Choosing a solid web host and domain name provider can be tough – not only are there more than 10,000 of them, but many of them come with dodgy customer service and hidden fees.

In an attempt to find a standout provider, we stumbled across VentraIP – an award winning, 100% Aussie owned and operated company with over 150,000 clients. We thought that seemed pretty impressive, so we gave them a shot.

The verdict? Their accessible range of services, exceptional customer service and frequent sales make them an absolute winner. Here’s why:

VentraIP Review

VentraIP stands out as Australia’s biggest privately-owned domain name and web host provider. Founded in 2010, they have made a name for themselves with their exceptional customer service, innovation and 24/7 technical support. Some of their biggest achievements include being named in the SmartCompany Smart50 and BRW Fast 100 lists in 2015 and 2016, and getting ranked #4 in .au market shares.

VentraIP – Pricing and contract

VentraIP’s transparent pricing is listed on their website. Prices depend on the services you’re after, though they’re all very competitive – domain services range from $0 to $69.95 annually, whilst email hosting costs anywhere from $2.95 to $4.95 per month, and SSL certificates range from $49.95 to $239.95 annually.

If you’re interested in web hosting, you have three options:

• Starter: Ideal for new websites and personal blogs. Costs $8.95 per month.
• Freedom: A great option for small businesses and photo galleries. Costs $18.95 per month.
• Premier: Perfect for high-traffic websites. Costs $28.95 per month.

And VPS? Again, you have three options:

• Fully managed: VPS on a budget, with 100GB SSD storage space and a 2TB monthly bandwidth. Costs $279.95 per month.
• Fully managed plus: Higher power without breaking the bank – 150GB SSD storage space and a 4TB monthly bandwidth. Costs $379.95 per month.
• Fully managed premium: Big power, big budget, this option comes with 200GB SSD storage space and a 6TB monthly bandwidth. Costs $479.95 per month.

Their services also come with a warranty and 24/7 customer service support to give you extra peace of mind.

VentraIP – Features and services

The company boasts an impressive list of services that isn’t limited to domain names. Besides 24/7 customer and tech support, some of the services they offer include:

Web hosting

If you’re going to host your website with VentraIP, you’ll be using the Dell Cloud platform – a real winner in terms of storage performance. Security is excellent, with a Fortinet hardware firewall to provide continual protection. Other features include hourly backups with Acronis, outbound spam filtering, application caching, secure hosting and a 99.9% uptime guarantee.

Email hosting

Their email hosting services come with a similarly large range of features, including heightened security, AtMail 8 suite, CalDAV & WebDAV (for sharing between devices), domain-wide administration, spam filters and all data being stored on Australian servers.

Fully managed VPS

Their fully managed, personalised SSD Virtual Private Servers are fully scalable and come with a 99.9% SLA uptime guarantee. They have an expert team dedicated to continually managing your website. With 6 hourly backups, continual security monitoring and frequent software updates and performance optimisations, you can stress less.

Domain services

Of course, they wouldn’t be complete without their extensive list of domain services. Whether you need a new domain name or want to transfer or renew, they’ve got your back. All domain services come with free email forwarding, WHOIS protection and instant registration. They’re also ISS accredited, so they’re pretty legit.

SSL certificates

If you’re running an e-commerce website, you will most likely want (or need) to get an SSL certificate. These files help encrypt data shared through your website to keep all traffic secure. Not only does having one make you rank better in search engine results and increase conversions, but it helps give your customers peace of mind when sharing their credit card details and makes you seem more reputable. VentraIP use the ever-secure Comodo and offer a $1.5 million warranty.

G suite

They can also help you make the move to the Google suite, giving you a secure and professional email client along with all the apps you need – from Gmail to Google Drive. They don’t have any lock-in contracts – you pay either $7.95 or $15.95 per month until you no longer want to.

VentraIP – Pros and Cons

Summing up, here are the pros and cons that we’ve found with VentraIP:

Pros

• Wide range of services
• Competitive and transparent pricing
• 24/7 customer and technical support (super fast response times)
• Ease-of-use
• Frequent sales
• Award-winning company
• 100% Australian owned and operated (including host servers)
• Always offer their help
• Local hosting (their servers are located in Australia)

Cons

• Limited basic storage
• Extra add-on costs can become expensive.

VentraIP’s competitors:

The biggest competitors are:

• GoDaddy
• CrazyDomains
• OnlyDomains