Ryan Gray, CEO of
NameHero has been running online businesses since he was 13(!) years old. He tells us how that experience has evolved into a company offering top notch, complete web hosting services with some serious cybersecurity and 99.9% server uptime.
This interview was originally published on September 9, 2019.
Can domain names be purchased through NameHero?
Yes, you can register or transfer all of the popular TLDs including gTLDs at NameHero. We feature an Instant Domain Search engine that easily allows you to see available domains with a single search in real-time.
What are your Web Hosting plans?
We offer four different Web Hosting plans all deployed on our private high-speed cloud:
- Starter Cloud – Web Hosting for 1 domain with 1GB of RAM. This is perfect for websites reaching at or below 10,000 unique visitors a month (we don’t limit visitors, just a suggestion based on resources).
- Plus Cloud – Web Hosting for 6 domains with 2GB of RAM. This is our most popular package for small businesses and individuals reaching up to 25,000 visitors a month.
- Turbo Cloud – Web Hosting for unlimited domains with 3GB of RAM. Best suitable for those that with growing websites that demand a bit more power for their applications with up to 50,000 visitors a month.
- Business Cloud – Web Hosting for unlimited domains with 4GB of RAM. Perfect for high traffic websites reaching up to 100,000 visitors a month that don’t want to have their own Virtual Private Server.
All our web hosting packages paid 1 year or longer come with a complimentary domain registration or transfer for the first year (com, .net, .org, .mobi, .us, .biz, .co.uk). We also offer Unlimited SSD Storage and bandwidth with free and automatic SSL certificates. Additionally, our web hosting packages have been built specifically for performance, reliability, and security that include LiteSpeed web server and CloudLinux OS for a containerized hosting environment.
What are your VPS Hosting plans?
We offer four pre-configured VPS Hosting packages which are also deployed on our private high-speed cloud:
- Hero 2GB – 30GB SSD storage (protected by Raid 10) with 2GB of RAM and 2 CPU cores that is perfect for developers who need the ability to have root access where they can specifically customize the environment for their application.
- Hero 4GB – 60GB SSD storage (protected by Raid 10) with 4GB of RAM and 4 CPU cores that is perfect for webmasters that have growing websites and need scalability.
- Hero 6GB – 90GB SSD Storage (protected by Raid 10) with 6GB of RAM and 4 CPU cores designed specifically for applications that require more memory.
- Hero 8GB – 120GB SSD Storage (protected by Raid 10) with 8GB of RAM and 6 CPU cores perfect for high traffic websites and Resellers looking for a lot of power.
All of our VPS Hosting packages are fully managed (meaning we handle OS upgrades and server components) with 5TB Outgoing bandwidth per month (incoming is free), 2 dedicated IPs, and a web-based control panel. We also offer free and automatic SSL certificates, multiple versions of PHP pre-installed, as well as the ability to add resources on demand (instantly scalable) for maximum performance.
What are the differences between Web and VSP Hosting?
Both our Web and VPS hosting packages are deployed on our private high-speed cloud with speed, reliability, security, and scalability to mind that also include all the features necessary for a pleasant web hosting experience. I believe strongly that one should have everything they need with their hosting package and not have to seek external resources once onboard our platform.
For our Web Hosting packages this includes LiteSpeed web server, Cloudflare w/Railgun, Dynamic Caching, Nightly Backups, Auto SSL, One-Click WordPress/application installs and staging, Malware protection, and more that are pre-configured.
Our
Web Hosting nodes are containerized, meaning multiple accounts share the same node, therefore specific limits are set based on the type of package purchased. These accounts do allow for SSH access, but not full root access to customize everything running inside the environment.
Our
VPS Hosting packages give people the ability to customize the infrastructure specifically to their exact needs where they can select their own features and tailor limits based on the number of websites and traffic being served. The same features from our Web Hosting packages are available, but not relevant to every user’s needs, therefore these can be added as needed.
Given our VPS hosting packages are on a dedicated environment, the nodes are not shared by anyone else providing more power and resources for websites that have a higher demand (i.e. higher traffic or reselling).
With all of NameHero’s Web and VPS hosting packages being deployed on the cloud gives users the ability to scale as they grow without the need for complicated migrations or downtime due to reaching resource limits.
Do your plans include SSL?
Yes, since 2016 all of NameHero’s Web and VPS hosting packages have included free and automatic SSL certificates for all domains and sub-domains we feel this is essential (no longer an option).
Do you host any CMS platforms such as WordPress?
Yes, 98% of our audience uses WordPress (or other) content management systems in some capacity. Therefore we have specifically designed our entire network to be optimized for high performance, reliability, and security of these types of applications.
Are migration services available for customers with existing sites?
Yes, we provide up to 10 complimentary migrations from customers moving over from other web hosts that use cPanel (or similar control panels) within the first 30 days of their account. For those that require a manual migration (i.e. not using a control panel) we also perform migrations but have a small hourly rate, which is also heavily discounted for new customers.
How can you guarantee 99.9% uptime?
Personally, I’ve been running online businesses since 1998, when I was 13 years old, hence all of my income has c0me from the Internet. Therefore I know first-hand how much downtime can hurt an online business and is something we take very seriously.
Since launching NameHero we have achieved 99.9% server uptime (not just network,
actual uptime for websites) through our proactive maintenance and vigorous service monitoring. We have two dedicated teams that work 24x7x365 solely on these tasks.
Additionally, to prove our claims, we publish real-life uptime reports from a third-party vendor on our website each year.
What security measures are installed on your servers?
Achieving a high level of uptime and performance is impossible without good security.
Therefore we don’t have a “
one and done” security solution as threats are constantly evolving but we look at this in two ways:
Proactive security: A lot of threats out there can be avoided by proactively patching/upgrading software and doing regular server and network audits.
We also have a custom stack of software and hardware tools that allow for real-time malware scanning, automatic application patching, and machine-learning intrusion protection.
Reactive security: If our monitoring department notices a potential incoming threat, that has circumvented our proactive measures, we immediately take action to mitigate with our goal being to avoid downtime. This includes using tools from security vendors that historically has been used only for large corporations, due to the cost and time involved to implement.
When a reactive security measure is used, we’re sure to conduct a complete internal investigation to look for ways to improve our proactive security and also further-evaluate our response times/procedures to mitigation.
Finally, NameHero employees a 24x7x365 Abuse and Security team that manually examine our network in detail specifically looking for issues. This way we are constantly collaborating with our security vendors on improvements and better policies.
How can your customers get support?
The NameHero.com brand was partially derived from the term “
Superhero Support” to ensure our customers are able to obtain professional, knowledgeable, and helpful assistance 24x7x365.
This includes phone support by calling 1-855-984-NAME (6263), reaching us on Live Chat (30 second response time), or submitting a helpdesk ticket (15-minute response time).
Additionally, I believe strongly in educating our customers, as it gives them the ability to make the most out of their account with us. We accomplish this with hours of video tutorials on our YouTube channel as well as releasing content on our Startup Blog as well as within our knowledgebase. I personally devote much time to each of these channels where I have direct communication with potential and existing customers.
