InterServer has been on the hosting scene for a little over two decades. Since its inception in 1999, the company has been widely recognized for its reliability, flexibility, and amazing one-click installation process for numerous scripts. InterServer offers a multitude of services you can choose from, including VPS (Virtual Private Server) hosting for WordPress, Windows, Linux, and other platforms.
VPS hosting enables you to provide an excellent experience for your customers and handle traffic spikes without worrying about downtime and slower speeds. And if you are concerned about having to pay a higher price for more resources, don’t be! You will get more power, flexibility, and dedicated resources at an affordable price.
For today’s review, we have InterServer’s VPS offer on the docket. Learn about its features and support, explore its advantages and disadvantages, and decide whether InterServer is right for you and your website.
Getting Started with InterServer VPS Plans
InterServer’s website can be a bit overwhelming, as it is overloaded with elements, and the features it offers are scattered all over the website. However, you can locate its VPS offer right away under the Cloud VPS banner.
In the Cloud VPS menu, you can choose from five VPS hosting options, including VPS Home, Windows VPS, WordPress VPS, WEBUZO VPS, and Storage VPS.
InterServer’s hosting plans are a bit different compared to other providers. You make your own plan and determine the resources you need. However, first, you need to decide what type of VPS you are looking for. Based on that, the purchase process and options are different.
If you have the extensive technical knowledge to manage and configure your VPS on your own, or you have a dedicated IT team that will help you with these tasks, then InterServer’s VPS plans are a good match for you. Why? Because of its forever affordable prices!
Fortunately, what’s common across all plans is that, if you get four slices or more, InterServer includes managed support with your plan. It is a good option if you are not tech-savvy. Still, it might not be the best if you are on a budget.
InterServer offers the cPanel control panel for its Linux VPS and the Plesk control panel for Windows VPS to facilitate server management and maintenance. It also grants you complete control over your website by giving you root access to the server, which means that you do not need InterServer’s permission to install the control panel and OS you want. InterServer supports multiple operating systems, including CentOS, Debian, FreeBSD, Ubuntu, and Windows 2008.
Also, you can configure all the settings according to your needs, and you and your team will be able to access your data from anywhere, at any time. InterServer uses the KVM, OpenVZ, Virtuozzo, and Hyper-v virtualization platforms for its VPS hosting plans.
Each VPS plan has a different base price, depending on the OS you use, i.e., whether it’s Linux or Windows. The price of your plan depends on that basis and the number of resources you want. Hardware resources are sold as slices, and one slice gets you 1 CPU Core, 2048MB of RAM, 30GB of SSD storage, and 2TB of bandwidth.
What’s great about InterServer’s VPS offer is that you can get more slices whenever you want, and you can easily upgrade your resources without affecting your website. Also, because you can customize the resources you buy according to your individual needs, you will only be paying for the amount you use.
However, there are features that all VPS plans offer, regardless of the OS you choose. You will get a dedicated IP address, 24/7 basic customer support, root access, and free manual backups that last 60 days before expiration. You also get a free SSL Certificate, a 30-day money-back guarantee, and a 99.9% uptime guarantee.
So now that we’ve gone over the basics, it’s time to start the testing.
The best way to ensure a product or service review is accurate is to test it out and base your opinion on that experience, and that’s why I will be purchasing the cheapest VPS option that InterServer offers, i.e., one slice of its Linux VPS. This should give me an accurate overview of InterServer’s services since I won’t be hosting an app or site and, therefore, don’t need a lot of resources.
After clicking on the Buy Now icon, the following screen will appear.
To start the purchase process, you must first either log in if you already have an account or create a new one. You can also log in using your Facebook, Twitter, or Google account if it’s more convenient for you. After creating your account, you will need to verify it by typing in the verification code that you will receive via email.
After verifying your account, a screen will show up where you can set the platform you want to use for your VPS, the location of the data center you want, the number of slices you buy, or other such settings. Also, you can see the availability of the VPS you want.
In my case, I can choose from KVM, Virtuozzo, KVM Storage, and HyperV for Linux Hosting. Location-wise, I can choose from the New Jersey, Los Angeles, and Equinix NY4 servers. I can choose to purchase anywhere from one to sixteen slices and five different versions. Additionally, I can set the root password I want or choose to keep the one that InterServer recommends. Finally, if you have a coupon code, you can type it in here to get a discount on your purchase.
After configuring the settings according to your wishes, click Proceed.
You can only pay InterServer on a monthly basis for InterServer products. While you can prepay for your invoices if you want to, it is not compulsory.
So, after clicking Proceed, the screen will show your order confirmation. Make sure to go over it thoroughly and check whether the settings are correct. To continue with the purchase, click on Place Order.
Once your order is placed, you will be redirected to a screen where you will need to input your payment method. You can choose from credit and debit cards, PayPal, crypto payments, and wire transfers, and add your preferred payment method in the Payment Options section.
After clicking on Add in the Payment Options section, the following screen appears.
To add your credit card as your preferred payment method, click on Add New Card and type in the required info.
After completing the verification process, the purchase process is automatically completed. You will not be automatically charged, but you do have to pay the amount within 30 days of your order. You can also enable automatic charging if you wish so that InterServer can charge your card as soon as you buy or renew your plan.
And with that being done, I now have an InterServer VPS account.
Setting Up an InterServer VPS Plan
All of the settings that you configured before paying for your VPS are saved, so after you’ve verified your payment method, the platform, server location, number of slices, version, and root password are all set up. Also, since I chose Linux VPS, my OS is already set. Therefore, with InterServer, you set up your VPS plan before you buy it.
Additionally, since InterServer offers only the cPanel for Linux VPS, the control panel that I will use is pre-set and saved. This VPS setup method makes the process easier, simpler, and less time-consuming, allowing you to focus on exploring your dashboard and other options.
So, let’s see what else you can do on your cPanel dashboard for your InterServer VPS account.
It’s not the best-looking one out there, and the menu can be a bit overwhelming. However, it still provides you with one place where you can manage your account and the different settings. On the dashboard, you have the IP that was last used for logging into the account, your prepay balance, unpaid invoices, and Call in Pin.
Additionally, you can see all your active services with InterServer here and can easily order anything you need right from the cPanel by clicking on Order Now for the service you want.
InterServer has its own Affiliate System with which you can earn $100 per sale. At the bottom of your dashboard, you can find the affiliate link, which you can copy and share on your website or social media platforms so that others can use it to buy InterServer products.
In the menu on the left side of the screen, you will find a special Affiliate System section where you can see different statistics, sales reports, banners and links, and other features which you need to set up if you want to use the affiliate link.
Other available options on your account include checking and configuring your domains, DNS Manager, VPS, storage, mail services, licenses, web hosting, servers, billing, tickets, and additional settings.
Each separate menu allows you to check and configure the status, invoices, and billing, reset your password, download and manage backups, cancel the service, check bandwidth and traffic usage, and much more for each product you purchase from InterServer.
At the bottom of the menu, you can see a Tickets section where you’ll be able to write a new ticket to the customer support team, check your ticket inbox, see whether you have any tickets that are awaiting a reply, and see your open and closed tickets all from one place.
Under the Settings section, you can configure your account settings, change your login and password, and switch the theme.
In Account Settings, you’ll be able to change your IP’s security limits and generate an API key if you wish.
Additionally, in account settings, you can set up an SSH key for your server if you want to.
Here, you can also set up Two Factor Authentication, update your account features, and see whether you have any accounts linked to your InterServer VPS account.
To log out of your account, you need to click on the power bottom that is located on the top right side of the screen. Besides it, you can also view your cart and see whether you have something in it that you want to buy.
Overall Reliability – Performance and Security
InterServer is known for its reliability, fast loading speeds, and overall high performance. Its VPS hosting comes with self-healing hardware, meaning that if your server experiences a glitch in its hardware system, InterServer’s AI system will automatically redirect your website to another node. The redirection is done quickly and without any repercussions to your website or its performance.
InterServer mostly caters to website owners and audiences based in North America, seeing as it has three data centers in New York and one in Los Angeles. You can choose the location of your data center based on where your target audience is located to ensure that your customers get the best experience. All of InterServer’s data centers are secured using BGPv4 routing and are connected via 10Gbps Tier 1 Networks.
InterServer has a 99.9% uptime guarantee, which means minimal to no downtime. With this guarantee, you can rest assured that your customers will always be able to access your content.
When it comes to security, you get a free SSL Certificate with each plan and can manually back up your data for free. There are also a variety of other security features, like its very own InterShield and Inter-insurance. You will also have access to Cloudflare CDN and its paid backup feature called Remote Backup Service. Additionally, InterServer includes DDoS protection for free with its VPS hosting plans.
InterServer VPS Customer Support
To get managed support with InterServer VPS, you need to purchase four slices of hardware. However, even if you do not have four slices, you can access its 24/7 support via phone, email, ticket system, Facebook chat, and live chat. You can access the ticket system from your dashboard, as previously mentioned. The live chat option is available on the InterServer website by clicking on the text bubble icon.
To test out the response time of InterServer’s customer support, I will ask about a refund via its Live Chat option.
To start a live chat conversation, you need to type in your name and email address. You can get support on one issue at a time.
At first, it said that I would need to wait for 18 minutes for the agent to respond. However, the response was much faster, and the agent answered immediately, with only two minutes passing. The agent was extremely helpful and answered my questions concisely and quickly. Within just five minutes of my initial message, my inquiry was answered, and the chat was closed.
You can cancel your subscription via the InterServer dashboard.
Specific Features of InterServer VPS
Here is a list of features that makes InterServer’s VPS offer attractive to users:
- Support for multiple OS templates
- Simple one-click installation process
- Support of numerous scripts
- Consistent and stable performance
- A 99.9% uptime guarantee
- Root access and total control of the VPS
- Support and easy deployment of multiple database types
- Free SSL Certificate, free DDoS protection, and free dedicated IP address with each plan
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- Accepts crypto payments
- Free website migration
- 24/7 customer support and extensive knowledge center
- No hidden fees
Pros and Cons of InterServer VPS
Pros:
- Cheap and affordable plans
- Provides malware protection
- Keeps data on RAID-10 disks
- Offers self-healing hardware
- Easy deployment of over 450 apps
- Offers InterShield protection
- Includes a great website builder
Cons:
- Its website is overloaded with elements
- Hard to navigate
- Not suitable for beginners
- Many features are paid
Summary
All in all, I believe that InterServer has an excellent VPS offer that can fit into anyone’s budget. Of course, it has its downsides, as it is not so easy to navigate and its design is a bit outdated. Regardless, the performance and speed it offers to customers and its 99.9% uptime guarantee are just a few of the features that offset the areas where InterServer does not excel.
InterServer is the perfect solution for anyone with the sufficient technical knowledge and expertise required to maintain the server independently. However, InterServer can be a bit difficult for newbies, especially if they do not purchase the four slices that are needed to get managed support.
So, to conclude, InterServer gets a big thumbs up from us!
