WorldBus review: Is it the best hosting provider in 2023? Like every other host, it certainly claims so. Of course, we do not take blindly believe in claims, you shouldn’t either.
Hence, if you’re in the market for a web host, and WorldBus caught your eye, this review is for you.
I promise to be completely unbiased, honest and transparent throughout this review.
Also, I’ll put the server through a number of tests and share the result transparently with you.
You’re the one who will decide if the server is worth your time, or you’d rather skip.
Let’s get started with this WorldBus hosting review then?
WorldBus Review: Overview
Here’s an outline of everything you get with WorldBus that may interest you:
- Available server types: Shared, VPS, cloud, dedicated
- 7 server locations
- Free migrations
- Free SSL certificate
- 40Gbps free DDoS support
- Free domain (in some cases)
- 30-day refund policy
- Entry price: $1.99/month
- Accepts Bitcoins (in addition to fiat payments)
- Website: https://worldbus.ge/
If the features above seem interesting, keep reading.
Why trust this WorldBus review?
You’d find dozens of reviews of just about anything on the web. However, the reviews often are without a strong base. That’s exactly what we don’t do here on Updateland.
For this review, I actually signed up at WorldBus, created a site and tested it on multiple fronts.
Here’s my registration mail:
And here’s my site:
Hence, everything I say (or, type) on this review comes purely from experience.
The company sure claims it’s the best, of course, we’d do our own tests before we accept that claim, eh?
Let’s get started.
Available server types
WorldBus offers all the major server types you may wish to purchase.
This means, despite your budget and requirements, WorldBus would have something for you. Available servers include:
- Shared servers
- VPS
- Cloud servers
- Dedicated servers etc.
Management and root access
If you go for VPS or dedicated servers, you do get full root access.
Also, these servers are unmanaged by default. Meaning, you’d have to upgrade, manage, secure and basically do everything for your server on your own.
This of course requires technical skills or you’d need to hire someone.
However, you can purchase management and support for an additional price.
7 server locations
One of the best features on WorldBus? It offers you the choice of 7 locations.
You may be looking for offshore servers, or maybe you just have a very specific target audience. These 7 locations make sure both you and your audience get peak performance.
The available locations for now are:
- Turkey
- Georgia
- Germany
- UK
- France
- Finland
- And Netherlands
Do note that the locations you get depend on the server type you go for. Not all server locations are available for all server type.
Comparatively, even some of the most reputed companies do not provide as many options, do they?
Free migrations
It’s possible you already have a website hosted with some other host. In case you wish to migrate to WorldBus, they do it for free!
It sure isn’t a massive “wow” feature. If you already own a site you probably do know how to migrate your site.
Free SSL certificate
While this too isn’t a very unique or rare feature, not all hosts offer this.
Now, without the SSL you’ll probably never rank on Google. Moreover, Google would show warning signs to each visitor which would massively drive down your audience.
WorldBus does offer a free SSL certificate (from Let’s Encrypt). It’s not only free but also pre-installed when you install WordPress.
.GE free domain
This isn’t a site-wide offer. However, at times, WorldBus does offer promotions that grant you free domains.
As of now (February 2023) they’ve a special “free hosting with domain” offer. If you register a .GE domain, you get a year worth of free shared server!
I know, it’s generally the other way round. But hey, the point is, you’re getting one of these two things for free and that’s big.
Free 40Gbps DDoS protection
WorldBus takes care of your security as well.
You get free DDoS protection up to 40Gbps for free on most plans, especially shared.
You can also opt for higher protection but that could cost extra.
But hey, unless you’ve got some real enemies, I’m pretty sure 40Gbps is decent protection, isn’t it?
Basic speed test
I generally put all my servers through a few tests. This basic test is a simple Pingdom test.
It tells me how fast the site loads. Do note that this test depends heavily on a site’s content (code, content, graphics, etc.) and hence may not be the same for everyone.
Anyway, I got impressive results from most locations for my WorldBus site.
The above result is from Germany, which is the same as my server location.
Just to get an objective view, I selected a really distant location (Japan, Tokyo), the site loaded in 1.55 seconds. It’s still impressive considering the distance.
As Google says, anything below 2 second is desirable and that’s exactly what I got.
Server Response Time (SRT) test
Well, as I just said ,the above test was heavily dependent on my site’s content.
So, let’s get a more objective, universal view on the server speed?
The SRT is basically the amount of time the server needs to respond to a browser’s request.
In other words, if this is slow, your website would be slow.
Well, here’s the SRT for my site from multiple locations:
Now 6ms is just IMPRESSIVE! However, that’s expected considering I’m on their shared server which is in Germany.
But then, even the highest time is just 301ms which too is pretty acceptable considering the location!
In a nutshell, I don’t think you’d face massive problems as far as server speed goes.
WorldBus hosting pricing plans and refund policy
Of course, after all the bells and whistles, it all comes down to the pricing plans, doesn’t it?
The plans depend on the server types (obviously).
However, I’ll just list the entry-price (cheapest server) for all categories. If you want higher specs you can always go for the more expensive ones. But, it’s the entry-price that decides if it’s within or out of your budget, doesn’t it?
- Shared servers start at $1.99/month
- VPS Starts at $12.99/month
- Cloud servers will cost you $17.99/month minimum.
- Dedicated server start at $64.99/month.
Now, comparatively, I’d say the entry-points are pretty decent. Wouldn’t you? I mean $1.99 is as low as we can expect it to go, isn’t it?
The best part? There’s a 30-day refund policy on all packages (except domains and dedicated servers).
This means, unless you’re absolutely sure of the services being offered, you do not have to pay.
Bitcoin and fiat payments
Of course you can purchase WorldBus services using traditional modes of payments such as cards, PayPal etc.
However, it also supports Cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin) for payment. This does offer you some privacy as far as your financial transactions go.
They even offer local payment modes in some cases!
Do note that WorldBus isn’t an “anonymous web server”. Meaning, they require real name, address and other details when signing up.
Acceptable Use Policy
Considering this is a hosting review, it’s only fair we go through their AUP before signing off, isn’t it?
WorldBus is actually a lot more lenient than most other hosts out there.
Some controversial things it allows (on it dedicated servers) that most other hosts do not allow include:
- Tor relays
- And Video streaming
Also, any content removal request is only entertained when it comes directly from Dutch authorities.
Now, the list of “not accepted” content is pretty long (but reasonable).
So, unless you’re trying to host something outright illegal, I’m guessing you’d be fine. Wouldn’t you?
24×7 live-chat, phone, Telegram & E-mail support
There are a dozen things that can go wrong with any server out there. It helps to have a live-chat that’s available round the clock, doesn’t it?
WorldBus has a 24X7 live-chat that helps you out with any issue. Now if I’m being honest, the initial contact does take a bit of time (about 2-4 minutes). However, once a representative is assigned to you, the replies arrive in less than a minute.
The staff is helpful and not “robotic”. They “talk” instead of sending you official, formal replies or links to solutions.
They even have a contact number you can use to get in touch directly!
Of course, you can also get in touch via E-mail but it’ll obviously be slower than live-chat.
WorldBus review- Final verdict
So, is WorldBus the best host out there? Well, that’s not a claim I’m qualified-enough to make.
However, I would say it satisfies everything you may need from a host. Especially, for a $1.99 price tag its features are more than impressive.
The support is impressive, 7 server locations, free migrations/SSL certificates and everything does add up, doesn’t it?
For now, I’d say why don’t you go give it a try? Its 30-day refund policy ensures you do not pay unless you verify that everything I’ve mentioned on this WorldBus review is the truth!