Lunarpages

Lunarpages In-depth Review

Here at Web Hosting Geeks, we’ve been taking a different tact lately. You see, we consider it our sworn duty to deliver you the latest and greatest news from the world of web hosting. As such, we make a point to write up thick articles on the newest technology, the scams you aught to know about, and the hosting providers that everyone should have on their list. However, lately we’ve been doing something different: We’ve been scouring the Internet for smaller, lesser-known hosting providers with A-Game services and rock-solid performance. Then, we bring you a detailed review of those hosts.

Today is no different, as we’re dipping our golden, review-enabled hands into the Web once more to bring a full-on review of Lunarpages. They are a locally-based (if you’re reading this from the United States) hosting provider that’s been in the game for some time now. And during that time, they’ve managed to work up quite a name for themselves. So if your interest has been piqued, keep on reading down below the break! We’ll be breaking down everything you need to know about the provider, including who they are, what they do, how they do it, and what you can expect to pay to enjoy their services. It promises to be a wild and informative ride, so without any further ado, let’s dive right into the meat and potatoes of the matter! Starting with our full introduction to get you up to speed on who exactly Lunarpages is:

Who is Lunarpages?

If you’ve never heard of Lunarpages before, we can’t say we’re surprised. However, that doesn’t mean you should’t know about them. They offer a lot of really great services, and with a technical assistance package that makes them one of the top competitors in the game. Here’s the basic rundown:

Lunarpages was launched back in 1998 as an enterprise-level IT solutions company and global web hosting provider. Today, they continue to push boundaries on both fronts. They’re based out of California, but they also maintain and use data centers based in Arizona and Nevada. Their 100+ top tier staff members service and support a network of 150,000 clients—and growing! That’s a lot of clients, and the fact that their client roster does not number in the millions is actually a good sign in our eyes: Lunarpages is no mom and pop operation, but with a small, high-quality network of employees serving an industry-competitive network of clients, you can rest assured that the customer service you’ll receive will be top-notch.

We could give you our words on their mission statement and goals summary, but why do that when we can hand you Lunarpages’ words exactly as they are? Here’s what they have to say about themselves on their website:

“Lunarpages Internet Solutions is a leading provider of information technology, IT infrastructure and business process outsourcing. Our mission is to reduce risks, increase ROI, and decrease the time for our clients to reach their goals. The foundation of our efforts is excellence paired with professionalism. Lunarpages will utilize green facilities while embracing newer technology.”

Sounds like a winning platform to us! However, none of this is any good without a detailed look and discussion about their data centers and performance capabilities. With that in mind, keep reading to see what Lunarpages is packing underneath the hood:

The Technology Behind Lunarpages:

As with any hosting provider, we’re going to take a moment to really crack open the technology at work behind the Lunarpages experience. We feel this is an important aspect to keep an eye on, as old or outdated hardware will inevitably lead to disappointing and slow performance. And when you’re trying to found a new and improved Web presence for your business or ad-revenue making blog, that simply isn’t an acceptable condition to be in. So here’s what we’ve got on the Lunarpages hardware experience:

First out of the box, Lunarpages claims to have a unique dedication and focus on exceptional redundancy and technical hardware, which is always a good thing in our eyes. They have a network of four, peerless and housed data centers to draw from, which also strikes us as an important boon. These data centers are located in California, Nevada, and Arizona. All of these run using a SAS 70 Type II compliant hardware set, and offer fully redundant power systems with diesel generators. They also feature multitiered reliably security services, ensuring that your data is safe in their hands.

Their San Dieogo-based AIS building is also of particular note. It features a Teir 4 certified, 80,000 square foot complex, clocking in as one of the biggest and most secure data center locations on the planet. Combined with all of the other hardware locations that Lunarpages has at their disposal, we feel one could easily obtain a quality service recommendation from the company. And if you’re looking for a provider that offers a true-blue dedication to security and performance, it appears that Lunarpages will fit the bill nicely.

The Hosting Plans Themselves:

Up until now, we’ve mostly been talking about who Lunarpages is as a company, as well as what sort of service they can provide based on the hardware and network that lies just under the bonnet. However, we have yet to mention anything specific about the types of hosting plans they offer, or even the prices that you can expect to pay to obtain the true Lunarpages experience. That’s going to change, though, and starting now! To view a full rundown of every hosting plan that Lunarpages can throw at you, one needs only to keep reading down below the break. So without further ado, let’s dive into the thing, starting with the humble personal shared hosting plan.

Basic Web Hosting

When it comes to web hosting, there’s really no option more basic or more universal than the simple shared hosting plan. All web hosting providers offer some kind of service that meets this description, and Lunarpages is certainly no different. They offer a Basic Web Hosting plan that starts at only $4.95 a month, and comes with a whole lot of features to its name. But before we go any further, we simply wanted to make note of something:

Within this hosting plan, Lunarpages has done away with the complicated tier pricing scheme that we see so many other hosts using. We’re particularly thankful for this, as we think bombarding a new customer with a huge list of services and price ranges is simply too verbose for the common need. As such, Lunarpages makes things infinitely simpler by offering a flat rate with contract-based discounts. Good on you, lads!

Now, onto the features! If you’re looking for an industry competitive hosting experience, you’ll certainly find it here with Lunarpages. Right out of the box, Lunarpages immediately signals who the plan is for, and we feel they’re spot on: If you’re a small business owner, a blogger, or just a person in need of an email tagged with your personal domain name, you’re in the right place. The Basic Hosting plan comes with unlimited storage and bandwidth, as well as eMail accounts to get you going on the right track. Not only that, but set-up fees are waived, as is domain registration for the first year. After that, though, you will need to pay to keep the domain name alive: There’s no free-for-life domain name registration here with Lunarpages, but that’s hardly a dealbreaker in our eyes.

When it comes to additional features, we like the fact that Lunarpages has a custom-compiled script library for you to draw from. This massive library includes a lot of the most popular software and tools that you can use to quickly and effectively create an eCommerce site for your business, or been just a personal blog. Lunarpages will also give you $25 Facebook and $50 Google Adwords credit just for signing up! That seems particularly generous to us, and to top it all off, you’ll also get unlimited FTP accounts, parked domains, sub-domains, add-on domains, MySQL databases, and the aforementioned storage and bandwidth. All in all, the basic hosting plan offered by Lunarpages seems to be a solid way to go, at least on paper.

The Business Hosting Plan:

But what if a shared hosting plan just isn’t going to cut it for your needs? What if you need a little additional power under the hood to meet the demands of your consumers, as well as your sheer traffic. If so, then Lunarpages has your back all of the way, via their Business Hosting Plan.

This plan starts at $19.95 a month with the same lack of a tiered scheme which we lauded in the personal shared hosting plan. The plan is stated to be ideal for those who have a start-up company, an established business, a personal site with very complex needs, or a growing company that needs more breathing room in their hosting. The plan is also ideal for businesses that need Windows-supported emailing, which is often the case with some of our clients. But what sort of services will you really be getting here with Lunarpages’ Business Hosting plan?

As with the personal hosting plan, you’ll get the same (nearly) unlimited everything: This includes bandwidth, storage, MySQL databases, add-on domains, sub-domains, etc. You’ll also get the same advertising credits and extensive script library to help you flesh-out your site with popular software. However, the additional perks are what make the plan worth considering.

With the Business Hosting Plan, you’ll also get 3 registered domain names, 1 dedicated IP address, an instant SSL Certificate, a 30-day money back guarantee, and SecureLive Website Protection. You’ll also get an entire host of additional softwares and platforms to make setting up your online business that bit easier. All in all, we have to say that the plan itself looks rather swell: It comes loaded with standard support for popular softwares, a good price, and even a full retinue of additional items to help get you off the ground. And, of course, you’ll also benefit from the same 24×7 technical support that all Lunarpages accounts come loaded with.

Virtual Private Server Hosting:

At this point, we’ve largely been talking about the same technology: A personal shared hosting account versus one that has been optimized for larger business use. However, Lunarpages also offers additional options that will help you out if those aforementioned plans are simply to paltry to meet your needs. If you’re in that category, and have the budget to spend on better hosting, there’s always the Linux & Windows VPS Hosting plan.

This is, of course, a virtual private server hosting network produced by Lunarpages to bring you even more power, storage, and performance where you need it. At this point, we are going to start seeing some tiered pricing plans, but with good cause. And of course, these plans are recommended for those who are site developers, as well as Linux and Windows users. That goes without saying, though, so let’s give you a breakdown of the features you’ll get with this plan!

If you’re looking for a more traditional virtual private server hosting experience, Lunarpages offers what they call the Parallels VPS experience: This obviously uses Parallels to create virtual desktops for their clients. This is a powerful way to go, and it comes in Linux and Windows variants. The pricing differences between these to are pretty remarkable, though: For Linux you’ll be paying $44.95 a month, while Windows will cost you $59.95. With both of these you’ll get a heck of a lot of memory and disc space, as well as a generous 1000 gigabytes bandwidth allowance.

However, Lunarpages also offers what’s called the Xen Cloud VPS experience. This is a platform that creates individual, cloud-based bubbles that are independent of their hardware. This means you can add updates regardless of the core system, create modifications that wouldn’t otherwise be possible, and get a lot more performance for your money. However, the price is also higher. The lowest price tag comes with the Linux Pro edition, which will run you $57.95 a month. For Windows you’ll be paying $75.95 a month. Also, you’ll get about twice as much hardware allowance to work with than with the Parallels edition of the VPS Lunarpages experience. So all in all, if you need the utmost in customization and performance, there’s really  no question of what to pick.

Dedicated Hosting Plans:

Before we go any further, we simply want to mention that Lunarpages has one of the widest ranging support platforms for dedicated hosting that we have seen anywhere. It’s almost maddening the number of options and solutions they offer to keep your business afloat. So in other words, if you’re looking use a dedicated hosting provider to manage your business, we cannot recommend anyone else over Lunarpages. Here’s what we mean:

They’re hosting plans range from a scant $150 a month to upwards of $700. However, there are far too many options and plans of us to lay them all out here, so we’re going to give you a brief rundown. Firstly, if you want Windows or Linux, you can have either. Furthermore, you can get both with your choice of processor, with an noticeable increase in cost, of course. Keep in mind that each of the plans we’re mentioning can also be managed or unmanaged depending on what you prefer. Lunarpages is completely capable of keeping your data under lock for you.

From there, you can also obtain high-performance, mega, and strictly managed hosting to meet your needs. And with one of the best tech infrastructures we’ve seen with any hosting provider, you can rest assured that you will have 100% uptime. Yes, we said one hundred percent. Lunarpages are very serious about their performance, and we have no doubts that they mean what they say.

All in all, we’re a bit surprised to say it, but Lunarpages may actually be the best place on the Net to have your site hosted via dedicated server.

Email Hosting

As we mentioned a bit earlier, Lunarpages also offers a plan that’s custom-tailored to the needs of those who simply want a custom-named email account to use for their business. If this is you, and you’re looking to save a bit of cash in the process, you’ve come to the right place.

eMail hosting plans with Lunarpages cost only $10.95 a month, and come with a full 30-day money back guarantee to tie off the package. You’ll also get full Microsoft support for your business, which comes as a tremendous boon.

Reseller Hosting with Lunarpages:

This is where we typically give you a breakdown of what reseller hosting is, as well as how the web host can compliment the profits you’ll make. However, we’ll skip that this time to simply give you the basics:

Plans with Lunarpages start at $19.95 a month with the option to buy additional storage later, which is a tremendous way to do things. Furthermore, the technology behind the plans is perhaps some of the best we’ve seen anywhere. With the plans, you’ll also get unlimited email accounts and emails, eCommerce support, and built-in bill management. All in all, it’s a solid way to go in our opinion, but don’t take our word for it! Give them a good looking over and let us know what you think.

Website Solutions:

With all of that out of the way, it’s about time we mentioned that Lunarpages isn’t just a wide-ranging hosting provider. They also offer a lot of quality IT solutions to help your business. For example, they will gladly search engine optimize and search engine market your site for you, if you should request it. Additionally, they will also help you out with payment processing to help get your online business running and flying high. And finally, the offer something called the TremenDesk help desk, which is simply one of the best help desk solutions available anywhere. And all of this arrives at your door with quality technical support and assistance, guaranteeing a smooth installation.

Technical Support:

Here’s where we usually breakdown the technical assistance available to you with the web hosting provider of the day. With Lunarpages, this is a particularly easy affair. You see, they offer full email support, as well as a ticket system to get to your problems quickly. Or if you’d prefer, you can also give them a call anytime of the day.

If that’s not enough, they also have a full-blown Wiki page for you to browse through, including more than 429 guides to common problems. And, if you’re feeling particularly chatty, you can check out the user forums to look for simple solutions to common problems. All in all, we have no doubts that you’ll be able to find a speedy answer to your sticky situations with Lunarpages.

Overall Value and Conclusion:

At the end of the day, we’re all quite blown away by what Lunarpages has done within the web hosting industry. They offer stellar plans with lots of features, as well as prices that are simple to understand and competitive on the market. Not only that, but they seem to offer a unique dedication to a professional and simple experience that benefits you, rather than causing you headaches. Not to mention offering the fullest roster of dedicated options we have seen anywhere.

Still, we encourage you to always check out the user reviews submitted to this site before signing any papers! And we also suggest you check out some of our favorites hosts first, like Web Hosting Hub and InMotion Hosting. Both are quality options, and will never steer you wrong.