Yet another day, yet another review. Today, I am here to introduce GoDaddy VPS (Virtual Private Servers). As you probably know, I have already covered GoDaddy as a web hosting company and tested out its shared hosting offer.
| VPS Hosting Plans | Self-Managed; Fully Managed; Linux (CentOS and Ubuntu) and Windows |
| Top Features | Global Data Centre Network; 99.9% Uptime Guarantee; High-Performance SSDs Powered by Virtuozzo; KVM Virtualization; Monitoring and Alerts; cPanel/WHM + Installatron Or Plesk Obsidian Web Host Edition, WordPress Toolkit; Automated Weekly and On-Demand Backups and Recovery Console; DDoS, SSL, Dedicated IPs |
| Customer Support | Standard Hosting Phone Support; Comprehensive Help/How-To Video Library And Technical Blogs; Community Peer-To-Peer Advice; Additional Options Within the Managed VPS Plans |
However, now, I will report to those that find shared hosting insufficient and dedicated servers too expensive. Or, to put it differently, the customers that are willing to get 100% dedicated resources at an affordable price. The best and only way to do so is to purchase a VPS.
Now, you might have decided, “I am going to get a VPS hosting for my website/app/and so on.” So, the only question left at this point would be, from where?
GoDaddy is indeed a popular option. That’s precisely why I wanted to test it out. Is GoDaddy VPS worth your attention, more importantly, time and site reputation? Let’s find out!
GoDaddy
Getting Started with GoDaddy VPS Plans
GoDaddy offers self-managed and fully managed VPS plans. While the first might be sufficient for users who aim to have full control over their server, the latter is better for those who lack the time or skills to do so.
Self-managed VPS hosting solutions are the perfect choice for system administrators and developers or people with the proper skills and enough time to manage the server.
Suppose you seek full control over your VPS. In that case, GoDaddy can grant you full root access with SSH keys, a command line for flexibility and power, and a wide range of scalable performance options with flexible server configurations.
GoDaddy offers two types of VPS hosting plans, with standard RAM or high RAM. The first offers up to 16 GB RAM, while the second takes things to another level – up to 32 GB RAM.
The RAM is the only difference between the two, increasing the price of the high RAM alternative. Otherwise, you can expect from 1 CPU Core to 8 CPU Cores, 1 GB to 16 GB RAM, 20 to 400 GB SSD Storage, and one to three additional IPs available on request in both plans.
GoDaddy’s self-managed VPS plans support CentOS, Ubuntu, or Windows Servers. They are compatible with cPanel/WHM and Plesk Obsidian Web Host Edition. Furthermore, you can expect monitoring and alerts at 5-minute intervals and additional dedicated IP options.
When it comes to customer support, you can benefit from standard hosting phone support, comprehensive help/how-to video library, and technical blogs, along with community peer-to-peer advice within the self-managed VPS plans.
Now, onto the more advanced, thus more expensive option – a managed VPS.
GoDaddy’s managed VPS plans offer from 2 – 32 GB RAM, CentOS or Windows Server, and cPanel/WHM or Plesk Obsidian Web Host Edition. They enhance the server security by performing monitoring and alerts at one-minute intervals. Furthermore, the managed option allows for services monitoring and proactive remediation.
Apart from the above-mentioned customer support options, you can also expect server setup, DNS setup and configuration, SSL installation, HTTP/2 server configuration, and SQL Server Express install. GoDaddy also offers package management, email client setup, PHP module install/upgrade, MySQL optimization, WordPress setup, call for a custom service request, disk space audit, and firewall rules configuration in the managed VPS plans.
GoDaddy has also included a dedicated services team in the managed VPS plans. Better yet, you can send them unlimited service requests.
At last, there’s the issue of site migrations. With GoDaddy, you get five free site migrations on the managed VPS plans. Also, you can expect 70% off on each migration after.
Now, you might be wondering, which should I choose? Well, most of all, the self-managed VPS hosting plans are suitable for eCommerce, hosting multiple sites, web or database servers, resource-heavy applications, email servers, and testing environments.
However, in my personal experience, managed VPS almost always turns out as the more viable option. This is especially true for the long term. See, with the managed VPS, a team of experts will always be available on-demand to respond to your quests. Your server will also always be up-to-date and fully functional, meaning you can expect better uptime and performance.
Now, if you have been following me for a while, you sure know what comes next. Let’s test it out. Does GoDaddy stand true to its promises regarding the VPS plans?
Setting Up a GoDaddy VPS Plan
As usual, I will get the cheapest option. First of all, I am here for testing purposes, so I will not need full managed support. Instead, I would like to browse the user interface and report my findings to beginners and experts in the niche. Better yet, I will save a few bucks in the process.
So, I will get the Standard RAM Self-Managed VPS.
Once you click on Configure Your Server, you will see the following screen.
Here, you need to select an operating system. As mentioned, the basic plan offers Linux support only. In the rest, you can also choose from Windows.
Next, you should choose the term length. At this point, you can choose from one month, six months, a year, two or three years.
During the server setup, you can also add a control panel. However, you need server admin experience for the plan I’m about to purchase. So, you will get root access via SSH. Otherwise, you can benefit from an easy-to-use Client Area, such as the industry-standard cPanel.
Finally, you can enhance your security and speed with GoDaddy’s available add-ons.
The Deluxe Website Security blocks malware before it reaches your site and stops DDoS attacks with an advanced WAF. With the included CDN, you will also boost your page load time by 70%.
The Essential Website Security is cheaper, thus more limited. It offers automatic daily scans to detect malware on your site, along with a guaranteed clean-up. In turn, it defends your site against hackers and malware.
Still, you can choose to skip both options and select ‘No Thanks’ instead.
Now, before you click on Continue, you can review your order in the square on the right of the screen named Order Summary. As you can see, I will get the cheapest plan without add-ons. Essentially, this will depict what you can get with GoDaddy VPS at a minimum. Anything above is only going to get better.
I like GoDaddy because it offers the Contact Us option during the server setup stage. So, if you have any unclarities, you can send them a message to assist you in the process.
Back to my purchase; once you click on Continue, you will be transferred to the following screen.
In the Cart, you can review your purchase once again.
At this point, GoDaddy also offers more options regarding the term. For instance, you can get the VPS for 60 months.
You can also find the option to add a domain for your VPS on the right. Then, click on ‘I’m Ready to Pay.’
The next step is to Sign In. Here, you can create your account using Facebook, Google, or Email.
I will go for email. You need to enter your email address, username, and password here.
Once you sign in, you need to enter billing information. This section requires your country, first and last name, phone number, address, zip code, province/region, city, organization, and Tax ID.
Then, save your Billing Information and continue with the payment method. You can use your credit card or PayPal account to pay for GoDaddy VPS.
The last step is to Complete your Purchase.
And voila, you’re in your account.
As you can see, my product is still pending. So, I’ll have to wait a while for GoDaddy to set up my server. They reserve up to 24 hours to do so; however, the process sometimes takes only a few minutes.
Some time went by, and I decided to log in to my account, only to encounter the following.
See, usually, when I enter my account and password, I’m good to go. However, GoDaddy takes security seriously, and it aims to protect its users from online predators and identity theft.
I clicked on Get Started, which took me to the following screen.
The first step is the Submission Method, where you need to provide your identification information as the payment method account holder. For instance, you can attach government-issued photo documents, such as a driver’s license or passport.
At this point, you can choose from Secure Upload Online Form, Email, or Fax.
I went for the first option, as the fastest alternative. The next step is to provide identification.
At last, you can offer additional info you would like to provide for the verification.
Finally, click Finish. GoDaddy might take up to 24 hours to review the provided information, after which you will receive an answer via email.
Sure, I appreciate GoDaddy’s concern for its customers, and you should do too. These measures are taken to protect the end-users, or in this scenario, us. However, I got really annoyed waiting around for the response. It prolongs the registration process a lot.
Let me explain. See, I purchased the product on the 3rd of December. Keep in mind, GoDaddy charged me for the product.
I received the Order verification request the same day, almost immediately.
I submitted all required documentation, to be more specific, my scanned passport, which I didn’t actually want to do, but I had to. Even so, I received an email from GoDaddy four days later that my order was canceled. What?
The email states:
“If you feel this action has been taken in error and would like to request a reinstatement of your order, please sign in to your account. You’ll be asked to upload a viewable, scanned copy of the driver’s license or passport for the account holder of your chosen payment method. We’ll also ask you to provide a brief explanation of how you plan to use the products purchased”.
So, that’s what I did. I logged in to my account, provided the information once again, explained that I am an expert reviewer, and so on. Shortly put, it didn’t help.
I will not go over all emails to save you both time. I lost my nerves with this registration. I gave my money, explanation, card info (scanned card), and passport (scanned passport). Still, GoDaddy didn’t approve my account. It’s the 16th of December, and I still don’t have access to the Client Area.
The worst part is that I also called customer support. After a five-minute conversation, and keep in mind, they are charging for international calls, the agent still couldn’t help me. I still cannot understand what’s the matter. I explained the situation, to which he responded, wait, I will take care of it. Only to hang up on me.
So, that’s more or less all you should know about my journey with GoDaddy. It was a short one and probably will not repeat in the future. Well, at least for me.
GoDaddy
Performance, Speed, and Uptime
GoDaddy offers a global data center network within its VPS plans. During the server setup, you can choose from North America, EMEA, or Asia-Pacific. Keep in mind, choosing a location that’s closer to your target audience delivers faster page loads and improves your visitors’ experience.
With GoDaddy VPS, you can benefit from unlimited traffic and 99.9% guaranteed uptime.
All VPS hosting plans utilize high-performance SSDs powered by Virtuozzo for 3X the speed plus unlimited traffic and KVM virtualization for full control over the hardware resources. These plans also come with an easy-to-use interface, such as the cPanel, to create unlimited accounts.
Furthermore, GoDaddy continually monitors server uptime and performance (CPU, RAM, and Storage). In turn, you receive alert notifications to stay informed at all times.
Another essential point when it comes to overall website performance is scalability. GoDaddy eliminates the need for cumbersome, manual migrations. Instead, you can quickly increase RAM, CPU, and storage with VPS seamless upgrades.
GoDaddy VPS Customer Support
As mentioned, there’s a significant difference regarding customer support between the self-managed and managed VPS option. Here’s an overview of the two.
| Self-managed GoDaddy VPS | Managed GoDaddy VPS | |
| ✓ | ✓ |
| ✓ | ✓ |
| ✓ | ✓ |
| Paid option | Unlimited service requests |
| Paid option | The first five are free. 70% off 6+. |
| All are available as paid options. | All are available for free. |
Security and Backups
Purchasing a GoDaddy VPS plan will grant you round-the-clock network monitoring with advanced DDoS protection and a free SSL certificate (for the first year) with a dedicated IP.
Furthermore, all of GoDaddy’s VPS hosting plans come with automated weekly snapshots with scheduling and on-demand monitoring, alert tools, and expert support. In other words, you can either schedule backup time or create backups on your own at any point in time.
As mentioned, the self-managed VPS comes with monitoring and alerts at 5-minute intervals, while managed VPS is at 1-minute intervals. You can also expect services monitoring and proactive remediation with the latter.
Finally, if you have a website or an app that processes credit cards, they are expected to be PCI compliant. PCI (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards) designates security standards to protect cardholders’ credit card data.
If you aren’t keen on taking on this huge responsibility, you can also set up your online presence and product catalog with GoDaddy’s hosting service and hire a third-party provider to process payments on your behalf. This way, you will keep credit cards and PCI compliance off your server.
Specific features of GoDaddy VPS
Too much information, too little time. Let’s sum it up. Here’s what makes GoDaddy unique, thus superior to other VPS providers on the market:
- Total Control with Full Root Access
- Global Data Centre Network
- Linux (CentOS and Ubuntu) and Windows Servers
- 99.9% Uptime Guarantee
- High-Performance SSDs Powered by Virtuozzo
- KVM Virtualization
- Uptime and Performance Monitoring and Alerts
- Seamless Upgrades and Scalability
- Optional Control Panels (cPanel/WHM + Installatron Or Plesk Obsidian Web Host Edition)
- WordPress Toolkit Included
- Automated Weekly and On-Demand Backups and Recovery Console
- Unlimited Traffic and Hosting Accounts
- Advanced DDoS Protection
- A Free SSL Certificate (For the First Year)
- Optional Dedicated IPs
Pros and Cons of GoDaddy VPS
Pros:
- Easy Administration and Unlimited Accounts
- Full Control to Shape the Server
- Incredible Scalability On-Demand
- Strong Security Features and Backups
- Customer Support Is Available 24/7
Cons:
- Certain Features’ Prices Increase on Renewal
- The Plans Can Easily Become Expensive
- Horrible Quality of The Customer Support
Summary
On paper, GoDaddy VPS exceeds all its competitors. First, the provider has a broad offer, including self-managed and fully managed VPS. You can also find Linux (CentOS and Ubuntu) and Windows Servers, which are not frequent with other VPS hosting companies.
As a customer, you will get excellent customization freedom and total control with full root access to shape your server according to your needs and preferences. You can also benefit from a global data center network, a 99.9% Uptime Guarantee, uptime, and performance monitoring and alerts. Furthermore, GoDaddy offers state-of-the-art technologies, such as high-performance SSDs powered by Virtuozzo and KVM Virtualization.
Seamless upgrades and scalability are yet another cruicial features of VPS, and GoDaddy excels in this regard. When it comes to security, you can rest assured, your VPS will be protected at all times, using backups, the recovery console, advanced DDoS, free SSLs, dedicated IPs, and so on.
The last advantage is the ease of use based on the industry-standard cPanel/WHM, along with Installatron Or Plesk Obsidian Web Host Edition. GoDaddy VPS plans also come with WordPress Toolkit.
Still, it’s not all “rainbows and butterflies.” As you can witness, I had a horrible experience with GoDaddy. Their customer support is not knowledgeable nor friendly. They couldn’t assist me for almost two weeks. I wrote to them several times and even called them. Furthermore, I’m not too fond of the price increases, which can essentially make the VPS plans more expensive than anticipated.
