Although GoDaddy is most recognizable as a brand that sells domains, they also offer many of website services, such as email marketing, website theme creation, web security, phone numbers and hosting. It is much cheaper to just buy hosting directly through GoDaddy. However, with the majority of us, the ease of use of WordPress will make it an appealing purchase to buy WordPress hosting through the likes of GoDaddy. This is the question though: should you choose GoDaddy when it comes to purchasing WordPress hosting? From using GoDaddy for a few of my websites for several years, here are the main pros and cons I have accumulated regarding GoDaddy and the WordPress hosting service they offer.
GoDaddy WordPress Hosting Pros
- Inbuilt backups – Although there are many plugins you can install that do the same functionality, I like the fact GoDaddy do this inbuilt to all WordPress hosting packages (since plugins can be inconsistent, crash and where you store the backups might not be as safe and secure as where GoDaddy stores the backups). GoDaddy automatically updates all files in your WordPress hosting package, allowing you to restore all data from any day. I have used this a few times and found it to be very convenient and easy to use.
- Up to date upgrades – I always find GoDaddy automatically upgrading to the latest version of WordPress. As well as this, it is possible to upgrade the php and plugins of your WordPress site through GoDaddy in one click.
- Great customer service – The phone customer service is great. It’s 24/7, where the representatives are always very helpful and friendly. I have used this service many times and have rarely been disappointed, if at all.
GoDaddy WordPress Hosting Cons
- Inconsistent customer service – I know this is contradictory to the above. However, the only criticism to the phone customer service is that, sometimes, the advice given by the representative is not always the same as another representative. For example, some representatives have been really helpful and have many times gone beyond the call of duty, where as others have just ‘stuck to the problem’. It’s a little frustrating I can’t go back to the first representative every time with my website.
- Costly – Compared to the competition, GoDaddy is very expensive for WordPress hosting. This is especially the case when the visitor count of your website increases. GoDaddy packages and their prices are based on the number of monthly visitors, whereas other hosting competitors will allow unlimited visitors.
- Limited live chat – GoDaddy has a very useful live chat that can usually provide all the help that is achieved over the phone, but at the convenience of live chat. The problem with this, though, is that it does not always appear and only appears in certain circumstances! For me, it has only ever appeared when I spend a while browsing what products to buy from GoDaddy.