Specially when it comes to purchasing your Domain Name.
   Otherwise, you will notice that even in some well-reputed websites, the pricing fluctuates.
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2. Make it a point to spend some time by searching for coupon codes whenever you are purchasing the Hosting from any Service Provider.