CoolHandle In 2021: What Do CoolHandle Client Reviews Say?
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Our overview of CoolHandle…
Expert Opinion
Hear from our web hosting expert, Claire Broadley.
Best Reviews
See what 34 CoolHandle customers have to say.
Hosting Plans
Compare the best CoolHandle hosting plans and their prices.
FAQs
Most asked Questions about CoolHandle – answered!
CoolHandle Introduction
CoolHandle is a privately owned US based web hosting company that was founded in 2001. It offers a range of hosting services, including VPS and dedicated hosting, but appears to specialise in cloud based shared web hosting.
CoolHandle is particularly proud of its experience in Linux-based hosting, claiming that it has a wealth of hosting knowledge and expertise that its customers can rely on.
CoolHandle Hosting Plans
CoolHandle offers web hosting based on the Cloud Linux operating system.
There are three plans for customers to choose from and each plan allows for unlimited storage space, unlimited bandwidth and provides a free domain name. The main differences between each plan are the numbers of domains and SQL databases which customers can host.
- The Starter plan allows for 5 domains, 5 parked domains, 5 sub domains and 5 MySQL databases.
- The Business plan allows for 100 domains, 100 parked domains, 100 sub domains and 100 MySQL databases.
- The Pro plan allows for unlimited domains and databases and also comes with a free dedicated IP address.
There are three reseller plans available through CoolHandle allowing from a range of 35 to 200 GB storage and 250 to 1000 GB bandwidth. There is also an affiliates program to reward customers for successful referrals.
CoolHandle offers three different plans for customer interested in VPS hosting. Each plan comes with a dedicated IP address and a free domain name.
- The VPS 01 plan provides 512 MB RAM, 20 GB storage space and 500 GB bandwidth.
- The VPS 02 plan provides 1 GB RAM, 30 GB storage space and 1000 GB bandwidth. This plan also provides a fully managed server.
- The VPS 03 plan offers 2 GB RAM, 60 GB storage space, 2000 GB bandwidth, a fully managed server and comes with an extra dedicated IP address.
Dedicated server hosting is also available through CoolHandle. This service give customers their own server with a 3GHz intel processor, 2 GB RAM, 2 X 160GB storage and 2 TB bandwidth. Customers also get a dedicated IP and a free private SSL certificate.
The CoolHandle site does provide a link offering Windows hosting, however this takes you to an alternative company called CoolWinHosting. This company is does not actually appear to be part of CoolHandle, so I’ve skipped it in this review.
CoolHandle customers can also purchase additional products including SSL certificates, dedicated IP addresses, domain privacy services, web design services and CloudFlare Content Delivery Network services.
CoolHandle Uptime/Downtime
CoolHandle offers a 99.9% uptime guarantee that will compensate its shared hosting and reseller hosting customers if uptime falls below the SLA.
CoolHandle’s servers are located in Los Angeles, USA. The CoolHandle site claims that the data centre is used by the 12 largest internet providers in the US, so it’s not their own facility. It utilises HVAC cooling systems, backup power systems, security monitoring and off-site network monitoring.
CoolHandle Support
All of CoolHandle’s customers are provided with technical support which is available 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. Customers can raise a support ticket and there’s a free telephone line available round-the-clock.
There is also a live chat facility, but this isn’t always available, and I found that technicians seemed to log on and off regularly while I was exploring the site. This could suggest that its technical support team isn’t that big, or perhaps prefers to deal with enquiries via other channels.
Customers are provided with a knowledge base and a range of video tutorials to help them solve any issues they have. There is also a client area for account management purposes.
CoolHandle has very active Twitter and Facebook accounts. It also uses these social media sites to interact with its customers and provide them with the support they need. I always think it’s good to see support being offered on social media as it gives customers visibility, so this is definitely a plus point.
CoolHandle in the News
CoolHandle has not courted any controversy in the news, and neither has the company attracted any positive news stories of note. This suggests that CoolHandle operate a relatively stable service who haven’t hit the headlines yet.
CoolHandle Control Panel
CoolHandle provides cPanel for customers’ site administration needs. This is a paid extra on VPS and Dedicated hosting plans, as you’d expect.
CoolHandle Extras
Most of CoolHandle’s hosting plans come with a free domain name, website builder and free set-up. Customers get the Fantastico script installer for free, which allows clients to quickly set up WordPress, OSCommerce, Image Gallery and more free script installs.
CoolHandle also supports Ruby on Rails, Python, PHP5, Zen Shopping cart and more. Customers can also obtain CloudFlare and a free search engine optimization package, which is a nice extra.
CoolHandle Money Back Guarantee / Cancellation Policy
The company offers is a 30-day money-back guarantee for any unsatisfied hosting customers. This guarantee only applies to the hosting itself though; customers cannot claim for domain registration fees, setup fees and other additional services they have purchased. This is a relatively standard guarantee, and I’ve found most hosting companies offer something similar.
CoolHandle Summary
CoolHandle offers a range of hosting options comparable to many other hosting companies out there. Its wide range of options makes it suitable for most businesses in theory, although the VPS and dedicated hosting plans aren’t as granular as the ones I’ve seen on some other hosts’ sites.
CoolHandle appears to be one of the few companies willing to liaise with their customers through social media sites rather than directing them to official support channels, which does inspire confidence. Furthermore, their uptime and money-back guarantees go a long way to building trust in their services. The company would suit small and medium sized businesses who are looking to get started in hosting but retain the ability to upgrade without having to switch providers again.
CoolHandle Reviews by Our Community
Overall Rating from 34 Reviews by CoolHandle Customers
| Support | |
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| Quality | |
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Most Helpful Reviews
Jarl Greger wonderofnorway.com
Nov 12, 2013
Sanat Hedge astechsolutions.in
Sep 26, 2013
Coolhandle is the most aweful webhosting company that you could ever use. They disabled almost 70 of my accounts with notice because one of the websites within my reseller hosting account was sending out spam. There’s no technical support at all – you make a support request and never hear back from them.
There’s no way to actually check your support ticket once you raise it. The tech support call center employees are just there to tell you that they cannot really help you with any technical issues and that you have to raise a support ticket. All their IVR options lead to the same team. This is what hell feels like.
terry denali never
Apr 16, 2013
I would NOT recommend due to fact that no one has ever followed up….Ever. I was referred via easy cash code, upon enrolling they took out a full 36 months fees without ever referencing 36 months as it was touted as 6 month package. How can you recommend anything if there is never any communication?
Most Popular CoolHandle Hosting Plans
| Starter | Business | Pro | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Disk Space | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Bandwidth | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Price | $29.95 / mo (Billed as $29.95 Per Month) ⓘPrices in are approximate, based on current exchange rates. The host will likely charge you in USD, or at a different exchange rate. Usual price: – Get % off! | $39.95 / mo (Billed as $29.95 Per Month) ⓘPrices in are approximate, based on current exchange rates. The host will likely charge you in USD, or at a different exchange rate. Usual price: – Get % off! | $49.95 / mo (Billed as $29.95 Per Month) ⓘPrices in are approximate, based on current exchange rates. The host will likely charge you in USD, or at a different exchange rate. Usual price: – Get % off! |
| Visit CoolHandle Now | Visit CoolHandle Now | Visit CoolHandle Now |
| Plan | Disk Space | Bandwidth | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| RESELL 1 Shared | 35GB | 250GB | $49.95 / mo Visit Host Now |
| RESELL 2 Shared | 50GB | 400GB | $119.95 / mo Visit Host Now |
| RESELL 3 Shared | 200GB | 1000GB | $149.95 / mo Visit Host Now |
CoolHandle Frequently Asked Questions
- Do I get unlimited bandwidth and disk space?
This company has unlimited space and bandwidth on all of their plans. However, the provider is the ultimate decider on what acceptable terms are.
- What programming features are included?
CoolHandle offers support for PHP, Perl, Python, and Ruby on Rails.
- Can I host an image-heavy site or a video streaming website on CoolHandle’s servers?
If you need to host an image heavy site, all of their plans support unlimited storage space and bandwidth. CoolHandle provides FFMPEG extension which makes it possible, in theory, to host video streaming websites. But you will need a plan with the resources to support this – probably VPS or dedicated.
- Does CoolHandle offer a free domain?
Each hosting plan comes with a free domain for the first year. After that, the domain renews at a regular price which depends on the extension.
- Does CoolHandle provide help with transferring an existing site and domain name?
Yes, they provide site migration services which includes complete domain, file, database, and script transferring.
- Does CoolHandle offer support for other CMSs such as Joomla, Drupal or Magento?
While there is no one click installation support for CMSs other than WordPress, all the necessary requirements for those content management systems are available.
- Does CoolHandle offer an uptime guarantee?
The company states that they do not offer uptime guarantees due to their low prices, however they use high quality equipment and networking infrastructure which results in their uptime being higher than 99.94%.
- Does CoolHandle offer free backups?
Free backups are not included, however, clients have access to tools to create their own website backups.
- Does CoolHandle provide a control panel?
CoolHandles provides cPanel as the control panel for all their hosting plans.
- What security measures are in place?
Their security protocol includes specialized antivirus and antispam measures in their secured datacenter environments as well as around the clock monitoring.
- Are there any special features that come with their services?
Each hosting plan includes CloudFlare’s CDN and SEO website optimization. They also offer a dedicated IP address, domain registrations, and website design services.
- What payment options does CoolHandle offer?
They accept all major credit card payment methods like Visa, MasterCard, and Discover. They also accept PayPal.
- Does CoolHandle offer monthly services or is there a minimum contract?
The company signs up customers on monthly plans as well as yearly plans, at a discounted overall rate. There is no minimum contract required and clients can cancel their plans at any time.
- Does CoolHandle have a money back guarantee?
The company doesn’t offer any refunds and all sales are final.
- What type of support does CoolHandle offer?
The company’s support teams are available around the clock 24/7 by phone. Email support and an extensive knowledgebase are also available. Support is available in English only.
- Where is CoolHandle located?
The company’s headquarters as well as their datacenters, are in Los Angeles, CA.
- Does CoolHandle offer an affiliate program?
Their affiliate program is available through Commission Junction affiliate network. Each affiliate is paid a flat fee with a minimum payout amount.
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I have been a customer at Coolhandle for 3 years, and have had severe problems with the hosting at least two times. The first time they moved my sites to a new server without prior notice, and I could not approach my C-panel for almost a week. All my email accounts were also offline.
A few days ago I noticed that I could not see any of my websites anymore. I could not ping them, connect with FTP nor reach the C-panel. I have emailed customer support many times, but the only thing they tell me is that they have no problems loading my sites at their end.
That does indeed not help me, as I have my own customers who have lost their Business from some of these websites i administer for them. I have even threatend them with law suit if nothing is done asap, but it does not "bite" on them at all. So, the only thing I can do is to contact a law firm in LA to help me sort this out, and that will not com cheap for Coolhandle! Please keep away from this company!!!