No more Hostgator for me

[Traveler]

They were great for so many years and have gone way done hill since being purchases by EIG. I have a support ticket that has not been answered for more than 12 hours and when I call they just tell me I have to wait in line. I actually got a voicemail on some calls I made to them today.

Are there any good hosts out there left that have not been bought by EIG?

 

[vdonline]

HostGator has more and more haters over time.

 

[euro-space]

sad to see and hear how big companies striving to be the best in the industry getting such negative reviews..
but really good ones will always take their deserved place on the market

 

[hn]

I have a few sites with MDD Hosting and I must say their support has be extraordinary to say the least. Whether a small query or a long one - its usually answered ASAP (usually in minutes ) Have been with them for close to 3 years now.

 

[euro-space]

Nice to hear that Would you like to share your hosted URL? that would add more trust to your words after so many opposite reviews..

 

[hn]

Not sure if I am allowed to post my site URLs here as it may amount to advertising according to forum rules, but if the moderator says so - will definitely share my url.

 

[euro-space]

Probably you're right, you can send it to PM please or just wait for the mederator.

 

[carob]

Created a ticket about an important security question - just needed a straight yes/no answer about whether they had modified one line in a file.

No answer for 3 days, nothing.

Emailed the feedback address to say how bad that was. They replied saying how hard it was to get staff and they hoped to get more staff (actually they must have got rid of them - before they replied in under an hour).

Then a few hours later the support finally replied saying the file and cms in question were not there. WTF they can't understand their own file structure.

I suspect there are now NO support staff.

 

[Rado_Ch]

HostGator has more and more haters over time.

Quite the shocker, huh...with their perfect service and all... :D

 

[euro-space]

But they do great marketing job, so many people are just well promoting their "great" service online

 

[Rado_Ch]

But they do great marketing job, so many people are just well promoting their "great" service online

Well their so-called-marketing is mostly connected to deep pockets. Don't know of another company that can afford to give a minimum of $50/signup to their affiliates. And giving $100 for 10 and more signups for a calendar month certainly makes the spammers out there going crazy

 

[Zoltan P.]

Same here, after 7+ years I just moved out all my sites from HG. Too many issues lately and lack of support.

 

[euro-space]

Well their so-called-marketing is mostly connected to deep pockets. Don't know of another company that can afford to give a minimum of $50/signup to their affiliates. And giving $100 for 10 and more signups for a calendar month certainly makes the spammers out there going crazy

That's what I'm saying, forums and review sites are full of "positive" testimonials ..

Same here, after 7+ years I just moved out all my sites from HG. Too many issues lately and lack of support.

Number of our customers have also requested transferring their sites..
I 'd imagine , such outflow may drive hostgator to collapse one day

 

[Rado_Ch]

That's what I'm saying, forums and review sites are full of "positive" testimonials ..

Well review and Top XX sites, yes, as they are mostly driven by commissions. With forums I'd say its more of the opposite - even though there are still tons of spam it is often very obvious and it doesn't help that anti-hostgator threads are popping up on a daily basis. As HG don't really seem to care about their brand reputation there isn't anyone on their team to tackle them as they further accumulate. More reputable forums like WHT have done a splendid job moderating and deleting the spammy affiliate advertising, so if a person is genuinely doing their research and not just typing "best hosting" in Google, they should not be fooled that easily.

 

[OctaneInv]

I too left HostGator just last month, after a very lengthy 11-year run with them.

They are merely a shell of what they once were - the uptime is nowhere close, and as you've experienced, the support has gone from some of the best, to virtually non-existent.

After searching for months (I started looking for a new host in July when I had a server down for about 24 full hours with zero response from HG, and naturally, no refund) I finally decided on Web Hosting Buzz (webhostingbuzz.com).

I chose them for a number of reasons already stated in this thread:
- 24/7 support (and any time I've contacted them via phone or IM, the person on the other end was easy to understand - huge bonus!)
- They're "Green" - or at least carbon-neutral (which in turn means I can say my business is also "green")
- They're independently owned (so says their Wiki ... nothing like blind, user-edited faith!)
- They offered the services I needed (probably the #1 reason - see below)

I have over 400 domains and live websites in my portfolio (I "park" all of my own domains, foregoing a "parking service" - more time, sure, but WAY more money in my pocket) so the migration wasn't easy, nor was it pretty - but we made it. And the support team there kicked some Kim K sized rear end when called upon.

I am in no way affiliated with them, and truth be told, as I've already said, I've only been there a little over a month. But I wouldn't have any issue recommending them to my personal friends & family. Let's hope they stay independent, and keep the bar set high.

Good luck in your search, and let us know what you decide!

 

[carob]

Well their so-called-marketing is mostly connected to deep pockets. Don't know of another company that can afford to give a minimum of $50/signup to their affiliates.

But do they actually pay it? Even back when they were a reputable company they were famous for not paying out on the affiliate program - I found a lot of threads about that so I gave up on it after a few weeks.

Maybe the new owners hope to slash costs so profits look great short term to sell the company on asap. Or maybe they just are as dumb as they seem and the whole thing will fail.

For info, I have had full refund on 3 months this year due to them going down.

 

[Rado_Ch]

But do they actually pay it? Even back when they were a reputable company they were famous for not paying out on the affiliate program - I found a lot of threads about that so I gave up on it after a few weeks.

Maybe the new owners hope to slash costs so profits look great short term to sell the company on asap. Or maybe they just are as dumb as they seem and the whole thing will fail.

For info, I have had full refund on 3 months this year due to them going down.

Well they already sold the company to a large mogul so I doubt that would be the case. And while there are certainly some that got burned by the affiliate program it seems that a lot get paid as they continue to spread the "good word" wherever they can.

But even if an affiliate gives up on it after a few weeks of non-payment as you observed, what is HG really losing? They gained a few customers in the process and never paid to their affiliates. Sounds like money in the bank for them at the end of the day.

They will eventually crumble if they continue to operate like that, pity that many more are yet to get burned...

 

[enlytend]

But do they actually pay it? Even back when they were a reputable company they were famous for not paying out on the affiliate program - I found a lot of threads about that so I gave up on it after a few weeks.

Years ago (when they were decent and I promoted them) they were running two affiliate programs, one through CJ, the other in-house. The CJ one had tracking issues - verified sales were not credited. The in-house one payed less but in my experience seemed to track and pay reliably. I didn't push a lot of volume to them though, others may have had a different experience.

Enough people still promote them that they're at the top of hundreds of fake review sites. Or maybe they're more careful with the affiliates who generate the best ROI.

I still have an account with them, but they've really gone down the tubes since EIG bought them. I don't want to repost, but if you search this forum I've posted before about a particularly cringeworthy experience with their inept "support."