Are you currently hosting your Word Press website through Hostgator? Have you experienced downtimes lately with them or perhaps blackouts on more than one occasion?
What about getting tired of sitting and waiting for a response from a support ticket, that only comes 3-4 DAYS LATER? Any luck with trying out their chat lines?
Is Hostgator any good for your Word Press Hosting? There are lots of folks that are losing faith in this company that once used to be a great and reliable platform.
Let’s examine what the situation is like today and see if this is a worthwhile investment for our online website campaigns.
HOSTGATOR AND SITELOCK- The ATTACK On Your Wallet And Your Website
2014 was a really hard-hitting year for tons of Hostgator customers. These clients lost millions as a result of 4 significant blackouts, some even experiencing serious DDOs on their hard-working sites.
Fast forward to 2016, things seem to take an even more ‘sinister‘ turn in terms of Hostgator security services and support.
SITELOCK, a web security firm came on-board into partnership with Hostgator. Their sole purpose is to offer security services to web hosting customers. Was this good news for Hostgator clients or not?
Yikes! This poor guy was asked to ‘fork-out’ 3 TIMES more than what his hosting fee was, on 50+ websites that he owned, to get the so-called ‘security’ issue rectified.
And check this out,
Does $99 a month sound like a charitable deal to you?
It seems to me, that it becomes common practice as a Hostgator client that you will be more prone to receiving e-mails or phone calls, warning you about “Malware” issues that do NOT exist at all on your site in the FIRST PLACE!
These are scare tactics employed to get you to cough up some ‘dough’ to sort the problem out.
In the above instance, Hostgator admitted that there indeed was no malware at all on his site, in an effort to silence him. Read Dumitru Brinzan’s full story here.
The Packages Of HOSTGATOR Hosting- Is It Worth It?
There are various different hosting plans for one to choose from.
Let’s look at the Word Press hosting as an example.
As you can see, the option plans have fairly low entry prices.
Why is this so?
This goes without saying, that one must look deeper into the quality of the product, especially if you are serious about the future of your online business and have the need of having it to run smoothly, 24hours a day.
Let’s quickly look at the support received from Hostgator to customers, in order to understand my point.
The Support and Services at HOSTGATOR
Lots of unhappy customers mean that something is not adding up.
The reason as to why the hosting is so cheap(and of poor quality), is because your website is crammed on a server with 1,000’s of other domains. This tends to slow down your site.
Secondly, they are not even properly monitored which leaves security holes, making your site more vulnerable to attacks and data integrity issues.
Furthermore, it’s really not that easy to host a Word Press website along with other CMS(content management systems), like Joomla, Drupla or Magento. The platform must be designed in a way that is specific to hosting Word Press websites.
Remember, if your website is loading slow, or open to attacks, or having malware placed on it, ultimately it is your rankings that will suffer from Google and the other search engines.
I think that it’s safe to say, that compromising quality for volume is not a good idea when it comes to offering hosting services. Wouldnt you agree?
Now, you can see why the price is so cheap!
⇒WHAT IS THE BEST HOSTING FOR WORDPRESS, LET ME SHOW YOU⇐
Do HOSTGATOR Offer Back Up for Your site?
Yes. I decided to log into their live chat and enquire more about the backup options.From the reply I received, the backing up of your site is FREE but is ONLY done Once a week.
As you may have guessed, choosing the basic option of having DAILY BACK-UPS, would cost you more. This option is $19.95yr.
Their top of the range back-up would set you a hefty $239.
Even with this option, is there a guarantee that your peace of mind is assured regarding the safe-keeping of your important files and that nothing will be deleted?
What do I DO?
Whom do I turn to, to get RELIABLE, SPECIALIZED WORD PRESS HOSTING?
The Solution To Top Notch Hosting
Let me offer you a solution. It’s not going to be a cheap, flimsy or mediocre choice, but it will give you the quality that you are after.
In addition, everything that you need to start an online business(if you so choose), is included along with your hosting. Here is a couple of them:
- Awesome and Easy to Use Website Builder
- Fully Redundant Daily Back-ups
- Up to Date Internet Marketing/SEO/PPC training
- Advice and Mentoring from Top Experts in the Field
- Fully supported and Managed 100% Hosting
- Powerful keyword research tool
- Ask any questions to a Community of thousands of members Ready to Help You.
I am referring to the Wealthy Affiliate Platform, that gives you this access to the hosting as well as, 25 of your own domains and 25 FREE websites using their SITERUBIX platform.
Check out their STARTER MEMBERSHIP PROGRAM, which is completely FREE!, that gives you 2 FREE WEBSITES, and an insightful look at the amazing training and tools within the Online University.
It’s time for your hosting company to ensure the efficient running of your site and NOT be the reason for its failure…
Other options, for reliable hosting platforms on my recommendation list, would be
- Pressable.com
- WPEngine.com
- Pagely.com
Conclusion
It seemed that after the new takeover, the service and reputation of HG is on a downward spiral. Having said that, I don’t doubt that there are some folks who are happy with being at Hostgator.
In my opinion, it’s just a question of what you want. If you opt for ‘low-ticket’ hosting packages then at the end of the day, that’s what you will get.
Is HOSTGATOR any good? You have seen some of the folk’s experiences. Now I would like to hear from you.
Did you sign up for their services? Was your experience a positive one or not? Would you recommend it to others?
I would love to hear your feedback, opinion or views.
Thanks for reading.
You have been a star!
Kind Regards and Take Care
Roopesh
I think these types of reviews are so important. So many people are wasting so much money on passive income ideas that just don’t cut it.
I’m please to note that you have informed your readers which platform is the best one. I have been with the Wealthy Affiliate ‘university’ now for nearly a year. In fact my subscription is due soon and I will definitely be renewing it, no hesitation.
I always like to comment on this type of review because people who are thinking of starting an internet business, need to know which is the best platform to join and folks, this is it! Ches
Hi Ches
I think that it’s good to let people know what is out there.A lot of times, when we are confronted with things, we think that that’s the ‘right one’ and nothing can be better.
This is far from the truth.As I was looking for a way, to earn a living online , I came across a MLM opportunity and thought to myself, this is right one for me.Then, low and behold, I read a review of Wealthy Affiliate and ever since, I had been hooked to it.
Thanks for stopping by
Hey Roop,
Holy Cr@p!, what the hell man…..
This is a nightmare and I’m so glad I never hosted with these guys. It’s always a guessing game and nobody really knows the good from the bad. The only time you know is when ‘IT’ hits the fan and your world turns to c#@p. Although I have to say, I was suspicious of these guys when it came to renewing a domain…they didn’t make it easy. I guess I made the right choice.
Thanks for the cracking expose mate…keep it up
carl
Hey Carl
You are most welcome. Stay safe and let me know if there is anything that I can help with.
Regards
Roopesh
Great review on Hostgator and whether it is any good Roopesh!
I have previously used Hostgator for one of my websites, and although I found their price pretty reasonable, I did find that my sire ran fairly slowly.
I use Wealthy Affiliate and site-rubix to host all of my websites now, their hosting is fantastic, better value and their support is brilliant.
I can’t go past them for all that they offer… TOTAL value!
~John
Hello John
I guess that for some folks the experience went smoother at Hostgator compared to others, really sorry for your encounter. Yes. I agree with you that the hosting at Wealthy Affiliate is exceptional and with all the training and amazing education material that is available, I find it worth my every penny.
I am glad that your site is now running smoothly, at the end of the day, that is what its all about.
Thanks for your comment.
Regards
Roopesh
I had this happen too. Have been a long time customer of Hostgator & currently have two accounts. One began the sitelock harassment. I mean multiple emails and CALLS daily. We unsubscribed, asked them to stop, nothing. In the meantime I did get Sucuri to scan my sites and nothing was on them. I complained to Hostgator, we went back and forth with their canned responses. Within 24 hours all my sites were infected with Malware and Hostgator blocked my access to them so I can’t even remove the problem. Another request for support and had someone trying to help me. The next morning I got a response from someone else apologizing for the last HELPFUL person saying he was wrong and the only thing I could do at this point was pay Sitelock to remove it. I feel blackmailed or held hostage by them. It’s repulsive behavior.
Hi Gina
Terribly sorry to hear about your ordeal. It’s so sad how companies treat people who are trying to build their own online business. This is the last thing that you need. Hosting should be hassle free and the company that you hosting through should be on your side protecting your hard work, not attacking it!
Thanks for coming forward and sharing your story.
Wish you everything of the best
Regards
Roopesh
Good to know about Hostgator,
I use your recommended option of Wealthy Affiliate and have been happy since day 1. 1 Price covers everything you need and up to 50 securely hosted websites that do not get hacked. I am sure there are many people who are happy with Hostgator but this review brings attention to the customer service side which looks like it needs improvement.
Thanks for sharing this information-Great Review
You are very welcome. I am glad that it has helped you out.
Take Care
Roopesh