Web Host Review: Hostgator and Go Daddy

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Reviewing web hosts is hard. There is little to differentiate one from another, and bad reviews can lead to chain reactions from which the web host being reviewed may not recover or may lose money. With the commoditized nature of the business, small differences in service can lead to large differences noticed by observers. This article continues our series of web host reviews.

So far I have reviewed Bluehost (neutral) and Hostnine (negative). Bluehost differentiates itself by offering one single service for all comers. The difference in price derived only from the length of time for which you've signed up for the service. Hostnine offers three basic packages at pretty low prices, and promotes user friendly reseller accounts at a very attractive price.

Bluehost was found to have more positive reviews as compared to Hostnine, and Hostnine's negative reviews on the Internet came in large numbers (Hostnine's disgruntled users have found a platform over at webhostingtalk). I went through Bluehost's cpanel and talked to a user who uses it.  Apart from checking out the online reviews, for Hostnine I simply looked through webhostingtalk (of which I am a non "premium" member).

In this article I will review a couple of other web sites which are closer to home. The first is Hostgator (which I use) and the second is Go Daddy (which I used to use). Hopefully the bad news, if there is any, won't unleash the hounds of Hostgator on my hapless site. But never mind poking fun at our various "hosts;" I will review Hostgator's marketing strategy and why they have made a definitive name for themselves in the web hosting industry.

"We Eat Up Our Competition"  Hostgator

Hostgator's Various Offerings

Hostgator provides a wide range of services, allowing users to determine what they need and pay only for that. They have over 200,000 websites hosted with them. They offer several plans with different price ranges, starting from basic packages to reseller packages to dedicated packages, their present set of options is quite varied.

In truth, their options are so varied that I feared listing them in this article. There was no way I could exclude them, so large is their reputation. I have to say that if variety is your thing, and you want a package that may fit your needs, Hostgator may be your first choice. Hostgator's web site is not particularly exceptional nor exciting to look at but it definitely gives you plenty of information.

Hostgator's shared plans include:

• Hatchling: Disk Space: 3.5GB, Bandwidth: 50GB, $6.95 a month.
  
• Baby: Disk Space: 5GB, Bandwidth: 75GB, $9.95 a month.
  
• Swamp: Disk Space: 10GB, Bandwidth: 100GB, $14.95 a month.
  
• Semi-Dedicated Disk Space: 25GB, Bandwidth: 500GB, $74.95 a Month.
  

Hostgator also offers several reseller plans:

• Aluminum - Disk Space: 5GB, Bandwidth: 50GB, $24.95 a month, unlimited domains and free billing manager! They also help you move your sites to them.
  
• Copper - Disk Space: 7GB, Bandwidth: 75GB, $34.95 a Month
  
• Silver - Disk Space: 10GB, Bandwidth: 100GB, $49.95 a Month
  
• Gold Disk Space: 15GB, Bandwidth: 150GB, $74.95 a Month

Hostgator hasn't forgotten those who need dedicated service either.

• Basic Disk Space: 80GB, Bandwidth: 1200GB, $174.00 a Month, Full Root Access and Fully Managed, 2.4GHz CPU, 1GB Memory
  
• Standard Disk Space: 80GB, Bandwidth: 1200GB, $174.00 a Month, Full Root Access and Fully Managed, 2.8GHz CPU, 1GB Memory
  
• Pro Disk Space: 2x80GB, Bandwidth: 1200GB, $174.00 a Month, Full Root Access and Fully Managed.

Next: Hostgator's Guarantee >>
 

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