Whether you are a business owner, a blogger, or want to make your presence on the internet then a website is important to shine. And to run your website without any difficulty, good web hosting is a must. This guide is for you if you are having trouble deciding which of the many hosting options available is best for your needs and price range.
Here, you will find my complete Guru hosting review and its features and pricing. We will also touch base on choosing the right hosting provider and the various options in the market that can be possible alternatives to Guru Hosting.
I will also show you the real-time web speed and performance results of my own website that has been hosted on Guru Hosting. This will not only show the quality of the hosting service on Guru but it will also help you decide whether you can try it or not.
So, let’s begin.
Why Guru Hosting?
I migrated my website to Guru Hosting because of their promising features and reputation for high-performance web hosting. Guru offers a variety of hosting options and features at affordable prices.
Guru Hosting is recommended for websites targeting audiences all over the world. While it may be a budget-friendly option, user reviews are overwhelmingly positive, especially for shared and reseller hosting and my experience has been generally positive.
Dedicated servers are presumed to deliver exceptional speed, solidifying Guru Hosting as a noteworthy choice.
Key features
- Variety of hosting options: Shared, VPS, cloud, reseller, WordPress, Green hosting.
- Free domain name with annual plans.
- Free SSL certificates and security features like Let’s Encrypt.
- SSD storage for faster website loading speeds.
- UK based data centres for local compliance and potentially better performance for visitors.
- 24/7 customer support.
- Managed migrations to simplify transferring your website.
- Uptime guarantee (usually 99.9%).
- Various payment methods, including PayPal, card payment, UPI payment.
Guru Hosting is equipped with essential features that define a robust hosting experience. LiteSpeed servers, NVMe storage, regular backups, and round-the-clock support with cPanel are among the pillars of Guru’s service features.
Let’s see some of the most important key features of Guru Hosting in details,
Performance and Reliability
Guru Hosting delivers unparalleled speed and performance for a range of content management systems, including WordPress, WooCommerce, Joomla, Prestashop, Drupal, Opencart, Magento, and more.
Guru’s commitment to performance is evident in their high-performance web server, the latest generation hardware, and NVMe storage.
The 100% uptime guarantee and hourly off-site backups provide peace of mind. My website’s speed noticeably improved after migrating to Guru Hosting.
Security Measures
Security is a notable feature for Guru Hosting. PCI-DSS scan compliance, free SSL certificates, a private account environment, and robust DDoS protection are pivotal in their packages.
The inclusion of a Web Application Firewall (WAF) adds an extra layer of security.
Green Hosting Initiatives
As a registered green hosting provider, they incorporate green practices into their daily operations, 100% renewables-backed energy at their data center for 15 years stands proof of their commitment to sustainability.
Customer Support
The 24/7 UK based helpdesk and live chat support have been instrumental. Any queries or concerns were addressed promptly, and the support team’s efficiency even contributed to enhancing my web design knowledge with a complete support to all my queries.
Free features and Promotions
The first-month offer of £1+VAT was a pleasant surprise. Free features like backups, WordPress/WooCommerce staging, and the superfast cache service for various applications make Guru Hosting a value-packed choice.
Guru Hosting Uses LiteSpeed servers
LiteSpeed servers play a crucial role across all plans, enhancing performance through server-level caching. Shared hosting plans go a step further, providing a free LiteSpeed (LS) cache plugin for an additional speed boost.
While Guru CDN is available, alternative options are recommended due to limited coverage and higher costs. Technical features such as MariaDB, hourly offsite backups, and robust security measures are noteworthy.
Let’s Check My Own Experience with Guru Hosting
For my website ‘hedgeup.io,’ which provides information and blogs for cryptocurrency, I chose Guru Hosting to host it. I bought their Shared Cloud Hosting plan for this website.
I found Guru Hosting’s Shared Cloud Hosting plan quite affordable for my website because of the features it offers.
The price for this plan is £8.00 per month, but the best part that made me want to try their service is that they offer the first month for only £1 + VAT!
Guru Hosting’s Shared Cloud Hosting plan is fast and reliable. It comes with cPanel and LiteSpeed, making it easy to manage your website. With fast NVMe-based storage, your website will load quickly and smoothly.
Plus in this plan, Guru Hosting offers a free migration service, so I easily moved my website to their platform hassle-free.
They also provide free WordPress/WooCommerce staging, allowing you to test changes before going live. You can host unlimited domains as well as unlimited email for the hosted domains.
Performance Reports
Now let’s check the performance report. I have tried two different websites to check the performance of my website “hedgeup.io” which is hosted on Guru Hosting.
The first website I used was Google’s popular website, www.pagespeed.web.dev and below is the result I got.
As you can see the “Performance” count of the website is 97 out of 100 which is quite impressive.
Now, let’s check another test that I did on the best website for the website’s speed and performance check GTMatrix.com.
Actually, I did two different tests for the same website here. The only difference is that I just wanted to check the performance of my website in different locations.
In the above result, I selected the server location as the UK because my website is based in the UK and also Guru Hosting is based in the UK.
So, I just wanted to see how it performed at home. You can check the full report by clicking here.
And it gave me superb results. As you can see, GTmetrix gives a grade A to the website performance, which shows how well the Guru Hosting web server performs at home.
Below is the result I found when I changed the web server location to Canada to check the performance.
Even though the Canadian server is far away from the UK, you can see how well my website is performing. It still received a grade of A from GTmetrix, with a percentage rate of 90%, which is exceptional.
Even the browser timing result clearly shows us how fast any website that is hosted on Guru Hosting can load and perform well anywhere in the world.
DNS Propagation
I also checked the DNS propagation of my website. DNS propagation refers to the time it takes for changes made to your website’s settings, like its address, to spread across the internet.
Checking it helps ensure that people worldwide can find your website easily after any updates. If the process is slow or inconsistent, it could mean your website might not work properly for some users, which can be frustrating.
So, by monitoring DNS propagation, you can make sure your website stays accessible to everyone, everywhere. Below is the result I got for my website that is hosted on Guru Hosting.
As you can see in this result, how well Guru Hosting spreads and distributes my website’s DNS (Domain Name Server) across the internet.
A Range of Hosting Plans
Guru Hosting caters to diverse needs through its Shared Hosting, Reseller Hosting, and Dedicated Managed Hosting plans.
Shared Hosting, consisting of three plans—Shared Cloud, Shared Boost, and Shared PRO—prioritizes LiteSpeed servers, NVMe storage, and complimentary migration services.
Customized Shared Hosting Plans
Shared Hosting plans are designed to address specific needs. Shared Cloud, ideal for new websites, boasts LiteSpeed servers, 100GB NVMe storage, and complimentary migration services.
Shared Boost elevates performance with semi-dedicated resources, catering to small to medium-sized websites. Shared PRO steps into VPS-like hosting, accommodating larger websites with increased resources.
Reseller Hosting
Reseller hosting is a type of web hosting where an account owner can allocate portions of their allotted bandwidth and disk space to host websites on behalf of third parties.
Essentially, the reseller becomes a hosting provider themselves, selling hosting services to clients. Reseller hosting typically includes a control panel to manage individual hosting accounts, making it easier for resellers to handle customer accounts, billing, and support.
It’s a way for individuals or businesses to start their web hosting business with Guru without needing to invest in and manage the infrastructure of a data center.
Versatility in Reseller Hosting
Guru Hosting’s Reseller plans—Reseller 10, Reseller 100, and Reseller 250—are crafted to host multiple accounts or websites. These plans offer varying resources, empowering users to select one that aligns with their specific requirements.
Power of Dedicated Managed Hosting
The Dedicated Managed Hosting plans, from Plan 1 to Plan 5, are a powerhouse of resources suitable for high-traffic sites especially e-commerce.
Fully managed servers have features like object cache, support for any PHP version, and heightened security measures, providing users with a robust hosting solution.
Custom Reviews
Users love Guru Hosting on Trustpilot. They really like the great customer support. It’s available 24/7 through live chat, email, helpdesk, and phone.
This means you can get help whenever you need it. They also offer migration services to make switching hassle-free.
Alternatives of Guru Hosting
Here are some alternatives to Guru Hosting,
1. Asura Hosting
Asura Hosting offers a variety of hosting plans, including shared, VPS, cloud, dedicated, WordPress, and reseller hosting. Their plans come with features like free domain names, Let’s Encrypt SSL certificates, SSD storage for faster website loading, and data centers in the US, Europe, and Asia. They provide 24/7 customer support via live chat, phone, and email, ensuring assistance when needed.
With a 99.9% uptime guarantee and a money-back guarantee, Asura Hosting focuses on reliability.
Additional features include advanced security measures, staging environments for testing changes, free website migration assistance, and developer tools like Git integration and SSH access.
Pricing starts at $3.95 per month for shared hosting, $19.95 per month for VPS, $4.95 per month for cloud hosting, and $79.95 per month for dedicated servers.
You can read an in-depth Asura Hosting review here.
2. Bluehost
Bluehost offers shared, VPS, cloud, dedicated, and WordPress hosting plans. Their plans include a free domain name, SSL certificates, SSD storage for faster loading speeds, and 24/7 customer support.
Bluehost stands out with additional features such as marketing tools, a website builder with drag-and-drop functionality, free domain privacy protection, and spam protection.
Pricing begins at $2.95 per month for shared hosting, $18.99 per month for VPS, $4.95 per month for cloud hosting, and $79.99 per month for dedicated servers.
3. Hostinger
Hostinger provides shared, VPS, cloud, Minecraft, and WordPress hosting plans with free domain names, SSL certificates, SSD storage, and 24/7 customer support.
Hostinger’s plans also offer a website builder, free email accounts, free website migration assistance, and daily backups. Pricing starts at $2.99 per month for shared hosting, $3.99 per month for VPS, $9.99 per month for cloud hosting, and $7.95 per month for Minecraft servers.
4. SiteGround
SiteGround offers shared, WordPress, WooCommerce, and cloud hosting plans with features like free domain names, Let’s Encrypt SSL certificates, SSD storage, and data centers in the US, Europe, and Asia.
With 24/7 customer support, a 99.9% uptime guarantee, and a money-back guarantee, SiteGround prioritizes reliability.
Additional features include built-in caching for faster performance, free website migration assistance, automatic WordPress updates, and staging environments for testing changes. Pricing begins at $6.99 per month for shared hosting, $3.99 per month for WordPress hosting, $7.99 per month for WooCommerce hosting, and $80 per month for cloud hosting.
5. DreamHost
DreamHost provides shared, VPS, cloud, dedicated, and WordPress hosting plans, offering free domain names, SSL certificates, SSD storage, and 24/7 customer support.
With a 100% uptime guarantee and a money-back guarantee, DreamHost emphasizes reliability.
Additional features include a website builder with drag-and-drop functionality, free email accounts, free domain privacy protection, and automatic WordPress updates. Pricing starts at $2.59 per month for shared hosting and $15 per month for VPS.
When choosing a hosting provider, consider your specific requirements and technical comfort level.
Importance of Good Hosting
Having good hosting is really important for your website. It’s kind of like having a home for your website online.
When you have good hosting, it means your site is always there and loads quickly for people who visit.
But if your hosting isn’t good, your site might be slow or even stop working sometimes, which can make visitors upset. That’s why having a good website hosting provider is very important to keep your website running smoothly and to make sure your visitors are happy.
How to Choose the Best Hosting Provider?
Choosing the right hosting provider is super important for your website. Here’s how to make sure you pick the best one:
Understand Your Needs
Think about how many visitors you expect on your website and what type of website you’re creating. For simple sites with few visitors, shared hosting is fine.
But for busier sites or dynamic ones like online stores, you might need something more powerful. Also, consider if you want an easy platform like Wix or the flexibility of self-hosted WordPress. And don’t forget your budget and plans for future growth.
Compare Features
Look at the technical details of hosting options. Check storage space, bandwidth, uptime guarantees, loading speeds, and security features. Make sure the provider offers good customer support too.
Check Reviews
Read reviews from other users to learn from their experiences. Look for recent reviews and pay attention to any specific issues mentioned. Comparison websites can also help you see how providers stack up against each other in terms of features and pricing.
By considering these factors, you can find the best hosting provider for your website and keep it running smoothly for your visitors.
FAQs
Why is Guru Hosting special compared to other hosting choices?
Guru Hosting gives you lots of hosting options like Shared, VPS, cloud, reseller, and WordPress hosting. They also offer cool features like free domain names, SSL certificates, SSD storage, and support all day, every day. Plus, their UK data centres can make your website work better for people visiting from there.
What does Guru Hosting offer?
Guru Hosting has fast LiteSpeed servers, NVMe storage, free SSL certificates, and help all day, every day. They also have different hosting plans to fit what you need, and they give extras like free website transfers, uptime guarantees, and different ways to pay.
What is reseller hosting, and how does Guru Hosting support it?
Reseller hosting allows account owners to allocate portions of their bandwidth and disk space to host websites on behalf of third parties. Guru Hosting offers reseller hosting plans with a control panel for managing individual hosting accounts, making it easy for resellers to handle customer accounts, billing, and support.
What hosting plans does Guru Hosting offer?
Guru Hosting offers Shared Hosting, Reseller Hosting, and Dedicated Managed Hosting plans. Their Shared Hosting plans cater to different needs, from new websites to larger ones, with LiteSpeed servers, NVMe storage, and complimentary migration services. Reseller plans empower users to host multiple accounts or websites, while Dedicated Managed Hosting plans provide a powerhouse of resources for high-traffic sites.
What support and customer service does Guru Hosting provide?
Guru Hosting offers 24/7 UK-based support through various channels, including live chat, email, helpdesk, and phone. Their migration services ensure seamless transitions for users, and positive Trustpilot reviews highlight their performance and support quality.
Conclusion
Guru Hosting has been a good fit for my requirements. The combination of top-notch performance, robust security and stellar customer support positions them as a reliable hosting provider. If you’re looking for a hosting platform that is comprehensive and thorough, I highly recommend Guru Hosting.
Choosing the right hosting provider requires research and consideration of your specific needs. It is usually recommended to reach out to providers with questions and compare options before making a decision.
