Best website hosting for authors (alternatives to GoDaddy)

I’ve had problems with GoDaddy for the last year, but I’ve sticked with it because it’s mostly functional and I don’t want to start over with a new host. I did recently move all my managed wordpress sites to SiteGround, because I was paying over $100 a month with GoDaddy’s options (which had somehow ballooned to become much more than I signed up for ).

But I was hoping to keep my main sites with GoDaddy.

The problem is, GoDaddy has a limitation of files – and even though I was barely using my allowed storage space or memory, for some reason my files were always full. I tried deleting hundreds of thousands of emails. I tried removing backups and old themes and plugins. I’d delete 50,000 files and they’d all come rushing back again.

Customer service tried unsuccessfully to help. They were nice, but had no idea what was going on. One suggested I upgrade and buy SiteLock, because it was probably a mail-injection malware and SiteLock would get rid of it (unfortunately, this wasn’t true: the SiteLock upgrade prevents malware but doesn’t remove malware – as another customer service rep told me days later).

So I’d have to pay even more for a one-time malware cleansing fee. Instead I’m looking for cheaper options on Fiverr.com, which is dangerous, and hating GoDaddy because none of this should be happening. I just want hosting that works, and I’m willing to pay for it. I’m upset, so sometimes I say things like “I’m fed up, I’m going to have to look for a new host.”

The thing is, GoDaddy doesn’t give a shit about my business.

Their business model works on volume, and for most people, it does a good job of providing the service people pay for. Most people aren’t going to have whatever strange problem I’ve been having. It isn’t a normal part of the hosting experience. GoDaddy needs to provide more people with the service of hosting their sites while cutting back on expenses like staff, training or support. In many cases, it would be easier to just let me leave and solve my problems elsewhere, rather than have someone spend hours on my site to actually fix it so I can stay with them.

I face this problem with some of my own products: often it’s easier to refund someone rather than spend hours trying to problem-solve or trouble-shoot with them. My stuff works for a lot of people, but it doesn’t work for everyone.

So now what?

I’ve basically given up hope that my problem is fixable, and I don’t have time to sit around trying to get customer support to help me fix it; and I don’t want to keep paying for “solutions” that may not work. In the meantime, I have businesses to run and things to do. I don’t think this public flounce will do much, though since a few hundred authors a month use my recommended resources, it might make a dent in GoDaddy’s revenue.

(I’ve been recommending GoDaddy’s managed WordPress hosting options, but from now on will be recommending SiteGround or, if you want a premium hosting service, WP-Engine.)

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Derek Murphy

I’m a philosophy dropout with a PhD in Literature. I covet a cabin full of cats, where I can write fantasy novels to pay for my cake addiction. Sometimes I live in castles.