GoDaddy review 2022 and experiences: Description, Pricing, User Reviews

There are countless different reviews about the domain registrar and hosting provider GoDaddy. But provider GoDaddy should take into account that the company has been successfully operating for over 23 years, which in itself is proof of its reliability. During this time, it has developed servers all over the world.

About GoDaddy

American GoDaddy is the largest web hosting and domain company globally, with over 17 million customers. GoDaddy is known for its striking TV ads. The website and support are entirely in English, and the company also has a data center in the US, UK, and Canada. Shared hosting packages are available from €3.49 per month.

Godaddy is one of the oldest and largest registrars on the Internet. The international hosting company was founded in 1997 and has been listed on the stock exchange for years. For many of us, Godaddy will be known primarily as the domain registry. The place where you go to claim your bulk load of domain names. But in recent years, the American web host has expanded considerably. At the moment, you can purchase every conceivable form of hosting from Godaddy.

In 2021, the company experienced a serious malfunction, as a result of which there was a massive leak of users’ personal data. GoDaddy has released details of the incident.
According to a GoDaddy publication, a Managed WordPress customer database hack occurred on the platform as early as September 2021. The attacker used a compromised work account of one of the employees. For a long time, the hacker had full access to 1.2 million WordPress customer accounts, including their email addresses, customer numbers, sFTP protocol data, and SSL private keys.

It was only on November 17 that the problem was discovered. Moreover, rumors were actively spreading that since November, messages began to appear on forums and marketplaces on the darknet about the sale of GoDaddy customer data.

GoDaddy has now alerted all affected customers, resetting their passwords and updating their SSL certificates. The company continues to investigate the incident and evaluate its consequences.

Curious how customers experience the service? On this page, you can read independent customer reviews and see the services offered.

Hosting packages and prices of Godaddy.com

Godaddy is so giant that they no longer need to specialize in domain registration. Among their range of professional services are: shared web hosting, WordPress optimized hosting, Virtual Private Servers, email systems, and Microsoft Office packages. Thanks to the large number of customers that this hosting giant has, it is not uncommon for you to benefit from substantial discounts on your purchases!

Below you will find the most frequently chosen Godaddy hosting packages (prices do not include VAT):

Affordable
Godaddy
€2,49*per month

•  1 Website
•  100 GB data storage
•  Unlimited bandwidth
•  Free domain name

*After first year € 7.49 per month

Deluxe
Godaddy
€3,99*per month

•  Multiple websites
•  Unlimited data storage
•  Unlimited bandwidth
•  Free domain name

*After 12 months € 9.99 per month

POPULAR

Ultimate
Godaddy
€8,49*per month

•  Multiple websites
•  Unlimited data storage
•  Unlimited bandwidth
•  Free domain name

*After 12 months € 16.99 per month

What services does Godaddy offer?

• Hosting
• WordPress hosting
• Domain name purchase
• VPS hosting
• Dedicated hosting
• SLL certificates
• E-mail hosting
• Microsoft office

Is Godaddy a suitable hosting provider for me?

Godaddy has a vast number of customers, and that means a lot of opinions. One customer thinks it is fantastic, and another thinks it is terrible. However, to make a correct judgment, you have to consider that customer needs vary tremendously.

Most customers use this web host mainly for bulk domain registrations. This is primarily due to the attractive discount model. But, never forget that a discounted rate can eventually turn into a more expensive rate. Which can make customers feel like they are being ripped off. Therefore, it is highly advisable to double-check precisely what you will be paying in the future for the services purchased. In principle, of course, you are responsible for what you are buying.

In the past, I have purchased various (WordPress hosting & VPS) hosting packages from Godaddy. Overall, I was very pleasantly surprised by the user-friendliness. For many tricky operations, the hosting provider has created user-friendly interfaces. The positive result is that you can move smoothly through everything.

GoDaddy experiences & complaints

You can expect modern technology in terms of quality as there has always been a massive budget available for innovation. Still, it’s impossible to put the sore finger on where the average customer satisfaction comes from. But, perhaps it’s just impossible to keep “everyone” happy, and with over 17 million customers, “everyone” is a lot.

If you are a customer of GoDaddy and would like to share your experiences with other users, you can do so via our review form. Would you please try to describe the pros and cons of GoDaddy’s services as sincerely as possible for valid complaints?

GoDaddy Data Centers

GoDaddy operates a data center in Phoenix – Arizona, covering over 270,000 square feet. Other GoDaddy data centers are located in Los Angeles, Chicago, Ashburn, Virginia, Amsterdam, and Singapore.

Hosting features

The U.S. homepage construction kit provider GoDaddy offers an intuitive system for creating websites for private and business customers. There is no free plan. However, interested parties have the opportunity to test the offer for 30 days without obligation. They can choose to pay monthly or once a year. The prices stated on the website refer to annual billing. Indeed, customers are then bound to the company for 12 months. However, they can get an idea of the functions beforehand and then save just under two-thirds of the price compared with the fee for monthly billing.

GoDaddy does not offer a free tariff.

“Personal”: A lot of service for little money

The basic tariff, which goes by the name of “Personal” and is very inexpensive with monthly costs of one euro, already offers a homepage construction kit with a large selection of design templates and unlimited storage space as well as unlimited bandwidth. In addition, the provider already refrains from displaying its name on the customer’s website here. The colossal image database, which subscribers can use royalty-free to design their pages, is also advantageous. Another positive aspect is that booking your domain is free of charge in the first year, after which it is charged at 12.99 euros. A part is associated with annual fees, which we have otherwise only found with the competitor Jimdo.

Considering the meager costs for the “Personal” tariff, we find the fee perfectly acceptable. Provided that an own domain is connected, i.e., an existing one is taken over, or a new one is registered, GoDaddy also provides a free email address with unlimited storage space for the mailbox.

“Business”: PayPal integration and SEO optimization

At this tariff level, an essential tool is added: SEO optimization. It ensures an improvement of the search engine ranking. The provider suggests relevant terms that should lead to better accessibility. These suggested keywords should ideally appear on the user’s website to signal the page’s relevance to search engines. Alternatively, users enter their keywords or short descriptions that they hope will improve visibility. In addition, the payment service provider PayPal can be integrated as an additional feature from this tariff level onwards. Costs for this tariff: 4.99 euros per month.

“Business Plus”: marketing measures and high reliability

From the Business Plus tariff, which costs 9.99 euros per month, subscribers gain the ability to email marketing campaigns. In this way, 50,000 emails to up to 5,000 email addresses are possible each month. Customers can also link their social media sites, such as Facebook and Twitter if they wish. From this tariff level upwards, the site is mirrored in GoDaddy’s worldwide server network to optimize speed. In this way, it is also particularly well protected against failures, as the site can always be loaded from a mirror server in case of emergency.

“Online Shop”: the tariff for professional sellers

The seller tariff of 14.99 euros per month increases sales success through measures such as reminder emails for prospective customers who have visited the store and efficient inventory management. Delivery costs and tax rates can be configured, and discount and voucher campaigns can be implemented to retain customers.

Operation & design

The handy setup wizard makes website creation much more accessible.

The initial setup works very quickly and proceeds as follows: Interested parties enter their email address, the desired user name (identical to the email address), and assign a password. In the next step, the setup wizard asks for the chosen industry and the website’s name. By clicking on “Continue,” the system automatically creates a suitable template, which users can subsequently change.

Once the first template is ready, the practical setup wizard helps with the next steps. Operation is kept simple. First, users navigate through a menu of just three categories: “Theme,” “Pages,” and Website Settings.”

Theme: design the website

In the “Theme” section, users change the current template, i.e., the appearance of the page and the arrangement of the individual elements, for example, links to subpages such as a web store. Folding out the Color tab determines the color scheme, which affects graphic elements and selection buttons. In the last menu item, they change the fonts. The area is structured clearly and concisely. Users can see what the page would look like after changing the theme via a preview on the left.

Pages: Manage home page and subpages

When clicking on an element to be inserted, the wizard directly provides useful usage options.

Under the second menu item, “Pages,” users first find an overview of the start page and all subpages. They can include individual pages or set them to invisible, add new pages or delete existing ones. If they now click on one of the pages in the menu, they will either find a list of the elements that already exist and have the option of editing the corresponding sections. In addition, they can use the “Add section” button to select the appropriate element from a range of suggested topics, such as “Online Store,” “Paypal button,” or “Reservation.”

Alternatively, they enter a keyword in the search window. Users can also easily find their way around this area: clicking on the page’s name opens a new menu where they can edit the individual subpages.

Website settings: The technology behind the website

Under “Website Settings,” users will find several crucial technical configuration options.

The last category item, “Website Settings,” gives access to further configuration options. Users change the domain link here, adjust the search engine optimization to achieve a better ranking on Google and Co., restore previous versions of the website in case of errors or displeasure, or integrate social networks such as Facebook or Pinterest. This menu section is also user-friendly, as possible setting options are added to the individual settings menus in the sub-line. This way, users can quickly find the right menu.

More pinning options

The blue “Add to this page” button (you can see it on the first screenshot of this test section, for example) leads directly to the menu where users insert individual elements. Thus, the detour via “Pages” is no longer necessary. In the header, users are taken back to the dashboard and the help center and have the option to log out. Two buttons allow users to create a page preview and publish the changes directly to the World Wide Web on the right side.

The good desktop operation, quick changes are also possible via mobile devices.

Minor edits are also possible without any problems on mobile devices.

Overall, we like the navigation on the desktop; the operation is very intuitive. GoDaddy also offered its app for tablet and co. for a while but has since discontinued it. However, we do not find that disadvantageous at all: The responsive provider’s website makes it possible to quickly add news or improve errors regardless of location and even on smartphones with a comparatively small screen. In our test with an Android smartphone, the usual controls were easily accessible on the bottom. Theoretically, all settings can also be made on the go. In the long run, this variant is a bit more tedious due to the small screen, but it depends on the option.

Successful mobile optimization

The essential mobile presentation also does not cause any problems. This is important because many customers now use mobile devices to search for information. The buttons and navigation elements have been rearranged compared to the desktop version. Everything is ergonomic and makes browsing easier for prospective customers.

GoDaddy has a range of domain and hosting services on offer, including a homepage construction kit. The provider advertises that customers can get an initial website on the World Wide Web in less than an hour. This is a realistic figure. Some competitors advertise that it takes even less time. Creating the first page with company information, perhaps another subpage, and a legally valid imprint realistically requires more of the time GoDaddy claims – assuming the content has already been created and only needs to be brought online. It should be mentioned that it is a pity that the provider does not offer imprint templates.

Security & Payment

The websites are SSL-encrypted by default in all packages. Despite being located in the U.S., GoDaddy’s offer is DSGVO compliant. Users sign a contract for data processing (ADV) with the provider and are thus legally protected. Of course, this does not mean that a website created with GoDaddy would also automatically be DSGVO-compliant. For example, suppose you operate an online store and ask for the customer’s phone number and date of birth in a mandatory field when placing an order. In that case, this is a violation: you must observe the requirement of data economy. This data is not required for either the order or the delivery.

No support by email

With its support concept, GoDaddy takes a route that is as unusual as it is pleasing: those seeking help will not find a support form or an email address where they can describe their problem. Instead, the provider operates a service hotline that users dial in case of questions and issues. In our test, we first reached a voice computer, and after selecting the appropriate topic, we were put through to a friendly employee in under two minutes, who answered all questions to our satisfaction. Users can reach the hotline on weekdays between 8:00 and 20:00.

Users can find self-help in an extensive community forum and an FAQ section. Helpful tutorial videos that explain technical issues in simple terms, albeit only in English, round off the offer.

Payment by PayPal, credit card or SOFORT

Fees can be paid by credit card, PayPal, or via the payment service provider SOFORT. The latter two options are a plus point, as many users avoid entering their credit card details on a large number of websites and services instead of limiting themselves to a few portals that they trust or visit frequently.

Package scope

In addition to the core business of pure domain hosting, the product portfolio of the U.S. market giant GoDaddy now includes offers for web hosting, WordPress hosting, VPS hosting, and even dedicated server rental. Since the acquisition of Host Europe in 2017, the group is now also pushing into the European and German web hosting market.

In addition to the shared web hosting division, GoDaddy offers a separate business hosting product line. These offerings are specifically tailored to the e-commerce sector, i.e., web projects with high traffic and resource requirements. With these packages, an unlimited number of websites can be set up. However, this is not shared hosting but rather dedicated resource allocation. Accordingly, the annual price for the smallest of these packages is already beyond the 200 euro mark.

The conventional shared web hosting packages, on the other hand, are aimed at private users who want to set up simple websites or blogs. In this product line, GoDaddy provides four different tariff packages, which differ in their range of functions.

These core features and functions are available to customers of the various tariff packages at GoDaddy.

Deluxe

We took a closer look at the Deluxe rate plan to compare it as well as possible with the services of other providers. This has no limitation on the total storage volume on HDD hard drives. As offered by webgo, One.com, and DomainFactory as standard, SSD hosting is generally not provided by GoDaddy. The number of feasible websites is not limited to this tariff, but the provider determines the maximum number of usable files to 250,000. The number of MySQL databases is limited to 25, and the size per database is set to one gigabyte.

At least some selected features are compared in a table.

A single domain is included, but it is only part of the package during the first tariff period, provided the customer chooses a contract of 12, 24, or 36 months duration. It is possible to book the box with a term of only one month, but in this case, necessary domains have to be added for a fee. Fortunately, the integration of externally registered domains is not a problem with GoDaddy. An SSL certificate is not included in the package.

Cronjobs are included in all packages but an unspecified number. In addition to PHP 5, PHP 7 up to version PHP 7.2 is also available. All packages support Python and Perl as additional scripting languages.

The large number of applications that are intended for 1-click installation is very positive. A whole 125 free apps are available here. These include the popular CMS:

• Drupal
• WordPress
• Joomla!

The essential equipment of the package is overall reasonably coherent. Still, without a permanently included domain and associated SSL certificates, it lacks essentially critical factors to call the tariff package a complete package. GoDaddy advertises the package as a recommendation for more flexibility and the operation of multiple websites. The package is indeed flexible primarily about the question of whether the customer wants to book multiple domains and SSL certificates with GoDaddy or whether he wants to integrate external domains. Unlimited storage volume should not be the sole decisive purchase criterion.

Performance

GoDaddy is one of only a few providers to advertise its server availability aggressively and guarantees its customers 99.90 percent uptime, which can mean downtime of 8 hours and 45 minutes per year. This is quite respectable in comparison with competitors such as One.com, 1&1 IONOS, or All-Inkl. However, an SLA form in which this availability is guaranteed to customers is not freely available on the provider’s website. DomainFactory, for example, provides much more transparency here. Fortunately, GoDaddy provides DDoS protection to protect the websites from intentionally causing traffic overloads.

Apart from that, however, the provider is stingy with comprehensive information on performance-relevant key figures. For example, the number of clients sharing a CPU core and the maximum runtime per script is not mentioned. The following specifications apply to the Standard and Deluxe packages:

• 1 CPU
• 512 MB RAM
• 100 input processes

The provider does not disclose whether the specified 512 megabytes of RAM is a RAM guarantee or a non-binding guideline value. In any case, One.com or 1&1 IONOS has more to offer here.

However, it should be positively emphasized that scalability of the performance is guaranteed. This includes, for example, adjusting the CPU and RAM as needed, but it is associated with a surcharge. In this context, the provider’s remark that those who do not like the performance should switch to business hosting seems casual.

Data security and customer service

A database backup tool is included in all tariff plans. GoDaddy charges 2.37 euros per month extra for its optional cloud backup feature. Those who purchase the module can save all of their website data to the cloud once a day and restore it as needed.

SSL-less

An SSL certificate is completely missing from the Deluxe tariff plan, and GoDaddy does not allow the integration of free Let’s Encrypt certificates, as provided by webgo, for example. Instead, the provider advises adding the GoDaddy SSL certificate for an annual price of 83.29 euros.

Zero transparency policy

Suppose the information on the available products can already be described as sparse. In that case, things don’t look any better in terms of transparent information regarding data security and data center, quite the opposite: complete absence. Where the data center is located, where the servers with the hosted data of customers are located, what security precautions are taken to ensure the operation and to take data security into account. All this is not explained on the website.

According to a statement from a support employee, it is not specified where the servers are located on which the data is hosted in shared hosting. Primarily, they are located in North America, but they also have servers in various EU countries. During the order process, one should pay attention to the fact that one has the one-time option to decide on a server location unspecifically within the EU or in North America. If one wants to change the location from North America to the EU later, costs of an unquantifiable amount will arise. Soon to be customers already before entering the ordering process to inform in this regard, GoDaddy does not consider necessary. This is a blatant lack of transparency to the customer.

“If they want to buy something…” – Customer Service.

We cannot give GoDaddy’s support a good report card overall. The fact that neither chat nor mail support exists would be tolerable, but even the phone support is only available from 8 am to 8 pm on weekdays. A 24/7 service is not provided, not to mention personal customer support. Instead, the “help yourself” principle applies here. At least GoDaddy provides a concise FAQ section, a help page on various topics, and a blog richly stocked with articles related to being a webmaster.

Information on a few selected topics in gruesome translation is available in the help section.

The fact that customer information and service are not in the first place is again emphasized by a note on the help page that a language robot translated the English version. Its skills are exceptional, as the following sample shows: “We exclude many files and directories from backups by default. To see the list of files and directories excluded in your account, go to this article based on which product page backup to use:”

Our call to phone support, after a few minutes of maneuvering through a cumbersome and nonspecific phone selection menu (“If you want to buy something, please press 2,” “If you have questions about your bill, please press 4”), was answered by a friendly support representative. He readily provided information about the server location and data centers but did not have any detailed information at hand himself.

Rates and conditions

The prices that are supposed to lure new customers on the product page of the hosting portfolio do not correspond to the permanently valid standard costs, as the footnoted notes below the discount display indicate. By the way, the prospective patient customer will find the breakdown of the footnote after scrolling in a pop-up window, which he can open by clicking at the bottom of the page. This explains that the stated prices are only valid for the first term and that renewal prices – i.e., the actual regular prices – may be subject to change. At least at the time of our research, the rate model was as follows:

Discount scales for different term options of the first contract term.

We dare to doubt whether GoDaddy is still able to keep track of its rate structure. Above all, the discount structure of the entry-level offers is confusing: 28 percent discount on Starter, 66 percent on Standard, 60 percent on Deluxe, and 50 percent on Supreme in the offer. This applies to the first term, provided the customer opts for a whopping 36-month period. From the first automatic contract renewal, the regular prices apply. On the other hand, if the customer only opts for a 24-month or 12-month term, the discount is reduced to varying, incomprehensible degrees, but sometimes considerably.

Product selection: Price chaos, additional costs, term choice in the shopping cart, no contract terms.

GoDaddy at least offers the option of a one-month contract term – but only for the Starter, Deluxe, and Supreme packages. Standard is only available with a minimum contract term of three months. Here, the new customer discount does not apply at all. This term is also tied to a subscription in each case, which is automatically extended by the same period unless the customer cancels in good time.

Why inform? Selection in the shopping cart

The aim here is not to provide customers with detailed information about the product but rather to get them to add something to their shopping cart as quickly as possible. Each rate plan is not linked to a feature table via a button but simply to the “Add to shopping cart” option. But that’s not all: the website backup for 2.37 euros per month is also included in the basket after selecting a product – and for the whole package term. With a preset 36-month booking of the Deluxe package, this adds up to an extra 85.32 euros in one fell swoop. If you do not want to book this feature, you have to scroll down and activate the “No, thanks” checkbox.

Although not in the shopping cart, the following items are advertised in the shopping cart view:

• – Basic security (malware protection): 7.29 euros per month and website
• – SSL certificate: 6.95 euros per month

A reference to the contract conditions, terms, and conditions, SLA, cancellation periods? Missing. The “unround” amounts probably result from the direct conversion of the original dollar prices into euro amounts. The daily exchange rate is perhaps also responsible for the fluctuations in the product price mentioned in the footnote. Fittingly, the malware protection is only available in English, by the way.

Summary

You should entrust your “website to the best hosting provider” – with these words, GoDaddy advertises its web hosting services on its website. We wholeheartedly agree with this request, but even with the best will in the world, the “best hosting provider” can’t mean GoDaddy.

Half-baked, hastily cobbled together, makeshift, unprofessional – this is not only the impression of the website of the global player. The product portfolio and rate structure also make a poorly thought-out, confused, and confusing impression: very selective feature lists, crooked prices, varying discounts for products of different durations, necessary and less necessary add-on offers, footnotes, meaningless explanations. In the synopsis, a highly unflattering self-presentation of the company and its service offer is created.

Unfortunately, the telephone customer support, which was not comprehensively informed, did not inspire much confidence. The fact alone that the servers are probably distributed over half the globe and neither the customer nor the provider have any real influence on where the customer data ends are alarming. The fact that GoDaddy tries to conceal this fact from its customers does not improve the situation.

After all, judging purely by the technical features, the Deluxe tariff package offers a lot. Total storage volume, 125 apps for 1-click installation, 99.9% availability guarantee, and scalable performance should attract some customers. However, essential components are also missing, with a permanently included inclusive domain and a corresponding SSL certificate.

At this point, we don’t see GoDaddy’s web hosting services as competitive in the US, UK, Canadian and Аustralian markets.

Scottsdale, Arizona, USA
+7 (495) 745-33-67