LiquidWeb Review

Liquid Web is perhaps one of the best managed hosting companies in the market today. A family of brands has come together to aid online businesses, non-profits, and various organizations.

LiquidWeb is used for traditional managed hosting, Nexcess site optimization & app storage, and Stellar for WordPress premium plug-ins.

Together as a family, they promise to provide easy access to their services, highly trained experts to provide tech support, speed, security, and reliability. Employees are available 24/7/365 to provide human support if needed, and there's also the company's commitment to delivering quality service for all your online business needs.

Screenshot of Liquid Web brands/solutions

About Liquid Web

Liquid Web has been powering content, commerce, and applications for more than 24 years. Backed by 10 global data centers located in the US, UK, and EU, the Liquid Web family manages over 500,000+ sites, supports over 100,000 software subscribers, and 2 Million+ free version software users. The numbers don't lie and this can be seen throughout user reviews; they received numerous 5 out of 5 stars from their loyal and trusted customers.

Getting Started with Liquid Web

Screenshot of the Liquid Web Homepage

Opening the Liquid Web site for the first time can be quite intimidating; it was in my case at least. Thanks to the wide range of products and features that they offer, my immediate thought was that they are a very serious and expansive company.

The Liquid Web site screams sophistication, elegance, and premiere service. It was quite a challenge to find the exact Liquid Web hosting plan that fits my purpose of getting a good quality review of their services.

For this review, I signed up for a managed WordPress hosting plan for my test site. I choose the Spark plan at $19.50/month, although I got it on sale for $9.50. This plan comes with 1 managed site, 15 GB of storage, and 2 TB of bandwidth.

After I clicked the Get Started button, I was redirected to the Nexcess Portal.

Screenshot of the purchase process for the WordPress Spark plan

On this page, you choose the plan terms and input account information. You'll also find your purchase details here. After inputting my details I clicked the Sign-Up button, added my billing address and payment option. With this, the purchase for this web hosting provider plan was finalized.

How to Manage Your Website Using Liquid Web

Nexcess

Nexcess is the cloud web hosting service optimized for digital commerce. They've partnered with Liquid Web to give managed WordPress and managed WooCommerce plans.

After logging in to my account, I was directed to this homepage.

Screenshot of the Nexcess dashboard

Your account id, password, active tickets, invoices, and cred can be found in this client area. You'll also see the section for system status, servers, and data center.

There is a search field, the latest blog post from the Liquid Web support team, and an announcement for scheduled maintenance.

You can see tabs for Home, Plans, SSL, Support, Billings, and DNS on the right. Once I clicked the Plan tab, I was redirected to this page.

Screenshot of the Nexcess Plans screen

In the SSL tab, you'll find the SSL certificates you ordered for your site. An SSL certificate is like a badge of honor you can put on your site to show users that the site is safe, secure, and reliable.

It is a crucial component of websites that require the exchange of sensitive information such as personal info and card details. The SSL certificate comes in different forms depending on the website's level of security.

I did not have any yet, so I clicked the Order Certificate button on the left. On the order page, you get to select the type of certificate (single domain, multi-domain, or wildcard), then input the source of the certificate and your details. Then you will proceed to the payment screen for your purchase.

Screenshot of the SSL Certificate ordering process

The Support Tab shows your support tickets. Tickets are used if you want to ask for help from the Liquid Web support team. You can write down your concern, choose the department you are trying to address, and so on. Once you are done with writing down everything, click Add to finalize the ticket.

There is also a button to Request Migration at the right side of the page. Liquid Web offers free site migration from other web hosts. You need to have a paid plan from Liquid Web before you can avail any free site migrations.

Screenshot of the Ticket (support) system

The Billings tab shows your invoices, credits, payments, payment info, and orders. Here, you can see the summary and details of purchased plans, certificates, add-ons, and more.

The Domains tab shows your DNS zone. You can add your domain here. You can also click the three dots to view your domain details or to delete them from your zone.

If you click the User Menu to the right, you'll see a dropdown list containing the following:

Screenshot of the User Menu options

• My Profile - brings you to your personal info page.
• Account Settings - see and change your account information.
• 2-Factor Authentication - lets you set up a second method of signing in to your account for an extra layer of protection.
• SSH Keys - redirects you to a page where you can add them.
• Team Members - allows you to add colleagues with the ability to assign a role to them.
• API Tokens - brings you to the page where you can generate them.
• Refer a Friend - Invite a new member and you may earn some credit (around $100 per invited user).
• Addresses - brings you to the payment method and billing address.
• Feedback - allows you to suggest an idea to the Liquid Web support staff.

When you sign up for a Liquid Web Managed Hosting plan, make sure to explore the Client Area and familiarize yourself with its functions. As I have observed, it is very user and beginner-friendly.

Liquid Web Hosting Management Panels

Liquid Web uses 3 different control panels for website hosting account management. The availability of them depends on the web hosting plans purchased by the customers.

Most plans will give you the option to choose any of the three. Some need to be additionally purchased, while others are included in the plans. In my case, I have more experience with cPanel and that's what I recommend to beginners as well.

Choosing a control panel can be intimidating, but you should always go with what makes you more comfortable. A lot of resources are available at your fingertips; you can watch videos, read the manuals from Liquid Web's pool of resources, and compare reviews.

The most effective method perhaps is talking to someone who is an expert. Use a ticket and submit your concern to Liquid Web's 'Most Helpful Humans' to help with your concern.

One thing in common that control panel dashboards have is how they arrange the tools based on their functions. But if I had to choose a winner in that category, I would choose cPanel. The way it is arranged is straightforward to understand and easy to use; tools are grouped nicely without overlapping.

All of the Liquid Web management panels show the server overview on their homepage. I like that it is one of the first things you see when you log in. From there, you can decide which part of your account needs some work.

All of these include the general features necessary for a control panel.

• Domain management – configure and manage them.
• File management – manage and upload files, make backups and restore them.
• Email management – manage and set up emails, access webmail, configure spam filters, mailing lists, and forwarders.
• Database management – set up and manage your databases
• Stats – find out various metrics about your site
• Security – SSL certificates, SSH access, IP blockers, etc.
• Software installers – easy installations of popular web scripts such as WordPress, Joomla, and others.

Getting Started with InterWorx

Screenshot of the InterWorx dashboard

You can log into InterWorx by using your Liquid Web account. After logging in, you'll see the various navigation links on the left; clicking one will show additional menu items predominantly related to website management. Keep in mind that InterWorx is mainly oriented towards advanced users.

The SiteWorx tab shows all your web and domain accounts. You can also modify the SiteWorx accounts from here. These modifications include modifying account settings, changing passwords and IP addresses, and account deletion.

The NodeWorx tab is basically a system admin for managing servers and hosting accounts. Here, you can see the status of your system services, CPU, memory, bandwidth usage, and general server information.

Getting Started with cPanel

Screenshot of the cPanel dashboard

You can log into your cPanel account by using the cPanel login page or the Liquid Web Account. The first time you log in, you'll see the sections arranged according to functions and a server overview.

• Files -manage all your files from here.
• Databases- manage your databases using phpMyAdmin; create a database using MySQL.
• Domain- manage all your domains, assign aliases, add-ons, subdomains, redirects, and more.
• Metrics - shows your server and site statistics, including visitors, accesses, bandwidth, usage, and more.
• Security- is where you can manage all security details like SSH Keys, 2-factor authentication, SSL certificates, and more.
• Software -shows the built-in software you can use to improve your website, including WordPress manager.
• Advanced - manage your web cache and indexes.
• Preferences- Here, you can modify various account information such as your cPanel's password, security, contact information, and more.

Screenshot of the Plesk dashboard

Getting Started with Plesk

Plesk is a control panel designed to simplify web hosting management. It can easily be integrated with web applications like WordPress.

You can access your Plesk account from the Liquid Web account dashboard. Inside the Plesk dashboard, you can choose between Power User view or Service Provider view.

Power User should be used if you have one or a few more websites, while the Service Provider view is mainly for someone who manages a lot of sites and/or reseller services. Keep in mind that Power User is the default view once you log in for the first time.

Plesk includes all the general features you'd need from a control panel plus the following:

• Automated Server Administration - easily manage your server
• User-Friendly Interface - intuitive control panels
• WordPress Toolkit - WordPress site management
• Developer Tools - PostgreSQL, MS SQL, and more
• Premium Email Antivirus - protect up to 14 Email accounts
• Mobile Manager - gives you management access from mobile devices
• Security Core by Atomicorp - protects your server from attacks
• Web Presence Builder - create a website for small businesses and individuals
• ServerShield by Cloudflare - protects the server from hackers, spammers, bots, and DDoS attacks
• Language Pack - offers different language options

Getting Started with WHM

Screenshot of the WHM Dashboard

You can log in to your WHM account by using the Liquid Web Account. Your WHM dashboard shows server management options and features. Though most of its features are for advanced users, you could easily learn them as you go along.

Using WHM, you can change root passwords, configure backups, manage your accounts or create new ones, configure server security and firewall, and generate SSL certificates.

Liquid Web Website Builder

Beaver Builder

Liquid Web uses Beaver Builder and offers it for free to those who purchase managed WooCommerce hosting plans. It is fast, functional, and lightweight in many regards.

You can choose from different templates and add different content into your layout by just dragging and dropping. It is very user and beginner-friendly.

Nexcess Store Builder

You can also use the Nexcess Store Builder to create a WooCommerce store in no time.

The choice is yours; you could use the built-in web builder or download a new one. The most common website builders are those that are compatible with WordPress sites.

Liquid Web App and Software Installer

Using the cPanel server management dashboard, you can easily download the desired applications by using the Softaculous App Installer.

If you are using Plesk, just go to the Applications tab for easy installation of web applications.

When installing, you can choose from a list of different WordPress plugins as well. The WordPress app comes with thousands of WordPress themes that you can choose from.

You can also use StellarWP for WordPress plugins and software. This is only available if you purchase the Managed WordPress Hosting plans.

Liquid Web Customer Support

You can contact Liquid Web for support 24/7 via phone, chat, or email. All information about these can be found in the Contact Us tab. If you're in a rush, you could instantly begin a chat with their support team by clicking the Chat Now message found on every Liquid Web web page.

Liquid Web claims that their agents respond in less than a minute and are quick to the task - I wanted to test this out for our Liquid Web review.

Here's how our conversation went. The support person responded fairly quickly to my message. The response was personalized which means I was probably talking to an actual person, rather than an AI. All in all, they have excellent customer service with great support staff.

Screenshot of the chat with customer support

Liquid Web Resources

Other than the customer support option I mentioned above, they also have a pool of articles, case studies, blogs, and webinars that you can use to your advantage. They are rich in content and contain information about their plans, methodology, and more. The tutorials can be beneficial, especially for beginners, plus they also have plenty of visual media for you to truly catch everything they want to teach you.

Screenshot of Liquid Web resources

Buyer's Guide for LiquidWeb

LiquidWeb offers a wide array of services for you to choose from. In addition, you can also choose your desired management and support level.

Screenshot of the Liquid Web Footer options

Management Levels

Fully managed servers come with a control panel from where you can manage everything on your account. You also gain access to everything that's related to helping users with issues, whether it's Liquid Web's support team or the resources and tutorials they offer.

They will also perform the updates on the server that are necessary. With self and core-managed servers, you wouldn't get Liquid Web's full support system.

This means the server would be managed only by you. It is best to get fully managed servers if you are a beginner.

Plans and Pricing

Liquid Web is a premium hosting provider which means that they give excellent quality hosting solutions to their customers. As a web hosting elite provider, you can expect nothing less.

Nexcess, StellarWP, and Liquid Web offer dedicated server hosting, cloud hosting packages, WordPress hosting plans, and more.

Dedicated Server Hosting Plans

A dedicated server is a remote server exclusively dedicated to a single individual, organization, or business. It is not a shared web hosting plan, and as such, hosting is not shared with any other customers.

Liquid Web servers come with tailored security, complete control over the system, resources, and other configuration options. Many hosting providers offer dedicated servers to their customers, but Liquid Web also offers managed hosting plans.

Here, you can compare Liquid Web's dedicated hosting packs, and you can choose from the following servers:

• Intel Xeon 1230v6 - good for high traffic sites, multiple websites, small apps, and resellers
• Intel Xeon Gold 6226R (Single) - great for databases, small SaaS, large resellers, and multiple apps
• Intel Xeon Gold 6226R (Dual) - good for multi-user apps, big databases, large SaaS, and virtualization
• Intel Xeon 1230v6 Value Bundle - good for high traffic sites, multiple websites, small apps, and resellers
• Intel Xeon Gold 6226R (Single Value Bundle) - great for databases, small SaaS, large resellers, and multiple apps
• Intel Xeon Gold 6226R (Dual Value Bundle) - good for high traffic sites, multiple websites, small apps, and resellers

Here is a comparison of the introductory prices, inclusions, and add-ons:

Dedicated hosting plan comparison

Managed VPS Hosting Plan

Liquid Web VPS hosting provides its customer the power of a dedicated server and the flexibility of a cloud hosting environment. These web hosting plans are ideal for people who want to use their own powerful server but want to minimize the cost. This hosting service can be used in Linux or Windows servers.

Here is the comparison of these managed web hosting plans.

Linux

Managed VPS hosting plan comparison (Linux)

Note: VPS hosting prices indicated here are for the InterWorx control panel only.

Windows

Managed VPS hosting plan comparison (Windows)

Cloud Dedicated Servers

Cloud Dedicated Servers combine the processing power and available resources of a dedicated server with the flexibility of a cloud platform.

There are two sets of plans you can choose from:

Standard Cloud Dedicated Options - great for hosting small apps, websites, resellers, and more

High-Performance Cloud Dedicated Options - great for databases, SaaS, hosting multiple sites or apps, large resellers, and more.

Here's a comparison of the two and the available servers:

Cloud dedicated servers comparison

Below is the comparison between cloud server hosting in Liquid Web versus other web hosting providers.

Comparison of Liquid Web features with other hosting providers

Private Cloud Powered by VMware and NetApp

The private cloud is considered to be your own data center. Private cloud hosting at Liquid Web is made possible by VMware and NetApp. It is a combination of a public cloud and a streamlined management service.

This plan is available on a multi-tenant infrastructure or a built-to-order environment. Private cloud hosting plans promise power, performance, and reliability for huge industries and enterprises.

You can choose from the following plans :

Multi-tenant VMware Private Cloud - with servers pooling resources to form a virtual data center for customer use, you're only paying for the resources you need, so the cost is lower

Dedicated VMware Private Cloud - fully isolated environment, dedicates servers are exclusive for your use only, more expensive

The picture below shows the pricing and features of the two plans:

Screenshot of VMWare Private Cloud pricing

Private VPS Parent Hosting Plan

The Private VPS Parent web hosting plan allows the user to create their own private cloud environment. It is easy to create and configure. You can move, resize, clone, or destroy virtual instances in your own VPS parent. In addition, you can easily resize the RAM, adjust disk size, and configure the number of cores. To put it simply, the possibilities are endless.

Standard Private VPS Parents - great for hosting small apps, websites, resellers, and more

High-Performance Private VPS Parents - great for hosting databases, SaaS, hosting multiple sites or apps, large resellers, and more.

Below is the comparison of the two hosting solutions:

Comparison of Private VPS Parent hosting plans

Managed Cloud Servers

Liquid Web's Cloud Server hosting uses cPanel. It is fast, reliable, and easy to use.

Below are the different plans you can choose from, together with the pricing and the features. You can choose from Standard, Professional, and Premier.

Comparison of Managed Cloud Server plans

Cloud Sites

A Cloud Site is a managed web hosting platform that allows users to build and launch websites without learning cPanel or server management.

Screenshot of Cloud Sites plan

For this Liquid Web hosting plan, you can easily add storage for $2.40/GB, and bandwidth for $0.15 /GB. Dedicated IPs cost $1/site/month whenever there is an SSL certificate installed. Database storage costs $6/month, and Windows Framework will set you back $10/month.

Managed WordPress Hosting Plans

Liquid Web and Nexcess offer managed WordPress hosting plans that are expertly curated for your needs. Nexcess, a digital commerce cloud platform, offers a fully managed WordPress hosting plan that aims to help you build, optimize and grow your business.

The cheapest web hosting plan from this category starts at $9.50/month. This plan is ideal for your WordPress website. With Nexcess, managed WordPress hosting is easy and full of website enhancing features you can get for free.

Here are the managed WordPress hosting plans you can choose from:

Managed WordPress Hosting plans comparison

This plan comes with WordPress site migration if you want to move your site from other managed WordPress hosts.

Managed WooCommerce Hosting Plan

WooCommerce is an open-source e-commerce plugin for WordPress. Liquid Web offers this affordable and easy-to-scale e-commerce hosting plan for $19.00/month (starter plan). It includes all resources you need for your store to stay safe, secure, easy to manage, and accessible at all times. Liquid Web's managed WooCommerce plan comes in 6 different hosting packages.

Here is the comparison of the different Liquid Web plans:

Managed WooCommerce Hosting plans comparison

Enterprise

Liquid Web's enterprise hosting provider offers customized hosting solutions based on your specific needs. You will receive individual help from Liquid Web's IT team to design the best web hosting solution for your business.

These hosting solutions offer high performance, high availability, and separate database servers. The price for this enterprise web hosting service varies depending on the features, security, storage, back-ups, and add-ons of your choice.

Screenshot of Enterprise and Business plans

Security and Backups

Liquid Web offers secure, reliable, and hassle-free hosting with multiple layers of protection and easy whole-system recovery, Acronis Cyber Backups, and other security and hosting features. The Liquid Web web host takes security seriously and as such, their security solutions are top of the line.

Screenshot of Liquid Web Security and Support section

Features of Liquid Web Hosting Plans

Listed below are the detailed features of each plan for your reference.

Pros

Aside from the features mentioned above, here are some things I considered as an advantage of using Liquid Web:

• Ability to choose the management level
• Availability of different management panels
• You can choose to pay monthly instead of yearly
• Good website builders are available
• Enterprise solution where you can customize your hosting plan
• Easy signup process
• User and beginner-friendly dashboards
• Great pool of resources
• Very high uptime rates and server speeds
• Good customer support via phone or live chat
• High-end servers
• Free site migration
• Allows users to give feedback on how to improve the services easily
• High customer loyalty rating
• The lack of shared hosting packages shields you from shared server attacks.

Cons

Some of the downsides of using Liquid Web as a web host are as follows:

• Pricey compared to other web hosts
• No free trial and only a few of the plans come with a 30-day money-back guarantee
• Lacks shared hosting plans for personal and small business users
• Plans do not come with free SSL certificates

Final Thoughts

Overall, Liquid Web is a very reliable web host.

With 10 global data centers, fully managed cloud and web hosting, excellent support from 'Most Helpful Human' in Hosting, powering more than 45 000 customers and more than 500 000 sites under management, secure and hassle-free hosting, and great user reviews from different sites and its loyal customers, I can say that Liquid Web is not only reliable but also one of the most powerful web hosts in the field.

Although it is a bit pricey compared to other hosting companies, be at peace with the fact that they've been successful for more than two decades, and you are getting quite a lot for what you pay for.

I hope this Liquid Web review helps you in your hosting journey!