Your web hosting platform is the most crucial aspect that affects the functioning of your website. What you need is a dependable and high-performing web host that understands your website requirements and provides the perfect solutions.
While there are a lot of web hosts out there, HostGator is a distinguished player in the market that is known for providing the most resourceful web hosting packages. When it comes to website hosting, HostGator seamlessly meets three core elements – speed, security, and reliability.
If you are just getting started with HostGator, choosing the right hosting plan may seem overwhelming. They offer three primary web hosting plans: HostGator Hatchling, Baby, and Business. Understanding the differences is important to make the most of your chosen hosting plan and get the best value for your money.
Today, we will review HostGator’s two most popular and basic hosting plans – HostGator Hatchling vs Baby plan. Knowing the differences will help you choose the right plan for your hosting needs and save money in the long run.
1. HostGator Hatchling Plan
If you have a startup website, if you are a blogger, a techie, or a developer, the Hatchling hosting plan is just what you need to get started. It supports the hosting of one domain and provides several features that you need to get your website up and running in no time. This plan is ideal for beginners and it includes features like:
- Free SSL Certificate – With Hatchling plan, you get a free SSL certificate that ensures your website is not flagged as “not secure.” The browser uses HTTPS and will display a padlock icon to indicate that your website is secure. This is an important feature, especially when your website or blog is new.
- Unmetered Bandwidth – Some hosting service providers offer limited bandwidth and disk space.
So, before your website or blog starts making money, you will need to pay more to upgrade your hosting plan. Thankfully, HostGator provides unmetered bandwidth with the Hatchling plan so that you can concentrate on growing your website or blog and get all the resources you need.
It isn’t unlimited, but provides enough disk space and bandwidth required for normal operations of a small business website or an individual.
- Free WordPress/cPanel Website Transfer – Enjoy the benefits of free website transfer service with the Hatchling plan. This allows you to seamlessly transfer your website from any other hosting provider to HostGator.
- One-Click WordPress Installation – In addition to hosting, the Hatchling plan also allows you to create your own website using a simple & intuitive one-click website builder. The drag-and-drop editor is ideal for newbies and provides 4500+ WordPress templates to get started.
2. HostGator Baby Plan
The HostGator Baby plan is essentially a basic e-commerce hosting plan suitable for many types of websites. Unlike the Hatchling plan, it supports the hosting of unlimited domains, adding more value to businesses that run multiple websites. It is quite similar to the HostGator Business plan – though the latter has more advanced features – and can be used to build an online store.
The Baby Plan includes The Following Features:
- Free Domain Registration: New hosting accounts can benefit from a free domain registration service for Shared plans. Select a domain name and get it at no extra cost when you choose the 12 months billing cycle. Get any preferred domain name like .org, .net, or .com and you can get it for free for the first year.
- Unlimited Domain Hosting: An advantage of Baby plan is that you get the option to host unlimited domains.
- Unmetered Bandwidth And Disk Space: With Baby plan, you do not have to worry about upgrading your hosting plan frequently to get more bandwidth and disk space. Through an unmetered plan, you will not be charged additionally based on the disk space or bandwidth you use.
- Free SSL Certificate: The hosting plan supports “Let’s Encrypt” – free SSL that keeps the data on your online store fully secured. It automatically renews after every 90 days and at no extra cost. A “secure” site also helps build customer loyalty.
- Free WordPress/cPanel Website Transfer: This hosting plan comes with a free limited website transfer service for new accounts within 30 days of signing up.
First, Claim Your Discount
A Special deal that you can get benefit from with HostGator is trying out their hosting services for “45 days” in exchange for a total sum of “3 dollars”. All you have to do is sign up through the following link.
HostGator Hatchling Vs Baby Plan – (Comparison)
You might get overwhelmed with the choices available for hosting your website or blog and this is quite normal! What you need is a comparison of both these plans to make your choice clear.
To help you make a wise decision, here is a comparative review of both plans based on the following factors.
Domain Name Hosting
One of the major differences between the Hatchling plan and the Baby plan is that you can host only 1 domain name with Hatchling plan, while Baby plan provides unlimited domain name hosting.
This means if you choose the Hatchling plan and want to host a second domain name, you need to buy a new hosting plan or upgrade to Baby plan to get additional domain names for your hosting account, this might lead to an increase in your overall hosting cost.
Here, the Baby plan is in the winning position because it can help you save more in the long run by allowing you to host unlimited domain names.
User Type
Another key difference between the Hatchling and Baby plans is their user base. HostGator Hatchling plan, with limited domain hosting, is suitable for beginners who are just getting started with building their website or blog. It is ideal for a basic personal or small business website.
On the other hand, the Baby plan – with unlimited domain hosting – is good for growing websites with higher traffic. It is also suitable if you run multiple domain names. Typically, the Baby plan is designed for basic e-commerce hosting or business purposes.
Features
Both, the hatchling plan and baby plan are HostGator’s shared hosting plans and provide quite similar features. Both of these plans provide free SSL certification that ensures your website and all its data are fully encrypted and secure.
Unmetered disk space and bandwidth are other features that both plans offer. That means there are no hard limits on bandwidth or disk space on a Hatchling or Baby plan. You will not be charged based on the amount of bandwidth or disk space you use. You will be asked to upgrade only when you exceed the set bandwidth or disk space limit for your website.
Fast and seamless website transfer is another feature that both plans offer.
However, the Baby plan provides an added feature of free domain registration when you select a minimum 12-months billing cycle. With this feature, you can choose your desired domain name and use it at no additional cost for the first year.
Performance & Uptime
When it comes to performance and uptime, you will not get major differences in both shared hosting plans. Both the Hatchling and Baby plans are powered by the same server and there are only a few differences as we have mentioned above.
HostGator provides a “guaranteed” 99.99% uptime for all its shared plans. And from our personal experience, we can say that their uptime and performance are mostly 100% reliable. You can sign up for either the Hatchling plan or Baby plan depending on the type of your website, your audiences, and the hosting resources required for your website.
HostGator Email Hosting
Both plans allow you to create unlimited email accounts depending on your needs. HostGator uses industry-leading email servers that allow you to send & receive emails in a fast and efficient way.
With unlimited email hosting, you can also get the following added features:
- Unlimited mailing lists
- Spam Assassin
- Unlimited autoresponders
- Unlimited email forwarders
Control Panel
Again, both plans are powered by cPanel control panel, ensuring ease of use and a wide range of customizable options.
Indeed, both Hatchling and Baby plans are simple to use and they have an uncomplicated setup process, which gets you going instantly.
Website Builder
To make it easier for users to set up their own website or blog, both Hatchling and Baby plans come with a website builder.
The drag-and-drop editor is easy to use and has over 4500+ customizations that allow you to set up everything – from a visually appealing website to an engaging blog or a functional e-commerce store.
Pricing
Though there are not too many differences between the HostGator Hatchling vs Baby plan, the latter is high-priced because it supports unlimited domain hosting.
So, the Baby plan is slightly high-priced and offers unlimited domains, ideal for growing websites with higher traffic.
Both The Hatchling Plan And The Baby Plan Include:
- Free Migration
- 24/7 server monitoring
- 99% uptime guarantee
- Unmetered bandwidth
- Unlimited FTP users and email hosting
- cPanel Control Panel
- One-click install of applications
- Unlimited MySQL databases
- 24/7 support
The Final Verdict
From the comparative review, we can conclude that HostGator Hatchling plan is most suitable for new website owners and bloggers. It is ideal if you need only one domain.
The hatchling plan is right for you if:
- You have a new website or blog
- Your website traffic is relatively low
- You are not self-hosting too many high-resolution images
- You do not provide downloadable products
On the other hand, the Baby plan is important when you want to host more than one website or blog, or when you have a growing website with higher traffic. It offers unlimited domain hosting with unmetered bandwidth and disk space. Otherwise, both hosting plans have somewhat similar features.
Ideally, the Baby plan is recommended as the best HostGator hosting plan as it can help save you more in the long run as your business scales and you need more domains to set up. At just $3.95/month, this plan is your ideal choice for unlimited website hosting.
You are just one step closer to making the right choice for your website. Before you opt for any of the hosting plans mentioned above, understand the requirements of your website, the volume of traffic it receives, the level of security you need, and the features you want to work with, this will make your decision easier.
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
Here are the answers to some of the most commonly asked questions regarding the Hatchling & Baby hosting plans provided by HostGator:
Can I upgrade to a higher-level plan?
HostGator allows you to add more domain names or upgrade your plan at any time. If you are using the Hatchling plan, you can seamlessly upgrade to the Baby plan depending on your hosting requirements. There is no additional charge for upgrading; just pay for the corresponding plan.
According to our review and as per HostGator’s recommendation, Baby plan is the best shared hosting plan. The plan costs $3.95/month and offers unlimited domain hosting from a single account. If you want to host multiple websites with high traffic, this plan is most suitable.
Can I migrate my website/blog to HostGator or WordPress?
With the shared hosting plans, you can transfer your website/blog, databases, scripts, files, and one domain registration for free. If your website is hosted with some other hosting service provider or if you want to migrate your blog to WordPress, free migrations are available.
Do I get an SSL certificate with the Hatchling Plan?
Yes; despite being an affordable hosting plan, HostGator Hatchling plan comes with a free SSL certificate. This helps in encrypting all the information shared between the server and website visitors. The “https” and padlock icon in the address bar indicate the website or blog is “secured.”
How to install the SSL certificate on my hosting plan?
To get the certificate, you need to contact HostGator support team at (866) 964-2867. They are also available 24/7 to provide support on live chat.
Do I need both a domain and a web hosting plan?
To ensure your website is accessible online, it is important to have both a domain and web hosting. Without a domain, you have to direct website visitors through an IP address, this process can be complex. HostGator hosting plans allow you to register a domain or transfer your existing domain easily.
How long does the setup process take?
The time to setup will vary depending on the hosting plan you choose. New domains take around 1 hour to set up, while transferring your domain to HostGator shared hosting plan usually takes longer. And if you buy dedicated servers, it can take up to 24 hours to complete the provisioning.
How to view my bandwidth and disk space usage?
For any hosting plan, the process remains the same.
Log in to the cPanel and click the Bandwidth icon under “Logs” to see your bandwidth usage.
To view your disk space usage, click on the Disk Space Usage icon under “Files.”
Will I be charged monthly?
HostGator allows you to pay monthly. However, the most lucrative deals are for 12, 24, and 36-month hosting plans.
