Godaddy vs WP Engine: What’s Best for the WordPress Hosting Needs of Your Business?
While there is no question that WordPress is one of the most popular Content Management Systems (CMS) around, it is also one of the most customizable ones. For this reason, you might find yourself in need of a hosting service that can provide you with the best of both worlds; a stable and reliable platform as well as the ability to fully customize your site as you see fit.
This is where the comparison between Godaddy and WP Engine comes in. Although both companies offer WordPress hosting, they each approach the subject from a slightly different perspective. Let’s take a closer look at how these two providers stack up against each other and which one will be the best choice for your WordPress needs.
Reliability and Stability
First off, let’s examine the reliability and stability of each company. Here, they are assessed on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the least reliable and stable platform and 10 being the most reliable and stable platform. Take a look.
- Godaddy: 5/10
- WP Engine: 7/10
From the looks of things, it appears as though Godaddy is an unreliable and unstable platform for hosting your WordPress site. Although this company has been around for longer than most and was one of the first to offer what is now known as shared hosting, their servers do not stand up to the heavy load that is placed upon them by their users. In fact, this company has been known to experience outages due to over-demand which results in poor performance and high latency.
In contrast, WP Engine has a much higher rating owing to the fact that their servers are much more stable and reliable than those of Godaddy. Not only do their servers handle heavy traffic without breaking a sweat, but they also support an almost unlimited number of domains through their Private Hosting plans. As a company that is built on the shoulders of giants, you can be rest assured that this is one platform you can rely upon.
Cost Effective
Next, let’s examine the cost-effectiveness of each company. Here, the cost-per-month is computed by taking the total amount spent annually on hosting and multiplying it by 12 to obtain the total number of months in a year. So, for example, if you were to spend $500 per year on hosting, you would need to shell out $60 per month to keep your site active. Take a look.
- Godaddy: $500 x 12 = $60 per month
- WP Engine: $50 per month
This pricing structure is typical of what you will find with most web hosts. However, it is important to keep in mind that with the exception of WP Engine, all of these costs are subject to change. So, while this pricing might work out perfectly fine today, you might want to review it again in a year or so when the new hosting rates are implemented.
Additional Features
Additional features are all those features that are not included in the base plan but are available for purchase. These are, for the most part, extensions or add-ons to the above items. Take a look.
- Godaddy: Limited
- WP Engine: Feature-rich
As a general rule, additional features make a platform more attractive to potential customers. In the case of Godaddy, you will be limited to hosting a maximum of five domains with one click. Beyond that, you will need to purchase additional features individually. Similarly, you will find that WP Engine allows you to purchase additional features as a package rather than needing to purchase them one by one.
Customer Support
Finally, let’s examine how much customer support each company provides. Here, they are assessed on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the least supportive platform and 10 being the most supportive platform. Take a look.
- Godaddy: 2/10
- WP Engine: 10/10
Not all customer support is created equal. Some companies put a lot of money into marketing and pushing products and services, but don’t offer much support when things go wrong. In these cases, customer support consists mainly of sending an email containing an acknowledgement that your question has been received and will be answered within 24 hours. However, if you are looking for a true one-stop-shop for all of your web hosting needs, then WP Engine is the clear choice. Not only do they provide some of the best customer support around, but they also have a live chat feature that is available 24/7
In summary, when choosing a web host for your WordPress site, you will want to look for a provider that is both reliable and stable as well as cost-effective. If you want to gain full control over the appearance of your blog, then WP Engine is the clear choice since they give you full access to the dashboard where you can fully customize the look and feel of your site. If you don’t want to spend too much money, then shared hosting from Godaddy is an excellent choice since you won’t have to upgrade your plan to get the additional features you need.