123Reg is one of the best-known web hosting and domain name providers in the UK. It has a wide range of services relating to the internet, websites, and email – this includes domain registration, web hosting, and email hosting.
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In this 123Reg review…
- 123Reg review summary
- Services
- 123Reg domain names
- Web hosting
- 123Reg email hosting
- SSL & Security
- 123Reg control panel
- Is 123Reg any good?
123Reg Review Summary
Pros
- Excellent domain name management services.
- Cheap initial domain name registration prices.
- A simple and intuitive control panel.
- A wide selection of cheap hosting packages.
Cons
- Initial prices can be misleading and are often bumped-up after the first year.
- No uptime guarantee for standard hosting packages.
- Website builder is basic compared to other platforms.
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What Services Does 123Reg Provide?
First, let’s break down the different services this company provides. 123-reg is a multi-faceted company that provides many online services including:
- Domain registration
- Website hosting
- Website & eCommerce building
- Email hosting
- SSL & Security
They are best-known for domain name registration and are one of the top domain registrars in the UK.
Their other services are not as popular and people do not really recognize 123-reg for their website hosting and building, for example. We take a look at the main services they provide in greater detail below:
123Reg Domain Names
As mentioned, their primary service is domain registration and management. Using 123reg, you can purchase and register a range of domains including:
- .com
- .ltd
- .org
- .co.uk
- .co
Their prices are fantastic and they are one of the cheapest domain name registrars available. For example, you can purchase a .co.uk domain for just 99p for 1 year, which rivals companies such as GoDaddy in terms of price!
However, please bear in mind that these low prices are usually only an introductory rate for the first year. After the initial registration, you must then pay an annual renewal fee which can range from £10.99 up to £149.99 for more specialised domains like .casino.
With any domain purchased, you also get the following:
- Free email forwarding
- DNS management
- A 1-page website that’s free for 30-days
- Full access to the 123 reg control panel
Most people won’t care about the free 1-page website – it could have its uses, but its not really a deal breaker. More important is the email forwarding, and the full DNS management. These features give you excellent control and allow you to easily set up a website.
Check out this domain name buying guide for more information.
123Reg Website Hosting
Aside from domain names, 123 reg also has a varied set of hosting packages including:
- Standard shared hosting from £2.99 per month.
- WordPress hosting from £7.99 per month.
- VPS hosting from £9.99 per month.
- Premium hosting from £19.99 per month.
Essentially they cover all the main types of hosting apart from a true dedicated server.
At first glance, their web hosting packages are great value. For example, their basic starter package (which is a shared hosting plan), is just £2.99 per month.
For this, you get a reasonable 100GB of storage, unlimited bandwidth, and a free domain. Possibly their best package, however, is the Standard package.
This costs £3.99 per month, and gives you unlimited website, unlimited storage, and unlimited bandwidth.
With any 123 reg hosting package, however, please be aware that most of the listed prices are introductory only. After the first year, the prices are usually bumped up (but still reasonable).
For uptime and reliability, 123 reg performs OK. They certainly don’t offer the best uptime compared to some other hosting providers. But they are reliable.
It should be noted that any of their standard hosting packages have no minimum uptime guarantee either. In terms of server capabilities, this depends on the package you purchase.
For the starter package, you get 512MB of shared RAM and 1 CPU which isn’t hugely powerful.
The best server capabilities come from their VPS and partially dedicated servers. For example, the premium starter packages give 2GB of dedicated RAM, and 1 CPU.
123Reg Website Builder
If you require a website to accompany your domain name, 123 reg also has a range of website building services including:
- A standard website builder with plans from £2.50 per month.
- An eCommerce website builder with plans from £7.50 per month.
- A free website and SEO check.
Their basic website builder packages have excellent introductory rates and include an SSL certificate and unlimited pages.
They also include tools to start a blog, analytical reports, and a domain and email address. This is decent value, but the features are a little spartan compared to other website builders such as Shopify.
We do like the range of templates they offer – there isn’t a huge choice, however the designs are professional and they can be fully customised. The website builder is also easy to use and uses a simple drag and drop interface.
If you want an online store, you could opt for their eCommerce packages starting from £7.50 per month. The basic package allows you to create 10 products and access to 2 payment gateways.
This also includes a domain, SSL certificate, and web hosting.
However, this basic package lacks some useful features like discount codes and inventory control – you have to upgrade to the standard or pro packages for that.
If you have a small business with a limited range of products, a 123 reg website builder package may be a good idea to keep everything with one provider.
However, there are much better options available that give greater flexibility and features for your online store – you can check our guide to eCommerce website builders here.
123Reg Email Hosting
Finally, 123reg has dedicated email hosting services. This is great if you want to establish a proper email system as opposed to using a free option like Gmail or Hotmail.
They have 3 email packages – starter, pro, and Microsoft 365:
- Starter: from 99p per month for the first year.
- Pro: from £3.49 per month for the first year.
- Microsoft 365: from £7.99 per month for the first year.
The starter package has limited features but it includes 500MB of email storage, webmail access, either a POP or IMAP email, and email protection.
For 99p per month (boosted to £1.99 per month after), this is decent for a small business using a centralised email. The most interesting package is the Microsoft 365 package at £7.99 per month.
Considering that a subscription to the Microsoft Office 365 suite costs approximately £5.00 per month, its a decent deal. For £7.99 you also get a much larger 50GB of storage, 1TB of OneDrive storage, and online document cloud storage.
Of course, you also get the full version of Microsoft 365. This could be a great all-in-one package for businesses who will utilise programs like Word and Excel.
Control Panel and Usability of Services
To manage your 123reg services, you gain access to their control panel. This is essentially a one-stop-shop from which you can manage all of your purchased services.
The basic layout of the control panel is easy to navigate – at the top you are clearly shown your different active services and an option to go directly to the management section.
Each management section then contains details of your subscription with clear indicators of the renewal date. Also, we like that you can quickly turn on or off the automatic renewal feature.
The control panel has clear headings and you should be able to find the different tools and features with ease. We also found the help boxes on the right-hand side useful too.
These provide links to their dedicated customer support team, and show a list of common questions relating to the service. Its generally a user-friendly control panel that looks minimalistic, but still offers great functionality – no complaints here!
Is 123Reg any good?
For domain name registration and transferal, 123 reg is one of the best options available. They have a fantastic range of top level domains and extensions available.
Also, they offer some of the best introductory registration prices, and annual renewal prices after that are still decent. You can also easily manage your domain via their control panel.
For hosting, 123 reg is OK, but if you’re setting up a new business, there are better hosting options available.
Some of their basic shared packages are great value, but the lack of an uptime guarantee may put some people off. Also, their shared packages do not have amazing server power. Similarly with website building, their service is OK, but there are companies that specialise in these services that can do a better job.
Check out this list of the best website builders to get started free or find out how to start an online business.
Their website builder is easy to use, but it’s a little basic, and lacks some of the features you would expect. Platforms like Shopify or WooCommerce offer greater flexibility and utility, for example.
Finally, for email hosting, they are a reliable provider and their prices are incredibly cheap. If you want secure email hosting for your business – this is a great choice and the Pro package has the added bonus of online document storage.
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