I’ve been a HostGator client for a long time, but recently the company seems to be going in a very anti-consumer direction. For example, in the past, if there was an issue with your site, support would restore it to an earlier date without any extra charge. Now, HostGator has started charging $49.99 for a restore. The backup is stored on cloud storage that clients are already paying for, but you can’t access it yourself. So essentially, they’re holding your backup hostage unless you pay $49.99 for a simple restore. This change wasn’t announced clearly, and I bet it was just added to their terms somewhere quietly. I’m definitely looking for a new host because a company with these kinds of practices isn’t one I want to trust.
Totally agree, been with HostGator for a while too. They’ve gone downhill. I’m also looking to move my sites.
Jasper said:
Totally agree, been with HostGator for a while too. They’ve gone downhill. I’m also looking to move my sites.
Happy to help you pick a new one! I’ve been in this business since 2004 and now run my own VPS servers. I can take a look at your options and give you some advice for free.
Make sure to avoid any of the other hosts owned by Newfold Digital/EIG, along with GoDaddy and IONOS.
I’m surprised you stuck with HG for so long. Hope Brent is enjoying his life.
Donna said:
I’m surprised you stuck with HG for so long. Hope Brent is enjoying his life.
Never knew anything about the founder, looks like he’s had an interesting journey!
That’s way too much to charge. I’m with NixiHost, and they let you restore backups anytime without a fee.
Yeah, I left HostGator earlier this month after being with them for 10 years! They got bought by an investment firm, and now it’s all about squeezing customers for every penny. With the way things are, you have to stay prepared with your own backups and migration plans in case companies start pulling these stunts.
That’s rough. I’d suggest trying SiteGround.
Troy said:
That’s rough. I’d suggest trying SiteGround.
+1 for SiteGround
Troy said:
That’s rough. I’d suggest trying SiteGround.
I can share my affiliate link if you’d like?
If ‘lately’ means the last 10 years, yeah, you’re right. $50 for a restore is just absurd. These companies amaze me with their upselling.
Totally agree, $50 for restoring a backup is just wrong. Look for a host with JetBackup and daily backups included; you should be able to restore on your own for free.
They even charge for migrations now. Seems like they’ll charge for anything they can.
HostGator was one of the best before EIG bought them. I left right after that.
EIG only cares about profit, not their customers.
HostGator used to be good, but they’ve gone downhill fast. Customer service is awful now.
Honestly, I always thought they were bad. A lot of hosts charge for restores, so I’m not too surprised HostGator has started doing it too.
First off, this is shocking.
Second, restoring a backup isn’t always just a quick button click. Sometimes you need to check that everything restored correctly, especially with WordPress. But even then, $50 is way too much. I started with HostGator back in 2004, and they were great back then. But over the years, I moved to running my own VPS servers and now manage everything myself.
My advice: find a provider that lets you control your own backups. I even script backups to run offsite, so if anything happens, all data is secure. Feel free to reach out if you’d like help setting something similar up. Got some scripts on my GitHub if you’re interested.
Edit:
Thinking back on my early days with HostGator, it’s sad to see how much has changed. Hosting has evolved so much, and the prices have dropped while resources have increased. But seeing a company like HostGator go down this path is disappointing.
They’re one of the worst now. I started with them in 2020 but quickly moved on.