WordPress hosting plans have become very common and vendors are cutting corners to bring down pricing and it may be leading to the detriment of the whole segment. So, is cheap WordPress hosting a disaster waiting to happen? Keep reading to find out.

What is WordPress Hosting?

First of all, let’s see what WordPress hosting is all about. It’s one of many types of common hosting that are offered by most vendors. Shared hosting is fine-tuned for WordPress websites and sold with varying allocations of resources.

At a minimum, all vendors offer storage, bandwidth, and free WordPress updates. Most also offer things like domain and SSL for the first year, email accounts, free site migrations, and fast SSD storage. You can even find plans with things like backups, higher/unlimited storage and bandwidth, and even a money-back guarantee.

How do you categorize cheap WordPress hosting?

WordPress hosting prices vary from a few dollars to a few hundred dollars depending on the type of server and amount of resources that you order. The cheaper plans offer shared hosting with minimum resources while the more expensive ones may offer VPS or dedicated servers with almost unlimited resources. Managed services are another factor that greatly affects pricing. However, it is offered by many vendors in varying degrees making the term common even for the cheapest plans.

So how do you categorize cheap WordPress hosting? For this article, I will consider any shared hosting plan below $5 as cheap WordPress hosting. You can find many such hosting plans right on the first page of results on our Hosting Finder tool.

What are the advantages of cheap WordPress hosting?

Let’s start with the advantages:

Economical pricing

Being economical, or like the title of this article puts it in a not so subtle way, being cheap is the main advantage of cheap WordPress hosting. Like I mentioned above, you can start at just a few dollars a month. If you are a new website owner, this may be the main thing you are looking for. You just want to get your website up and running and don’t expect many visitors right at the start; cheap web hosting will be exactly what you are looking for.

Less financial risk

Your risk in terms of what you spend is quite less.  Most hosting plans expect you to sign-up for at least a year, or longer. They motivate you wit rates that dip lower with longer contracts. This seems very attractive, I admit it.

There’s nothing wrong with it either, as long as the hosting plan meets your needs as your website grows and you don’t need to upgrade. But what if you need to upgrade or if you are not happy? A money-back guarantee or a refund policy would be great. In case the vendor doesn’t offer one, it’s best to go for a cheap plan. So your risk is minimal and you look very little in case you decide to discontinue the hosting plan.

What are the disadvantages of cheap WordPress hosting?

Now to the disadvantages:

Non-transparent pricing plans

A lack of transparency is one of the main disadvantages of cheap WordPress hosting. To begin with, they show you a price which is only available with a long contract, mostly about a year, but usually longer. It may not be very important to most as they plan on hosting their websites indefinitely. But it ties you down and makes choosing a plan more complicated for newer users. Then there are all the add-ons which you only see on the check-out page.

While it is not a universal rule, vendors with more expensive plans don’t resort to this strategy as they make value their main proposition. They don’t need to coax users into buying their plans with these gimmicks. You can find many such value-centric plans here.

Unreputed SSL

Free SSL is another type of bait used by vendors to hook customers. The “Something is better than nothing” principle doesn’t really apply when it comes to SSL.

Depending on what you are planning on doing with your website, you may need a reputed SSL certificate with a lot more protection than a free one can offer. You can learn more about free and paid SSL here. If you aren’t already on HTTPS, you should consider migrating soon.

Insufficient resources

One of the most common terms you see on cheap WordPress hosting plans is “Unlimited”. They offer unlimited storage, bandwidth, and some vendors resort to misleading customers with obvious things like unlimited uptime and unlimited WordPress updates. The thing about resources on WordPress plans is that most of the time you are on a shared server. So you don’t really have any dedicated resources other than for storage.

So having an unlimited allocation of such non-dedicated resources makes no sense. You’ll rarely use all of it either. More expensive plans that don’t need to bait customers will give you these resources in limited quantities, but in quantities that will actually be required. If you are curious as to how much bandwidth your website will really need, we have an entire article on that as well.

Unreliable performance

Performance is something that is always great on paper. But whether most of the cheaper WordPress plans actually provide solid performance is a question. In my experience, it hasn’t always been the case.

This is one of the main problems with cheap WordPress hosting. You can rarely rely on it in terms of availability or speed. This may just be how vendors cut corners. Again, more expensive plans will elevate your website with reliable performance.

Lack of proper security

Security is another area that suffers in cheap WordPress hosting. There are rarely any special measures taken other than updates to WordPress. There is no proper support for malware scanning or other types of security attacks.

You can learn more about properly securing your website on our other article on that topic.

Lack of proper support

Support is probably where cheap hosting suffers the most. Most vendors don’t provide managed support with these plans and don’t even make an effort to provide regular 24/7 support.

Again this is an additional cost or add-on. However, if you opt for a more costlier plan, these support options would most probably be offered for no extra fee. Proper managed services plans consist of a hassle-free experience to users where all maintenance of the hosting is taken care of by the vendor.

So is cheap WordPress hosting a recipe for Disaster?

Yes, cheap WordPress hosting can be a disaster if you don’t select your hosting plan wisely. If you look for the cheapest plan, then you are bound to face disaster. This can happen because the vendor may not be qualified and/or able to accommodate websites with higher needs. Secondly, they may be cutting corners on their cheaper plans in ways that affect website performance and reliability.

The only way a cheap WordPress hosting plan can be a good idea is if you truly only care about having a website up and running and don’t really have to worry about its performance and reliability. This is rarely the case and you should always take the utmost care about your website as it represents your organization.

Conclusion

Choose wisely, the hosting plan you choose for your website if one of the main contributing factors of its success. So make sure you spend ample time looking for a good deal but be smart about it as well. Our Hosting finder tool can give you a great head start.

Perhaps you require a professional to run your online website or store.

Bluehost is an excellent option for professional website help!

They are the 2021 PC Magazine Editor’s Choice for Web Hosting, and the top recommended WordPress site providers by WordPress.org.

If you think this sounds like the business you want to work with, read on to learn more about Bluehost and how you can save some cash on your services through Bluehost with a Bluehost coupon.

The Basics

Bluehost offers professional web hosting services at affordable prices.

You can save even more money by taking advantage of one of their discounts or current promotions.

They also offer free consultations and free trials!

Types of Bluehost Discounts

Bluehost frequently offers discounts in the form of seasonal offers, coupon codes, and free trials.

1. Bluehost Offers

An “offer” is anything Bluehost advertises as being available for a limited time or a seasonal discount.

The company frequently lists offers like this on its site.

For instance, during the fall season, they may advertise a Black Friday offer where you can receive discounted plans.

2. Bluehost Coupon Codes

Bluehost Coupon Codes work the same as many online coupon codes.

You can find these through third-party services or promotional emails from Bluehost.  

3. Bluehost Free Trials

The free trial with Bluehost is available to those who are new to the service and want to try it before purchasing.

You will receive a 30-day free trial to track the performance and traffic of your site before deciding to move forward with monthly plans.

Current Bluehost Promotions

Bluehost offers a promotion of some sort almost entirely throughout the calendar year.

Below are a few Bluehost offers you can use.

How Do I Get an Offer on Bluehost?

Getting an offer on Bluehost is easy.

First, visit their website, then head to the pricing and plans tab.

There you will see their current offerings.

You can also research online for other sites linking to Bluehost with coupon codes.

Bluehost Coupon Codes

There are a few Bluehost coupon codes you can find online.

These include the standard coupon, the 70% off coupon, and the renewal coupon.

Standard Bluehost Coupon

Most Bluehost coupons are about 55 to 75% off.

The standard coupon applies to website hosting and building, virtual private server plans, and dedicated hosting plans.

Bluehost 70% Off Coupon

The Bluehost 70% off coupon is commonly offered through third-party websites or affiliates.

Be on the lookout for these coupons when browsing the web or

Bluehost Renewal Coupon

When you renew your plan with Bluehost, you will likely receive a coupon to save money on your renewal.

Related Promotion: $1.99 domains at GoDaddy

Bluehost Free Trial

Bluehost free trials are available for all customers regardless of the type of plan they buy.

The 30-day free trial allows customers to determine if they are reaping benefits from the services provided by Bluehost.

Black Friday Deal

Bluehost often has Black Friday Deals where you can get deeply discounted plans.

Sign up for updates or frequently check the site to see when this promotion is happening.

What Are Bluehost Coupon Codes Good Towards?

Bluehost coupons are good for the four main services they offer.

Read more on the specifics below.

1. Shared Hosting

There are four shared hosting plans, all of which you can apply a coupon or promotion to.

These plans offer different services depending on the one you choose.

All plans include a free domain during the first year, free CDN services, SSD web storage, and a free WP migration tool.

With these plans, customers can also expect malware scanning and a free version of Yoast SEO.

2. VPS Hosting

There are three VPS Hosting plans that Bluehost offers.

Coupons and promotions are available for these options as well.

Customers receive CPU cores, SSD storage, RAM, bandwidth, and IP addresses with VPS plans.

The specifics of these features vary depending on the VPS hosting program you choose.

All plans use the cPanel/WHM management software.

3. Managed Hosting

Managed hosting, or dedicated hosting, is the best way to most efficiently manage your website.

Along with the features available with these packages,

4. eCommerce Hosting

If you need help hosting your eCommerce site, Bluehost can help.

eCommerce hosting services are only available on the Business, Online Store, and Online Store Premium plans.

Coupons and promotions work on these types of hosting services as well!

Each eCommerce option has WooCommerce installations, Secure Online Payments, and Unlimited Products.

The Online Store Premium plan comes with five other benefits in addition to these three.

Do the Promotions Work on Bluehost India?

Bluehost India offers promotions and coupons the same as the traditional site.

Promotions with Bluehost India might run on a different schedule or be a different amount than those offered on the traditional website.

In short, you will still be able to find promotions on the India site.

How To Use a Bluehost Coupon Code

It is easy to use a Bluehost coupon online.

Enter the coupon code at the end when you checkout to apply it to your order.

Promotions are automatically applied.

Does Bluehost Have a Money-Back Guarantee?

Bluehost offers a money-back guarantee on all orders and services.

The refund policy applies to the first 30 days of the service.

For 30 days, customers can try out the services and cancel at any time within those 30 days if they are unsatisfied with the product or the results of the services.

Is the Refund Policy Reliable?

The refund policy is reliable and is a “no questions asked” policy, so you know you will get your money back without jumping through hoops.

Other Benefits of Bluehost

There are a few other benefits of Bluehost we want to point out.

These include a free domain name, a free SSL, domain privacy, and Black Friday Deals.

1. Free Domain Name

With website plans, all customers receive their domain name for the first year free.

Hosting services also include the first year free on a personalized domain name.

2. Free SSL

Website plans through Bluehost offer free SSL for the first year of service.

The lowest level of hosting services offers free SSL for the first year.

All other hosting plans have free SSL for the duration of the service.

3. Domain Privacy

Domain privacy is a top priority for Bluehost.

All customers can keep their personal information concealed from possible spammers and identity theft.

Frequently Asked Questions

Read below for a few answers to some frequently asked questions that you and many others looking into Bluehost have.

Wrapping Up

Bluehost is one of the best website hosting sites and is particularly good for beginners or those who need a lot of help with their sites.

Coupons and promotions are a part of Bluehost’s brand and are frequently available for current and prospective customers.

Bluehost coupons are a great way to save money and start your website needs today!

Comment below with any recommendations or questions!

FreeHostingEU

As you can probably guess from the name, FreeHostingEU is a European web host that offers up 200 MB of disk space and 4 GB of bandwidth for free, as well as additional features like email accounts and FTP access.
The venture itself is backed by FreeDomain.co.nr and AttractSoft GmbH, two well-established German companies which also offer paid hosting options for customers who want to upgrade to a more robust plan. True, their paid plans are potentially better suited to other German businesses just from an ease of use perspective and to avoid problems with the language barrier, but their free plans are an attractive choice for users from across the globe.
Better still, FreeHostingEU is one of a number of free hosts which offers powerful one-click installation tools for content management systems like WordPress and Joomla. That’s all you really need to get started, and they also offer support for PHP, MySQL, Perl, Flash and other technologies and programming languages.
All of this combines to make it an attractive choice for those who are looking for free web hosting, and for those who are targeting European markets in particular. At the same time, though, it’s up against some tough competition.

000webhost.com

000webhost.com takes its name from the fact that it charges $0.00 for web hosting, and they’re trusted by over 16,000,000 users from across the world. They’ve been going strong for over ten years and promise to be free forever, which is probably why they rank consistently high both on search engine results pages and in lists like these.
000webhost offers a 99% uptime guarantee for their users and they even allow you to view historical logs to prove it. Openness is a theme at 000webhost, and it’s reflected by how open their platform is to different technologies and languages, with support for PHP, MySQL, Curl, GD2, Zend, XML, fopen(), PHP sockets, .htaccess and more.
And if their auto-installers and choice of over 50 popular scripts isn’t quite what you’re looking for, you can also use their inbuilt website builder software to make whatever your heart desires with no coding or graphic design expertise required. They also offer near-unlimited disk space and bandwidth, which is good news if you’re looking for a heavy duty free hosting provider that you can rely on.
If you’re the kind of person who makes purchasing decisions based on user reviews then 000webhost is probably the best choice for you. They have an army of happy customers who are quick to sing their praises on third-party review sites.

Awardspace

Awardspace is another free web host that’s owned by two parent companies (this time it’s AttractSoft GmbH and Zetta Hosting Solutions Ltd). They offer “completely ad-free hosting” and also throw in a free .dx.am domain name, allowing their users to create up to three subdomains for blogs, forums or other areas.
As with FreeHostingEU, Awardspace will allow you to create an email account that’s associated with your website and you can install WordPress and Joomla with a single click. They also have a web-based file manager so you can download, edit and upload files, but you can also just use their free website builder if you prefer the point and click approach.
With 1 GB of SSD storage and up to 5 GB of monthly traffic, Awardspace gives you enough resources to run a small-to-medium-sized website, and they also back up their offering with a 99.9% network uptime guarantee and 24/7 customer service. Those are nice added bonuses from a free host that really has no obligation to guarantee anything.
Awardspace is a good choice if you’re looking for an overall all-rounder with pretty good resource limits and decent customer service. It really depends what you’re looking for, and while Awardspace isn’t about to win any awards for the amount of space it offers, storage space isn’t everything.

FreeHosting.com

If you’re looking for heavy duty hosting then FreeHosting.com is the choice for you. That’s because it comes with a whopping 10 GB of disk space and 250 GB of bandwidth, and they don’t even compromise the integrity of your site by running advertisements. You’ll even have access to FTP uploads and more powerful tools like cPanel.
It does have its limits, though. You can only use it to host a single website and while you can create an email address that’s associated with your account, you’re limited to just the one. You’ll also need to purchase your own domain name unless you use a subdomain such as https://yourdomain.freehosting.com.
FreeHosting.com also offers paid upgrades for users who exceed the impressive resource limits and need unlimited disk space and bandwidth. Upgraded users also get access to unlimited email addresses, which makes it worth going for if you’re using it to host a business website or something similar where multiple people need an email account.
This host is without a doubt the best choice for those who require large amounts of storage space and bandwidth. In fact, some people even use FreeHosting.com purely as a tool to store backups thanks to their generous resource allocations and the fact that they have no limit when it comes to individual file sizes. If you want to upload a 10 GB zip file, you can do.

Freehostia

Freehostia will give you 6 GB of bandwidth and 250 MB of disk space, but unlike FreeHosting.com they’ll also throw in three email accounts. Better still, like Awardspace, they guarantee 99.9% server uptime and offer 24/7 customer service.
They’re able to do this because they also offer paid hosting plans, which is good news if you run out of resources and want to upgrade without jumping to a different provider. Better still, because they provide paid services as well, they take customer service pretty seriously. They even promise to respond to any support tickets within an hour, which you’ll be glad of if you run into any problems or if your site goes down unexpectedly.
When it comes to actually getting started with your website, Freehostia offers a tool called the Elefante Installer which enables you to set up WordPress, Joomla and other CMS software in just a couple of minutes. They’ll even allow you to run a phpBB discussion forum if you’re creating a community site as opposed to one with a commercial focus.
Freehostia is another pretty good all-rounder, and it’s particularly good for non-profits, community organizations and other small teams thanks to the ability to create up to three different email addresses. Plus it’s always nice to have the option to upgrade if you need to.

Wrapping Up

When you’re first starting out with your website, free web hosting can be a godsend. It allows you to get your site up and running and to start growing it way before you ever need to pay for extra resources. If nothing else, it’s a great way to buy some time so that you can launch with your minimum viable product and test the waters. And honestly, for 90% of websites, free hosting is good enough. People often start out with free hosting and then never upgrade because they never need to.
Perhaps one day you’ll want to upgrade to paid hosting and maybe even a dedicated server all of your own. By that time, though, it’s likely that you’re already making money from your website and so it’ll pay for itself.
In the meantime, you can still get yourself off to a good start with one of these free web hosting providers. It’ll be enough to get your site up and running and to launch it to the world and then you can see how it goes from there. You might even find that free hosting is good enough to power your site indefinitely. Only time will tell.

With the right hosting, your blog will be quick to load, rarely unavailable, and secure.
If you want to start a blog or move your existing blog, you might want to consider GoDaddy as your new web hosting company.

It’s a world-famous, influential player in the hosting industry — but is it the right choice for you?

In this article we review GoDaddy’s services and support to help you choose the right web host for your blog.

What Is Web Hosting?

If you’re new to blogging, you might wonder what web hosting is and why you need to work with a web hosting company to get your blog online.

Think of web hosting as the land that your house sits on.

Your blog needs to “live” somewhere — your hosting is where your blog’s templates, themes, and content are stored.

You then direct people to your content with a domain name, which acts like a street address that tells people where to go.

For a thorough introduction to web hosting and domain names, see this article by WPBeginner.

Who Is GoDaddy?

With over 18 million customers, GoDaddy is one of the biggest names in the website world, and it’s not hard to see why.

The company is renowned for their high-profile advertising campaigns and using celebrity spokespeople and Super Bowl commercials to capture attention.

In addition their popularity as a well-known web host, GoDaddy is the world’s largest domain registrar with over 77 million domain names registered with them.

But where did GoDaddy start, and how did they come up with that name?

The company was founded in 1997 as Jomax Technologies by Bob Parsons, who came out of retirement to launch the business.

Two years later there was a discussion about the name, which they felt people would struggle to remember.

One of the suggestions was “Big Daddy,” which was popular but already registered.

Bob Parsons then suggested “Go Daddy” — it was available, so they bought the domain and the company became Go Daddy Software, Inc.

Since then, the company has changed their styling to “GoDaddy” and that’s what it’s known as today.

The company is still focused on its core offering of website services for small, independent businesses, which is why it’s a popular hosting company for bloggers.

GoDaddy Domains and Hosting Plans

One of the reasons that GoDaddy is so popular is because it offers something for every level of the market — new bloggers, small business owners, and growing businesses are all well catered for.

Domain Names

If you need to buy a domain name for your blog you’re in luck, as GoDaddy is the world’s top domain name registrar.

GoDaddy offers domain names at a competitive price, with .com domains currently at $11.99 per year.

Bloggers who buy web hosting with GoDaddy on an annual plan will receive a free domain.

There are a huge number of domain extensions available, so it should be easy to find the perfect solution for your blog.

Hosting Plans

GoDaddy’s web hosting plans are a popular choice for bloggers, as they’re affordable and offer lots of storage for photos and video content.

The company offers different types of web hosting including shared hosting, dedicated hosting, virtual private server (VPS) hosting, and managed WordPress hosting.

They also offer a reseller service, so you could start your own business providing their web hosting solutions to others.

Here’s a quick run through of the current prices for GoDaddy’s various hosting plans:

• Shared hosting — from “Economy” at $2.49 per month to “Business Hosting” at $20.99 per month
• Managed WordPress site hosting — from “Basic” at $3.99 per month to “Developer” at $13.99 per month
• VPS hosting — from “Launch” at $18.99 per month to “Expand” at $44.99 per month
• Dedicated server hosting — from “Economy” at $69.99 per month to “Ultimate” at $129.99 per month

One thing to note is that to get the lower prices you’ll need to commit to a 36-month plan, or pay a slightly higher equivalent monthly cost on shorter plans.

You can choose to pay on a monthly basis if you want to test the service before you sign a long contract.

If you want to move your blog to GoDaddy, they offer a free migration service for WordPress blogs.

Top Features

Like many popular web hosting companies, GoDaddy offers a range of features and services designed with small business owners and bloggers in mind.

In this section we take a look at some of the top features for bloggers.

User Friendly WordPress Installation

Start your blog sooner thanks to the easy “one click” installation service for content management systems (CMS) like WordPress or Joomla.

Within your GoDaddy control panel (cPanel) there’s a “Popular Apps” section which is home to well-known services and products, including WordPress.

The installation is smooth thanks to their online guide and takes only minutes — which means you can start your blog quickly.

Website Builder

While we recommend WordPress for content management due to its flexibility and customizability, some website owners prefer to use a website builder.

If that’s you, you’ll be happy to hear that GoDaddy have an integrated website builder called “GoCentral.”

This drag-and-drop builder is similar to popular systems like Wix or Weebly, and is available as an added monthly cost starting at $5.99 per month.

GoCentral features hundreds of templates, a blog system, built-in search engine optimization (SEO), and eCommerce ability if you opt for the highest-tier plan.

Email Hosting

All of GoDaddy’s shared hosting plans come with a free year of business email with Office 365.

This popular, highly rated service from Microsoft Office means you have professional email with calendar integration and contacts at your fingertips.

Your free service includes one mailbox with up to 5GB of storage, so you may want to opt for one of their monthly plans to allow you the level of flexibility and storage that a blogger requires.

Plus, you’ll gain access to online versions of the Office suite to help you run your blog as a business.

If Office 365 isn’t for you, don’t worry — you can also configure your email accounts to work with other services like GSuite.

Online Marketing

You can also work with GoDaddy on your online marketing.

You can enable add-ons which help with your SEO and search visibility, as well as a service that lists your business with local directory sites.

This can be helpful if your blog has a business element to it, like an online store or in-person workshops.

GoDaddy has also introduced an email marketing service from $6.99 per month, which can be an excellent way to create a newsletter for your blog.

Check out our guide to Constant Contact vs. Mailchimp if you want to get a feel for other email marketing services out there.

Service and Experience

GoDaddy offers the services and products you need to create, launch, and run a successful blog — but what’s the experience as a customer like?

In this section we cover the reliability of their service, customer support, and security.

Reliability

Every blogger wants a web host that’s reliable, and that’s what you get with GoDaddy.

The company has a goal to achieve 99.99% uptime, which realistically would mean your blog is unavailable for no more than one day per year.

In reality this can be impacted by technical issues, so the current uptime is closer to 99.94% — which is still an impressive figure.

Security

A key to a successful web host is how well they can protect your blog and its content from potential digital and physical disturbances.

GoDaddy offers a range of security options for all, with their spam detection included as standard on shared hosting plans.

They run malware scans, security monitoring, and protection from DDoS attacks.

Daily backups are made so you can be confident your content is safe if you need to roll back to a previous version.

GoDaddy has its primary data center based out of Phoenix, Ariz., with other facilities across the world.

These facilities are secure, with technical staff available 24/7, and equipped with an uninterrupted power supply.

This means you won’t suddenly lose your data and it’s guarded from any attacks.

You can also invest in further security add-ons if you wish, like SSL and SiteLock.

Customer Support

GoDaddy’s customer service is generally well regarded.

As with most good hosting companies, you can access support 24/7/365 through a number of channels including forums, live chat, email, phone, and social media.

You can choose the method that works best for you, and you can usually expect a response quickly through your hosting account.

If for any reason you’re unhappy with your service, GoDaddy offers a money-back guarantee.

GoDaddy Hosting — Pros and Cons

With so many hosting companies available it can be difficult to choose the right one for you.

So, based on our findings above, would we recommend GoDaddy?
Here are our top pros and cons for GoDaddy hosting:

Pros

All-In-One Service

One of the most attractive things about GoDaddy is that they offer a solution for everything you need to create, launch, and promote your blog online.

We like that you only have to go to one place to buy your domain name, web hosting, email marketing, digital advertising, email, and more.

This can be a bonus if you want a simple solution and want to launch your blog or website quickly.

You can still source these services and products elsewhere, but having it all in one place saves a lot of trouble if you want to focus on your blog content.

Reliable Service

As you’d expect from such a big, established company, GoDaddy has great reliability scores.

Their website uptime score is reported to be close to 99.97%, which is good news for you and your readers.

You can also find comfort in the size of their operation.

A worldwide business with over 8,000 staff and 18 million customers offers you reliability of service, especially compared to a newer hosting company.

Affordable

With so much competition in the web hosting market, GoDaddy’s prices are great news for buyers.

Companies want to attract and retain customers, so you’ll often find attractive introductory offers.

GoDaddy is no different.

Their lowest tier “Economy plan” is available from $2.49 per month (lowest cost based on a 36 month contract) and offers enough space and functionality for a new blog, which makes it an affordable choice for bloggers.

The introductory offers apply across all tiers, so you can expect a discount of up to 68 percent in your first term of service.

The downside of this is that it’s more expensive when you renew — more on that in the Cons section below.

Free Email With Office 365 Integration

Something that really stands out about GoDaddy is their easy-to-use email offering.

While most web hosts will include email support in their hosting plans, GoDaddy’s Office 365 partnership goes one step further.

We like that Office 365 is a business-standard email service with calendar and contact integration, and a system that most of us are familiar with.

You won’t need to go through a complicated setup process or view your emails through a webmail system.

There is some fine print to be mindful of here — there’s a cost to renew after one year and only one mailbox is included, but for many bloggers that’s all you’ll need to run a successful business.

Unlimited Storage

Another reason to choose GoDaddy is that their plans offer an unlimited amount of disk space (storage).

On all plans (except the entry-level “Economy” plan), you have unlimited storage available to you so you can create and upload as much content as you need.

This can be especially useful for bloggers in photo-heavy niches like fashion, beauty, lifestyle, or travel.

On the “Deluxe,” “Ultimate,” and “Business Hosting” plans you can also create unlimited subdomains and websites — which means it’s very affordable to run more than one blog for the same low monthly cost.

Cons

While GoDaddy has its strengths, like any web hosting company it also has some weaknesses

SSL Is Not Included

Site Secure Layer, commonly known as SSL, is now a major influencer of reader confidence in a successful blog or website.

Bloggers and website owners can can apply an SSL Certificate which secures the data transferred from your reader to your site, and offers peace of mind to readers.

As web browsers such as Chrome begin to flag websites without SSL certificates as “Not secure,” it’s never been more important to ensure your blog has one.

Unfortunately, GoDaddy does not offer a free SSL certificate service.

You can purchase this service on a yearly basis, currently $59.99 per year, and a free year is included with all plans from “Deluxe” up.

This may not be a dealbreaker if you’re happy to pay, but it does feel like a barrier when you consider that many web hosting companies offer a free SSL certificate to their customers.

High Renewal Costs

Like many companies, GoDaddy offers attractive introductory pricing to encourage you to take out a plan with them.

This means your renewal prices can be much higher than your initial ones — sometimes up to 68 percent higher.

For example, if you got a 12-month plan of the popular “Economy” package, your first year would cost you $59.88.

When you renew, not only does your hosting price increase to $95.88 but you’ll need to pay to keep access to your emails too.

Depending on your needs this can quickly become expensive compared to your initial budget.

This is clearly signposted, with the first year shown as a “sale” price and clarified within the details for your plan.

Still, it can be a shock if you don’t budget for the change in advance.

Upsells

When you first purchase a plan with GoDaddy, you’re immediately presented with the opportunity to opt in to a longer contract term to make bigger savings.

The upsell doesn’t stop there, as you’re prompted to add other services to your basket including website backups, security services, and an SSL certificate.

On checkout you’re also prompted to add “Search Engine Visibility” which claims to improve your search engine ranking and increase visitors and sales, but provides little detail as to the service itself.

For new bloggers or business owners who are unsure of what they need, it can be easy to assume you need everything and opt in to these add-ons.

The initial $2.49 per month offer can quickly build up to a bigger amount than you’d expected, and the experience doesn’t feel overwhelmingly positive.

Our Verdict and Alternatives

With a number of positives including Office 365 email integration and unlimited storage, GoDaddy is a great option for bloggers who want to create and grow a successful blog.