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.
Kian Simpson, a 36-year-old blogger from Washington, USA, specializes in providing useful information and advice about web hosting and domain names. With extensive IT experience, Kian began his career as a systems administrator before moving into more advisory and strategic roles in technology companies. He has worked with a variety of hosting platforms, from classic web hosting to cloud solutions, which has allowed him to accumulate significant knowledge in the field of server management and website performance optimization.