Consistently awesome support. Amount of times this company has helped me is ridiculous, always super knowledgeable and nothing too much trouble. Brilliant company, what is so surprising too, is the... See more
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I've been with Smart Hosting for close to 3 years now. At first the service was outstanding, then when they merged with Krystal service took a major wobble! However, that's all a dim & distant... See more
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I wrote a review here of SmartHosting some three years' ago, soon after having my first domains with them. In that review I spoke of their brilliant customer service (one wonders how they keep findin... See more
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Have been with Smart Hosting since April 2016 and have recently had all my sites moved onto a new VPS which was setup by Stewart. Service was exceptional - from excellent advice on planning the move... See more
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About Smart Hosting
Information provided by various external sources
Smart Hosting is dedicated to providing the best service possible at all times. Whilst we strive to ensure all the experiences our customers have with us are outstanding, we understand that at times, we may fall short on your expectations.
If you've had a less than stellar experience please email us on complaints@cpanel-hosting.uk so that we have a chance to learn about what's gone wrong and put it right.
Review sites are a last resort when internal complaints procedures have failed.
You can see our full Complaints Procedure at https://www.cpanel-hosting.uk/complaints
If you've had a less than stellar experience please email us on complaints@cpanel-hosting.uk so that we have a chance to learn about what's gone wrong and put it right.
Review sites are a last resort when internal complaints procedures have failed.
You can see our full Complaints Procedure at https://www.cpanel-hosting.uk/complaints
Contact info
100% Renewable Energy Datacentre, EC1V 2NX, London, United Kingdom
- 024 7590 2038
- support@cpanel-hosting.uk
- bestwebhosting.co.uk
Just blindsided me with a massive price increase coming June 2019
Just as things start settling down in my business and I get comfortable, they send me an email saying they are moving the goalposts - and not just by a little bit. Unlimited is being taken away and replaced with a paltry 25gb (this isn't the noughties) and 25 cpanel accounts, capping my ROI on hosting at a really unacceptable amount to instead attempt to cream it off themselves.
I have 48 hosting accounts currently for 19.99, 25 will be DOUBLE THAT BASE COST...but that's not all...If I want to keep running EXACTLY how I am now, I have to ALSO buy 2 monthly bolt ons - it will cost me £45/month (all prices here are ex VAT, so ~£54). a 125% increase.
So I'm now having to formulate a plan to either cheese my clients off by charging them much more, or cheese them off by migrating everything and costing myself a bucketload of time AND swallow a huge amount of MY time migrating everything to a VPS, setting up mailboxes, records, changing everyone's email settings, ARGHHH. Granted, they have given us 16 weeks notice, but it's left a REALLY bad taste in my mouth and in my experience isn't that long for migrating a server and trying to earn a living.
Their reason: 2% of users use over 50% of the resources. Guess what! That's YOUR RISK AS A BUSINESS. Same here. I don't charge everyone more, I mitigate that risk. Ever heard of fair usage? Yeah that's what is for. You should reconsider this or you'll pay more than us.
BUT ITS FASTER! Blah blah, fast enough already ta.
BTW complete lack of visibility on this - there's no mention of it anywhere on the web but here! I wonder why. Krystal's buyout just stabbed us all in the back. Beware new customers. All is not what it seems.
February 21, 2019
Unprompted review
Reply from Smart Hosting
Thanks, John for taking the time out to leave a review, we really do value your feedback.
The email issued earlier this week "IMPORTANT: Changes to your Smart Services" does indeed change the goalposts. We are changing the goalposts in what performant and reliable hosting can be. The email sent details the major upgrades and improvements to both platform and support we are working toward.
I do think however it's important to note, as the email communicated, we are not simply altering pricing, we are upgrading all accounts to a better platform that along with the expansion of our support team does have a cost implication.
It is also important to note that unlike many other hosting providers and service providers in general, we have not raised our prices on a yearly basis and have worked very hard to retain fully unlimited services at a very low price point for the past five years.
However, unlike our contemporaries, who will provide cheaper solutions backed by a lesser support presence, we want to offer the best, as we believe that our customers and their clients deserve it, as such, we have given you over three months notice and also offered full assistance in an outbound migration if you would rather supply your clients with a cheaper, lesser service, with another unlimited provider, something that I suspect your clients will see from reading this review.
2% of users do use over 50% that's very correct, hence why your account upgrade is only a small one. It is good to hear that you are happy with the service as its "fast enough already ta" unfortunately, however, we do need to ensure that we can maintain speeds and staff, hence the upgrade proposed.
Its a real shame that based on our proposed upgrade to the service and price change, your views can be changed so fast, considering on the 7 Jan 2019 you left a glowing 5* review:
"Expected a bit of a downturn in service with the Krystal takeover, but all it meant was a bit of ticket backlogue for a few months. I'm happy to report a year or two on, that everything is good"
https://uk.trustpilot.com/reviews/5c33451b9d37800a105c399f
One final point, "complete lack of visibility on this" we feel that by providing over three months notice along with a team of staff who would be more than happy to handle any concerns or queries you have, that we are being very "visible" in this process. New customers can also see the new packages on our website, as they have been shown and fully "visible" for several weeks now.
Kind regards,
Dave Kimberley - COO Smart Hosting
New pricing no longer makes Smart Hosting the best value
This is tricky, I have been with Smart Hosting for years and their customer support has always been great, and have never had much downtime. But to be totally honest it was the straight forward 'unlimited' hosting that kept me with them.
The new pricing plans are just not feasible for me anymore. I have 4 sites i run for family members with ~25gb. ~16gb of this is temporary files, and ~4gb emails. This means the sites are only ~5gb, but my only option would be the 'Premium Plus' at £100 per year.
While i understand that unlimited hosting is no longer viable, 5gb of storage for even the standard package is just not enough in my opinion. Even the 'Premium' only offers 10gb. A quick look around, and the competition seem to be offering 100gb as the 'Basic' packages.
I really wish you would reconsider these limits. I am looking at switching to IONOS (1and1) and their basic package is unlimited sites, 100gb storage for £6 per month. I would be happy to pay this with you.
February 20, 2019
Unprompted review
Reply from Smart Hosting
Hey Craig, thanks for leaving feedback, we really do value you as a customer and your loyalty.
We have a vision for our service which is one of performance and reliability, something that is seriously lacking in the industry today while being totally transparent about account limits, wrapped up with high-quality UK based support. Offering unlimited services however really does prevent this from happening.
While having an unlimited amount of storage is a nice to have, it detracts from the bigger picture which will always be fast and reliable hosting with fast and reliable support.
We have worked very hard to sustain unlimited services while also implementing changes that improve both performance and reliability, however, this is a daily battle and we know at times this will let down our overall service offering, hence the need to make a change.
We are aware that this change in direction might not be for every customer, but this really does depend on if you are happy to accept downtime, poor performance and the potential for the odd backup to fail.
We, however, want to provide better, we want you to experience fast, UK based SSD backed hosting that will never let you down, something that based on your example of IONOS (1and1) would struggle to match.
Just to clarify, comparing our service against IONOS (1and1) at any level would be quite a stretch. If you look further at the IONOS account, you will see that the space they provide is indeed larger, however its also cheaper as it is not SSD, they limit SSD to databases only and then limit that again to a maximum of 1GB per database, something that we would never do.
Just to point out, IONOS (1and1) would also host your websites outside of the UK in Karlsruhe, Germany.
It would be very easy to compete on pricing if we were to use cheaper hardware and to base the hardware in a cheaper location, however, that would detract from offering a better service and one from the UK.
We would love to continue working with you we really would, however, we have given customers plenty of notice and will assist in full to migrate away if that is the direction you want to take.
Do get back to me if you need any help or clarity around the points raised.
Kind regards,
Dave Kimberley - COO Smart Hosting
I do not recommand for anyone wishing…
I do not recommand for anyone wishing to make a long term investment...
At first, they have an attractive price, then once inside they use you as they please;
I just saw in 3 years the price gone from £ 8 / month (unlimited disk space) to £ 69.99 / month (for 250GB) !
For any resseller, if you want to be ridiculous and be taxed as scammer, then you're welcome here.
For my honor, I end my contract with them this year, they have a commercial service too amateur that has caused me serious damage during these 3 past years.
February 20, 2019
Unprompted review
Reply from Smart Hosting
Morning James, thank you for taking the time to leave a review, your feedback is important.
"I do not recommand for anyone wishing to make a long term investment"
That's a very odd statement to make considering your upset with our recent communication, account upgrades, improvements and price changes.
As with any "long term investment" to get the most from your "investment" there will be times that things need to change.
Based on our email we are heavily investing in our platform to not only radically upgrade the service that we provide with a far faster and better-serviced solution but with new features that will far surpass what the market currently has to offer.
Upgrades and improvements however do come at a cost. I find it hard to understand your point as we are "investing" heavily in the long term.
"At first, they have an attractive price, then once inside they use you as they please"
Not strictly correct James.
We have kept our unlimited offering in place for over 5 years and during this time kept our pricing low, even when completing major upgrades and a support team expansion the same. There however, does come a time when as with any service provider we need to change our pricing and direction if we want to surpass our competitors.
"For any reseller, if you want to be ridiculous and be taxed as scammer, then you're welcome here"
We tax customers at 20% the rate of UK VAT. We do not however permit scammers on our platform, so they are not "welcome" here. ;-)
"For my honor, I end my contract with them this year"
Sure, as explained, if you are not happy with the upgrades we have in store and would rather use a lesser platform with less features and poor performance, we would be more then happy to help you move to another "Unlimited" provider.
"they have a commercial service too amateur that has caused me serious damage during these 3 past years"
That really surprises me, as it has taken till now to raise your concerns? That sounds "ridiculous" if you ask me!
When you are ready to move, do let us know, we will happily help in your transition away.
Kind regards,
Dave Kimberley - COO Smart Hosting
Disappointment
Up and down with the company, had issues first moving my account, that was half resolved
They now want to increase the price and the level of service is going down, It is now cheaper to get a digital ocean VPS and run your own webserver.
Would not recommend
February 19, 2019
Unprompted review
Reply from Smart Hosting
Hi Will, thank you for taking the time to leave a review, we really do value your feedback.
Regarding your first point if you have any outstanding issues with the migration of your content to our service please do get in touch with details on this, we'll be more than happy to take a look for you!
The price increase announced today will allow us to better the platform for everyone's benefit, it will allow us to scale our support team and platform to ultimately provide you with far better service both now and into the future.
The announcements were not simply made to increase profits or to upset customers, we value our customers, which is why we want to better the platform and service we offer, however, investing in both platform and staff does have a cost implication, one that we need to cover.
On the topic of DigitalOcean while one of their VPS's would be cheaper than our Reseller hosting service (this has always been the case as they sell VPS's from $5/month) the VPS would be an unsupported platform which provides you with a bare system minus any licenses, cPanel / LiteSpeed etc, left entirely in your hands to set up, maintain, support and monitor.
The high level of support and platform we provide and maintain unfortunately does cost, though we do also provide VPS systems (with support) from as little as £9.99/month.
Please do get back to me on either of the points raised and I will be happy to help clarify any point further.
Kind regards,
Dave Kimberley - COO Smart Hosting
Excellent service and the support is first class
I had a problem with a VPS which kept using all of its resources. Turned out it was a misconfigured OS. Smart Hosting support identified the issue and fixed it quickly without fuss or problem.
They setup a new server and cloned the sites and data across without any client noticing anything. It's now faster and smoother than before.
Thanks a lot guys!
February 19, 2019
Unprompted review
Excellent web hosting
Their support has been brilliant every time I have needed to ask for help. On the ball and helpful technical team, with pretty short waiting times when using online chat.
Easy to navigate site and good pricing. A breath of fresh air after some rather negative experiences in the past.
February 15, 2019
Unprompted review
Painless CPanel migration
I've been with Smart Hosting for close to 3 years now. At first the service was outstanding, then when they merged with Krystal service took a major wobble!
However, that's all a dim & distant memory and as the saying goes 'normal service has been resumed' :-)
Having never done a CPanel migration from another host before, even though I've been doing this for a VERY long time, Smart Support guided me through the process yesterday and it all went without a hitch.
Top job guys - keep it up!
February 14, 2019
Unprompted review
Reply from Smart Hosting
Thanks, Colin for both staying with us during the tough times and for understanding. Issues can and will happen, however, its the lessons taken from them that really does improve the business and I can assure you, we have learnt quite a lot the past few years.
I hope you continue to enjoy the service and if you need anything, please let us know.
Kind regards,
Dave Kimberley - COO Smart Hosting
Great hosting company
Great hosting company, very few problems but when you do have one sorted very quickly and efficiently!
Highly recommend you give them a go.
February 14, 2019
Unprompted review
Reply from Smart Hosting
Thanks, Paul, for taking time out to leave feedback, that's good to hear!
Enjoy the service and do let us know if you have any further problems.
Kind regards,
Dave Kimberley - COO Smart Hosting
My experience with Smart Hosting has…
My experience with Smart Hosting has been superb from day 1. Always polite, professional and knowledgeable, the staff give me confidence that my business will keep running efficiently.
Many thanks everyone!
February 14, 2019
Unprompted review
Reply from Smart Hosting
Awww, thanks Martin, that's very kind.
I will pass on your compliments to the team.
Kind regards,
Dave Kimberley - COO Smart Hosting
The name says it all...
When it comes to web hosting, I am a complete novice, so it is so nice to have the support of such a great team.
I have used the live chat tool on a number of occasions and every time, the service I have received has been prompt and my (self-inflicted) issue has always been resolved.
In particular, I'd like to mention Norm who has been dealing with my most recent case. He has been patient with me and taken the time to truly understand my problem.
I would not hesitate to recommend Smart Hosting to anyone. Thank you for always having my back!
February 11, 2019
Unprompted review
Reply from Smart Hosting
Thanks, Liam, that's very kind. I will pass on your compliments to Norm.
Enjoy the new service, any issues, even self-inflicted ;-) do let us know.
Kind regards,
Dave Kimberley - COO Smart Hosting
When my last host decided to close
When my last host decided to close, they recommended Smart Hosting. I looked for the best deal out there and was shocked with some hosts business policies, i.e. Advertise low prices then add a lot more at the back end and then locking you into a contract.
So I took the original advice to use Smart Hosting and I'm glad I did.
Real value for money and an exceptional team behind the scenes. They give the kind of support that I need (being a numpty) and explain what to do, or on a few occasions, doing it for me!
This is the equivalent to dining out in a 5* Silver Service Restaurant.
Well done to you all and many thanks!
February 10, 2019
Unprompted review
Reply from Smart Hosting
Thank you, Martin, for leaving feedback, that is very kind. We try our hardest to be clear and transparent on all aspects of our business, including pricing.
Enjoy the new service and if you need anything, please do let us know.
Kind regards,
Dave Kimberley - COO Smart Hosting
I am worried about the increase in prices
They're very good, I am worried about the increase in prices, they are almost 3 times more, I want to know if these new prices will be transferred to the old customers, or was it just for new customers ... to be so already go thinking about a plan B.
If so, with the pain of my soul I would have to leave this beautiful company that has been a blessing to me, because those prices exceed my monthly budget.
Maybe for you will say even the high price 3 times more is little, but depending on each country or continent the dollar or the pound that is more expensive than the dollar costs to get, ie here with 1.5 dollars you can eat, then it is more expensive to get dollars.
February 9, 2019
Unprompted review
Reply from Smart Hosting
Thanks, José for taking the time to leave feedback.
While I do fully understand your concerns with regard to price increases, I can assure you, price increases are designed to better the platform and service, not simply to increase our profits.
The cost of doing business does increase from time to time due to suppliers, hardware, staff and licensing cost increases.
While we try super hard to limit any price increases, this is necessary from time to time, however, as a direct result, you will see a better service with new features and improved support as a result.
Kind regards,
Dave Kimberley - COO Smart Hosting
Superb Customer Support Services
Superb Customer Support Services ! ! !
By Bradley, Aaron, Jordan & Jack Today,
The Guys Resolved the issues &
i Really like the Swift Support Service
from Smart Hosting.
Very Much Appreciated, 10/10 , Cheers,
Many Thanks, Neil Whittaker
February 8, 2019
Unprompted review
Reply from Smart Hosting
Thanks, Niel for taking the time to leave feedback, that's very kind.
I will pass on your comments to the support team.
Kind regards,
Dave Kimberley - COO Smart Hosting
Always happy with service responses
I have been with a number of hosting companies over the last 20 years. Some good, some not so good.
This company has had a couple of minor hiccups getting to where it is now but even with migrations and merging and upping their customer support levels etc this company has managed to continue providing a solid reliable service.
I do not work as much as I used to and needed to downgrade my services to a much more minimal and cost effective service. I raised a support ticket and although they said they had a heavy demand and replies might be slower than normal I had a reply pretty quick.
They were so happy to help and cheerful you would think I was intending to pay them more not much less!
They have always been helpful, fast to respond and very patient with my enquiries.
Its a bonus that they are based in the UK and pretty competitive.
February 8, 2019
Unprompted review
Reply from Smart Hosting
Thanks, Paul!!! that's very kind feedback.
Thank you for remaining with us when we had a few wobbles back in early 2017, however, we have become stronger for it. We really do value your custom and if you need anything at all, please let us know.
Kind regards,
Dave Kimberley - COO Smart Hosting
Jordan and the team provide excellent…
Jordan and the team provide excellent support and customer services at all times. We truly feel the team have got our back. Highly recommend Smart Hosting to anyone looking to change.
Thank you Smart Hosting!
February 6, 2019
Unprompted review
Reply from Smart Hosting
Thank you, Shaz for leaving a review, I will pass on your feedback to both Jordan and the team.
We do have "your back" if you need anything at all, we are always here to help!
Kind regards,
Dave Kimberley - COO Smart Hosting
Very competitively priced but fabulous…
Very competitively priced but fabulous quality of service. I'm so glad I chose them.
January 25, 2019
Unprompted review
Reply from Smart Hosting
Thank you, Jono for taking time out to leave a review.
If you need anything, please do let us know.
Kind regards,
Dave Kimberley - COO Smart Hosting
Wouldnt go anywhere else.
I was suppose to write this review weeks ago.
Absolutely 5 star in everyway from technical assistance via the chat (at all kinds of ungodly hours) never have i left a chat without an answer or solution, I have also never had an issue with services i recieve. Currently into year 3 with SmartHosting and you truely feel like you are a valued customer.
Everyone in the customer service and chat dept need a pat on the back (or case of sweet treats hint hint Manager :) ) they are the engine to this machine!
January 13, 2019
Unprompted review
Reply from Smart Hosting
Thanks, Gary for taking the time out to leave this, it is appreciated.
We are always more than happy to handle your support at any time of the day or night ;-) You are very much valued!
Not sure about sweets, but I will make sure that the team get some pizza ;-)
Kind regards,
Dave Kimberley - COO Smart Hosting
Still the best
Have been with Smart Hosting since April 2016 and have recently had all my sites moved onto a new VPS which was setup by Stewart. Service was exceptional - from excellent advice on planning the move for multiple sites to timely and clear communications of every step of the process of actually moving the sites. Everything went off without a hitch and total downtime was less than 10 minutes. Having just one tech person assigned to the task from start to finish made the whole process completely painless (at least for me!)
Can wholeheartedly recommend Smart Hosting.
January 3, 2019
Unprompted review
Reply from Smart Hosting
Thank you, Adrian, for leaving a positive review and for being a long-standing customer.
I will pass on your feedback to Stewart. Where possible, we do try to keep support communications especially with more involved work like this between a dedicated member of staff, just to prevent any confusion.
Enjoy the new server and if you need anything at all, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Kind regards,
Dave Kimberley - COO Smart Hosting
Exceptional for customer service and satisfaction
Smart Hosting are quite simply fantastic and I wouldn't get web hosting from anyone else. The customer service is unrivalled and if you have any issues whatsoever, you can simply ask in the live chat and get an educated response within minutes. This company was recommended to me by a friend for the very same reasons I state here, and I would have no reluctance whatsoever in recommending them to anyone who is in need of reliable web hosting.
January 3, 2019
Unprompted review
Reply from Smart Hosting
Thank you, Joe, for taking the time to leave great feedback, that's honestly very kind!!
I will pass on your feedback to the support team. If you do need anything at all, please let us know.
Kind regards,
Dave Kimberley - COO Smart Hosting
Hard To Find A Better UK Based Host
First off I have a few different sites hosted with various companies, since 1995 I have probably used 15 different hosts with 150 different web sites but as I am slowly closing many down it means I am getting more picky about which ones I remain with.
My own criteria is good reliability, good tech supprt and UK based.
I had a very small hosting account with Bestwebhosting and it was okay, I don't know if they were rebranded as Smart Hosting later or if they were always the same people but when I first opened the account you got what you paid for.
Then I had an email to say Krystal were taking the company over, I didn't take much notice at the time as it was a small hosting account not being utilised very much.
The time had arrived this week to say goodbye to another hosting company who's technical support had recently gone downhill so I was pondering which of my remaining hosts to switch my sites over to.
I decided to take a closer look at Smart Hosting so I ran a few speed tests to check my page load times and they were quite impressive.
The site I was looking to move had a very customised Wordpress theme and I really didn't fancy moving it myself, it took me hours of messing around last time I did it so I opened a support ticket asking for help and I was allocated a technician called "Norm".
In under 24 hours my site was moved over seamlessly, constant updates via the ticket system and Norm went above and beyond with his customer service skills.
I would not hesitate in recommending Smart Hosting and this is from someone who has tried many of the other well reviewed hosting companies, in fact I would put them up there alongside Cyberwurx who were my favourite USA based company but at a fraction of the cost.
December 23, 2018
Unprompted review
Reply from Smart Hosting
Thanks, Richard for a lovely review, that's very kind.
The merger with Krystal has allowed Smart to expand its technical support team, in turn, allowing us to better our support offering while also improving our ageing fleet of servers.
I will pass on your compliments to Norm. If you need anything at all, please do let us know and enjoy the new service.
Kind regards,
Dave Kimberley - COO Smart Hosting
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