If you’re looking for an alternative to GoDaddy to host your website then you’ve arrived at the right place. Even though some people say that GoDaddy is awful, we are talking about one of the biggest providers worldwide. Let’s see in this side by side comparison how it compares with SupportHost, what are the strengths and weaknesses, so you can make an educated choice.
We are going to see in the performance comparison the difference in loading times of your site. We performed tests before and after the migration of the site of one of our customers, to compare the speed before and after the migration, so as to perform a comparison between the speed of GoDaddy and the speed of SupportHost. Unfortunately, the customer made some changes before we had time to run the tests after migration, but the results are still significant.
Table of Contents
Despite being one of the world’s leading providers many people are complaining about the service on review sites. Many complain about the very confusing and difficult to use control panel. Others complain about the unprofessional support service and the poor quality of service, as we will see in the reviews section at the bottom of this article.
If you are not a satisfied customer of GoDaddy you are in the right place. Every day we migrate sites of customers who want to change hosting from our competitors to SupportHost, without any downtime and without the customer having to do anything. Moreover, if you decide to switch to SupportHost you will have improved performance, as we will see in the website tests. We are an excellent GoDaddy alternative.
Performance
If you want your site to be fast always we are the ideal partner. Even for sites with high volumes of visits we have solutions with increased resources, so you can support many pageview without the need to have a dedicated solution at a higher cost. Our semi-dedicated hosting plans are able to support large volumes of visits while maintaining a low annual cost. If you have any doubts about which solution is right for you, contact us, and we will help you find a solution that fits your needs.
A client requested the migration of his website from GoDaddy to SupportHost and we performed tests before and after the migration in order to compare the two hosting services, without making any changes to the website in order not to distort the test results. The client now has cost savings and a significant increase in the performance of his WordPress site.
GTmetrix
PageSpeed Insights is the official Google tool for measuring the speed of a website. Let’s see below the results before and after the measurement.
Below I show the test results right after the transfer to SupportHost was completed:
In this case the results are equivalent, there is no noticeable improvement after switching to SupportHost.
WebPageTest
WebPageTest is definitely one of the best tools to measure the performance of a website. Here is the speed on GoDaddy:
Also with WebPageTest we decided to run a second test from the USA, in this case from Los Angeles:
Let’s see the result of the same test performed after transferring the site to SupportHost’s server:
Again, the test is distorted by the difference in page size, but there is a clear improvement in the performance of the site, which goes from 12 seconds to 2 seconds in loading time.
Pingdom
Pingdom is undoubtedly an excellent tool that allows us to measure the performance of our site. The only problem is that it gives us less realistic results than other tools because of the way it performs the measurement. It also provides a limited number of indications regarding the actions necessary for optimization.
However, it remains an excellent control tool for such a comparison.
Here is the test performed by Germany:
Again we have to run a second test on GoDaddy by changing the test location to USA, Washington DC:
The same test run after migrating to SupportHost:
Even with PingDom’s measurements we notice an improvement in website performance.
Pagespeed
PageSpeed Insights is the official Google tool for measuring the speed of a website. Let’s see below the results before and after the measurement.
Below I show the test results right after the transfer to SupportHost was completed:
In this case the results are equivalent, there is no noticeable improvement after switching to SupportHost.
TTFB
The Time to First Byte (TTFB) represents the server’s response time in milliseconds. Again, there is a marked improvement, with TTFB practically halved.
The result of the test on GoDaddy:
The test result immediately after migration:
In both tests this is an improvable result. The TTFB should be less than 500ms better still if less than 300ms. To improve this value it is necessary an optimization work on the customer site.
LoadImpact
LoadImpact is a tool that simulates a traffic peak on the site, this allows us to see the server response at a time of peak visits.
We performed the first test on GoDaddy, before starting the migration:
We then re-tested the traffic peak after we migrated the website to SupportHost:
Also in this test SupportHost presents significantly better performance, keeping loading times stable under 2 seconds, against goDaddy’s infinite times.
Resource Management
On all of our hosting plans we limit the resources for each individual account to prevent a single account from overloading the entire server and creating a disruption for all customers. For example, if a site receives a spike in traffic or gets hacked, the server won’t have a problem because the account in question will be temporarily limited until it comes back within the limits of its resource allocation.
We’ve seen several competitors have server wide problems due to an attack on a site because they don’t have a monitoring system.
Checking GoDaddy’s website we have seen that they use the same type of software for resource management, but with lower limits per account despite higher prices, as we will see in the feature comparison.
You can see why the resources they make available are small, it’s a great way to upsell:
Easy Hosting
Our goal has always been to provide a professional hosting service but at the same time easy to use even for the less experienced. This is the only way we can offer a professional service with lots of features but make it accessible to those who have no experience in the world of hosting.
We use cPanel, the most user-friendly hosting control panel on the market, it is not a coincidence that it is the most used. In addition, we have created a tutorial for each function within cPanel.
If you do not know how to perform a certain operation we can create a tutorial on demand within 24 hours, our Tutorial on Demand service is now quite famous.
With SupportHost you just need to log in to the customer area and you can simply manage your services. On GoDaddy the situation is more confusing:
PHP Versions
For more advanced customers we give the possibility to choose the PHP versions according to their needs. On new accounts, we set the latest PHP version for security reasons but everyone is able to select the version they prefer. You can also set different PHP versions for each folder, a useful feature if you need to run tests on a staging version before creating problems on your website.
We keep all software on the server constantly updated, so we add new PHP versions as they are released. We have the following PHP versions available: 4.4 / 5.1 / 5.2 / 5.3 / 5.4 / 5.5 / 5.6 / 7.0 / 7.1 / 7.2 / 7.3 / 7.4 / 8.0
Staging
You can create a staging version, which is a copy of your site for testing purposes, in just a few clicks. You can then copy the changes on the production site in one click if everything went well. If you had problems you can just delete the staging version and create a new one in 2 clicks.
You can decide to use a different PHP version on your staging site to verify compatibility before making the change on your production site.
Also with GoDaddy, you can have staging, but only with the managed WordPress plans starting from the Deluxe plan, not from the cheaper plan. This feature is not available on GoDaddy plans that are compared in the table.
Backups
All our plans have 30 days of daily backups included. That is, every day we create a backup of your website and keep it on a server in another datacenter for 30 days. This way you are always covered.
For the same service GoDaddy charges a fee of 2.43€ per month and sells this service as an add-on.
Other advanced options
Inoltre per tutti i piani hosting è disponibile:
- SSH access;
- GIT (you can install it on GoDaddy, but it is a laborious process for which we found some online guides, we do not recommend them).
Features
Let’s take a look at a comparison between our hosting plans and GoDaddy’s, we created specific comparisons so you can see the differences.
We have searched for each of their hosting plans for one of ours with similar features so that we can make the most accurate comparison possible.
Remember that we offer the opportunity to try our accounts for free for 14 days, and we offer a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you can give it a try without the slightest risk.
Hover over the underlined text for more details.
Shared 2 VS Starter
| Features | Shared 2 | Starter |
|---|---|---|
| Regular price | We do not charge a monthly fee for shared hosting plans | 6.09 €/month |
| Regular price | 59 €/year | 51.09 €/year |
| Web space | 40 GB SSD | 30 GB SSD |
| Hosted sites | 1 | 1 |
| Monthly traffic | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Free Domain | ||
| Free SSL Certificate | 7.12€ monthly | |
| Malware Protection | 7.12€ monthly | |
| Backups 30 days | starting from 2.43€ monthly | |
| Hosting Features | ||
| Account email | Unlimited | Not specified |
| Database MySQL | Unlimited | 1, limited to 1GB |
| Subdomains | Unlimited | 25 |
| cPanel and Softaculous | ||
| 30 days warranty | ||
| HTTP/2 | ||
| PHP version of your choice | ||
| Free site transfer | ||
| Advanced features | ||
| Staging | ||
| GIT | ||
| Free backup restore | ||
| Free secondary MX | ||
| Tutorial On Demand | ||
| Uptime | 99.9% | 99.9% |
| Guaranteed uptime | ||
| Node.js | ||
| Advanced brute-force protection | ||
| Resources allocated per account | ||
| Simultaneous server processes | 25 | Not specified |
| RAM | 2.5 GB | 512 MB |
| I/O | 20 MB/s | 1024 kB/s |
| CPU | 250% Equivalent to 2.5 | 1 |
| Inodes | No limits | 250.000 |
| Maximum database table size | No limits | 1 GB |
Shared 3 VS Economy
| Features | Shared 3 | Economy |
|---|---|---|
| Regular price | We do not charge a monthly fee for shared hosting plans | 12.19 €/month |
| Regular price | 89 €/year | 116.97 €/year |
| Web space | 65 GB SSD | 100 GB SSD |
| Hosted sites | 1 | 1 |
| Monthly traffic | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Free Domain | First year only | |
| Free SSL Certificate | 7.12€ monthly | |
| Malware Protection | 7.12€ monthly | |
| Backups 30 days | starting from 2.43€ monthly | |
| Hosting Features | ||
| Account email | Unlimited | Not specified |
| Database MySQL | Unlimited | 10, limited to 1GB |
| Subdomains | Unlimited | 25 |
| cPanel and Softaculous | ||
| 30 days warranty | ||
| HTTP/2 | ||
| PHP version of your choice | ||
| Free site transfer | ||
| Advanced features | ||
| Staging | ||
| GIT | ||
| Free backup restore | ||
| Free secondary MX | ||
| Tutorial On Demand | ||
| Uptime | 99.9% | 99.9% |
| Guaranteed uptime | ||
| Node.js | ||
| Advanced brute-force protection | ||
| Resources allocated per account | ||
| Simultaneous server processes | 30 | Not specified |
| RAM | 2.5 GB | 512 MB |
| I/O | 30 MB/s | 1024 kB/s |
| CPU | 250% Equivalent to 2.5 | 1 |
| Inodes | No limits | 250.000 |
| Maximum database table size | No limits | 1 GB |
Semidedicated 1 VS Deluxe
| Features | Semidedicated 1 | Deluxe |
|---|---|---|
| Regular price | 17.50 €/month | 14.63 €/month |
| Regular price | 150 €/year | 146,25 €/year |
| Web space | 60 GB SSD | Unlimited |
| Hosted sites Unlimited | ||
| Monthly traffic Unlimited | ||
| Free Domain | First year only | |
| Free SSL Certificate | 7.12€ monthly | |
| Malware Protection | 7.12€ monthly | |
| Backups 30 days | starting from 2.43€ monthly | |
| Hosting Features | ||
| Account email | Unlimited | Not specified |
| Database MySQL | Unlimited | 25, limited to 1GB |
| Subdomains | Unlimited | 25 |
| cPanel and Softaculous | ||
| 30 days warranty | ||
| HTTP/2 | ||
| PHP version of your choice | ||
| Free site transfer | ||
| Advanced features | ||
| Staging | ||
| GIT | ||
| Free backup restore | ||
| Free secondary MX | ||
| Tutorial On Demand | ||
| Uptime | 99.9% | 99.9% |
| Guaranteed uptime | ||
| Node.js | ||
| Advanced brute-force protection | ||
| Resources allocated per account | ||
| Simultaneous server processes | 35 | Not specified |
| RAM | 4 GB | 512 MB |
| I/O | 40 MB/s | 1024 kB/s |
| CPU | 400% Equivalent to 4 | 1 |
| Inodes | No limits | 250.000 |
| Maximum database table size | No limits | 1 GB |
Semidedicated 2 VS Ultimate
| Features | Semidedicated 2 | Ultimate |
|---|---|---|
| Regular price | 29.17 €/month | 24.39 €/month |
| Regular price | 290 €/year | 248.73 €/year |
| Web space | 100 GB SSD | Unlimited |
| Hosted sites Unlimited | ||
| Monthly traffic Unlimited | ||
| Free Domain | First year only | |
| Free SSL Certificate | Included for 1 year | |
| Malware Protection | 7.12€ monthly | |
| Backups 30 days | starting from 2.43€ monthly | |
| Hosting Features | ||
| Account email | Unlimited | Not specified |
| Database MySQL | Unlimited | Unlimited, limited to 1GB |
| Subdomains | Unlimited | 25 |
| cPanel and Softaculous | ||
| 30 days warranty | ||
| HTTP/2 | ||
| PHP version of your choice | ||
| Free site transfer | ||
| Advanced features | ||
| Staging | ||
| GIT | ||
| Free backup restore | ||
| Free secondary MX | ||
| Tutorial On Demand | ||
| Uptime | 99.9% | 99.9% |
| Guaranteed uptime | ||
| Node.js | ||
| Advanced brute-force protection | ||
| Resources allocated per account | ||
| Simultaneous server processes | 50 | Not specified |
| RAM | 6 GB | 1 GB |
| I/O | 50 MB/s | 1024 kB/s |
| CPU | 600% Equivalent to 6 | 2 |
| Inodes | No limits | 250.000 |
| Maximum database table size | No limits | 1 GB |
Free migration
If you already have a website with GoDaddy and you decide to move it to SupportHost, you don’t have to worry about anything, we take care of everything. We will migrate your website and emails without any disruption and at no additional cost.
GoDaddy does not include such a service, you have to perform the migration yourself if you want to switch to their service.
Expert support
The name SupportHost was not chosen by chance. Our main goal has always been to offer fast, competent and effective support. SupportHost is the only company on the market that offers guaranteed response times, meaning that if we don’t respond within the promised time you are entitled to a refund.
Our support staff sends a response to most requests within the first two hours, many are answered within minutes. We maintain a history of all tickets so we have the customer’s status every time we respond.
A GoDaddy alternative: affiliation
SupportHost offers two different types of commissions. Our affiliates can choose between a recurring commission of 15% (i.e. 15% commission even on renewal) or a one-time commission of 40% (i.e. only on the amount of the first purchase).
GoDaddy offers a commission on the first sale between 10% and 15%.
Reviews
SupportHost
GoDaddy
Leave a Reply