My goal when creating this Krystal Hosting Review was to ensure this is the only resource you will ever need to research all aspects of this company including uptime statistics, performance metrics, features and price.
In a nutshell, here’s what I found:
After months of tracking uptime statistics and server performance metrics, I discovered that Krystal hosting delivers fast website loading speeds, consistent server uptime, award-winning support and affordable pricing that’s ideal for small businesses.
But why should you listen to me?
For more than a decade as a WordPress freelancer I’ve literally managed 100’s of websites, blogs and online stores for myself and my clients across more than 50 different web hosting providers.
To put it simply, I have extensive knowledge of web hosting and have the experience of managing web hosting accounts on a daily basis for more than a decade, so I’m more than qualified to conduct this research.
After realising that many of my clients were getting ripped off on their web hosting I decided to put the UK’s most popular web hosting companies under the microscope to reveal the best services with in-depth reviews.
Using all of my knowledge and experience of web hosting and a range of premium testing and tracking tools, I set out on a mission to see whether Krystal delivers on the promises they make on their website.
I’ve personally been a customer of Krystal hosting for just over 3 years and in this time I have come to learn that no other UK web hosting company can match the level of service and support I have received.
However, I understand you cannot just take my word for it alone, so inside this extensive Krystal Hosting Review you’ll find all the hard data you need to help you with your research.
I’m sure you’ll get some value out of this as even Krystal hosting thanked me after checking it out.
So let’s get to it…
About Krystal Hosting
How was Krystal web hosting born?
Back in 2002 when Simon Blackler (founder and CEO of Krystal) was just 17, he and a friend had just spent the summer creating a fan website for a new computer game that was due to launch.
During this time he had learned the process of building websites and discovered that all websites would need a host, so they could be accessed by everyone else who’s online.
This sparked a move into the web design industry as Simon was frustrated that other people, including his friends father where been taken advantage of and been charged extortionate fees for little in return.
The more websites they built, the more reliable web hosting became a priority but the industry back then was full of cowboys and fly by night merchants who were in it simply for the money.
Simon decided that the industry needed someone people could trust, someone who had their best interests at heart and someone who could deliver value, quality and transparency, without it costing a fortune.
Krystal was launched to achieve that goal.
Since then, Krystal has:
- Transformed into the UK’s largest independent web hosting provider.
- Won “Best Host” at the ISPA’s.
- Maintained an “EXCELLENT” rating on Trustpilot.
- 100% renewable electricity from sources like the sun, wind and sea.
What you will notice the most and what is most refreshing about this particular web hosting company is the fact that you can put a face to the name, which is almost unheard of within this industry.
For complete transparency, Krystal has a “Stats” page that displays real-time info about their business such as how many tickets where resolved, phone calls answered, new clients signed up and other useful info.
Krystal does this to help you understand that they have nothing to hide, unlike a lot of other faceless corporations that you will surely come across on your search for the best web hosting company.
Krystal Pros & Cons
Straight to the point…
As a customer of Krystal myself I have had stress free hosting for my own and my clients websites for years as their services are consistent across the board and when I have needed support it’s been excellent.
Websites load super fast on the Litespeed webserver (with integrated caching for WordPress users too), uptime is consistent and the support staff have won awards for their dedication to customer service.
The web hosting packages and pricing are clear and transparent with a monthly option which makes it more affordable for small businesses with annually or triennially options if you want better performance and a free domain registration.
No matter what type of website you want to launch, whether it be a business website, personal blog or online store, Krystal hosting have the features, performance and support to deliver the best possible web hosting experience.
I have personally spent the best part of the last couple of years trying to find any other UK web hosting provider that can deliver any better than the exceptional level of service that Krystal offers at this price, and I could only find this one here.
Krystal Hosting Features
What’s the best Krystal web hosting features?
Krystal have a wide range of web hosting services including shared cloud web hosting, application specific web hosting, managed WordPress hosting, VPS hosting, dedicated hosting and enterprise hosting.
As the full feature lists for each of these web hosting services is so extensive, I’m going to focus on the features of Krystal’s shared cloud web hosting which is at the most affordable end of the scale.
Here’s a quick overview of the features:
| SPEC | AMETHYST | RUBY | EMERALD |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sites Hosted | 1 | 5 | Unlimited |
| Disk Space | 10GB NVMe | 25GB NVMe | Unlimited NVMe |
| Bandwidth | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Performance | Standard | Enhanced | High |
| SSL Certificate | FREE | FREE | FREE |
| Backups | Daily | Daily | 4-hourly |
| Free Domain | NO | YES | YES |
| Control Panel | cPanel | cPanel | cPanel |
It’s understandable that the smaller packages on Krystal don’t offer as much as other providers but in my opinion that is a good sign that they are not overselling and can manage server loads more efficiently.
Hosting companies that promise unlimited diskspace and bandwidth cover there own backs in the small print which allows them to pull the plug on websites that disrupt a shared server, so always read the small print.
Krystal claims they offer unlimited bandwidth and diskspace on some plans which is a little disappointing.
I know from personal experience that if you’re on a shared server and you start getting millions of website visitors or even hundreds of thousands each month, your website will go down as it will pose a risk.
The problem you have with shared web hosting is the fact that several other websites are sharing the same resources but most providers have provisions in place to disable websites that consume too many resources.
However, over the last 3+ years of me using Krystal hosting for my own business, I have never had any issues with diskspace, bandwidth or other websites consuming too many resources who are on the same server.
When you are first launching your new website then the smaller packages are always most ideal for you to test the waters and a great thing about Krystal and other similar hosts is that they can scale with you.
No matter how popular your website becomes, Krystal has the capability to scale to your needs although if you run a small business website then you will more than likely never find the need to upgrade.
Here’s a few screenshots of the members area and control panel:
The members area of Krystal Hosting is really easy to navigate and understand as all the most important things you’ll need is right in front of your face when you login such as invoices, support and access to your control panel.
Once you access your cPanel you can manage all aspects of your web hosting account such as creating custom email addresses, activating SSL, installing applications like WordPress and accessing all the daily backups.
Krystal Loading Speed
How fast will my website load on Krystal?
As I maintain my own account on Krystal I can test the server response times and website loading speeds on a daily basis as I have the same default website as I do for all other providers I test.
This allows me to compare the server response times and website loading speeds of all providers as I basically have the exact same setup on each provider so it’s just the server performance that is different.
Krystal Hosting Performance Metrics
The following metrics are generated using Lighthouse Performance data.
| METRIC | RESULTS |
|---|---|
| First Contentful Paint | 485ms |
| Time to Interactive | 485ms |
| Speed Index | 452ms |
| Total Blocking Time | 0ms |
| Largest Contentful Paint | 485ms |
| Cumulative Layout Shift | 0 |
Krystal Hosting Browser Timings
These timings are milestones reported by the browser.
| METRIC | RESULT |
|---|---|
| Redirect Duration | 0ms |
| Connection Duration | 44ms |
| Backend Duration | 4ms |
| Time to First Byte | 46ms |
| DOM Interactive Time | 404ms |
| DOM Content Loaded Time | 404ms |
| Onload Time | 430ms |
| First Paint | 484ms |
| FULLY LOADED TIME | 485ms |
Why is website loading speed important?
How fast your website loads will ultimately effect how much success you have with your website as a slow loading website will irritate your website visitors and force them directly into the hands of your competitors.
To give you a better idea of how important website load speed is, here’s a few stats:
- 1 in 4 visitors would abandon a website that takes more than 4 seconds to load.
- A 1 second delay in website load time reduces customer satisfaction by 16%.
- 64% of shoppers who are dissatisfied with a website will shop somewhere else.
- 46% of users don’t revisit poorly performing websites.
Sources: LoadStorm, Econsultancy.
As you can see from the statistics listed above, how fast your website loads is very important to your website visitors and can have a massive impact on your conversions.
How to test website loading speed?
If you already have a website online and you want to see how fast it loads with your current web hosting provider then you can do this yourself over at Google Page Speed Insights.
Krystal Uptime Tracker
How consistent are Krystal servers online?
As I maintain my own account on Krystal I can test the server uptime on a regular basis, which allows me to check if Krystal deliver on their 99.99% uptime guarantee as listed on their website.
This gives me the opportunity to compare Krystal’s server uptime against all other providers as I basically have the exact same setup on each provider so it’s just the server performance that is different.
Here’s the current uptime stats for Krystal:
| 30 DAYS | 90 DAYS |
|---|---|
| 99.996% | 99.995% |
As you can see within the table above, Krystal’s uptime is consistent and online most of the time which means they are reliable for hosting small business websites and also eCommerce websites.
Why is server uptime important?
If a potential customer visits your website and it’s offline they make think your business is closed, so to ensure you don’t damage your reputation or lose business, you need website with excellent uptime.
Additionally, If you are paying for marketing your website such as on Google Ads or Facebook ads and your website is offline, you could be losing money by the minute.
That’s why it’s important that you learn about the uptime history of a web hosting service before you decide to buy hosting, as a reliable and consistent provider is essential for your business.
How to track server uptime?
If you already have a website online and you want to track the server uptime of your existing web hosting provider to see how consistent they are over a long period of time, then search Google for a free website monitoring tool.
This will allow you to determine whether the server uptime with your existing web hosting provider is better than it would be on Krystal web hosting, giving you a clear indication of whether you should switch to Krystal or not.
Krystal Hosting Comparison
How does Krystal compare to competitors?
While it can be difficult and time consuming to determine yourself how similar web hosting companies perform compared to each other, I’ve made it quick and easy for you by testing, tracking and comparing Krystal web hosting with 2 of their close competitors (20i & tsoHost).
In the comparison table below I’ve listed the most important stats and features based on the smallest web hosting packages they offer on their respective websites to see how they stack up.
Based on the results above you can see that Krystal has a more reliable and balanced set of features and more consistent server performance over long periods of time compared to the competitors.
Krystal Hosting Prices
How much does Krystal web hosting cost?
A great thing about Krystal web hosting is that you can pay on a monthly basis which makes it much more affordable for small business owners to get started as similar hosts demand a full year upfront.
If you expect to have your website online for the long term and want to save money with Krystal then you can get 2 months free when paying annually or 6 months free when paying triennially.
The prices shown below are based on Krystal’s shared cloud web hosting packages and don’t include VAT.
AMETHYST Best Price
RUBY Best Value
EMERALD Best Performance
There are way too many web hosting review websites that recommend packages that look good on the surface as they entice you with the lowest fee’s on the first year, but when it comes around to renewal, you’ll be asked for triple the fee.
Before you commit to purchasing any web hosting package with any provider, ensure you are clear on their pricing structure and renewal policy so you know what to expect when it’s time to renew your package.
Closing thoughts:
Thank you for taking the time to read this Krystal Hosting Review and I hope you found this a valuable resource during your research. I have spent many hours putting this research together for your benefit.
I would really appreciate it if you could share this post on your social media so I can reach other people within your circle who could also benefit from this research.
If you decide to join Krystal Hosting after reading this review, please return to this page in the future and share your own review of Krystal Hosting with my readers so we can create a better resource together.
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