GoDaddy.com Overview

Our Rating:
^*8.5/10

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Go Daddy's web hosting services are unique not only because they offer more supplemental services than any other service, but because they offer a distinct control panel that is not used by any other web host. The control panel is intuitive and easy to use, which is helpful in navigating around the numerous features. Go Daddy's customers will also benefit from Go Daddy's relationship with ICANN, which can help provide the exact domain name they want for a more professional looking website.

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Plans and Pricing

Go Daddy's Unmetered Package offers more than ample services for small business websites. If you're looking to test the waters before investing in a premium plan, the Economy and Deluxe plans also offer many useful services and add-ons that can help you get your website off the ground.

In addition to offering 3 web hosting packages, Go Daddy also offers a dizzying array of extra services that can potentially enhance various aspects of your website from the site's overall efficiency and design to its security. Firstly, GoDaddy will try to convince you to purchase parked domain names that are similar to the ones you chose, like the comparable .com, .net, and .biz. These parked domains are designed to redirect viewers to your actual domain, in case they accidentally type something similar. Once you've chosen your domains, GoDaddy will offer you extra services like additional email accounts, SSL (which is included in the Unmetered plan), assistance with SEO (search engine optimization) and e-commerce shopping cart functionality.

Refund Policy

Go Daddy puts its customers first by providing you with a refund if you wish to cancel your service. If you decide to cancel your hosting plan at any time, you can request a refund for the amount of time remaining in your service contract. Domain registration fees are nonrefundable.

Features

In addition to the technical specs listed above, Go Daddy also integrates its control panel with various add-ons so that you can build a professional website easily. All packages include the following application integrations:

Blogs

• WordPress
• Geeklog
• Lifetype

Commerce Solutions

• osCommerce
• ZenCart
• Pinnacle Cart

Content Management

• Drupal
• Joomla
• Mambo
• Moodle

Forums

• phpBB
• SMF (Simple Machines Forum)
• Vanilla Forum

Image Galleries

• Coppermine Photo Gallery
• Gallery

Project Management

• Brim
• dotProject
• Mantis
• phpCollab
• PHProjekt

Lastly, Go Daddy offers more free advertising credits than some web hosts, including:

• $100 Google AdWords credit
• $50 Facebook Ad credit
• $50 Bing Ads credit

Ease of Use

Your first encounter with Go Daddy may be a bit overwhelming as a result of the multitude of services available. Once you familiarize yourself with the system, however, you will likely find that it is relatively straightforward. Account setup takes 6 steps. During this process you will be asked if you want to integrate Google Analytics into your website. If you're interested in tracking your traffic or making use of any of Google's tools, this is an especially useful benefit as most other web hosts don't integrate Google tools into their control panels.

Once the account is setup it takes approximately 24 hours to setup the domain. In some cases it can take up to 48 hours for this process.

Upon opening my account I set about establishing an email account. The process required 4 simple steps.

Email Account List Setup

The mailbox was working within 20 minutes of setup. Setting up a second email account was equally straightforward. Email accounts that are hosted by Go Daddy can be accessed via the control panel or through remote web access.

Database Setup

Setting up a WordPress blog required 4 steps, which were also very straightforward.

Once the setup was complete I received an email confirming that the blog was set up. This confirmation is unique to Go Daddy, as most other web hosts do not offer this follow-up.

Customer Support

Considering that Go Daddy is one of the most popular web hosting services, I called GoDaddy multiple times on both weekdays and the weekend. The average wait time was 6 minutes, Go Daddy's customer service representatives were always helpful, friendly and patient.

In addition to phone support, Go Daddy offers email support. I emailed them at 2:40pm EST on a Sunday afternoon and the confirmation promised that I'd receive a response within 8 hours. I was surprised to see that an email confirming that my request had been received promised a response within 24 hours. Helpful reminders like these made building my website much easier and less time consuming.

Finally, Go Daddy offers a Help Center with a powerful search function that makes it easy to look up most answers independently. They also offer forums that can provide a good source of useful information.

Summary

•   Offers every possible service that you may ever need for your website
•   A wider selection of add-ons than most other web hosts
•   Google Webmaster Tools integration available upon setup
•   Premium domain registration available
•   Go Daddy offers more advertising credits than all other web hosts