InMotion Hosting Review: As Good as Advertised? [2024]

InMotion Hosting at a Glance

InMotion Hosting Pros, Cons, & Things That Could Be Better

InMotion Hosting caters to small and large projects alike, with a wide range of hosting types on offer, including shared (Linux), reseller, managed and unmanaged WordPress, VPS, and dedicated hosting. Its range of preconfigured plan tiers allows for easy setup and is varied enough (resource-wise) to fit the needs of almost anyone, from individuals to enterprises.

However, InMotion Hosting specifically appeals to agencies and developers, as its higher-tier shared hosting plans allow you to host unlimited sites with matching unlimited NVMe storage. It’s good to know that there are still hosts like InMotion Hosting out there that offer flexible plans to accommodate the building of multiple websites within one account – no additional log-ins or plan purchases are required!

Besides including all the necessities, such as a domain and SSLs, it’s simple to set up a site (or two) with InMotion Hosting. Softaculous is available directly from your InMotion Hosting dashboard, making it easy to install WordPress, other content management systems (CMS), or apps. Most other hosting functions are no trouble to access and modify from here, too.

However, like all hosts, InMotion Hosting has its limitations – specifically regarding backups and an uptime guarantee. Only shared WordPress plans feature backups. If you’re not on these plans, you’ll need to purchase a Backup Manager subscription or use a plugin. And only the top 3 shared hosting plans feature an SLA for uptime, which is unusual.

(Almost) Everything You Need, but the Extras Add Up

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In terms of features, InMotion Hosting has thought of everything a user would most likely need. From generous resource quotas to extras like domain names, PHP workers, and SSLs, InMotion Hosting plans are (almost) all-inclusive. However, the targeted exclusion of specific tools and features is a costly downer.

What do I mean by this? Well, for example, there’s a lack of free in-house automatic backups on most plans. While there’s a Backup Manager add-on, it costs a few extra dollars a month. Support is also limited per tier (expect to pay more for phone support). Oh, and a domain name is free but domain privacy, which hides your personal details from WHOIS registries, isn’t – and InMotion Hosting charges more than usual (around $15.99 per year!) for it.

Free Domain Name & SSL

A free domain name is the most sought-after hosting freebie. Luckily, InMotion Hosting doesn’t disappoint in this department, allowing you to register .com, .net, .org, .biz, .info, and .us domain names for free on annual shared plans. Plus, there are many more unique TLDs like .app, .agency, or .wiki available for an additional fee, though these can get costly.

Unfortunately, InMotion Hosting’s managed WordPress, VPS, and dedicated hosting plans don’t get a free domain, likely due to the fact they’re aimed at users who want to host multiple sites or apps. Because a domain needs to be registered annually, monthly shared and WordPress plans also don’t receive a free domain, as doing so would be risky on these short-term contracts.

InMotion Hosting also throws in free SSL certificates from an “already-free” provider – Softaculous AutoSSL – with standard encryption levels to match. You’ll also get the usual ongoing automatic renewal of your SSL certificates offered by most providers.

Unlimited NVMe SSD Storage

Most of InMotion Hosting’s shared and WordPress on cPanel plans include unlimited storage space. It’s not an offer you usually hear about – especially when the aforementioned storage space is the highly efficient NVMe SSD storage. Just be sure to use your quota only for site-related data and tasks – otherwise, you may have it revoked.

InMotion Hosting Website Builder: BoldGrid

Included with all InMotion Hosting plans is another useful freebie: a website builder called the BoldGrid WordPress Website Builder. With 200+ modern templates, drag-and-drop elements, and a beginner-friendly layout, it’s a winner.

However, BoldGrid does have one minor limitation: as the name implies, it’s only for creating WordPress websites, so it might not be the best option if you’re averse to using WordPress.

Also, you don’t have to use BoldGrid – you can just install WordPress using Softaculous. Then, use the built-in WordPress building tools (or a free or paid theme with advanced building tools) to set up your site if you prefer.

Backup Manager

InMotion Hosting’s standalone backup manager – called the Backup Manager (no surprises there, right?) – is offered for an additional fee with select InMotion Hosting plans. If your plan doesn’t come with free backups, you’ll have to pay for the Backup Manager or arrange your own third-party backup if you want that extra level of security.

A complete suite for setting up, scheduling, and managing automatic and manual backups and restoring content, the Backup Manager is well worth it. However, if you’re hosting a WordPress site with InMotion Hosting, you can just integrate numerous free or paid backup plugins into your setup, too.

InMotion Hosting Features at a Glance

My Hosting Experience With InMotion Hosting

As standard, all of InMotion Hosting’s plans are designed to be easy to set up and manage. However, you may need some advanced knowledge when you use Softaculous to install or manage WordPress or another CMS, script, or plugin. Or, maybe, that’s just me? Anyway, do watch a tutorial or two before configuring your installations to avoid making the mistakes I did!

Though it took no longer than ten minutes to sign up for the Launch plan, my main issue was that it took a whole day (not minutes, as advertised) before the DNS propagated and I could access Softaculous or the control panel to install a site and configure my settings. That’s expected but still highly unusual, even by budget hosting standards.

If you want WordPress pre-installed instead, go for one of InMotion Hosting’s WordPress hosting plans rather than the general shared hosting plan that I tested. You have two options: shared WordPress or managed WordPress on Platform InMotion, which is a more powerful cloud-based VPS option. Ideal for developers and enterprises, Platform InMotion WordPress hosting offers ramped-up performance, including dedicated resources.

Creating a New Account With InMotion Hosting

Getting started with InMotion Hosting is a straightforward enough process if you know exactly what type of hosting and resources you need. I quickly picked out the package I wanted: Launch. It’s one up from the entry-level plan and features UltraStack – a custom technology stack with layered caching to increase site performance. Then, I navigated to my cart, at which point I was able to add on some useful extras before choosing a domain and paying.

I wasn’t accosted with many upsells during the sign-up process. However, I noticed some preselected add-ons, like the Backup Manager and domain privacy. But I had the option to opt out of these services, and a simple ticking of the No, Thanks box removed them and the corresponding extra charges.

Other surprises were being charged a lot extra for domain privacy, being given a random 10% off (on top of the existing advertised discounts on InMotion Hosting’s site), and then having my PayPal transaction declined the first time around (for no reason). So, signing up with InMotion Hosting was a mixed bag of pros and cons in my case.

Besides PayPal, other accepted payment methods include credit and debit cards (Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover), as well as checks and money orders (by mail only).

After checkout, I was automatically redirected to the InMotion Hosting shared hosting plan page instead of the control panel. I had to click Login in the top-right corner, which signed me in without the need to enter my password, and redirected me to my InMotion Hosting Account Management Panel (AMP) and a quick (optional) pop-up survey.

Though simplistic, I found it difficult to navigate the AMP control panel, as there’s no search bar function. Am I just a lazy millennial so used to Google Search? Maybe… but still, it’s just an easier way to get around. Instead, I had to navigate to the InMotion Hosting help section, where I was able to use the search function to find out how to activate an SSL certificate.

Connecting a Domain and Installing WordPress

A free domain name is included with select InMotion Hosting plans, including the 1-year shared hosting plan I chose. You can also purchase additional domain names for a wide range of Top Level Domains (TLDs).

During the sign-up process, you’ll have to choose your domain or specify an existing one that you own. Once you complete the setup, this domain name is automatically connected to your plan. No fiddling with DNS or pointers. This was much appreciated as I’ve had to configure my own domain name before, and it’s not easy.

You can also opt to decide later, in which case InMotion Hosting will assign you a temporary domain. However, if you’re new to hosting, I suggest purchasing your domain name along with your hosting plan if you want to keep things simple.

Then, it’s time to pay and wait for your plan to be ready to configure. Finally, once the setup is complete (almost a whole day later, in my case), you can dabble with the plan settings and access the Softaculous installer where you can install WordPress.

Other Ease-of-Use Features

The Softaculous Installer

Need to install WordPress or another CMS, plugin, script, or web app? Meet Softaculous, AKA the main panel where you’ll be installing CMSes, apps, and tools for your InMotion Hosting plan. Conveniently, Softaculous is built into your AMP and cPanel control panels.

Just click the Softaculous button in your InMotion Hosting AMP plan setting menu (this is only available once your hosting account is fully set up) to go to the Softaculous control panel and all the associated tools and installation options.

UltraStack & W3 Caching Technology

UltaStack is a custom server software stack designed to increase site speed and performance, utilizing NGINX, Redis, Brotli Compression, and PHP-FPM. Perfect for beginners, UltraStack is pre-installed and preconfigured according to your chosen shared or VPS (Platform InMotion and general VPS) hosting plan.

There’s no need to adjust its settings, but you can switch between Redis and NGINX caching and modify basic settings using the NGINX Helper WordPress plugin. You also get access to the cPanel Cache Manager plugin tool with a cPanel license purchase on VPS.

If you opt for InMotion Hosting’s shared WordPress hosting plans, a similar tech stack that isn’t explicitly called “UltraStack” is included. Platform InMotion WordPress hosting plans also include a dedicated Redis cache of 16 MB–256 MB depending on your plan, as well as the W3 Total Cache.

While you can add this popular W3 Total Cache plugin for free to any WordPress site, you have to figure out the settings yourself. Luckily, InMotion Hosting’s managed Platform InMotion WordPress hosting plans come with W3 Total Cache pre-installed and configured for you. You may still have to tweak it for some sites, but it will already be optimized for InMotion Hosting’s own server configuration.

90-Day Money-Back Guarantee

A money-back guarantee is a must if you don’t know exactly what kind of hosting service you’re going to need. A 30-day money-back guarantee is the industry standard.

InMotion Hosting goes one step further, offering a 90-day money-back guarantee for all its shared (except monthly) and 6-month and longer-term VPS and reseller hosting plans. This should give you more than enough time to trial InMotion Hosting’s service before committing long-term.

Yes, a money-back guarantee also covers dedicated hosting and month-by-month shared, VPS and reseller plans – but only for 30 days.

Stable Uptime and Consistent Loading Speeds

Performance is one of the most important factors when choosing a host. It doesn’t matter how much a plan costs, how big the discount is, or what others have claimed about a service if your site takes ages to load and crashes. Does it? In the case of InMotion Hosting, you’re well cared for, as it returned some of the best uptime and performance of many of the hosts we’ve tested.

GTmetrix

For this review, I tested the mid-range shared hosting plan, Launch, which features what InMotion Hosting refers to as “6x” UltraStack technology – for context, the top-end plan offers 20x the performance. I uploaded our test WordPress website, and then monitored the site’s performance over time using GTmetrix and UptimeRobot, taking particular note of uptime and page loading speeds. If you want to find out more about how we test web hosts, head on over to our testing guidelines.

In my GTmetrix tests, my test site performed well, scoring the host an “A” grade. With a content delivery network (CDN) activated and some minor tweaks, the results could be even better.

When we look at the specific test results, we see that InMotion Hosting’s loading speeds are not just fast but quite stable. That said, they could be a little faster if you install and configure a caching plugin and CDN. Yes, NGINX and/or Redis caching is already installed thanks to UltraStack, but that doesn’t mean you have to settle for the associated preset setting and estimated performance limits.

UptimeRobot

UptimeRobot monitors website uptime and downtime, even reporting specific incidents and events. During my tests, my InMotion Hosting-hosted website actually stayed up throughout, scoring a 100% uptime rate, with no instances of downtime at all. However, it’s possible a little downtime may occur in the future – especially for brief periods of maintenance.

Luckily, InMotion Hosting has a 99.99% uptime guarantee in place for three out of four shared plans, including my Launch plan. If your site experiences any downtime below the 99.99% threshold, you’re entitled to a credit equal to a month of hosting. However, downtime is calculated by InMotion Hosting, and you have to request this manually, which you can only do once per month.

Impressive 24/7 Support From Helpful Agents

InMotion Hosting offers various support channels, including:

• Live chat
• Email
• Ticket
• Mail
• Skype
• Phone (limited hours)

InMotion Hosting’s support team is separated into three divisions: sales, technical, and accounts and billing. Technical support is available 24/7/365 for customers. However, billing and accounts-related support is only available from 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM (EST), Monday to Friday. Sales is only available from 6:00 AM to 2:00 AM (EST), Monday to Friday and from 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM (EST) on Saturday and Sunday.

With InMotion Hosting’s basic plans (Launch and Core), phone support is excluded from the support options. You need to purchase a Power or Pro shared or WordPress hosting plan to access it. Or, In the case of reseller, VPS, or dedicated hosting, you’ll need at minimum an R-2000N, VPS 8 vCPU, or Advanced plan, respectively.

On contacting InMotion Hosting’s technical support via live chat, a chatbot greeted me and tried to direct me to helpful support resources and articles. I opted to chat with an agent, and I received further detailed questions regarding my customer status, account, and query. After filling out all the required info, which took around 5–10 minutes, the chatbot told me that it would connect me to an agent.

A second thereafter, I received a notification that support had opened a ticket and emailed me a link. Just a minute later, I was connected to a real agent, who advised they would review my account. Within a few minutes, they had reviewed the details and sent an informed response to my query.

Having chatted to a few support teams before, this was a relief. I appreciate that InMotion Hosting asks all the questions beforehand so it can get right to your query. No misunderstandings or fumbling around trying to find out your details and such, which can cause both parties undue stress and annoyance.

Next up, I tested ticket support, which is only available to existing customers via the InMotion Hosting AMP panel. Ticket support response was a little slower (the following morning, but it was New Year’s Eve, so I’ll give them that). But it was no less courteous, informative, and helpful.

Overall, I’m pretty impressed with InMotion Hosting’s support. Not only is it truly 24/7, fast, streamlined, and stress-free, but agents are professional, helpful, friendly, and informed. Definitely one of the best support interactions I’ve had testing hosts thus far.

Competitively Priced and Discounted but Some Extra Costs Involved

InMotion Hosting is definitely one of the cheapest options out there. Its plans are priced reasonably for the specs and resources offered and discounted competitively enough compared to other hosts’ plans. And that might just be the issue – if you can get a (even if slightly) better deal and performance elsewhere, why go for basic InMotion Hosting?

Well, for a few reasons: InMotion Hosting’s 90-day money-back guarantee and generous longer-term discounts. If you’re going for long term (6+ months) shared, VPS, or reseller hosting, you’re unlikely to find such a lengthy money-back guarantee elsewhere. And it’s nice to be rewarded a little more for opting for a longer term of hosting while still being covered for the above.

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All InMotion Hosting’s plans also offer monthly terms with a 30-day money-back guarantee. So, you can sign up short-term and risk-free as well.

Personally, for the best savings, I recommend InMotion Hosting’s shared or shared WordPress plans on a 1-year or longer term. Since they come with a 90-day money-back guarantee anyway, this isn’t a major risk – and this provider is reputable enough that you shouldn’t have to worry. But do expect to pay extra for domain privacy, backups, and extras on most InMotion Hosting plans.