HostGator, from Newfold Digital (formerly Endurance), is a web hosting service with WordPress hosting, VPS hosting, and dedicated hosting capabilities.
$2.75
per month
Squarespace
Score 8.3 out of 10
N/A
Squarespace is a CMS platform that allows users to create a DIY blog, eCommerce store, and/or portfolio (visual art or music). Some Squarespace website and shop templates are industry or use case-specific, such as menu builders for restaurant sites.
This is for web design purposes. In versatility, not as good as WordPress, but pretty close to Squarespace and Wix. In ease of use, much easier than WordPress, about the same as Squarespace and Wix. In the choice of design templates, as good as all three.
Customers have utilized HostGator primarily for website hosting purposes, with many pointing out its user-friendly interface and reliable uptime. They appreciate its various server options, stating that HostGator is optimal for both small and large businesses, and it has seen use by beginners and web developers alike. It’s also been repeatedly praised for its live support service with some users stating it has been valuable for resolving technical issues.
In contrast, Squarespace has mostly been used by its customers for creating visually appealing websites without the necessity of having coding skills. Portfolio builders, small business owners, and bloggers commonly use it, considering its drag-and-drop feature as a vital tool for customizing their sites. The availability of sleek, modern templates has also been commended by its users, however, some have indicated that it might not be as flexible for those looking to have more control over their website’s intricacies. Some Squarespace users have also mentioned its e-commerce functionality as highly beneficial for managing online stores.
Features
HostGator
Squarespace
Security
Comparison of Security features of Product A and Product B
HostGator
-
Ratings
Squarespace
8.5
59 Ratings
6% above category average
Role-based user permissions
00 Ratings
8.559 Ratings
Platform & Infrastructure
Comparison of Platform & Infrastructure features of Product A and Product B
HostGator
-
Ratings
Squarespace
8.3
51 Ratings
8% above category average
API
00 Ratings
8.044 Ratings
Internationalization / multi-language
00 Ratings
8.733 Ratings
Web Content Creation
Comparison of Web Content Creation features of Product A and Product B
HostGator
-
Ratings
Squarespace
7.8
88 Ratings
3% above category average
WYSIWYG editor
00 Ratings
9.076 Ratings
Code quality / cleanliness
00 Ratings
8.069 Ratings
Admin section
00 Ratings
8.387 Ratings
Page templates
00 Ratings
7.088 Ratings
Library of website themes
00 Ratings
7.085 Ratings
Mobile optimization / responsive design
00 Ratings
6.784 Ratings
Publishing workflow
00 Ratings
9.076 Ratings
Form generator
00 Ratings
7.569 Ratings
Web Content Management
Comparison of Web Content Management features of Product A and Product B
HostGator for email, domain and website hosting--delightful, 100% satisfied! Have always had ample capacity for company email needs, features work well. I have used it off and on for several organizations since 2011. HostGator website building is fairly straightforward, although I wouldn't recommend it for first-time web designing. The pluses on the HostGator website builder: great-looking themes, adequate webpage capacity, really cool scrolling capabilities, which trends well now. Easier than building a WordPress website from scratch, which can also be done for free in HostGator. I'd say it's limited compared to feature-rich WP, but it designs as nicely as Wix.
I have a gorgeous website that I made myself, thanks to Squarespace. I'm able to integrate marketing emails, SEO, analytics, online carts, pretty much instantly. If you want to get started fast, it's really great. I think if you want to customize square space and you're having trouble, it would be most helpful to hire a square space designer. That's what I would have done in retrospect.
The pricing is a big feature for this hosting company
Every three years when the hosting contract is coming to an end, they offer a reduced fee to upgrade your server plan, which is more cost effective than renewing at the regular rate for whatever plan you're currently using.
The customer service workers are professional and friendly.
Stupid simple to use. I know very creative people who cannot code and this is probably the easiest ever platform for them!
Pretty website templates and great functionality with showing off portfolios.
They've already figured out what are the problems that non-coding people have when creating websites and they've figured out a simple solution for all of it.
Because we have in house technical support to compensate the lack of quality HostGator tech support, and because the price continues to be affordable the business is likely to continue using HostGator. They provide what the business needs and we have in house support to maintain it.
It's simple to use for someone who is really good with computers as well as those who are not. I've been using my personal squarespace for years and have also helped clients build a starting page which they are later able to manage theirselves.
While you will get support from HostGator, it seems to be a different level from 8-10 years ago. It may take 15-20 minutes to get someone on chat, and unless you follow up, I've found followup email support to take a couple of days. If you stick with it, though, you will get support, and I've never had a problem they couldn't help with.
Help is available directly from the back end and uses full sentence searching to find answers to questions others may have asked before. With a ton of articles and support questions documents, it is very likely that your question has been answered. If not each page has the ability to open a direct email to support. Each case has a number and can be followed. Responses are often quick and have links and directions clearly stated
I prefer HostGator over GoDaddy. HostGator does have better and more reliable customer support, and the user interface and user experience are overall much more friendly and easier to use. GoDaddy does have downtime associated with their hosting in my experience, but I have not experienced that with HostGator.
Overall, as a designer, it makes perfect sense for small to large businesses to use a site such as SquareSpace. Costs are relatively reasonable with the ability to go in and do custom code.
The issue is certain aspects of it, depending on the plan, you can't do. So, if you want to do API to the site, you need to use the top-tier program to do so. Even at custom code, you won't have access to the API section.
As well, like all templates and themes, everybody is using the same style too.
The key positive impact on my overall business objectives is how simple Squarespace sites are to implement new information. Whenever our services change, we can quickly update pages or even change how the website flows, in a very short window of time. This allows me to get back to more urgent work sooner.
Our Squarespace site for Club Swim Show helped present our web series to potential partners; Club Swim Show went on to partner with a popular swimming magazine and reach a larger audience through that magazine's hosting thanks to the professional design of our original website.
Squarespace does not bring in customers to my storefront, which is fine for me, since I sell things infrequently and it is not my main business, but might work against someone who is expecting a Shopify or Etsy level connection with buyer markets.
