Fatcow Review

Fatcow has a great introductory price but, like some other hosts, the price increases quite dramatically after the first year – it actually more than doubles. And though FatCow has a money back guarantee, it is only valid for 30 days. The regular rate may actually be one of the more expensive out there; you need to pay for a three year plan to bring the cost down to a comparable rate.

That said, you do get a lot for your money, though it is not much more than you get with most other hosting companies. A free domain name is included and that will save you a (very) little money but only for the first year. Also, there are no setup fees. Further, FatCow has floating limits on disk space and usage that is determined by the amount of traffic coming to your site. According to information provided on the site, most websites are never going to reach the limit but if you should, your usage will be capped. Most other hosts offer unlimited data storage and bandwidth.

While FatCow offers unlimited POP3 mailboxes, data transfer and space abide by the limitations outlined above. FatCow does not appear to support IMAP services. They do provide a webmail client for checking your e-mail from your browser, spam filtering, and newsletter manager tool for your POP3 e-mail accounts.

FatCow does offer several site tools to help you build, maintain, and manage your site. These include a website builder and FrontPage extensions and FTP access, but it does not appear that FatCow has a file manager. It does have a customizable control panel though it does not list it as cPanel, the leading and most ubiquitous control panel. Google custom search and webmaster tools are integrated into your services. Programming options include several but not all and a script library. They also support WordPress for blogging; Gallery2; phpBB forums software; GBook; Joomla (CMS or Content Management System); and polling, survey, and visitation counter tools. FatCow also offers a ShopSite online store, PayPal shopping cart integration, PowerPay, and the ability to accept credit cards.

FatCow’s “Moo Crew” support includes a satisfaction pledge and around the clock customer support via phone, e-mail, and live chat. They also provide step by step tutorials and a large FAQ library so that you can look up issues and attempt to handle problems yourself. Customer support agents may not be able to provide assistance for third-party add-ons and scripts.

FatCow offers several partnerships that can help offset the high price, including an affiliate program that pays out $100.00 and a referral program that pays $10 credits against your bill. There is also a reseller program but the payment is listed only as “deep discounts.”

Overall, FatCow falls short when compared to most other hosts. It offers little for the amount charged and its price is easily one of the highest. However, the service shines where marketing is concerned, offering credits for Google AdWords, Yahoo/Bing, and Facebook, as well as a free YellowPages.com listing. Still, these “bonuses” provide little for the cost and are pretty standard for most hosting services.