2023 Year in Review – InMotion Hosting

As 2023 comes to an end, it’s the perfect time to reflect on the milestones, challenges, and triumphs that have defined the past twelve months for InMotion Hosting. 

From our technological innovations to strategic partnerships, and the unwavering dedication of our team, we’ll explore how the company has continued to excel in delivering top-notch services to our clients.

• Innovation and Growth at InMotion Hosting
  • Updates to our Current Plans
  • Opening of our Brand New Data Center in Amsterdam
  • Introduction of Platform InMotion
  • Introduction of Minecraft Gaming Servers
  • Monarx Security Options
  • InMotion Hosting Insights Newsletter
  • Most Read Articles
  • Awards
• Industry Updates
  • Web Hosting Industry Updates
  • WordPress
  • Drupal
  • Magento
• Community
  • Customer Satisfaction
  • Community Engagement
  • Rise Against Hunger
  • Habitat for Humanity
• Final Thoughts
• References

Innovation and Growth at InMotion Hosting

At InMotion Hosting, we understand that the web hosting landscape is in a perpetual state of evolution.

To meet the changing needs of our clients, we believe in proactively pushing boundaries, exploring new horizons, and implementing the latest technological advancements.

Below, we cover some of the most important updates in our company in 2023.

Updates to our Current Plans

As an ever-evolving corporation, InMotion Hosting strives to provide customers with top-of-the-line technology and hardware. In 2023 we made multiple updates to our current plans to better support our clients. 

Upgrades to Dedicated Servers

InMotion Hosting boosted its Dedicated Hosting line by introducing the Aspire and CC-3000 plans.

Our Aspire Dedicated plan is a budget-friendly, yet powerful server. This plan has 16GB of DDR3 RAM, 1TB SSD, Intel® Xeon® E3-1246 v3*, and 1 Gbps of unmetered Bandwidth. Aspire is a great choice for companies interested in purchasing their first Dedicated server. 

On the other hand, our CC-3000 plan is a robust commercial-grade Dedicated server designed to meet all of your enterprise needs. These servers boast an impressive 512GB DDR4 RAM, 32 Cores/64 Thread, and up to 10Gbps of unmetered bandwidth, making it our most powerful plan yet.

Along with the introduction of these new plans, the rest of the Dedicated server lineup also received more SSD storage, increased backup storage, and unmetered bandwidth.

Reseller Hosting NVMe Upgrades

Reseller Hosting plans also got a major upgrade this year with the introduction of NVMe storage and our R-4000N plan.

The R-4000N plan includes 100 cPanel licenses, 5 Dedicated IPs, 300GB NVMe, and Unlimited Bandwidth.  

Our R-2000N and R-3000N plans also got a performance boost with  NVMe hard drive storage.

Hosting Plus Access to our Shared WordPress Hosting Plans

Finally, our cPanel-based Shared WordPress Hosting plans were upgraded with Hosting Plus – giving customers Python, Node.JS, Ruby, and GIT version control.

Opening of our Brand New Data Center in Amsterdam

In May 2023, InMotion Hosting opened its first  Data Center in the European Union. This expansion brought Shared plans with our cutting-edge NVMe hardware to the EU.

As an employee-owned company committed to unparalleled service and reliability, we take immense pride in owning and operating all of our data centers.

This expansion into the EU is a testament to our unwavering dedication to offering top-notch hosting solutions.

Furthermore, in September all available plans at InMotion Hosting were added to this new expansion, allowing users across Europe to get access to our award-winning hosting services. 

Keep an eye out for more exciting news about our EU expansion to come in the future.

Introduction of Platform InMotion

In August 2023, InMotion Hosting unveiled its latest product, Platform InMotion (Platform i). 

InMotion Hosting’s new WordPress Hosting plans combine powerful VPS hosting with time-saving maintenance tools in an all-in-one platform. 

Platform InMotion makes it easy to create, manage, and deploy websites to high-performance VPS optimized for WordPress. Behind each server is our custom UltraStack configuration, Redis, and other caching technologies to provide fast and reliable hosting.

Partnership with freeCodeCamp

In conjunction with the release of Platform i, InMotion Hosting had the opportunity to partner with W3 Total Cache ^[1] and freeCodeCamp to bring users The Ultimate Guide to Optimizing WordPress Performance ^[2].

This guide is a 90 minute course to kickstart your website optimization journey. And, thanks to freeCodeCamp it is also available on YouTube!

Introduction of Minecraft Gaming Servers

At the start of September, we also introduced our Minecraft Server hosting as an option for gamers to host games on a secure web host’s platform.

Minecraft server hosting plans are driven by NVMe SSDs and can support any number of players. Minecraft players can also take advantage of powerful features, including:

• Unlimited plugins and mods
• Automatic backups
• Support for Java and Bedrock Editions
• Dedicated server resources

InMotion Hosting’s Minecraft Servers mark the first step towards more gaming server options.  Currently, only specialized providers and very few traditional web hosts offer game servers.

Monarx Security Options

We are proud to use Monarx security in our Shared Servers, and are happy to announce that our VPS Hosting customers can now protect their servers with Monarx as well!

Monarx Security is a top-notch anti-malware solution that safeguards websites and applications developed using PHP and other programming languages. With its comprehensive threat detection and prevention system, Monarx Security protects a wide range of threats from web shells to mailers.

VPS users can now upgrade your server’s protection with the Monarx Add-on via the AMP marketplace.

InMotion Hosting Insights Newsletter

In May of 2023, InMotion Hosting launched the first issue of our Insights Newsletter. Our new monthly newsletter was made for those interested in industry and company updates.

Since its first publication, the newsletter has garnered quite an audience. It has amassed over 11,000 reads via email and nearly 2,000 subscribers on LinkedIn as of November 2023.

If you’d like to learn more about company news, the hosting industry, and more, subscribe to our monthly newsletter!

Most Read Articles

Whether you’re creating your first WordPress website or looking to optimize, we strive to give you the tools to succeed.

Here are some of the top-performing articles in 2023:

Top 10 Support Center Articles of 2023

1. MySQL 1064 Error: You have an error in your SQL syntax
2. How to Create a MySQL Database Using CLI & cPanel
3. How to Install Let’s Encrypt SSL on Ubuntu with Certbot
4. How to Connect to a Database with MySQL Workbench
5. How to Add SSH Keys to Your GitHub Account
6. How to Align and Float Images with CSS
7. How to Set Up a 301 Redirect in .htaccess
8. How to Open a Port in UFW
9. How to Stop and Disable Firewall
10. How to Create Your Own Git Server

Top 10 Blog Articles of 2023

1. 3 Free Email Providers with a Custom Domain
2. The Most Popular Ubuntu Text Editors (Ranked and Analyzed)
3. PSUs: Understanding Computer Power Supply Units
4. 5 Mastodon Desktop Clients
5. Silence is Golden: Unraveling a Mysterious WordPress Comment
6. How to Install Your Meta Pixel on WordPress
7. What Is Whitespace and Why Is It Important?
8. Is Clapper the Next TikTok?
9. 5 of the Best Free Table of Contents WordPress Plugins
10. Best WordPress Accessibility Plugin: Top 5 Free Options

Awards

We’re proud of the work we do at InMotion Hosting and are honored to have the following awards in 2023:

• Great Place to Work: For the third consecutive year, InMotion Hosting was recognized as a Great Place to Work by our employees!
• PC Mag Editor’s Choice Award
• G2 Awards: We’re thrilled to win many 2023 G2 awards and recognition as a year-round leader in web hosting!
• Rated Excellent by Trustpilot
• Hosting Advice:
  • Top 10 Cloud Hosting Providers
  • Top 10 Reseller Hosting Providers
  • Top 25 WordPress Hosting Providers

Industry Updates

InMotion Hosting was not the only company to cross milestones in 2023. We value the notable advancements witnessed in the web hosting industry throughout the year. In this regard, we have dedicated a section to spotlight some of the noteworthy achievements within the industry.

Web Hosting Industry Updates

Per Statista the global web hosting industry is expected to rise with the demand for businesses to have an established online presence.

As of November 2023, the total amount of revenue generated by the web hosting industry as a whole was $124.8 billion US dollars  ^[3]. Furthermore, it’s expected the market will have a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)  of 22.55% by 2028.

Based on these studies, the US is projected to finish 2023 with $45.7 billion in revenue, the largest market worldwide.   

The current web hosting market can also be broken down into some of its larger players such as AWS and Google Cloud. However, a majority (46.5%) of the market is made up of smaller and medium-sized web hosting providers.

Note: On the chart above, InMotion Hosting would fall under the “other” category.

Based on Statista’s latest findings, North America has remained a competitive region for web hosting, but it may soon be competing with other global companies:

“One trend that is emerging in this [North American] market is the use of cloud hosting, which offers greater scalability and flexibility than traditional hosting solutions. In Europe, there is a growing demand for managed hosting services, where the hosting provider takes care of all aspects of website management, including security, updates, and backups. In Asia, the market is still developing, but there is a growing demand for web hosting services as more businesses in the region establish their online presence.” – Statista

Thus, with the growing need for online businesses and the rise of AI, we expect the web hosting market to also keep growing.

AI and Web Hosting

Since the introduction of ChatGPT in 2022 ^[4], Artificial Intelligence has changed life as we know it. 

The web hosting industry was quick to adopt the new changes proposed by AI technology and its impact on website creation can be seen across multiple platforms.

• AI for Development: Tools such as GitHub’s Copilot ^[5], Microsoft Power Apps ^[6], and Google Vertex ^[7] showcase the growing interest in coding and the creation of products with AI assistance. These advancements have also made the testing and development process faster by accurately detecting bugs in the working code.
• AI for Security: Companies such as Monarx are training AI models to better detect and mitigate malware and other threats.
• AI for Web Design: AI is streamlining the process for web designers to deliver high-quality sites to their clients. Thus impacting the creation of UX journies, image enhancement, or simply adding a chatbot plugin to your WordPress website.

AI has significantly effected web hosting services by improving efficiency, security, and scalability.

Automated systems can dynamically adjust resources based on traffic fluctuations, ensuring optimal performance and preventing downtime.

The evolving relationship between AI and web technologies is not only shaping the digital landscape but also providing a more seamless and responsive online experience for users and businesses alike.

Cloud Computing

Cloud hosting is the process of renting cloud server space to build and run your applications and store data and development tools in an online environment. 

This is a great resource for corporations to maintain their data as it removes the need for on-site infrastructure installation and maintenance.

In a study of over 700 corporations, Flexera ^[8] researched the current landscape for public and private cloud computing. The top reasons companies gravitate towards these solutions in 2023 include costs, security, and lack of resources or expertise.

Flexera also highlighted that most current corporations use a mixture of both, private and public, cloud systems. 

The International Data Corporation (IDC) projects Cloud computing to reach $663 Billion in 2023, an increase of 20.0% over 2022 ^[9]. Because of this, data analysts predict a CAGR increase of 17-20% for the cloud computing market in the coming years.

With the expected growth of cloud computing, more players will likely enter the field, prompting businesses to shift resources to cloud software.

Trends for Business Owners

Now that you have an overall understanding of the current market trends in web hosting, here are some top factors to keep in mind as a business owner looking to build a brand online in 2024.

• Think Mobile First – As of April 2023, mobile devices accounted for nearly 54% of the global pageviews ^[10]. 
• Don’t Fear AI – Artificial intelligence tools can streamline your website design or management process.
• Secure Your Website – Stay up to date with your technology updates. For example, add a security tool such as Monarx, and ensure constant backups of your website and server.
• Keep Customer Service in Mind – If you’re comparing web hosting companies, consider all the ways you can communicate with your hosting provider. Whether through phone, chat, or email ticket, you want to ensure you can find help in your preferred format.
• Consider your Content Management System(s) – Certain applications and resources will vary on the CMS software you use. So, research the tools you have available before planning your website on a specific platform.

WordPress

Throughout the year, WordPress witnessed significant updates, enhancements, and milestones, solidifying its position as a preferred platform for website creation and management.

In 2023 there were 3 major releases under the CMS:

Version updates were not all the milestones that the WordPress project crossed, though. The CMS had multiple in-person events this year.

Celebrating 20 Years of WordPress

In May 2023, WordPress celebrated 20 Years as CMS. The company highlighted this event by sending swag to WordPress Meetup groups across the globe. 

As members of the Hampton Roads community, InMotion Hosting helped hold the #WP20 celebration in its Virginia Beach office.

To keep supporting the WordPress community, InMotion Hosting is also part of Five for the Future ^[13], a program that helps develop the WordPress project by dedicating five percent of our resources to the open source project.

WordCamp EU and US

In 2023 WordPress saw some of the largest turnouts at their WordCamp events. InMotion Hosting had the pleasure of sponsoring and attending both, WordCamp EU and WordCamp US.

• WordCamp EU took place in Athens, Greece, on July 8-10, 2023. 
• WordCamp US took place in National Harbor, Maryland on August 24-26

If you’ve never attended a WordCamp event, we created a full video on what to expect and how to navigate the conferences.

WooCommerce

In early November 2023, WooCommerce rebranded its company as Woo ^[14], keeping its main open source product under the WooCommerce name, but allowing the brand to offer different services to customers.

Woo Express

The organization now offers users the ability to purchase hosting services through WordPress.com which is under the same Automattic brand. These plans, known as Woo Express, allow users to have access to a variety of tools and services at a premium price.

• Essential Plan: Starts at $36/mo
• Performance Plan: Starts at $70/mo

High-Performance Order Storage for WooCommerce

Another noteworthy update to the Woo interface was the addition of High-Performance Order Storage (HPOS) on WooCommerce. These changes were set into motion in 2022. Since October 2023 HPOS has been implemented as a default option on all WooCommerce installations.

HPOS improves the usage of the WooCommerce plugin, by increasing the scalability, reliability, and simplicity of stores created with Woo. We expect to see more changes develop in 2024.

Drupal

The Drupal community also celebrated new initiatives and upcoming changes to the CMS in 2023.

Dries Buytaert, founder of Drupal, shared his excitement for the growth of the company and its focus on the innovation of the platform.

For instance, Buytaert plans to introduce Gutenberg, the block-building platform for WordPress, into the Drupal ecosystem and allowing users to build their websites with this technology.

Automattic donated €20,000 to the Drupal Association ^[15] and sent Gutenberg Experts to mobilize this effort.

DrupalCon Lile

In November, Drupal held its European Convention in Lille, France, where further plans for the CMS were revealed. 

The State of Drupal Keynote for November, held by Dries Buytaert, took users through a fantasy realm that explained the growth and evolution of Drupal and how the software is learning from its competitors.

Some of the long-term plans for Drupal announced in DrupalCon Lille included:

• Focusing on Marketing – Taking the shape of three sorcerers in the fairytale, Buytaert announced the introduction of the Marketing Committee, a team dedicated to building a new marketing strategy to refresh the brand.
  • This new strategy will include the design and launch of a new website for Drupal.
• Advocacy for the Open Web – Reiterating in their July post, Drupal published its Open Web Manifesto ^[16] outlining the steps it will take to create a safer and inclusive web experience.
• Sustainability – The CMS also brought a spotlight to the sustainability of the web, and how green coding has become an important factor in reducing energy consumption and waste.

Magento

Since its acquisition in 2018, the Adobe Commerce team has made strides to continue to support the active Magento Open Source community.

November marked a full year since the Adobe team introduced the Magento Open Source Community Prioritization Process ^[17] as a way for the community and organization to communicate and decide what types of changes should be implemented in the code source. 

Here are some of the improvements brought to Magento and Adobe Commerce introduced in 2023:

• Payment Services – Improved payment systems and technology for Magento eCommerce websites
• Connections to Adobe Sensei – Adobe Sensei is Adobe’s AI program. With Adobe Sensei users can add more
  • Product Recommendations – Creates better product recommendations based on your user’s actions and interests
  • Live Search – Improves search queries and filter capabilities for best-tailored results

You can keep track of Adobe Commerce and Magento Open Source releases on the Adobe Experience League website ^[18]. 

Community

At InMotion Hosting, we strongly believe in the impact of community. Our dedication to contributing to our community is rooted in our core values, and we recognize that engagement and collaboration are essential to continuing to thrill our customers.

We see our customers for the pioneers, creative minds, and business leaders they are, and remain dedicated to supporting their endeavors.

Customer Satisfaction

The trust of our customers to host their online endeavors is important to us. Our commitment to providing exceptional service extends beyond mere hosting – it’s about fostering lasting relationships built on reliability, support, and continuous improvement.

In 2023 InMotion Hosting received over 500 5-star reviews on Trustpilot. Below are some of the repeating words our customers use when describing our services.

Community Engagement

At InMotion Hosting, giving back to our local community is an integral part of our “We Care” and “We Cultivate” core values. 

We recognize that our success is linked to the well-being of the communities we operate in and therefore we actively seek opportunities to contribute locally.

Rise Against Hunger

In March 2023, the InMotion Hosting Virginia office held an event for local team members to participate in a meal-packing event for Rise Against Hunger.

Rise Against Hunger ^[19] is a non-profit organization that focuses on bringing food to some of the most isolated communities in the world that are designated as “serious” per the Global Hunger Index.

In only four hours, the employees at the InMotion Hosting Virginia location helped pack 10,000 meal packs for communities in need. 

Habitat for Humanity

Habitat for Humanity ^[20] is a non-profit organization helping people in need all across the globe build their dream homes at affordable prices with the help of volunteers.

Members of the InMotion Hosting family were proud to participate in building a home with Habitat for Humanity of South Hampton Roads for the second year in a row.

To learn more about how InMotion Hosting gives back to the community through our community engagement programs, you can watch our YouTube video on this event.

The 2023 Year in Review – Final Thoughts

In 2023, InMotion Hosting demonstrated progress, innovation, and unwavering dedication to our customers.

The introduction of our EU Data Center, plan updates, and new services emphasized our commitment to leading the web hosting industry.

As we say goodbye to 2023, we look forward to a dedicated pursuit of excellence, grateful for the trust placed in us by our valued customers.

If you are as excited as we are about the future of AI software and Cloud computing, or simply want to know what we’ll be doing next in the company, follow us on social media, and sign up to get updates on our blog content.

References

1. “W3 Total Cache – WordPress Performance Plugin” by BoldGrid
2. “The Ultimate Guide to High Performance WordPress” by freeCodeCamp, published August 15, 2023
3. “Web Hosting – Worldwide” Market Insights by Statista, last updated in Nov 2023
4. “Introducing ChatGPT” by OpenAI, published in November 30, 2022
5. “GitHub Copilot · Your AI pair programmer · GitHub” by GitHub
6. “Microsoft Power Apps – Build Apps with AI” by Microsoft
7. “Innovate faster with enterprise-ready generative AI—enhanced by Gemini” by Google Cloud
8. “2023 State of the Cloud Report” by Flexera
9. “Worldwide Public Cloud Services Revenues Grew 19.2% Year Over Year in the First Half of 2023, According to IDC Tracker” by IDC, published December 11, 2023
10. “Desktop vs Mobile vs Tablet Market Share Worldwide” by Statcounter Global Stats
11. “WordPress 6.4 Shirley” by WordPress.org, published November 7, 2023
12. “Introducing Block Hooks for dynamic blocks” by WordPress.org, published October 15, 2023
13. “Five for the Future” initiative by WordPress.org
14. “Say hello to Woo.com” by Woo, published October 31, 2023
15. “State of Drupal presentation (June 2023)” by Drupal, published June 13, 2023
16. “Open Web Manifesto” by Drupal
17. “Community Prioritization Process Update – November 2023” by the Adobe DevBlog, published October 30, 2023
18. “Released versions | Adobe Commerce” by Adobe
19. “Rise Against Hunger” by Rise Against Hunger
20. “About Habitat for Humanity” by Habitat for Humanity