GreenGeeks Review – Most Beginner & Eco-Friendly Host

Affiliate Disclosure: In full transparency, some links on this page and the links we send to you during our free consultancy are affiliate links. We may earn a commission if you purchase from them without extra cost. 

FREE CONSULTANCY: We believe in personal customization. We believe that out of the thousands of software, tools, and services entering the market every day, it is impossible to make the best decision by reading just a few blog posts. That is why we started this unique initiative of FREE CONSULTANCY for making a decision for buying software, tools. services, etc. We believe every software, tool, or service has its strengths and weaknesses. The same goes for your business as well. We try our best to identify the best possible providers you can work with at no additional cost. This article is just a fraction of our research on the topic. Our in-depth research of the market and providers will help you make the best-informed decision for your business.

Uncategorized

‘GreenGeeks Hosting’, the name itself, is enough to explain what to expect from the host. It’s a 100% true ideal name for this hosting provider. But some misunderstand GreenGeeks to be only a green hosting provider. Let me be very clear on this, GreenGeeks is MUCH MORE THAN JUST A GREEN HOST.

Let’s for a moment forget that GreenGeeks is eco-friendly. Still, GreenGeeks is one of the best hosting providers in the business. Do you want to know why? We will check it out in detail in this article.

There is a straight answer here, GREENGEEKS IS FOR DEVELOPERS. GreenGeeks has the most developer-friendly features we have ever seen at an affordable price.

GreenGeeks Shared Web Hosting Review-  Server locations, pros and cons, our ratings on various factors

GreenGeeks Overview

What Makes GreenGeeks Ideal For Developers? 

Let us check out some of the best features of GreenGeeks that make it the best for developers –

  1. Drush: Drush or DRUpal SHell is a software to help administer Drupal Websites.
  2. WP-CLI: WP-CLI stands for WordPress Command Line Interface. You can use this to make changes to your website without a web browser.
  3. Git access: Even if you aren’t from a programming background, you must have heard of GitHub. Git is used to handling projects with efficiency and speed amongst programmers. GitHub is a community of programmers.
  4. Secure FTP or SFTP: This is a network protocol that helps the transfer of files between computers securely.
  5. SSH access: SSH stands for Secure Socket Shell or a secure shell. This helps communicate with two computers, including sharing data through your web pages.
  6. Python: Who hasn’t heard of Python? It’s one of the easiest and most highly used programming languages. You get the latest versions of Python with GreenGeeks.
  7. Perl: This server-side scripting language is one of the most popular in web hosting. Sadly, this is a little old; most hosting providers have started to exclude this, but GreenGeeks doesn’t.
  8. MySQL Databases: This database management system is highly used for web and communication services.
  9. Multiple PHP Versions: It is a general-purpose scripting language great for web development. You can choose between a lot of the latest versions of PHP. 

All these and their developer-friendly customer support make GreenGeeks the best developer-friendly option. 

What Makes GreenGeeks the Most Eco-Friendly Hosting Provider in Business?

I am no saint. I am the last person one may call a saint. Kidding😂. I don’t recommend choosing a hosting provider just because it is green. I don’t. But as I explained earlier, GreenGeeks is not just green, and it’s pretty awesome. Being eco-friendly is just a bonus making It a great option as a hosting provider.

According to Energy.gov, there are roughly 8 million servers across the globe, 3 million of which are in the United States alone. These 3 million servers use about 2% of the US’s energy resources. This figure is equivalent to having about 5 nuclear power plants.

I won’t bore you with more statistics, but they are shocking. Electronic waste is another issue that I haven’t even discussed here. There are a lot more.

There are just 2 things that make GreenGeeks the most eco-friendly hosting provider. Here they are –

  1. 300% Energy Match: GreenGeeks produces 3 times more energy than it consumes through renewable energy sources. This energy match includes not just energy matches for servers but also staff workstations. They work on this with Bonneville Environmental Foundation.
  2. Planting 1 tree for a subscription: For every subscription, they plant 1 tree somewhere in the globe. This one is pretty cool. You can do something for the environment right from here.

GreenGeeks is recognized for being committed to sustainability by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

You must be thinking, what is the benefit in green hosting for me? Your perspective is right.

One of the biggest benefits of using green hosting for you is a positive brand image. You can get more traffic from a different perspective. A clear agenda helps viewers remember you. This is an extremely well-known marketing strategy used by millions.

And let me tell you, green hosting is extremely helpful for some industries. Here are they –

  1. Sustainable brands: 

This is an obvious one. Suppose your brand sells sustainable products, or you have a blog on similar topics; GREEN HOSTING IS A MUST FOR YOU.

  1. Non-profit organizations: 

It doesn’t matter what the agenda of your NGO is. NGOs are meant to help people; even If you have an NGO that remotely doesn’t relate to the environment, like helping the visually challenged or something else, a green tag on your website will still help.

  1. Educational Institutions: 

You teach your students to plant trees and turn off their engines while waiting at traffic lights. Still, you harm the environment when there is an option for you to avoid that harm and help the environment in return. Trust me, and you cannot afford to lose this opportunity.

  1. Government Agencies:

“I will do anything in my power to clean our air and water, protect our people’s health, to win the clean energy future” – President Joe Biden, at Somerset, Massachusetts.

This speech would have looked much more convincing if the page I took it from had a green hosting tag and a dedicated page to tell people how they are helping the environment. Wouldn’t it?

  1. Hospitality: 

Do you own a resort, a hotel, or something? Green hosting can help this sector with the newest customers if used correctly. The environment is important for some people more than others. Those who care about the environment will love you for being eco-friendly, get inclined toward you, and at least engage with you. Someone who doesn’t care about the environment still needs peace. Green is the color of peace.

  1. Health and wellness:

Almost all the yoga-related websites I have seen use a green tag. You know the reason, right? This is a great way for your marketing campaign. The same goes for if you have a health-products-related website.

  1. Other Fields: 

There are small industry owners whose industries are harming the industries every day. Some of these have used tactics like this. They would accept their industries are polluting the environment. Still, they would focus their campaigns on eco-friendly sides and prove that they are trying their best to avoid pollution and help the environment in the best possible way.

All of the above industries can use green hosting for their benefit in multiple ways. You can collaborate with others, get more viewers, clients, etc. You can make a dedicated page on your website that will further explain your agenda and help you engage with your clients.

Here is what green tags by GreenGeeks look like. You can put them on your website.

Green tags offered by GreenGeeks for everyone who hosts theuir website from GreenGeeks available on GreenGeeks's official website

A GREEN TAG IS ONE OF THE BEST WAYS OF STANDING OUT FROM YOUR COMPETITION. It doesn’t matter which industry you are in; you definitely must have competitors. You can use being environment-friendly to pull customers towards you.

Do you want a good example of a business using eco-friendly as a marketing tactic? – I’ll give you the best one – GreenGeeks. 

GreenGeeks Security Features – How is GreenGeeks Security?

  1. Free SSL: 

SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer. It has now become a standard practice to use these on your website. Almost all hosting providers offer this for free, at least for the first year. There are different types of SSL. GreenGeeks offer the standard one for free in their Lite and Pro Plan. There is a better version of SSL called AlphaSSL which they offer only in their Premium Plan, which will also cover all your subdomains.

  1. 24/7 Network Security: 

Note that GreenGeeks offer 24/7 network security. Most hosting providers call it network monitoring and only monitor it and notifies you of the issues. GreenGeeks helps secure your website during a time of crisis.

  1. Enterprise-Level Firewall & DDoS protection: 

They use AI-powered Advanced WAF (Web Application Firewall) and DDoS protection. WAF includes avoiding cookie poisoning attacks, SQL injection, cross-site scripting, etc. GreenGeeks offers network-level mitigation services.

  1. Email with Enhanced Spam Protection: 

You get a free email that you can customize. You can access your mail through Webmail, POP3, or IMAP. They offer enhanced spam protection for your emails.

  1. Container-based technology: 

This technology works like a container. It contains configurations, libraries, binary codes, and more that help with easy deployment throughout multiple computing environments. It helps with the website’s security and enhances speed.

  1. Daily Backups: 

Most hosting providers do provide this. They back up your website(s) every day to make sure in case you lose something, you can get it back. GreenGeeks also offers on-demand backups from their Pro and Premium plans.

  1. Free malware cleanups: 

According to Mimecast, in 2022, 75% of organizations experienced malware attacks at least once. That’s 3 in 4 websites. Most hosting providers would notify you of the issue in case of a malware attack and send you some articles on how to correct this. GreenGeeks will help you clean this malware with its experts.

This was one of the biggest reasons GreenGeeks stands out from its competition.

GreenGeeks Speed & Performance Features – How Fast is GreenGeeks?

GreenGeeks believes in quality rather than quantity. That is why they may have a short list of speed and performance-related features, but each one they offer is extremely efficient.

Some hosting providers are out there, like A2Hosting, which offers a long list of open-source and free-to-use features. There is no point in offering something free.

Here are the speed and performance-related features offered by GreenGeeks –

  1. Unlimited web space: 

The more web space, the better. GreenGeeks offers unlimited web space making it one of the best options for hosting multiple websites. More space also helps increase the speed and enhance the performance of your websites.

  1. Unlimited bandwidth: 

They offer unlimited bandwidth. A lot of hosting providers have started offering this. No bandwidth limits make sure you don’t have to pay extra even for sudden surges in traffic. GreenGeeks also offers unlimited speeds.

  1. Free CDN Integration: 

CDNs or Content Delivery Networks is something almost all good hosting providers have started providing. These have become a necessity as they drastically enhance the speed of your website. It doesn’t matter how few servers the provider has; CDNs change the game.

  1. Redis and LSCache Caching Technologies:

Caching is, again, important. Suppose someone opens your website. Caching will help ensure that the next time a user opens your website, it gets loaded faster.

  1. Object Caching: 

This is one of the best features to increase site speeds but is only included in GreenGeeks’s Premium plan. This helps reduce the load on the server, making it easier, faster, and more efficient to load—GreenGeeks’s offers object caching through both Redis and Memcached.

  1. Global Datacenters: 

GreenGeeks has data centers in 4 locations covering Europe, Canada, North America, Asia, and Australia. Most other hosting providers have more datacenter locations. This would have been GreenGeeks’s biggest cons if it wasn’t offering free CDN. Since they offer a free CDN, these speed issues are solved.

GreenGeeks is one of the fastest hosting providers in the business. In our tests, GreenGeeks comes #2 when it comes to speeds. Cloudways bag the first position. There was a time when GreenGeeks was also #1 for a while.

GreenGeeks Review – Other Notable Features

  1. Free Domain for one year:

Almost all hosting providers offer this. You get one free domain name for one year. But don’t forget, after a year, you will have to pay for it even if your hosting continues. 

  1. Managed WordPress: 

Managing WordPress takes work. There are a lot of issues you can have in a WordPress website as well, solutions of which you might need help to figure out. GreenGeeks can help you with this.  Their WordPress and Web hosting are almost the same, including in pricing. However, if you are sure you will stick to WordPress, you should only go for GreenGeeks WordPress Hosting.

  1. WordPress Repair Tool:

If something goes wrong with your WordPress website, this tool will help you repair WordPress for yourself efficiently. GreenGeeks assures you that this tool can help fix at least 90% of WordPress breakdown-related issues.

  1. Multi-user Access: 

This one is an extremely important one for team collaborations. Multiple users can access the GreenGeeks dashboard and work on the site.

  1. 24/7/365 customer support: 

How can we forget about customer support, right? They offer 24/7/365 expert customer support and one of the lowest response times in business. Their team has -technical knowledge making GreenGeeks a very developer-friendly hosting provider.

  1. Free Dedicated IP: 

This is a feature you only get with GreenGeeks’s Premium Pricing Plan. A dedicated IP address provides you with better security and performance on your website. All important websites must use a dedicated IP, in my opinion. If you have a fairly high-traffic website, please don’t compromise in this one.

GreenGeeks Pricing

GreenGeeks Shared Web Hosting Pricing Plans both introductory and recuriring including Lite, Pro and Premium GreenGeeks Plan

As you can see, the GreenGeeks pricing plan is a little different. GreenGeeks is offering a huge discount on all its annual plans. This discount may end anytime soon. I recommend everyone to use this discount and choose one of their annual plans.

I do not recommend the GreenGeeks Lite Plan to anyone because it includes only 1 website and limited space.

I recommend the GreenGeeks Pro Plan the most, as it has everything you need and is reasonably priced.

If you need premium experience, GreenGeeks’s Premium Plan is perfect. Usually, I recommend going for Cloudways when it comes to the best performance, but Cloudways is costly. GreenGeeks is an affordable alternative to Cloudways.

AlphaSSL and Dedicated IP are both pretty cool features at these charges.

Get GreenGeeks From Here.

GreenGeeks Datacenter Locations – Where Are GreenGeeks’s Servers Located?

GreenGeeks Review - A map showing GreenGeeks's four datacenter locations in Singapore, Montreal, Amsterdam, and Chicago.

Frankly speaking, GreenGeeks has very few datacenter locations. However, their coverage is okay. Earlier, they only had three servers. They have one in Singapore, and the coverage is good enough for me to recommend.

Also, GreenGeeks understands its limitations and offers free effective CDN and caching plugins. A lot more to increase website speeds so that you don’t have to worry about datacenter locations. 

Different Types of Hosting Offered By GreenGeeks

Six different types of hostings offered by GreenGeeks including web, wordpress, vps, reseller, woocommerce, and cpanel.
  1. GreenGeeks Web Hosting

We have discussed web hosting in detail in this article, so I don’t have to stress much. You should know that Greengeeks is one of the best hosting providers for developer-friendly features.

  1. GreenGeeks WordPress Hosting: 

This one is almost the same as GreenGeeks web hosting, with slight differences. This one is optimized more for WordPress. If you are a developer, you can also use the WP-CLI to make changes.

  1. GreenGeeks VPS Hosting: 

GreenGeeks VPS Pricing plans are alright too. They are priced a little high, but there are no recurring charges. The features are cool too.

  1. GreenGeeks Reseller Hosting: 

GreenGeeks does quite well with their reseller hosting. They are trusted by many big and small businesses when it comes to reseller hosting.

  1. GreenGeeks WooCommerce Hosting: 

Since GreenGeeks focuses well enough on security and is an eco-friendly host, many online store owners prefer WooCommerce hosting with GreenGeeks. If used correctly, showing you care about the environment is a great way of attracting customers. 

Aside from these, they also offer –

  • Drupal Hosting
  • Joomla Hosting
  • cPanel Hosting
  • CMS Hosting
  • Magento Hosting
  • PrestaShop Hosting
  • OpenCart Hosting

GreenGeeks Review – How is GreenGeeks Compared To Its Competitors?

Let us compare GreenGeeks with some of its best competitors.

GreenGeeks Vs. A2Hosting:

Comparison table between GreenGeeks Vs. A2Hosting based on pricing, money back guarantee, domains, ssl, uptime guarantee, and server locations.

A2Hosting is, so far GreenGeeks one of the closest competitors. I do not recommend A2Hosting over GreenGeeks because A2Hosting has a very bad UI. A2Hosting has many unnecessary features, most of which are free and open source, and anyone can use them. All these make A2Hosting harder to use, even for experts. Also, A2Hosting is costlier as compared to GreenGeeks.

GreenGeeks Vs. Hostinger:

Comparison table between GreenGeeks Vs. Hostinger based on pricing, money back guarantee, domains, ssl, uptime guarantee, and server locations.

GreenGeeks is more developer-friendly, while Hostinger is more beginner-friendly. So it’s quite simple if you are a beginner, Hostinger is for you; if not, GreenGeeks is for you. Note that Hostinger is not recommended for high-traffic websites; GreenGeeks is.

Read out our detailed Hostinger review here. Here we talk about how Hostinger is the most beginner-friendly and affordable hosting provider.

GreenGeeks Vs. Cloudways:

Comparison table between GreenGeeks Vs. Cloudways based on pricing, money back guarantee, domains, ssl, uptime guarantee, and server locations.

Cloudways tops the list of the best hosting providers in the business, without a doubt. Being the best makes Cloudways expensive too. That is why a good alternative to Cloudways is GreenGeeks which offers good performance and security and affordable pricing plans. However, Cloudways is more recommended for big businesses and corporations, while GreenGeeks is recommended for small to medium-sized businesses.

Read out our detailed Cloudways review here.  Here we talk about how Cloudways is the best hosting provider overall.

GreenGeeks Vs. GoDaddy:

Comparison table between GreenGeeks Vs. GoDaddy based on pricing, money back guarantee, domains, ssl, uptime guarantee, and server locations.

GoDaddy, from the outside, looks like a good hosting provider, but as soon as you dig deep, you start smelling the poop. GoDaddy does everything right but has one major flaw that is overlooked by most others, and that is security. GoDaddy offers advanced security with an add-on that is more than double the cost of their hosting. They need more than the security they offer with their hosting for beginner websites.

GreenGeeks Vs. SiteGround:

Comparison table between GreenGeeks Vs. SiteGround based on pricing, money back guarantee, domains, ssl, uptime guarantee, and server locations.

SiteGround, although it seems good again but has issues with reliability. If you scour the internet for SiteGround reviews, you will find many negative ones. This is the reasons most people just avoid SiteGround at.

GreenGeeks Vs. InMotion Hosting:

Comparison table between GreenGeeks Vs. InMotion Hosting based on pricing, money back guarantee, domains, ssl, uptime guarantee, and server locations.

InMotion Hosting again is a great competitor to GreenGeeks, but it has one major flaw. Inmotion Hosting has 3 datacenter locations only. That’s not the issue. The issue is they are all in the United States only. They have zero coverage in Asia, Europe, and Australia. Although you can always go for a CDN, this does affect your site speed.

Conclusion – Is GreenGeeks Worth It?

The recurring charges of GreenGeeks are high. However, all other options are way costlier than GreenGeeks. If they do, they have serious limitations that make them unworthy of your time.

GREENGEEKS IS DEFINITELY WORTH IT, specifically if you need more developer-friendly features or looking for eco-friendly hosting. Regarding these two qualities, there is no better alternative to GreenGeeks.

However, If you are a beginner, I recommend going for Hostinger, the most beginner-friendly and affordable host. If you are a big business or a corporation, I would recommend going for Cloudways because it is the best hosting provider but a little costly. 

Here are some of our articles that can help you make a decision –

Hostinger Review – Most Beginner Friendly and Most Affordable Hosting Provider

Cloudways Review – Best Hosting Provider Overall, Best For Big Businesses & Corporations

List of Best Shared Web Hosting Providers – #1 Cloudways, #2 GreenGeeks, #3 Hostinger

If you are getting confused and would prefer to help us choose the right hosting provider for you according to your business needs, fill out this form or mail us at consult @ nachiketan.com and get a FREE CONSULTANCY.

GreenGeeks Review – FAQs

Who owns GreenGeeks?

GreenGeeks was owned by Trey Gardner in 2007. He is also the CEO of GreenGeeks. He is in the web hosting business since 1999.

How is GreenGeeks eco-friendly?

GreenGeeks generated 3 times more energy than it consumes. Also, it plants one tree per subscription, making GreenGeeks the most eco-friendly hosting provider in the business.

Who uses GreenGeeks?

Developers and high-traffic website owners majorly use GreenGeeks. It it, without a doubt, the most developer-friendly and eco-friendly hosting provider.

Is GreenGeeks reliable?

Yes, GreenGeeks is certainly extremely reliable. GreenGeeks offers a 99.90% uptime guarantee as well, which it upholds.

How much does GreenGeeks cost?

GreenGeeks Shared Web Hosting Plans start from as low as $2.95 per month. Its pro plan is priced at $4.95 per month, and its Premium is priced at $8.95 per month. However, their renewal charges are a little high which would be $10.95 per month, $15.95 per month, and $25.95 per month, respectively.

What is GreenGeeks used for?

GreenGeeks is used as a hosting provider. It is the most eco-friendly and developer-friendly hosting provider out there. It offers different types of hosting, including Web, WordPress, VPS, Reseller, and WooCommerce Hosting. These include platforms like WordPress, Drupal, Joomla, cPanel, CMS, Magento, PrestaShop, and OpenCart.

Is GreenGeeks fast?

GreenGeeks is one of the fastest hosting providers, bagging the 2nd position. Cloudways ranks number 1 regarding speed, but it is costly and more recommended for big businesses and corporations.

Where is GreenGeeks located?

GreenGeeks is headquartered in Agoura Hills, California, the United States. GreenGeeks has datacenter locations in Amsterdam, Montreal, Chicago, and Phoenix.

Does GreenGeeks use cPanel?

Yes, GreenGeeks uses cPanel. It is one of the best cPanel hosting providers in the business. 

Share this

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *