Skip to main content
TrustRadius
HostGator

HostGator

Overview

What is HostGator?

HostGator, from Newfold Digital (formerly Endurance), is a web hosting service with WordPress hosting, VPS hosting, and dedicated hosting capabilities.

Read more
Recent Reviews

TrustRadius Insights

HostGator is a popular choice for users looking to host their websites and ensure automated backups. The service offers a variety of …
Continue reading

Jamie likes HostGator

7 out of 10
November 20, 2019
Incentivized
My client required a new website, domain, and Webhosting. The company wanted to keep the website operations within one company platform as …
Continue reading
Read all reviews
Return to navigation

Pricing

View all pricing

Hatchling

$2.75

Cloud
per month

Baby

$3.50

Cloud
per month

Business

$5.25

Cloud
per month

Entry-level set up fee?

  • No setup fee

Offerings

  • Free Trial
  • Free/Freemium Version
  • Premium Consulting/Integration Services
Return to navigation

Product Demos

Installing & Deleting Wordpress Using Cpanel in Hostgator - Live Demo

YouTube

HostGator Review 2021 ❇️ Speed Test, Live Demo & My Honest Recommendation

YouTube

HostGator Review 2022 - Is It Good for WordPress? Pros & Cons, Speed Test and Details of HostGator

YouTube

MightyHost Review ✅ Full Demo

YouTube

How To Install WordPress Using cPanel In HostGator !!! How To Learn !!! Live Demo !!! 2017

YouTube
Return to navigation

Product Details

HostGator Technical Details

Deployment TypesSoftware as a Service (SaaS), Cloud, or Web-Based
Operating SystemsUnspecified
Mobile ApplicationNo

Frequently Asked Questions

HostGator, from Newfold Digital (formerly Endurance), is a web hosting service with WordPress hosting, VPS hosting, and dedicated hosting capabilities.

Reviewers rate Support Rating highest, with a score of 7.8.

The most common users of HostGator are from Small Businesses (1-50 employees).
Return to navigation

Comparisons

View all alternatives
Return to navigation

Reviews and Ratings

(46)

Community Insights

TrustRadius Insights are summaries of user sentiment data from TrustRadius reviews and, when necessary, 3rd-party data sources. Have feedback on this content? Let us know!

HostGator is a popular choice for users looking to host their websites and ensure automated backups. The service offers a variety of features that enhance website security, such as SSL certificates and the SiteLock add-on. With the user-friendly cPanel interface, managing websites and email addresses becomes a breeze. Users can also leverage PHPMyAdmin for direct database manipulation and custom application development.

HostGator is widely used for hosting various platforms, including WordPress, Drupal, and static site installations. It is also a convenient option for hosting mailboxes and setting up multiple forwarders. Customers appreciate HostGator's solid and reliable service, finding it stable, efficient, and responsive. Apart from its affordability, HostGator provides a one-on-one environment with its smaller platform size. It proves to be a cost-effective alternative to VPS hosting while still offering good value for the money with decent uptime.

Businesses rely on HostGator to host their own websites as well as those of their clients. The intuitive cPanel access is packed with value-added features that cater to different needs. Customers enjoy the competitive product offerings and pricing provided by HostGator. The service ensures almost 100% uptime and simplifies the process of updating WordPress sites. Whether it's meeting the needs of low-traffic websites or serving entry-level web clients who require affordable hosting options, HostGator solves the hosting problem for clients by offering quality hosting and servers with PHP support and cPanel access.

Overall, HostGator meets diverse requirements with its range of services, helping users easily manage their websites while providing reliable hosting at an affordable price point.

Backup Feature: Some users have expressed appreciation for the inclusion of a backup feature at no additional cost. They find it to be a valuable addition, as it contributes to the overall reliability and stability of the hosting service.

cPanel Interface: Several reviewers have highlighted their satisfaction with the familiar and easy-to-use cPanel interface. They appreciate its user-friendly design, which enhances the overall user experience and makes managing their websites seamless and intuitive.

Flexibility and Control: Many users value the flexibility and control offered by the hosting service. They mention being able to perform various tasks independently, such as enabling SSH access and installing SSL certificates, for a nominal fee. This level of customization allows them to tailor their hosting environment according to their specific needs and preferences.

Long wait times for customer support: Many users have expressed frustration with the long wait times they have experienced when trying to connect with HostGator's customer support team. This issue has been mentioned by a significant number of reviewers.

Website slowdowns: Some users have reported occasional slowdowns on their websites while using HostGator's services. These slow speeds can negatively impact user experience and make it difficult to efficiently manage their online presence.

Slow response time from support team: The response time from HostGator's support team has been criticized by several users. They have mentioned experiencing delays in getting assistance, often having to endure long hold times before receiving any help.

Based on user reviews, here are the three most common recommendations for HostGator:

  1. HostGator is recommended for beginners and clients lacking technical expertise. Users find it to be a good option for domain registration and web hosting, particularly suitable for individuals new to web design or administration.

  2. Users suggest reading the fine print and contacting HostGator's sales and support team to discuss goals and product suitability. This ensures site safety and helps address any concerns before making a purchase.

  3. HostGator is praised for its easy management of cPanel and integration with apps like WordPress. It offers a user-friendly interface that simplifies website management for beginners.

Despite these positive aspects, there are certain cautions mentioned by users:

Users express dissatisfaction with HostGator's refund policy and warn against entering personal information on their site.

Some users mention that the quality of support may be lacking, questioning if the cost savings are worth it.

It is advised to confirm the fit and basics of HostGator's services before purchasing, including double-checking their refund policy and the version of PHP offered with their shared hosting.

Overall, users recommend HostGator for standard web services such as website hosting, domain registration, and email accounts. However, they suggest considering specialized hosting providers for more database-intensive needs.

Attribute Ratings

Reviews

(1-19 of 19)
Companies can't remove reviews or game the system. Here's why
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
HostGator is a nice hosting platform that offers you a more one-on-one environment because of the smaller platform size. It's been great using HostGator because I have not experienced any issues with them. HostGator has been proven to be a very great competitor in the hosting environment. We use them for a variety of our clients and have never experienced an issue with them.
  • Hosting
  • Email Solutions
  • Up-Time
  • Customer Service
  • Support
  • UI/UX
If I have a very large website that will receive a lot of traffic, I may decide to host the website on a different hosting platform for a better sense of security. I do not think there is much else that I don't think Host Gator would be an appropriate web hosting solution that we can offer to our clients. Overall, a very happy customer.
Hani Esmael | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 1 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
i have purchased a windows hosting plan and there was issue with domain name being registered and it got pointed to the hosting plan as well as attempting to add 2 other domains to the hosting plan when communicated with support it was supposed to cancel the incorrect domain name and register the correct one and fix the hosting plan accordingly, they kept going on loop on how it takes 24/48 without taking any action to change and not even fix on the account was provided until it gets propagated accordingly and after 5 more communication with the support team they only changed the primary domain on the host to yet another incorrect one and only to get it right on the second after 2 days of going back and forth with them about it and refused to cancel the incorrect domain and told me it was non refundable while one of the support team said it will be cancelled as I requested the same day as the incorrect domain was registered yet there is another error to add the other 2 domains when attempting to add them there is error produced "DNS Name already exists" while its not showing in the Plesk to work on when attempting to contact them again the response was oh we don't support this service which was windows Plesk service and yet the issue persist to this day and not being solved every communication is "will add note to admins to help get it fixed" and yet no action is being taken
  • none
  • none
  • none
  • support
  • quality
  • timing
  • policies
[...]
Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We used HostGator to host our websites. We didn't have a lot of traffic going to the site so we needed a cheaper hosting option and went with HostGator. We reviewed a bunch of other web hosts and this fit what we needed the most for the price. We also got a really good sign-up promotion so it was a great deal.
  • They are a very cheap option to host websites.
  • They had a simple interface.
  • There were plenty of how-to articles and videos online.
  • Customer service was pretty good.
  • The interface was a bit dated and could have been refreshed.
  • There was occasional downtime that seemed like it lasted longer than it should have.
  • Renewal prices are higher.
HostGator is a great hosting option for small- to medium-sized websites. We had our websites hosted with HostGator and have had very few problems. HostGator was easy to navigate.
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
I use HostGator's reseller shared hosting for client websites and a couple of my own sites. I use it for less-trafficked websites and lower budget clients. HostGator's shared hosting allows for a cheaper alternative to VPS hosting while sacrificing speed where it isn't needed. The service's uptime is very decent and a good value overall for the money.
  • Inexpensive
  • Reliable uptime
  • Wait times in support chat can belong.
  • First-tier support isn't always knowledgeable in technical details.
For shared hosting, HostGator is perfect for those with enough technical knowledge to work through simple problems. The problems aren't due to the host. It's just that you may end up waiting for support if it's needed. For small low-load websites, it works well, but shared hosting can be a little slow with larger sites on Wordpress, WooCommerce, and a few plugins. Again, it will all work; it just may lag slightly.
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
My company uses HostGator as our web host. Their services have been exemplary and they have almost 100% uptime. Part of our reason for choosing them was their cPanel access, which I find very intuitive and full of value added features. Our website is WordPress-based, and HostGator makes updating our site a very straightforward process.
  • CPanel access makes accessing my information easy.
  • Adding and deleting sub-sites is simple.
  • Their packages are geared more toward bigger companies.
  • Login process is a bit convoluted, and they bury too many important controls.
HostGator seems to be geared toward bigger companies. The smaller lighter web packages do not have a lot of value added features, and they do not allow you to add them À la carte. They pretty much force you to take a higher priced package in order to get some of the features that other web hosts we previously used offered free.
Doug Skinner | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • I have used HostGator in 2 capacities. First, in daily use, our district utilizes HostGator for our web hosting services. When our previous host became too expensive and unresponsive, we found HostGator did everything we needed better. It was cheaper and more efficient than our last host. Tech support was responsive at implementation, and there have been very few times we've needed to contact support since the product is stable and reliable.
  • I've also used HostGator in another organization through which email services are provided. In this capacity, I also find it stable, and it offers a variety of email clients to help fit our needs the best.
  • The Control Panel for web hosting is very user friendly.
  • Tech support is always responsive.
  • Tech support is responsive and helpful, but not without a special pin code. Since we need tech support infrequently when I do, I can never find that pin. It would be nice to have a quick client verification system.
  • Publishing updated pages are quick but could be faster by eliminating a couple of extraneous click.
HostGator is well suited for small businesses and personal use. We have a small public school district, so I can't speak to large applications, but it is perfectly priced and managed for our size.
November 20, 2019

Jamie likes HostGator

Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
My client required a new website, domain, and Webhosting. The company wanted to keep the website operations within one company platform as much as possible and at a reasonable cost, and after some extensive research and advice from colleagues, she decided on HostGator for domain and Webhosting, and the HostGator website builder to create and maintain her new website.
  • cPanel is a wonderful one-stop-shop. Multiple web building support tools.
  • If my client hadn't chosen the HostGator website builder, we would have gone with WordPress Installer, included in the package. Additional HostGator website builders included.
  • Emails provided with the domain. Better than having to rely on 2nd party email servers.
  • Decent add ons, such as SEO Gears.
  • Too many supported website builders competing with one another (Gator, Weebly, goMobi, Joomla, HostGator website builder). One or two plus WordPress Installer would be sufficient and cut down on the confusion of choices. Why have Gator AND HostGator website builders?
  • Unnecessary to offer Constant Contact as a carrot. It's an expensive add-on.
  • Navigating around the cPanel is great if you know what you need to do, but not so intuitive for first-timers.
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.
Score 1 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
HostGator provides the company with internet hosting. The company started using HostGator several years ago on a shared server, and gradually upgraded to a dedicated server. It hosts my website, and the websites of some clients. It was chosen based on price, as the business owners were capable of providing their own tech support.
  • 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.
  • The technical support is very deficient. If you are going to be relying on your host for all things technical, HostGator isn't a great choice for you. They're professional and friendly, but when you actually run into an issue, it will be a challenge to resolve.
  • During the latest server upgrade HostGator was to handle the migration of all sites on our Windows based server over to the new Linux based server. While doing so, the technicians left open a gap for hackers to infiltrate the old server which was then partially encrypted with ransomeware. A half a dozen sites hadn't yet been fully migrated at that point. HostGator said nothing about not finishing the migration - we figured it out when specific sites weren't working properly. They then said it wasn't possible to migrate them. Fortunately, one of the business owners had the technical capability to migrate 4 of the 6, and then rebuilt the two that were lost.
  • Unless you have a solid technical background, you're going to be disappointed with HostGator. They often can't determine the cause of technical issues, or claim it's impossible to fix the issues. However, the business partner always ends up solving the issues.
HostGator is well suited to those on a smaller budget and or those who can provide their own in-house tech support. It is not suitable for the tech-illiterate who need more than just simple basic hosting for a small site.
Score 6 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
I used HostGator to host my most important websites. I chose HostGator because it is one of the most popular hosting services. It offers a very affordable cloud hosting service which is faster and more reliable than traditional shared hosting. I used several hosting plan types on HostGator. I like the Business Cloud hosting the best because it offers hosting for unlimited websites and unlimited bandwidth.
  • HostGator is a very reputable company. So you know that your website is in good hands.
  • They have one of the most affordable cPanel cloud hosting services that you can find.
  • The speed of HostGator's hosting is pretty fast. And little to no downtime.
  • The hosting dashboard is always slow for me. And it's hard to navigate around.
  • Not providing free SSL certificates and not allowing installation of free SSL certificates are big minuses for me
  • The pricing is not straightforward.
If you are looking for a reputable hosting provider with a proven track record, then HostGator is going to be a good choice. Also HostGator is very good if you're not so technical. Their dashboard, even though it is a bit slow, is pretty self-explanatory. They have add-on upsells everywhere, but if that doesn't bother you, then it is going to be a good choice.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We use HostGator for our current website and hosting and for over one hundred client's hosting and servers. It solves the hosting problem of our clients. They need quality hosting and HostGator provides this. They also have servers that have a great price and high quality. You can't go wrong.
  • Hosting
  • Servers
  • Customer Service
  • Hackers can slide in and they take a while to catch those. Or at least update you that someone tried to hack.
HostGator is a proven hosting company. They aren't having people sell their product as an affiliate. They hardly ever go down and if they do they are right back up or solving the issue in a timely manner. "New" and "startup" hosting sites are so unpredictable and go down way more than HostGator. We will always be customers of HostGator.
Dan Gospe | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 3 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We use HostGator to host our website, and to provide automated backups of the website. We get our SSL certificate through them, and also have their SiteLock add-on for providing an additional piece of security. To manage the site, we use their cPanel interface. Until about a year ago, we also had them hosting our email addresses but we migrated off of that plan, and retained only the website services.
  • A simple backup is included at no cost
  • Haven't experienced any downtime for 2 years
  • Uses cPanel, which is familiar and easy to work with
  • Support could be better, it takes a long time to connect with somebody
  • You need to pay extra for a backup you can rely on
  • SiteLock is sold separately, but did not help when we were hacked
  • Site seems to slow down from time to time
HostGator is cheap and will host your website and the users of your email. However, we did run into some issues over the years.

They sold us SiteLock, which is supposed to be an extra layer of security. We had it for a while, when our site was hacked. When I called HostGator they said that the SiteLock plan we had wasn't the right one to protect you, so they tried to upsell me on more SiteLock. This was very frustrating, as our site was down due to hacking and we were seen as a sales opportunity instead of clients who needed help.

It turned out during this time that the basic backup that was included with HostGator was not going to work to get us back up. The problem is that it backs up once per week, and overwrites whatever was there before. So, it had backed up after the hack. After that we decided to get their premium backup plan.

HostGator is good if you only need the most basic of services, unless you are willing to pay for the add-ons, and you might not even be aware of the add-ons until there's a problem.
Steven Davis | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
I have been using HostGator for my business and personal domain for well over 10 years. I use HostGator's services for my website, emails, Moodle platforms, and custom projects. I've set the members as well to use their services. I have also used HostGator to manage my domains. Their service has been solid and reliable.
  • Setup and management is easy.
  • Customer and Technical Support is fantastic.
  • Prices are reasonable.
  • I use a shared server and I've had some confusion with setting up a unique IP. It didn't perform as expected.
  • My website has been hacked a few times and HostGator had no alarms in place to notify me.
  • I've had some email issues where my emails were blocked from some servers. But I don't do SPAM. And HG was unable to help me figure out the reason.
If you want simple hosting with MySQL and PHP functionality or Wordpress/Joomla hosting, HostGator is a good solution. But this is not a managed hosting provider meaning that you have a lot responsibility to manage your own website.
Score 3 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
HostGator was one of my first web hosts about ten years ago. They were and still are very affordable. We stopped using HostGator about seven months ago, though, had been using another hosting company for a few years previous to canceling altogether with HostGator. Initially, HostGator solved hosting needs along with PHP support and cPanel access.
  • Affordable
  • Fast Set up
  • Free cPanel
  • Customer Service
  • Renewals are confusing
  • Adding items to your shopping cart for you instead of asking you if you want them.
HostGator is okay for small websites that require no customer service at all. I have realized having support with hosting is just as important as having a fair price. With HostGator it's cheap, and you really do get what you pay for.
Jack Kingsman | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
HostGator is being used to host ~10 WordPress, Drupal, and static site installations along with ~15 mailboxes and multiple forwarders. For certain clients, backend usage of PHPMyAdmin for direct database manipulation was used to build and administer custom applications within their sites. DNS is not used, but almost all aspects of vanilla hosting (i.e. no value-add components like CloudFlare) are used.
  • cPanel is clear and functional; administrative areas are clear
  • Power to do what you need to yourself with nominal fee -- <$10 to enable SSH, or to have them install an SSL cert of your own
  • Good analytics to track CPU usage and general resource allocation
  • Convenient billing interface makes managing multiple hosting packages simple and easy
  • Support team response time is fairly slow; be prepared for long holds.
  • Only recently is the company coming out of a reliability slump -- in months past, sites would go offline, sometimes for as long as hours, with no explanation or ETA for fix.
  • The upselling is massive -- be prepared for borderline spam from HostGator partners.
HostGator is good for small scale, run-of-the-mill site hosting with low to medium traffic (WordPress, Drupal, Joomla, etc.). Even their "unlimited" plan won't handle the traffic a major app needs, and you're better off using a more elastic service to host your app. But if all you need is a vanilla website for your store/small business/etc? They're not bad.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We use it daily to host clients websites and email accounts.
  • Hosting
  • Email Packages
  • Business Account is the best deal!
  • Customer Service
  • Easier Cpanel
  • Easier Billing
If you need hosting for clients it has a fantastic business account. Comes with unlimited emails. Great host 1-3 sites for clients.
Jennifer R Glass | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
ResellerIncentivized
We are a web hosting company reselling HostGator's services to our customers. We had made the decision to become a web hosting company initially because of our eCommerce clients that we process their credit card payments for to ensure that they were processing via a secure method. From there, since we had the extra capacity, we made the service commercially available to others and have been happy with the service.
  • Support - while it's not always the greatest and more on-time of other companies, HostGator does help with the support of my clients' sites when needed.
  • Pricing - For our needs, the HostGator reseller pricing was acceptable to us without us needing to put too much in up-front.
  • I'd like to see faster response times to trouble tickets as there are some issues that are very time sensitive and cannot wait several days for resolution.
  • It would be good for HostGator to allow resellers the ability to join Windows and Linux servers under a single reseller option instead of requiring double reseller packages if a reseller requires both servers.
As a reseller for HostGator, I am always recommending my hosting solution to clients, potential and current. While HostGator is good for some people as a standalone, it's not how we are working with them.
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
HostGator has allowed our business to host our own website and host our clients' websites. It's been a great solution to not hosting MySQL and PHP on our own servers. The management fees for what you get are a great value.
  • They have a great knowledge base of FAQ information.
  • HostGator has excellent support teams - I've needed both account and technical support and never been let down.
  • Their library of quick installs for different platforms or CMSs has options other companies don't offer.
  • As far as things that could be done differently, they updated their site and now it's two different areas to log in to.
  • The email to renew a domain name has the domain name in an attachment rather than the body of the email.
  • The service ticket area could be updated more often to straighten out closed issues - they'll complete the task or close the issue but not update the ticket status.
Packages are great for hosting several sites.
Score 6 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We have used HostGator for entry level web clients who need affordable hosting options.
  • HostGator provides good hosting for website clients looking to save money while building a digital presence.
  • Customer service has been helpful.
  • Additional WP optimization options would make them a better competitor.
  • User interface lacks compared to platforms like GoDaddy and WPEngine.
HostGator would not be a great fit for high volume, or high performance WordPress based sites. For this reason, we now use GoDaddy for entry level client work, and WPEngine for more advanced projects.
Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
I use HostGator for my personal website and a few freelance sites that I've created for clients. When we need to select a hosting provider for a client I've found that HostGator has very competitive product offerings, competitive pricing, and often has excellent promotions.
  • Affordable hosting plans
  • Reliable web hosting
  • Excellent up-time
  • Quick and efficient support
  • Confusing navigation throughout their large menu of options on their site and control panel
  • Spam filtering on their basic level email package. You have to upgrade to a higher-tier email plan for an inbox that's not flooded by spam.
I think HostGator is appropriate for a small business or a personal website. In my several years of experience I don't have a strong level of confidence in using them for a larger-scale website with ecommerce capabilities or heavy database dependencies. I think of HostGator as being better suited for basic brochure-style or promotional websites with fairly static content.
Return to navigation