HostGator Web Hosting Plan Review A free hosting review comparing the Hatchling, Baby, Swamp website plans versus HostGator.com's reseller web hosting packages Current HostGator.com Coupon (use by clicking here): 600GB Hosting, 6000GB Traffic - FREE Setup, FREE Domain Name - Cost: $9.95 billed month to month; cancel anytime (coupon price included). Compare the HostGator web hosting plans in less than five minutes Audrey in West Palm Beach, FL writes us: I'm thinking about becoming a reseller of HostGator's website hosting packages but I really don't understand the difference between their Hatchling, Baby, Swamp website hosting plans (all named after Florida's gators - where HostGator was founded) and the reseller hosting packages they offer. Should I buy one of their normal hosting plans or do I need to go with the more expensive reseller hosting packages? Our HostIndex.com response: Whether you should buy a regular hosting plan such as HostGator.com's Hatchling, Baby, Swamp packages or a reseller hosting package depends on what you intend to use them for. The HostGator Hatchling, Baby, Swamp are based on levels of web space and disk space needs. Usually, a web host will not include MySQL in their entry-level hosting plan (here the Hatchling plan - HostGator's most basic monthly account) but when you buy a HostGator plan, MySQL is standard across all packages. Thus, you can run most applications and website uses' on all their plans. Aside from the obvious web space and bandwidth allowances (which are all huge and unlikely to be surpassed for the average website (compare against your current traffic and disk space), the biggest difference between the Hatchling, Baby, and Swamp plans is with respect to the number of domains you can host on a single account and whether or not you gain anonymous FTP (e.g. for downloading websites). Thus if you run a software download site or require the ability to have anon. FTP then you will need to review their Swamp package. If you are considering being a reseller of hosting space with HostGator, their domain hosting differences between Hatchling, Baby, and Swamp are important to know. The Hatchling plan can only host a single domain name and no parked domains. Thus, for all intensive purposes, Hatchling is designed for a single company website. You can host unlimited domains (including those you resell to others) using either their Baby or Swamp plans. If you are thinking about becoming a reseller, your level of client involvement will determine whether you can use their regular hosting plan or whether you need to use the reseller web hosting packages. While you can host unlimited domain names with plenty of web space and traffic to host multiple websites under the Baby + Swamp hosting packages, you cannot create individual client accounts for customers to manage their web space on their own. In other words, if you use a Baby or Swamp plan for reseller purposes you will need to upload, maintain, and control your customer's files and websites. In contrast, the HostGator reseller web hosting packages come with Web Host Manager; which is a good reseller hosting tool designed to automate the hosting experience for resold accounts. For example, by using Web Host Manager (included with all HostGator reseller plans - those being Aluminum, Copper, Silver, Gold, and Diamond) your customers will have their own control panel through the cPanel software to setup email accounts, upload web files, etc. So whether you buy a HostGator regular plan or a HostGator reseller plan really reflects your commitment to becoming a reseller of web hosting. A hosting reseller without the ability to outsource client control to clients, is not much of a web hosting reseller (in our opinion). We believe the additional cost per month is worth it. Plus, with the HostGator reseller hosting plans you can purchase them without a contract, meaning you will be billed on a monthly basis. Therefore, for the price listed per month, ranging from $24.95 to $99.95 you can open your own hosting company through HostGator - which is quite a good reseller web hosting deal. The last thing you need to know when comparing the Hatchling vs. Baby vs. Swamp vs. Reseller Web Hosting Packages at HostGator is that the reseller hosting plans come with Private Name Servers that can be used to "hide" where you buy your hosting from. If you have a technically-savvy customer and choose to buy the Baby or Swamp accounts to resell hosting space with, your client might be able to reverse DNS your account and find out where you are hosted. With private name servers offered in the HostGator reseller website hosting plans this is not possible. In addition, you gain billing software when you become a hosting reseller with the HostGator reseller web hosting packages so that you can automate the monthly billing of your own hosting customers. User feedback about all of HostGator's hosting plans has been good. In short, HostGator is a good web host and certainly not a bad web host regardless of which hosting package you choose. That said, for the extra cost per month, the ability to look like a real hosting company/startup is well worth it in our opinion. Thanks for reading this HostGator website hosting package review article. As a special offer, readers of this HostIndex.com directory article ranking HostGator's website hosting plans can get special prices by visiting the HostGator website through this link - just click here. HostGator's Website Link: www.hostgator.com - click to visit w/ coupon Basic Web Hosting Plan Web Space: 350 GB Basic Web Hosting PlanBandwidth: 3000GB Basic Web Hosting Plan Monthly Cost: $8.95/month We appreciate your inquiry on HostGator's various website web hosting packages and hope that this comparison page on the various HostGator website hosting plans has helped you to better understand their offerings and relate those products to your own hosting needs. If you would like to view other high-quality web hosting companies and compare HostGator vs other web hosts, you can visit our Linux Hosting Showcase.