Having explored many hosting providers over the years, I’ve developed a keen sense of what differentiates a service. Crazy Domains caught my attention for its robust feature sets and competitive pricing and its commitment to reliability and customer satisfaction. 

Crazy Domains doesn’t just stop at hosting. It tapped into the local market with an appealing offer for Australian businesses looking to establish a distinct online presence. 

Its .AU Direct and .COM.AU domains are strategic moves to empower local enterprises. This feature specifically caters to Australian businesses aiming to cement their digital footprint with a clear Aussie identity, which is a smart way to stay ahead in a competitive market.

It has earned commendable ratings, boasting a 4.3 out of 5373 ratings on Trustpilot and a 4.4 from 486 customer reviews on HostAdvice. These scores reflect a strong reputation for quality service and customer support. 

Curious about how they stack up in real-world use? Keep reading as I dive deep into what makes Crazy Domains a worthy contender in the crowded web hosting field.

Crazy Domains

Crazy Domains' cloud web hosting servers are built at enterprise level for high performance and scalability to deliver blazing website speeds with maximum reliability and security.

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Rating Breakdown

To provide a comprehensive and unbiased review of Crazy Domains hosting, we’ve developed a rating methodology based on several key aspects crucial for evaluating hosting services. 

This methodology guides our review and ensures consistency across evaluations. Please refer to our methodology page for a detailed understanding of our rating process.

Here’s a breakdown of Crazy Domains’ scores across various parameters:

Crazy Domains Hosting Pros and Cons

Crazy Domains

Crazy Domains' cloud web hosting servers are built at enterprise level for high performance and scalability to deliver blazing website speeds with maximum reliability and security.

Visit Crazy Domains

Crazy Domains Hosting Prices & Plans – 2024

When selecting a hosting provider, understanding the pricing and plans offered is crucial for making an informed decision. 

Crazy Domains offers several types of hosting, each with multiple plans:

• Web Hosting
• Business Hosting
• WordPress Hosting
• Windows Hosting
• Business Email Hosting
• DNS Hosting

The 60-day money back guarantee only applies to Web Hosting, Business Hosting, WordPress Hosting and Windows Hosting. Business Email Hosting and DNS hosting do not have a money-back guarantee. 

Crazy Domains accepts a variety of payment methods for hosting, including credit cards, PayPal, and other online payment options:

• Credit cards: Visa, MasterCard, American Express, UnionPay Credit Card
• PayPal: PayPal Account
• Other online payment options: Alipay Account, ZipPay Account, Maestro Debit Card, WebMoney, Neteller, and Dragonpay

I’ll break down the pricing for each hosting type in the following sections.

Shared Hosting

Crazy Domains offers three key web hosting plans under its Linux platform, which are designed to cater to varying levels of usage:

• Economy: Ideal for small sites or blogs with basic resource needs.
• Premium: Offers more resources and is suited for growing sites with moderate traffic.
• Ultimate: Best for larger sites requiring high resources and performance.

All plans include free SSL certificates, malware protection, and 24/7 technical support. The Premium plan offers the best value for most users, providing a good balance of resources and features at a reasonable price point.

Managed Wordpress

Specifically optimized for WordPress sites, these plans include features that enhance performance, security, and ease of management:

• Economy
• Premium
• Ultimate

These plans include features like one-click WordPress installation, WP-CLI, and automatic updates. The Premium plan offers many WordPress users a good balance of resources and features.

Windows Hosting

Designed for sites that require Windows-specific applications, these plans include:

• Economy
• Premium
• Unlimited

All plans include the latest Plesk Obsidian 18 control panel and support for various Microsoft technologies. 

The Premium plan offers the best value for most users, providing ample resources for multiple websites.

Business Hosting

Business Hosting plans are engineered for more demanding websites with higher traffic:

• Standard
• Premium
• Ultimate

These plans include enhanced features like upgraded server resources, backup automation, and high-bandwidth tolerance. 

For most growing businesses, the Premium plan offers a good balance of performance and value.

WooCommerce Online Store

The WooCommerce Online Store plans are tailored for e-commerce businesses:

• Online Store
• Online Store + Marketplace

Both plans include features like unlimited products, ecommerce essentials, and exclusive YITH plugins. 

The basic Online Store plan should suffice for most online stores, but the Marketplace plan is recommended if you need more storage or plan to sell on multiple channels.

DNS Hosting

Crazy Domains also offers two tiers of DNS Hosting: Free DNS Hosting and Premium DNS Hosting.

Both options are designed to enhance your website’s performance and security.

The Free DNS Hosting is available for all domains, regardless of where they’re registered. It combines Unicast and Anycast DNS networks, offering real-time domain record management. This service routes your website traffic to the nearest available Anycast server, improving speed and reliability.

For businesses requiring enhanced performance and security, the Premium DNS Hosting offers additional features:

• Fastest site speed optimization
• Advanced DDoS protection
• ISO certification
• SLA guarantee
• Optional DNSSEC signing
• Expanded DNS record types

Both plans support IPv4/IPv6 and include essential DNS records (A, CNAME, MX, AAAA). The Premium plan also offers SRV and TXT records.

The Free DNS Hosting should suffice for most personal websites or small businesses. However, I recommend the Premium DNS Hosting plan if you’re running a larger business or an e-commerce site where speed and uptime are critical.

Features

• 99.9% Uptime Guarantee
• 60-Day Money-Back Guarantee
• Free Domain for One Year
• Unlimited Data Transfer
• SSD Storage Included
• One-Click Application Installs
• 24/7 Technical Support
• Advanced Security Features
• User-Friendly Control Panels

Crazy Domains distinguishes itself with a longer-than-usual 60-day money-back guarantee, providing greater flexibility and reassurance for new users. 

It also prioritizes local performance with Australian-based servers, ensuring faster website loading times for local audiences. Additionally, including a free domain name with many plans helps reduce initial setup costs.

Performance

Given that I was using Crazy Domains shared hosting environments, which often come with certain restrictions, I had to carefully select tests that would provide meaningful insights without running afoul of the host’s security measures.

After consideration, I decided to focus on two key areas: file system performance and PHP processing speed.

Let me walk you through the tests I conducted and what I discovered:

1. File System Read/Write Speed Test

For this test, I created a PHP script designed to write a 1MB file to the server and then read it back. 

This test is crucial because it simulates real-world scenarios where your website might need to write data (like saving user uploads or caching) and then retrieve it later.

echo "<?php
$filename = 'test_file.txt';
$content = str_repeat('A', 1000000); // 1MB of data
$start = microtime(true);
file_put_contents($filename, $content);
$end = microtime(true);
echo "File write time: " . ($end - $start) . " seconds<br>";
$start = microtime(true);
$content = file_get_contents($filename);
$end = microtime(true);
echo "File read time: " . ($end - $start) . " seconds<br>";
unlink($filename); // Delete the test file
?>" > file_test.php

This script writes a 1MB file to the server, reads it back, and measures the time taken for each operation.

To run this test, I used the command:

php file_test.php

The results were impressive:

• File write time: 0.00051498413085938 seconds
• File read time: 0.00053977966308594 seconds

These times are exceptionally fast. The server managed to write and read 1MB of data in just over half a millisecond each way.

This level of performance indicates that Crazy Domains is likely using high-performance SSD storage, which is excellent news for anyone hosting a website, especially those with database-driven sites or those handling file uploads.

2. PHP Processing Speed Test

For this test, I used a script that generates a PHP info page and measures how long it takes to execute.

echo "<?php
$start = microtime(true);
phpinfo();
$end = microtime(true);
echo "Page generated in " . ($end - $start) . " seconds.";
?>" > phpinfo_test.php

The phpinfo() function provides comprehensive information about the PHP environment. It’s a good benchmark for general PHP processing speed.

To run this test and save the output, I used:

php phpinfo_test.php > phpinfo_results.txt

To view the results, I used:

tail -n 5 phpinfo_results.txt

The result was: Page generated in 0.14069390296936 seconds

This means it took about 140 milliseconds to generate the entire PHP info page. While not as blazingly fast as the file I/O operations, it’s still a good performance that should translate to quick execution of PHP-based websites and applications.

Level Of Support

Crazy Domains offers a range of support options to ensure that customers can get help whenever needed. 

Here’s my experience and understanding of each communication method provided by their support team:

Live Chat

The live chat is available directly through its website, offering instant access to support staff. 

Engaging via live chat is quite straightforward. The response times are quick, often within a few minutes. 

It’s great for immediate assistance.

Phone Support

Available from 4 PM to 8 AM (EDT).

Phone support is very helpful, particularly when dealing with more complex issues that are easier to explain verbally.

Email Support

You select the support department and category before sending an email. 

Email support is more suitable for non-urgent issues requiring detailed documentation. The quality of support via email is thorough, with detailed responses addressing the issues raised.

Fax

While I haven’t personally used the fax, this option is available for those who prefer or need to send documents. This could be useful for formal communications or specific administrative requests.

The overall level of customer support at Crazy Domains is commendable. The variety of contact methods caters well to different needs and urgency levels. Based on my interactions, live chat, and phone support are the quickest and most effective means of obtaining immediate solutions. Email responses, while slower, are detailed and helpful for more complex inquiries.

Ease of Use

When considering a web hosting service, the ease of use is a critical factor, especially for those who may not be technically inclined. I explored the registration process and control panel at Crazy Domains to provide a firsthand account of how user-friendly their services are.

Registration

Registering for a hosting service with Crazy Domains is straightforward. Visit Crazy Domains and locate the ‘Hosting’ option on the top menu to explore the hosting services offered.

You’ll see a variety of hosting types listed, such as:

• Web Hosting
• Business Hosting
• WordPress Hosting
• VPS Hosting
• Business Email Hosting

Select Your Plan. For instance, if you opt for Business Hosting, click on it, review the available plans, and hit ‘Buy Now’ on the one that suits your needs.

Next, you’ll decide whether to use an existing domain or register a new one. Crazy Domains also provides domain registration services, making it a convenient one-stop shop.

Then, follow the prompts to complete the registration process, which includes configuring your hosting settings and finalizing the payment.

From my experience, the registration process was seamless and didn’t require advanced technical knowledge, making it accessible even for beginners.

Crazy Domains Control Panel

Reflecting on my experience with the Crazy Domains control panel, I found it efficiently organized and user-friendly, catering well to newcomers and those with more experience managing web domains and hosting.

The control panel’s layout is user-friendly. I found myself able to manage my domains, emails, and hosting services without any confusion.

One aspect that stood out was the simplicity of performing common tasks. For instance, setting up a new email account or installing a content management system like WordPress was remarkably straightforward. The control panel offers a one-click installer for popular applications, which I found to be a real-time-saver.

I was impressed with the security features integrated into the control panel. It includes options for setting up SSL certificates and managing website backups, which gave me peace of mind about the safety of my data.

A notable feature was the SSH access management, which is critical for advanced server management. The control panel allows for the creation and management of SSH keys, enhancing security for server operations. This feature is particularly appreciated by those who need direct server access for more complex tasks.

My overall experience with the Crazy Domains control panel has been very positive. It balances depth of functionality with ease of use, making it suitable for a wide range of users, from beginners to advanced webmasters.

Conclusion: Do We Recommend Crazy Domains Hosting?

Based on my thorough exploration and use of Crazy Domains’ hosting services, would I recommend them? Absolutely.

For small to medium-sized websites, personal blogs, or businesses just starting their online presence, Crazy Domains could be a solid choice. The user-friendly interface and variety of hosting options make it accessible for users with varying levels of technical expertise.

Remember, hosting needs vary greatly from user to user, so it’s always a good idea to take advantage of money-back guarantees to ensure the service meets your specific requirements.