Hetzner Review – Web, Managed, Dedicated, and Cloud Hosting

With the way things are going for individual publishers and bloggers, most of whom already suffer from low organic traffic and monthly earnings, things may get even worse. To lower their expenses, many seek more affordable web hosting options that won’t hurt their performance and stability, but is Hetzner the solution?

What is Hetzner and what is it offering?

First and foremost, Hetzner is a German-based web hosting company and data-centre operator headquartered in Gunzenhausen, Bavaria. Currently, Hetzner is operating in multiple regions, including Germany, Finland, Singapore, and the US, serving both businesses and private customers.

For individuals, such as website owners, bloggers, artists, publishers, etc., there are many solutions that Hetzner is offering when it comes to hosting your websites:

• Shared Web Hosting: Best for new and small websites, portfolios, landing pages, etc.
• Virtual Private Servers (VPS) / Cloud Instances: “Cloud” offerings where you spin up virtual machines, especially great for people looking for extra performance and resources.
• Dedicated Servers: This is where you rent an entire physical machine and you have full control over it, starting by choosing your operating system and control panel (designed for advanced users).
• Colocation Services: If you have your own hardware, you can move it to Hetzner’s data centre and safely place it there.
• Cloud: The newest and most modern way to host your websites or apps.
• Auction Servers: Older dedicated hardware offered at lower prices (in some cases) via the company.
• Domain Registration, SSL Certificates, and Storage solutions (e.g., “Storage Boxes”) are also available for purchase.

Like most other web hosting companies, Hetzner is offering the most common solutions that you may need to safely host your website, and it does that by giving you affordable choices that won’t empty your pockets.

And if you’re patient and a bit lucky, you may get yourself a really good and powerful server at an extremely low cost, so keep an eye out for new auctions and offerings.

The biggest problem with Hetzner: Account termination and support

I first heard about Hetzner a little more than a decade ago. Back then, things were different, especially when it came to web hosting, and when I first tried one of their VPS servers, my account was terminated without a clear or solid reason.

Even when I contacted Hetzner’s support, they were unable to help me, even after days of replying to their messages and sending all the information they wanted to verify my existence.

Little did I know, there were many people who also reported the exact same thing over and over again, especially on platforms such as TrustPilot.com. To this day, there are still people reporting the same problem.

I wanted to see if I’d still have a problem, after all those years, so I signed up and got myself a simple web hosting plan. I wanted to test the performance, the company’s interface and control panel, and, most importantly, if I was going to get myself banned again.

Two months have now passed, and my web hosting account is still working like a charm, and I have had no problems whatsoever with my account getting restricted or terminated, so I guess that’s a huge improvement.

As of this moment of writing, I haven’t faced any issues in order to call out the technical support, but considering all the bad reviews Hetzner has received because of their support, it doesn’t look like a place where non-skilled folks should enter – but I may be wrong.

Hetzner’s problematic billing model

Instead of giving you the option to pay for your web hosting plan or server annually or for even more years, Hetzner is following the monthly billing model for most of their services. That means that, each month, you’ll be getting an invoice telling you how much you have to pay and by when.

For some of their services, such as the Cloud solutions, they may get billed on an hourly basis, but again, you’ll learn how much you’ll have to pay once you receive the invoice.

Now, I get that for some folks out there, this billing model is exactly what they need, but for me, a guy who’s constantly getting lost on mountains with his hard-trail bike, going camping and long hikes, or suddenly leaving the country for some new experiences, I’ve found myself many times in places where there’s no internet connection.

I can’t help but wonder, what if I had to pay, but I was unable to do so because I left for a week of camping somewhere with no signal whatsoever? I mean, I do have 27 websites currently running, many that generate a good amount of income each month, and some with years upon years of work. Sure, I keep backups daily, but that’s not the real problem.

Being able to pay a fixed price and have my mind at ease would be wonderful, but I guess the monthly billing model is more flexible for a company that may want to increase the monthly cost of their services in the blink of an eye without losing money from those already bought something for the whole year (or more).

Understanding the difference between Hetzner’s KonsoleH and Console

The first time I visited Hetzner’s website after all those years and signed up for a new account, I got lost. I could see that there were two different control panels, one named ‘KonsoleH‘ and one named ‘Console‘. But when I purchased a web hosting plan, I could only see it available through the KonsoleH interface.

This is where I learned that Hetzner has two different control panels, both designed to do different things. For example, the KonsoleH is what you use to manage your domains, emails, databases, FTP accounts, cron jobs, WordPress installations, apps, access to your webspace, configure your PHP, SSL, DNS, and backups, and more, depending on the plan.

The Console refers to Hetzner Cloud, and is the place where you create and manage your VPS and Dedicated servers, along with your storage boxes. It’s a control panel specifically designed for users who want to control their cloud servers, set up private networks, firewalls, and floating IPs, run Docker with multiple containers and custom apps, and so much more.

Since I purchased the Webhosting L (a ‘Shared Hosting’ plan), my Console was completely empty, while the KonsoleH was showing everything I ordered.

Setting up a new WordPress site with Hetzner’s KonsoleH

Although a bit outdated, especially in terms of UI, it’s quite easy to install a new WordPress website using the KonsoleH.

Installing 1 WordPress site:

If you’re only going to host one website, follow these instructions:

1. Head over to the Hetzner KonsoleH control panel.
2. Open the Services tab in the left panel and click on WordPress.
3. Click on the “Install WordPress” button.
4. Click “Continue”.
5. Choose the domain you want WordPress to be installed on, add your admin login details, and click on “Save”.

Installing multiple WordPress sites:

If you want to connect multiple domain names and install separate installations:

1. Head over to the Hetzner KonsoleH control panel.
2. Go to Services –> WebFTP.
3. Click on “Open WebFTP“.
4. Create a folder inside the public_html folder with your site’s name (e.g., example if the domain is example.com). Create a folder for each of your domain names.
5. Go back to the KonsoleH –> Services –> WordPress.
6. Choose in which domain you want WordPress to be installed.
7. Add your login details and proceed with installing it.

It should only take less than a minute for Hetzner’s system to complete the installation, and based on your plan, you can have one single website or multiple different installations and domain names.

Reminder: Always keep fresh backups before making any changes or installing any new WordPress sites. In case something goes wrong, you can restore everything with a single click.

2 Months of no issues and downtimes

I’ve been using Hetzner’s services for a little over two months now, and I have to say, I have had no issues or downtimes whatsoever. The website is constantly performing at its highest speeds, loads everything within seconds, and using the Varnish cache is a lifesaver for those with high-traffic websites.

I had a few problems here and there with Hetzner’s KonsoleH interface, and until I figured out that I had to create separate folders for each installation, I broke my WordPress website twice by replacing all of its files and database with a newer installation. There was also that little confusion with the two panels being completely different, but that was resolved quite easily.

The prices for all their plans and servers are so affordable that I feel like I want to buy one more server, even if I don’t really need it (yet). It’s like going to Ikea and not knowing what to buy first (and then setting everything up by yourself, of course). But once you get everything and set them up the way you like, it’s a paradise (and I am not overreacting here).

Being able to run Docker and install apps is another huge benefit for me, as I can manage all my websites, along with NextCloud, all my other self-hosted apps from the same account.

Frequently Asked Questions about Hetzner

My overall thoughts and review

Although Hetzner is currently offering some of the most affordable options I’ve ever seen in my life, and it’s actually powering many third-party web hosting companies that actually rent the company’s servers and offer their own plans, pricing, and support, it’s still a difficult choice when it comes to trust.

Sure, I can get the same dedicated server that I currently own and pay almost half the price that I am paying now, but I prefer paying more than losing my mind because I woke up one morning to see my account suspended or terminated.

I mean, with so many negative reviews about accounts getting terminated without an explanation, and having the same experience from the past, I feel a bit overwhelmed when it comes to just migrating all my sites and my clients there. For me, the safest way is to keep using the company’s services for as long as I can, grab a couple of cloud servers, and see where it goes and how stable everything is.

Other than that, Hetzner is a very solid company with lots of offerings that are hard to pass up, especially when it comes to dedicated servers and storage boxes.