October 2014 Web Host Performance Update

Cloud Spectator released the CloudSpecsTM Web Host Monitor in order to help consumers make informed decisions when selecting web hosting providers and promote transparency in the shared hosting space. By tracking the uptime and response time of twenty-four Linux, Windows and Managed WordPress offerings, we were able to present performance rankings based on data driven results.

Below is a summary of the uptime and response time results of a variety of web hosting providers from the CloudSpecsTM Web Host Monitor.

Summary

Linux providers altogether showed average response time and uptime performance among all three offering types, as displayed in the August and September results. Among Linux hosting providers, GoDaddy exhibited the shortest response time (505 ms), followed by A Small Orange at 529 ms. BlueHost and 1 & 1 also exhibited relatively short response time, at 863 ms and 866 ms respectively. For uptime results, 1 & 1 (99.99%), BlueHost (99.98%) and GoDaddy (99.98%) had the best results among the Linux offerings.

Compared to the results from Linux and Managed WordPress hosting options, the response times of Windows offerings showed significantly larger variation, with the response time of the slowest provider being more than 30 times as long as the fastest one. This trend has lasted since August. GoDaddy had the best response time (478 ms) and a relatively high uptime results (99.94%) among Windows offerings. HostGator and Rackspace were top response time performers with response time scores of 567 ms and 697 ms respectively, and HostGator showed the highest uptime result (99.96%) among Windows hosts. WinHost tied GoDaddy in uptime (99.94%).

Generally speaking, Managed WordPress had the shortest average response time and highest average uptime compared to Linux and Windows hosting options. Its average response time was around two times shorter than the Linux offering and approximately 10 times shorter than the Windows offerings (due to the large variation among Windows providers). WPEngine, FlyWheel, GoDaddy, BlueHost and Pagely Managed WordPress offerings displayed the shortest response time among all hosting options (247 ms, 282 ms, 321 ms, 327 ms and 334 ms respectively). FlyWheel, WebSynthesis and WPEngine showed the highest uptime results among Managed WordPress providers (100% for FlyWheel and WebSynthesis, and 99.99% for WPEngine).

It should be noted that although the data collected on uptime and response time is a good indication of web hosting performance, users should be cautious when generalizing those results given that the tests were performed in all default settings with limited location choices. If any specific hosting requirements are considered, we suggest customers go through relevant consultations and perform customized tests.

Uptime Leaders

Higher percentage is better, as it indicates the amount (in percentage) of overall time the server has been up for the month.

Linux

Windows

Managed WordPress

Response Time Leaders

Lower values are better for response time as they indicate less latency.

Linux

Windows

Managed WordPress

Methodology

CloudSpecsTM gathered accurate metrics for response time and uptime with Pingdom’s monitoring service. Cloud Spectator adopted Pingdom’s methodology for measurements to further maintain objectivity.

Cloud Spectator tracked three types of hosting offerings: Linux, Windows and Managed WordPress. For each offering, a mock website was created to simulate end user experience as accurately as possible. Linux websites used WordPress, while Windows websites used DotNetNuke (DNN). All web content (images, text, etc.) were hosted on the local server, thus performance was not dependent on files or objects stored outside of the web server. Not all of the providers carried all three types of offerings; therefore, the providers listed in each section vary.

The web hosting providers measured in the three offerings were:

Cloud Spectator set up anonymous accounts on each hosting provider using all default settings.

Pingdom gathered uptime data by pinging the server at set intervals. The web server was recorded as being up if a response was received. If no response was received for two sequential pings, the web server would be marked as having a down time during that interval.

Pingdom gathered response data when the server was up. Response time was tracked using Pingdom’s Node Group, a reserved feature for its Enterprise Users. The node pinged the web server and recorded the time duration between when the message was sent and when it was received back as an indication of network speed. The time durations were tracked globally from several locations in a node group on a rotational basis, which included the following probes: