Fashioned in 1997, Names.co.uk (also called Namesco) has lengthy been one of many prime area registrars within the UK. Nonetheless, it additionally affords an entire number of internet hosting options aimed toward all kinds of web-based ventures. Headquartered in Worcester (the UK), the corporate employs round 180 consultants in several fields. Most of them have been with the corporate from the get-go, that means they’ve gone by all twists and turns along with the trade.
These days, Names.co.uk exists as part of the staff.blue, a European “tech powerhouse” that originated from the merging of Combell Group, TransIP Group, and Register Group in 2019. staff.blue operates in additional than 15 European international locations and acts underneath a handful of brand name names together with Combell, Internet hosting Eire, SuperHosting, TransIP, and Merely.com.
Names.co.uk’s knowledge facilities can most likely be discovered within the UK, however because the firm is stubbornly (and suspiciously) secretive in regards to the actual areas we will’t make sure whether or not or not they've knowledge facilities within the UK.
Yow will discover some helpful articles about the entire various kinds of internet hosting on Names.co.uk's weblog (Picture credit score: Names.co.uk)The official website is designed with simplicity in thoughts, which makes navigating round as straightforward as it may be. It additionally affords loads of details about its merchandise, though the identical can’t be stated in terms of the details about the corporate itself, its infrastructure particularly. The positioning encompasses a weblog bursting with suggestions and tips, however it hasn’t seen any updates or new content material because the summer time of 2021.
Followers of social networking websites can discover Names.co.uk on Fb, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube.
(Picture credit score: Names.co.uk)
Plans and pricing
Names.co.uk goes into overdrive to cowl all of its could-be clients by offering an entire number of internet hosting options together with shared internet hosting, e mail internet hosting, WordPress internet hosting, VPS (managed or self-managed) internet hosting, reseller internet hosting, and devoted server internet hosting. It additionally affords area title registration, Microsoft 365, SSL certificates, SiteLock, website constructing instruments, website design, administration, and on-line advertising and marketing companies.
All plans are introduced in handy comparability tables, one subsequent to one another, with all their key options listed beneath. Probably the most pocket-friendly choice is a cPanel shared internet hosting plan known as “Starter” and for £5.09 ($6.80) monthly (going for an annual or biennial plan will drop the value) it's going to provide you with a single website, 50GB of cupboard space, limitless bandwidth, two 500MB databases, ten e mail accounts, and a free area title (with yearly contracts). Sadly, if you'd like an SSL certificates, you’re anticipated to pay further for it.
Names.co.uk would not supply an upfront money-back assure, however in keeping with the Shopper Contracts Rules from 2013, you may request a refund inside 14 days upon your buy, and there's a good likelihood that you simply would possibly get it.
Names.co.uk accepts funds by way of bank cards (Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, and American Specific), direct debit, examine, and BACS. Sadly, PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Amazon Pay will not be supported.
Ease of use
Refusing to deal with a particular buyer base, Names.co.uk strives to be a jack-of-all-trades, which has its execs and cons (largely cons, to be sincere). Nonetheless, earlier than coming to any additional conclusion we had to take a look at certainly one of their options for ourselves.
After selecting one of many cPanel internet hosting packages, we have been prompted to decide on between Linux and Home windows as our OS. Then we wanted to resolve what to do in regards to the area title, register a brand new one, or use an outdated one. Most domains are moderately priced and in case you go along with a yearly internet hosting plan, you will get one free of charge for the primary yr (nevertheless, you may select between .co.uk and .uk).
The area proxy service will come pre-selected by default, so in case you don’t need it, make sure you deselect it. In any case, this service is somewhat moderately priced (it’s £5.99) contemplating that it covers a complete yr, and it’s at all times sensible to remain on the secure aspect. After this, you’ll be supplied to incorporate just a few extras for an additional worth, and once we stated “extras” we really meant “website essentials” since backups and an SSL certificates are one thing each respectable internet hosting plan ought to embody. Nonetheless, an SSL certificates can price you something from £65.99 ($87.80) per yr, which drives the whole price a lot greater that the plan gained’t look pocket-friendly anymore.
You'll be able to handle your domains and internet hosting plans from Names.co.uk's dashboard (Picture credit score: Names.co.uk)
To finish the acquisition, you’ll need to create an account with Names.co.uk and it's as simple because it will get, though you’ll have to provide a bit more info than common (a memorable phrase included). After the cost has been made, you’ll be transferred to Names.co.uk’s easy-to-use dashboard the place you may handle your account, billing, and bought companies, search buyer assist, and flick through different companies on supply. We also needs to notice that Names.co.uk is implementing some modifications to its dashboard as we write, so some components of it have modified its look whereas others will accomplish that anytime quickly.
Names.co.uk helps 1-click installs for a lot of well-liked apps (Picture credit score: Names.co.uk)
Contemplating that Names.co.uk affords a number of management panels (cPanel and Plesk included) if you're a minimum of considerably acquainted with any of them you’ll be capable of handle all areas of your newly created web site and not using a hitch. All plans include the 1-click installer that helps over 100 useful apps together with WordPress, PrestaShop, Joomla, Drupal, and OpenCart. Nonetheless, in case you’ve bought a WordPress internet hosting plan, then WordPress will come pre-installed.
You may also use Names.co.uk's drag-and-drop web site builder to place collectively your website (Picture credit score: Names.co.uk)
Alternatively, you need to use Names.co.uk’s easy drag-and-drop web site builder, and in case you’re brief on time, you should purchase the “Build Me a Website” service.
We used GTmetrix to check the uptime and response time of Names.co.uk's foremost website (Picture credit score: GTmetrix)
Efficiency
After placing the pace of Names.co.uk's official website to the take a look at, we have been pleasantly stunned with fairly near good outcomes. In response to our instrument of selection GTmetrix, the positioning absolutely loaded in mere 2.0 seconds requiring a complete of 72 requests on the similar time, each of that are worthy of applause. Along with this, all different very important speed-measuring metrics (largest contentful paint, whole blocking time, and cumulative structure shift) have been properly above the common leading to an exemplary A (95%) as a ultimate GTmetrix grade.
On the subject of uptime, Names.co.uk ensures 99.99% of it with all its shared internet hosting and managed devoted server options, and 99.9% of it with unmanaged and cloud servers. If Names.co.uk fails to realize the assured uptime, customers can declare 10% to 50% free credit score, relying on the quantity of downtime their websites have suffered in a given month. Nonetheless, the 99.99% assure excludes outages brought on by scheduled upkeep, and doesn’t cowl downtime on account of {hardware} failure, community assaults, account suspension, or errors made by customers themselves.
In league with UptimeRobot, we monitored Names.co.uk’s official website for 2 weeks and located that the outcomes, though not good, weren’t unhealthy both. There have been two situations of downtime on our file (every of them lasting for 4 minutes) resulting in 99.95% of whole uptime.
Yow will discover solutions to frequent questions in Names.co.uk's Assist Centre (Picture credit score: Names.co.uk)
Assist
Whether or not you’ve encountered an issue with Names.co.uk’s merchandise otherwise you merely need to get your self knowledgeable, the very first thing to do is to go to the assist heart. There, you’ll discover a knowledgebase chock stuffed with how-tos, a community standing web page, a link to the official weblog, and an choice to submit a assist ticket. The how-tos themselves are written in a step-by-step fashion and normally embody appropriate screenshots. We also needs to point out the Names.co.uk’s YouTube channel as a result of it options just a few novice-friendly guides that cowl some frequent points and issues.
Nonetheless, in case you would somewhat get in contact with Names.co.uk’s assist agent, you are able to do it by way of UK-based phone and ticket-based assist system. No, reside chat continues to be not an choice with Names.co.uk. One other factor to notice is that customers can entry buyer/technical assist straight from their management panel, which generally is a time-saver.
You’re additionally welcome to get in contact with Names.co.uk’s staff by way of Fb and Twitter, however the assist you will get there may be restricted which is why we wouldn’t advise you to go there in case you search technical help.
The competitors
Fasthosts and Names.co.uk are UK-based hosts that provide a wide selection of internet hosting varieties, choices, options, and a few user-friendly site-building instruments for an inexpensive worth. On the draw back, with Names.co.uk you’ll need to buy an SSL certificates individually, when you’ll need to do the identical with Fasthosts’ entry-level packages, which might considerably drive up the price. That being stated, Fasthosts’ less complicated internet hosting options include a 30-day money-back assure a minimum of, that means you may examine them out with out risking blowing your finances.
Easyspace is one other UK-based old-timer that refuses to offer a free trial or any refund coverage, which can flip away a few of their potential customers, significantly new youngsters on the block. Nonetheless, since Names.co.uk supplies a novice-friendly cPanel and plenty of one-click installs with its entry-level packages (in contrast to Easyspace), it's going to more seemingly appeal to newcomers.
If having a number from the UK isn't very important to your imaginative and prescient, US-based HostGator and Bluehost are each prime selections. They provide all kinds of feature-packed internet hosting packages geared at rookies and site owners alike, and with a budget-friendly price ticket as well. The one draw back is the numerous worth spike that occurs after the promo interval, so don’t let it catch you unaware. Though you gained’t have to fret about this when coping with Names.co.uk, their pricing is a bit greater, to start with.
Closing verdict
Though Names.co.uk isn't a nasty choose for UK-based enterprise house owners in want of all-in-one options to assist them run all the pieces and not using a hitch, there are just a few drawbacks to contemplate earlier than making a ultimate determination. The shortage of SSL certificates and automated backups with shared internet hosting options are prone to make newcomers assume twice earlier than giving them a go, and the corporate’s failure to offer an upfront money-back assure would possibly delay everybody else.
There are more engaging hosts from the UK (corresponding to UK2 and A2 Internet hosting), and in case you may really feel at residence with a US-based host, you’ll have a much bigger payoff with HostGator and Bluehost.
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