Is FatCow really worth the hype?
I’ve read some reviews about FatCow on the internet, both good, bad, and ugly. As an experienced web developer/reviewer, I decided to give them a try to compile a brutally honest review of their services.
In this guide, I’ll focus on these critical metrics: packages, pricing plans, customer support, features, and performance. After reading this review, you’ll know if FatCow is the perfect web hosting for your website. Let’s get right to it!
FatCow is surprisingly one of the oldest web hosting providers. They house millions of websites due to their reliable uptime, innovative technology, and redundant hosting environment. The company was recently acquired by Endurance International Group, the hosting titan that’s also parent to BlueHost and HostGator.
FatCow only offers Shared, and WordPress plans. Both plans come with unlimited bandwidth and disk space, a 100% uptime guarantee, site management tools, search engine marketing tools, and other world-class technologies that will blow your mind away!
FatCow doesn’t have a BBB rating, but they had an overall rating of 1.6 on Trustpilot, compiled from 27 reviews.
A good web host provides a solid foundation for your website. But there are several hosts on the Internet already. How do you identify the ones with features worth your investment? Or that fits your goals?
At HostAdvice, we have a team of experts who, through vast years of experience in web hosting services, compiled a standard hosting rating methodology that enables us to evaluate each metric based on their performance. We compare them against industry standards and give them relevant scores.
| Parameter | Score | Why we gave this score |
| PRICES | 8.0 | FatCow plans are affordable and the renewal rates are reasonable compared to other hosting providers that provide similar features. I gave them this score because other hosts have better features for a lesser price. |
| FEATURES | 8.5 | FatCow has plenty of premium features that will entice any first-time user – unlimited bandwidth and MySQL databases, search engine marketing tools, web analytics tools, etc. I gave them this score because key features such as SSL certificates, malware scanners, and automatic backups are not free. |
| PERFORMANCE | 8.7 | Although they provide unlimited bandwidth and disk space, they don’t have SSD storage for shared hosting. When you have high traffic, your website can slow down or crash. I gave them this score because they have a 100% uptime guarantee and 241 ms TTFB. |
| USER FRIENDLINESS | 8.0 | FatCow uses a custom control panel similar to the cPanel. You’ll easily find all the necessary tools to get your website up and running – 1-click installation for WordPress, 1-click script installs, CMAll drag & drop website builder, etc. I gave them this score because the interface isn’t intuitive, and first-time users may find it challenging to navigate the platform. |
| SUPPORT | 9.0 | FatCow offers 24/7 online support to their users via email, live tickets, personalized support, and a vast library of guides to help newbies get a foot in when using their services. However, I gave them this score because they are fast and professional in their approach. |
FatCow offers only two plans – shared and WordPress hosting. Their VPS and dedicated plans were removed a few months ago, as confirmed by their customer support personnel. They refer interested users to their sister company, BlueHost.
It’s thrilling that FatCow accepts monthly and yearly subscriptions. You can opt for the monthly plan to test the waters before opting for an annual plan.
| Plan name | Space | Bandwidth | Panel | Number of domains | Price |
| N/A | Oodles (Unlimited) | Oodles (Unlimited) | Custom control panel | Unlimited | $4.08 |
FatCow shared hosting plan (or the FatCow plan) is perfect for small business websites and personal projects. You get unlimited disk space, bandwidth and email accounts, website builders, shared SSL certificates, MySQL databases, etc. This is a huge plus for businesses with a limited budget and plans to scale in the future.
Also, FatCow provides access to a 1-click installation of several applications, including WordPress, HubSpot’s website grader, a $100 Google ad bonus, FTP access, and even recent versions of PHP.
| Plan Name | Space | Bandwidth | cPanel | Number of emails | Price |
| WP Starter | Unlimited | Unlimited | Custom control panel | Unlimited | $3.75 |
| WP Essential | Unlimited | Unlimited | Custom control panel | Unlimited | $6.95 |
The FatCow WordPress plan is invaluable. First, you get access to all the features in the shared hosting. Also, they offer SSD storage space 7X faster than regular HDD storage. This means better performance for you and your audience. What’s unique is that both plans come with handpicked, pre-installed plugins, themes, personalized expert support, free domain registration, and many more.
Key features
After reviewing FatCow’s features and plans, I’d say the most outstanding packages are the WP essential plans. This plan covers almost everything you need to build and manage a WordPress website, from attractive themes to 1-click installation plugins. The SSD storage offerings ensure that your website is accessible at all times. You get premium SEO tools, search engine marketing tools, ad compatibility and free credits, and many more.
In this section, we’ll consider the vital metrics of a quality web host – speed, uptime, and website loading time.
I analyzed marksoskin.com, a website hosted on FatCow, to evaluate their performance. Here are the results.
The TTFB took 241 ms, which is still within Google’s standards. Your website will load faster, impacting your rankings and customer experience. This is applaudable for their price:
FatCow didn’t perform poorly in terms of website loading time. The website took 669 ms to load fully, which is also within the accepted standards:
Overall, the performance is 98% which is truly magnificent for a host of their size:
As an expert web host reviewer, FatCow’s performance is excellent and even better than other providers, with higher prices and better features.
My experience with The MooCrew (FatCow’s support team) went smoothly. They offer four types of support: Live ticket, email, personalized support, and knowledge base.
The live support ticket is the quickest way to contact any web host. I tested FatCow’s live support ticket, and the response was almost instant. The customer support personnel were polite and professional too. I was surprised as this isn’t so with other providers within the same price range:
FatCow recommends contacting them via email if you encounter issues with their terms of service:
This option is specifically for residents of Florida or its environs. You can walk into their office to lay your complaints:
For more personalized support, FatCow has a vast library of resources comprising help articles, how-to guides, and video tutorials. They are beginner-friendly, and you’ll find almost all solutions to the issues you’ll encounter while using the platform. Use the search button to filter the preset categories for faster results:
This feature is only available for WordPress package subscribers. Since I opted for the shared hosting plan, I couldn’t test this feature:
Getting an account set up on FatCow is easy. Simply click on the ‘Get Started’ icon:
Next, you’ll be directed to add your existing domain name or create one if you don’t have one yet:
Follow the prompts and complete your purchase. They accept payments from all credit cards and PayPal.
FatCow uses a customized control panel, a fresh breath of air from the traditional cPanel. If you’re already familiar with cPanel, you’ll have no issues navigating the platform:
You’ll find all the tools for building and managing your website in the control panel, from the Weebly website builder to the FTP manager. With the 1-Click installation tool, you can install Drupal, WordPress, and Magento in one click.
Although they tried to be as minimalistic as possible, I’ve seen other hosts within the same range but with a better and more attractive UI. I’d love to see some improvements in the future.
Building a WordPress website on FatCow is also a smooth process. FatCow dedicated an entire section to discussing this in detail.
Choose your preferred plan: WP starter or WP essential to building your WordPress website. I recommend the WP Essential plan if you want to enjoy juicier features. If you already have an account with FatCow, skip this step.
Next, go to the domains section on your dashboard:
Then, choose the domain where you want to install WordPress:
Go to the left side menu and click ‘DNS and Name Servers.
You’ll see a drop-down list of nameservers. Click ‘WordPress’ and then ‘Get Started:
After these steps, you’ll be redirected to choose hosting options. You can continue with the installation if you already have an existing plan. However, FatCow recommends a better-optimized plan that works perfectly with WordPress:
Enter your site name, email address, username, and password:
Lastly, click install.
Usually, this process takes a few minutes to be completed. Once done, you can go to your WordPress dashboard to customize your website as preferred.
FatCow dedicated an entire section to explaining WordPress installation in detail. Read it here.
To create an email account on FatCow, click on the domains section on your dashboard. To access this feature, opt for the hosting plan that comes with a free email. You can integrate your webmail, Microsoft 365, or Google Workspace account into FatCow.
Then, choose the domain you intend to create an email address for:
Click on the left side menu, and you’ll see a drop-down list…search for Email management and click on Standard:
Next, you’ll be directed to a page to add your email account. You can add multiple email accounts as needed. Click on add email:
Add your email name and password, then click ‘Create Mailbox.
Voila! You’ll get a notification confirming that your email address has been created successfully.
Totally! I personally recommend FatCow because they’re a reliable and affordable option for individuals and small businesses looking to establish or improve their online presence. Its simple interface and world-class functionalities make it easy for users to set up and manage their websites.
In addition, FatCow offers 24/7 customer support, monthly and annual payment plans, and a 30-day money-back guarantee, ensuring that users are delighted with their service.
I love their commitment to sustainability, making it an environmentally friendly choice for those looking to reduce their carbon footprint.
| Plan Name | Space | Bandwidth | OS | Panel | Number of Sites | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Original Plan (everything unlimited) | Unlimited | Unlimited | cPanel | Unlimited | NZ$6.96 | Details |
| Plan Name | Space | CPU | RAM | OS | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Startup | 500 GB | 2 x 4GHz | 4 GB | NZ$255.82 | Details | |
| Professional | 1000 GB | 4 x 3GHz | 8 GB | NZ$324.05 | Details | |
| Enterprise | 1000 GB | 4 x 4GHz | 16 GB | NZ$409.33 | Details |
FatCow is owned by Endurance International Group (EIG), a publicly traded company that owns other hosting such as BlueHost and Hostgator.
Contact them via the live chat support on their website. You can also opt for more personalized help if you are currently on the FatCow WP Essential plan.
To transfer your domain to FatCow, follow the steps below:
– Go to Domains on your dashboard and click ‘import domain.’
– Then click ‘transfer registrar here.’
– You’ll be directed to a page to add your transfer authentication code and domain name.
– Click on transfer domain, and you’re all set.
Once done with the steps listed above, you’ll get a confirmation email. The transfer may take up to 7 days to be completed.
Tip: To get your domain authentication code, contact your current web host. Find more details about how to transfer your domain to FatCow here.
FatCow uses a custom control panel. You can access all the tools needed to build and maintain your website here. The UI has a clean and minimalistic design, although it looks quite conventional.
Yes! FatCow is a good hosting company and perfect for businesses and individuals looking for excellent performance at a low price. Asides from their outdated UI and limited features, everything else is excellent about the host.
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