GoDaddy is one of the best hosting and domain registrar you can find. The platform has an uptime percentage of 99.97 percent and a speed of 545 ms on average.
GoDaddy has a basic plan that offers users up to 100 GB of storage space and unmetered bandwidth. You can integrate GoDaddy with more than 125 services with just one-click.
The only bad thing about GoDaddy will charge you a lot more for basically everything – from site migrations to SSL certificates.
GoDaddy Web Hosting Overview
GoDaddy Pros
1. Uptime
GoDaddy could be known for its domain name registration services, but it also offers hosting packages, and they have an excellent uptime of 99.97 percent.
They had some bad times a few months ago where its uptime fluctuated to 99.85 percent. From there, it has been consistent with an uptime of 99.97 percent in the last 24 months.
We tested more than thirty-one other hosting platforms, and we can conclude that GoDaddy is somewhere among the best. So yes, 99.97 percent is still one of the best uptimes.
2. Loading Speed
We will be honest with you. It was unforeseen.
Several years ago, it would be hard to believe that cheap hosting platforms like GoDaddy would be one of the best. But following our tests, GoDaddy has proven that it’s one of the best hosting platforms with a speed of 544 ms.
Fast loading times is a must. Studies now show that slow loading websites can force or drive customers away from your site. And from the look of things, GoDaddy’s speed is excellent.
3. One-Click Install Apps
If you are new to this, you may need a simple website builder, which doesn’t require any coding knowledge and GoDaddy has got your back. GoDaddy has its own web builder that is tailored to your needs.
However, if you are experienced and need something better, GoDaddy still has got your back. You can download several applications with just one-click. This will include content management systems such as Drupal, WordPress, and Joomla.
Apart from that, you can also get developer-friendly tools such as Python, cPanel, multiple versions of PHP, MySQL, as well as CloudLinux.
So you never have to fret because GoDaddy has a wide variety of options that you can choose from.
4. Value for Money
When we tried to look into its cheapest package, we realized that it was way too expensive with minimal features. According to us, it looks like the hosting platform did some U-turn to make things better for its users.
They now have plans as low as $2.99 every month. You don’t even need any discount code to access this.
The best of all is that you will get value for your money even if you go with that cheapest plan. You will get a single website, 100 GB of storage space and unmetered bandwidth.
Look, GoDaddy is even offering a free domain name, as well as a business email during your first year as a GoDaddy customer.
5. Excellent Customer Support
GoDaddy takes pride in excellent customer support 24/7. You can access its knowledge base where you can get quick fixes, phone support, as well as live customer chat.
You will start with a live bot by helping you choose what you need help with, after which you will be connected to a customer support agent to walk you through.
We are convinced that GoDaddy has made significant improvements for the last 24 months with their live customer support. In the past, it used to be unreliable.
Today, we are happy to see that they are very responsive compared to the last few years.
GoDaddy Cons
1. A ton of Upsells
GoDaddy is quick to lose its reputation because of too many upsells. These will shoot your bills, and most customers don’t want this sleazy method of marketing.
GoDaddy will first offer you a hosting plan with the time you are paying up front. That means that you will have to get the three-year package if you want to pay $5.99 every month. A shorter plan will cost you up to $10.99 every month.
The platform will also do its best to make sure that you have seen other services when you are checking out. This is to make sure that you have bought an additional service even if you didn’t intend to.
2. Lack of Essential Features
The other hosting platforms we have tested at least give some offers like free SSL certificates. Such offers are nowadays a must, especially with Google rising to warn users if they are visiting unsecured sites.
The sad news is that GoDaddy doesn’t have any of these offers, which is disadvantageous to most users. For example, if you take a look at GoDaddy’s SSL certificate, you’ll be surprised. Take a look:
- You’ll pay $63.99 for just one website every year and $79.99 yearly when renewing
- You will pay $159.99 every year for many sites and then pay a whopping $199.99 when renewing
- You will pay up to $295.99 every year for all your subdomains and renewal of $369.99
The prices above are insane because, as we have seen, most hosting platforms will give you a free SSL certificate.
3. High Renewal Rates
You will get an Economy plan for $4.33 every month for a total of three years.
However, their packages are almost similar to other hosting platforms to convince you that it’s one of the best hosting platforms around.
For example, the Economy package will be hiked to $8.99 every month when you will be renewing your subscriptions.
There will be no upgrades in terms of performance or anything, but you will be forced to pay more.
4. Confusing Money Refund
If you look at it, you will see that GoDaddy also offers a 30-day money refund. But this is where the nightmare begins.
If you have a plan that’s below a year, you will be required to start asking for your refund within two days. In other words, you only have 48 hours to try out its services.
And the worst bit of it is that you will need to make a phone call to get your refund, which is unprofessional, according to us.
In Conclusion
We still recommend GoDaddy, despite some of the limitations it has.
They have an excellent uptime, which every website owner is looking for. Its initial payment plan is good at first sight.
The problem could only arise when you start adding everything you are buying because of their sleazy upsell marketing tactics.
That said, make sure that you are working with your top priorities before you can choose a hosting plan.