Godaddy WordPress Hosting: Is It Really Very Slow?
Every time there’s a new craze in social media, people flock to create blogs around it. As the majority of these platforms prefer blogs to be in written form, WordPress is the obvious choice for those wanting to express their thoughts online, especially as it is the most popular blogging platform globally, with over 200 million active sites as of January 2020.
However, those looking to migrate a blog from another platform to WordPress will discover a very surprising fact. Namely, that while WordPress is a popular choice among tech-savvy users, it can be incredibly slow to operate when compared to platforms like Blogger or Medium.
This is because most WordPress sites don’t use cutting edge technologies to run their sites, which causes a significant amount of strain on the server. Moreover, WordPress’s lack of focus on security leaves the platform open to hacks and attacks from online predators.
Why Does WordPress Have Such A Bad PPRank?
Put simply, WordPress’s popularity derives from the fact that it is an incredibly capable, feature-packed platform that is free to use. As a result, it has been embraced by individuals and businesses alike as a means to establish a presence online.
However, while WordPress is a fantastic choice as a blogging platform, it is an incredibly poor one for websites that require a massive amount of computing power to run. In fact, WordPress’s performance falls into a dreaded “zone” that webmasters call the “Red Zone”. When a website falls into this category, it typically means that the user experience will be horrible, or at least extremely frustrating.
To determine where your website falls on the PPS Performance Scale, simply enter the URL into any search engine (like Google or Bing). When the results load, you will see an outline of the site with a small graph at the bottom. This is the Page Performance Score (PPS). Next, you will see a short headline, along with four stars at the top, indicating how fast the site appears.
To give you an idea of how the PPS and your website’s performance comparison, here are some examples:
- The New York Times: The NYT is one of the world’s most popular newspapers, with over 24.8 million monthly unique visitors as of June 2021 (PPS: 89/100).
- Huffington Post: The Huffington Post is one of the most popular news websites in the world with over 150 million monthly unique visitors as of June 2021 (PPS: 71/100).
- Bing: Microsoft’s search engine Bing is the default search engine for Microsoft’s Windows 10, and it is also the search engine used by the Xbox. As of June 2021, Bing’s worldwide search engine market share is 22.9%. (PPS: 55/100).
- Wrike: Wrike is an online project management platform, powering over 200,000 worldwide companies of all sizes, from individuals and small businesses to large corporations, government agencies, and universities. As of June 2021, Wrike’s customer base is spread across 125 countries, with the largest single market being the U.S. (PPS: 45/100).
- Shopify: Shopify is a popular online platform that enables entrepreneurs and businesses to launch their own stores in under a minute. As of June 2021, there are over 200 million active Shopify accounts across the globe. (PPS: 33/100).
WordPress’s abysmal performance in the “Red Zone” has led to a steep fall in its popularity among website owners seeking to optimize their speed. To put it simply, when it comes to WordPress hosting, the faster the better.
In fact, since the end of June 2021, when the search engine giant Google announced that it was lowering the performance bar for the small business section of its search engine, the PPS for WordPress sites has decreased by 14% and the traffic has followed suit.
Additionally, around the same time, WordPress’s market share dropped by 2% in the “Red Zone”, while market share increased by 3% in the “Green Zone”.
How Can I Host My Website On A Fast and Reliable Platform?
To ensure that your site is as fast as possible, you are going to want to look into one of the following platforms:
- 1&1
- Bluehost
- WP Engine
- AWS
- Godaddy
- Just Web Hosting
- IPage
- Hostgator
- Cloudflare
- Enom
- 1&1
If you are looking for a “one-stop-shop” for web hosting, then consider moving to one of the above platforms. In most cases, you will find that you can get a free domain and installation of a WordPress blog on all of the above platforms. Moreover, if you are looking for a platform that provides additional features, then you can usually find a deal where you can get a free domain and installation of a WordPress blog with a few clicks.
What About The Security On These Platforms?
When it comes to the security of a web hosting platform, you are going to want to look for a company that is both reliable and up to date with the latest security measures. After all, if you are reading this, then you are probably aware of the numerous data breaches that have occurred over the past two decades due to poor security.
Unfortunately, this is a common issue when it comes to web hosting. For example, one of Cloudflare’s customers, Neimanovitch, said that the company’s security procedures were “slightly outdated” in early 2021. Moreover, it was revealed in early 2021 that 1&1, Bluehost, and Hostgator failed to update their systems in over a decade, which made them vulnerable to hacks and data breaches.
Additionally, while most companies have patched the security flaws over the past few months, it is clear that none of these companies are taking security seriously. For example, Cloudflare, which provides web security via its CDN and DDOS protection, still recommends that website owners use “password protect” as a security measure. Moreover, while they updated their servers with the more secure SHA-256 algorithm, they have yet to make that algorithm the default. As a result, users can still use weak passwords that are easily cracked by common hacking tools.
Now, while it is always good to be vigilant about your data and security online, it is important to keep things in perspective. For instance, WordPress is the most popular blogging platform in the world, which means that it is highly likely that your blog will not be the target of cybercriminals. In most cases, the only thing that you are going to need to worry about is spam.
If you are worried about spam, then you are going to want to look at one of the above-mentioned platforms. Alternatively, you can use a tool like Google’s anti-spam filter to help reduce spam on your WordPress blog. Moreover, you can consider using a service like Problogger, which provides quality content that is heavily optimized for SEO. In most cases, you will see massive performance increases as a result of using such platforms.
In summary, while it is great to consider the speed and reliability of a web hosting plan when comparing different services, it is also important to keep things in perspective. For example, if you are concerned about spam, then you might want to look at one of the above-mentioned platforms, as they usually provide some level of spam protection. Moreover, if you are concerned about security, then look for a company that regularly updates their security procedures and platforms.
What About The Uptime On These Platforms?
When comparing different web hosting services, you are going to want to consider the uptime of the platform. In most cases, you are going to want to look for hosts that offer a 99.9% uptime guarantee, especially if you are paying for the service. Unfortunately, as of June 2021, only 1&1, Bluehost, and Hostgator provide this level of guarantee, while the rest offer a 99.7% uptime guarantee.
This is rather frustrating if you are looking for a solid, reliable hosting service, as even the best hosting companies can have random downtime due to factors that are beyond their control, like DDoS attacks.