HostGator Web Hosting Sucks

HostGator Web Hosting Sucks. It sucked in 2014 when i leased a VPS Server from HostGator and in 2016 it appears nothing has changed.

HostGator Website Hosting Sucks
Nothing has changed at hostgator

Since we quit offering web services and notified several clients of this, a couple asked who could move their sites and where to get web hosting.

Shared hosting can really suck if the wrong host is chosen. Knowing that i decided to have my client purchase a hosting account and i would do the site move for them.

Since i have not utilized shared web hosting since 2013, i started searching Google and the offerings were plenty. Just about every search i did came up with results for HostGator. Considering HostGator offers a 45 day money back satisfaction guarantee i chose them.

Setting up the HostGator account was straight forward and easy. I entered my clients credit card number and submitted. Soon thereafter i received my clients hosting setup email, and went to work setting up HostGator’s cPanel. It is infested with popups for other service offerings. Setting up an email account and the gator was pushing Gmail.

I set up the FTP and started uploading the sites files. Then BAM.. The FTP session ended with a “remote ended the session message.” Wondering what was going on i tried logging back into cPanel and was denied access. There was no other emails from HostGator other than the initial account setup email. Considering i use Gmail for most of my mail i logged into my account. Nothing else from the gator was in my inbox so i checked the spam folder. There were 3 HostGator emails in the spam folder.

One spammed email was requesting validation of the account. HostGator wanted a call to verify the credit card details. OK that seemed reasonable. I dialed the toll free number provided and entered extension 1010 and began the wait for an agent. After better than 30 minutes on hold i gave up. The only other option was to scan and email attach my clients credit card and photo id.

We are not going that route – and recommend you do the same!

Below is the email from the gator after digging it out of Gmail’s spam folder.

Your web site may be in violation of our Terms of Service. Please review our terms at http://www.hostgator.com/tos.shtml , as we will need additional information regarding your intended site content.
Our numbers are:
Toll-free: 1-866-96-GATOR (1-866-964-2867), ext 1010
International: 001 713-574-5287 ext 1010

Or you can call us for free using Skype! Download Skype at:
Here are instructions on how to reach us once you have downloaded Skype:

Click the Call Phones tab  Type in: +18669642867 and click “Call”

If you would prefer we contact you at the number listed in your account, simply reply to this email with a good time for us to call.  If you do not wish to verify by phone, or are unable to receive a phone call, please follow the instructions below to verify your account.

As an alternative to verifying your credit card payment over the phone with HostGator, we will need a scanned copy or photograph of the credit card owner’s government-issued photo id, such as a drivers license or passport. We will also need a scanned copy or photograph of the credit card used for purchase. Please make sure all of the edges of the credit card are visible, and that we can clearly see the card holder name, expiration, and last four digits of the card number. Please block the first 12 digits of the card number, leaving only the last 4 digits visible. If the attachment does not meet these requirements we will request that you send this information again.

If you are paying with an Electron (Electronic/Internet Use Only) or a Virtual Card, we would like to request a screenshot of the card’s account management page showing the URL bar, and two of the three following items: the last four digits of the card number, the credit card owner’s name, or the transaction with HostGator.

We apologize for any inconveniences that may result from this process. This extra verification is done for your security and to ensure that orders are not fraudulent. We sincerely appreciate your cooperation.

Thank you,
HostGator.com Verification Team

Considering how bad HostGator support sucked back in 2014, and being unable to get a support agent on the phone, i have up. Contacted the gator by his support portal and requested to cancel the account. This was yesterday 01/15/2016 around noon. So far today no reply.

This host WireNine.com is reliable but costly. I leased a managed vps server from them before moving on to self managed service. Update 04/01/2016: Wire Nine is using an uncommon web server on their hosting accounts that we had problems with. Support was extremely snarky with a we don’t give a hoot attitude.

Web hosting as a business can be challenging, and I’m glad i am no longer offering web space on my server. 😉

Welcome to my tiny slice of cyberspace, my name is Ed 'The Good Internet Doc' Koon, AKA FidoSysop. I'm an original Floridian and former Fidonet BBS Sysop turned net webmaster. I'm saddened that my homeland has turned into a failure and the laughingstock of the world. I blog only the Truth all of us want to hear. Thanks for visiting, and please come back soon! ❤️

Love America? 🇺🇸 Defend Her! 📣