7

I am learning how to build and maintain a website, but I'm coming across a lot of suggestions that sound redundant without explanation.

For example, if I already have a website on WordPress but want to move to GoDaddy, why is it suggested that I use GoDaddy and WordPress together? Does GoDaddy not have everything I would need to build and maintain a website? Is it only used to register a website?

Improve this question
10
  • 3
    For a personal site, there is probably no need to pay a premium to get that 99.999% uptime. Just pick a php/linux hosting provider, get a domain, and install the WordPress using whatever "admin panel" you get from the provider. I've had ridiculously low deals with Hostinger, although people dislike that it doesn't provide the standard cPanel (which is not that big of a deal IMHO). But since it's Black Friday, you will likely get discounts everywhere. Just look for the fine print on these deals - the recurring renewal price is sometimes much bigger than the one you initially paid.
    – vgru
    Commented Nov 25, 2019 at 19:57
  • @Groo I was a web host for a long time and I had to laugh at the 99.999% up-time line that hosts like to use. Web hosts know this is a B.S. number. It is mathematically impossible to have 99.999% up-time. It is either 100% or somewhere around 97%. You are giving good advice. Cheers!!
    – closetnoc
    Commented Nov 27, 2019 at 5:34
  • GoDaddy does a few things fairly well, with WordPress being one of them. They've put a lot of resources into their WordPress offerings because it's used quite often by their customer base, which is comprised of individuals and small businesses. For enterprise level hosting, I'd suggest looking elsewhere, but for domain registration and WordPress, they're a solid choice, as is many others that focus on small to medium sized businesses.
    – dan ♦
    Commented Nov 27, 2019 at 7:31
  • 2
    Recommended by who…?
    – Martin Bean
    Commented Nov 27, 2019 at 11:16
  • 1
    @closetnoc It is mathematically impossible to have 99.999% up-time. Mathematically it means that you have a downtime of not more than 5.2596 minutes per year (averaged over leap years). Which would be prohibitively expensive for normal hosting, because everything would have to run rock-solid and on redundant systems. But it is not unheard of for high availability SLAs. Which, OTOH, would mean you pay your customer a lot of money if you miss that goal.
    – Dubu
    Commented Nov 27, 2019 at 12:07

6 Answers 6

Reset to default
26

You may be confused as to what WordPress is. It is several things:

  • First, it is software that can be installed within a web space as a content management system (CMS). This can be installed using most all web hosting companies.

  • Second, it is a company. Duh! Right?

  • Last, it is a website that the company owns that allows people who do not want the added work of maintaining the WordPress code for updates and vulnerabilities.

Your site on WordPress is WordPress, the software, on a site, WordPress, that is run by WordPress, the company.

If you want to change your hosting to GoDaddy, you can install WordPress, the software. Because of the popularity of WordPress, many hosts install and configure the software for you to get started. This is likely what GoDaddy is doing.

So there is no real relationship between GoDaddy and WordPress per se. It is simply that GoDaddy is installing WordPress as a convenience to it's users who want it.

However, if you use GoDaddy, you may be responsible to update the software and check for vulnerabilities with WordPress, themes, plug-ins, etc. You may want to ask this question before signing up so that you can make a more informed decision.

Improve this answer
2
  • Thank you. Do you suggest anything instead of GoDaddy? It seems that most people "in the know" don't like it.
    – walyba
    Commented Nov 25, 2019 at 17:56
  • 3
    @walyba check out articles on different Wordpress hosting sites, such as pcmag.com/roundup/333310/…
    – lights0123
    Commented Nov 26, 2019 at 2:22
6

You will need:

  • A domain registrar
  • A DNS host
  • A web host
  • Software
  • Content

In your above example, WordPress is referring to the content management system (CMS) software available from wordpress.org, and not to the relatively expensive hosting available at wordpress.com. WordPress the software is the most popular content management system for websites.

Godaddy offers hosting plans that run WordPress software. In addition to web hosting, Godaddy can also register domains and host DNS. DNS hosting is usually offered for free either with domain registration or with website hosting.

Usually you would write your own content within the WordPress software.

Improve this answer
2
  • 1
    Thank you. Would you suggest a different option from GoDaddy? The more I research, the more people suggest staying away from GoDaddy and EIG websites (BlueHost, HostGator, etc.). I'd like to come up with definitive alternatives to those, but Google searches just keep coming up with the giants listed above.
    – walyba
    Commented Nov 25, 2019 at 17:55
  • 2
    I've been using cloud hosting for a few years now. I'd recommend looking into Amazon AWS, Google Cloud Platform, and Microsoft Azure as possibilities. I wouldn't write off those shared hosts you listed though. They could still work for you even though they have some bad reviews. They may have what you need now at a decent price. The key is to be able to move to something more powerful when you need it. Try not to lock yourself into any single host by relying on functionality that only they offer.
    – Stephen Ostermiller ♦
    Commented Nov 25, 2019 at 18:11
5

What closetnoc said.

Just to confirm that if you're starting off a hobby-website (or even a small professional site) it is fine to go with godaddy as your domain provider (not as a host) and hostgator or bluehost or something as your host. Wordpress will usually automatically update, but you will have to manually update plugins. Depending on how important your project is to you, you will need to set up backups. Your host will likely not manage that.

However, you will find that if your site grows - in traffic for instance - you will outgrow these cheap hosts and will need something more solid. Keeping your domain at godaddy is usually possible.

If you have the budget for something more expensive, you may want to look at specific wordPress hosts that do automatic backups and automatic plugin updates.

Improve this answer
2
  • What might some of these hosting options be, for high-traffic sites?
    – flow2k
    Commented Nov 27, 2019 at 22:07
  • 1
    I've used WP-engine in the past. Expensive, but good service. Plugins don't automatically get updated, but you do get caching and backups built in. You might want to google 'wp-engine alternatives' for others.
    – Katinka Hesselink
    Commented Dec 3, 2019 at 13:27
2

This is just wrong. Today, pretty much any hoster will offer you wordpress hosting, because this is what most of the websites or blogs are currently using.

To set up a wordpress site you will need a domain, webspace, php, mysql and a mailer. Pretty much any good hoster will offer this with their basic plan. I have seen hosting platforms that have installation guides where your just enter the required information (domain, blog name, admin email etc.) and the hosting system will set up all required configuration (databases, configurations, latest wordpress install etc.) for you instantly.

Around 10 years ago, setting up wordpress (or any other CMS) often required a lot of manual steps where you upload wordpress files via FTP, run the installer, follow instructions to change permissions or create database users etc., so i'm guessing your tutorial recommended godaddy because they would have prebuild wordpress sites, hosting and domain in one place and you can skip the sometimes difficult manual setup.

From my own experience, I would stay as far away from godaddy as possible. Check their customer reviews, the experience other webmasters had with them, or find some websites hosted there and use tools.pingdom.com to compare the speed to websites hosted by more professional providers.

Improve this answer
0
0

Let me give you some analogies.

You walk into an office building and ask the receptionist:

Where is the office of Mr. X?

The receptionist can look at some list and say, "It is located on the 3rd floor at suite number 3".

You now can go to that floor and office and sit down with Mr. X at his office on a nice couch.

Now, we have several elements here.

1. The receptionist is the domain registrar. She knows what is the name of the websites, in this case, the name of Mr. X and has a location.

2. The suite number 3 on the third floor is web hosting, where you can have your office.

3. What you have in your office is the content. If you have some nice coaches, a desk, a store or a warehouse is up to you.

4. You can make them yourself, or buying something pre-made. That is the platform you use.

Godaddy is the registrar, that also provides web hosting if you want, and you can install WordPress there or not.

Wordpress is a platform to manage content, you can use it on wordpress.com or take the pre-made software and install it wherever you want.

Some hosting companies can install it for you as a bonus.

Wordpress can also buy a domain for you, you do not need to do it with GoDaddy.

Does GoDaddy not have everything I would need to build and maintain a website?

You could have the receptionist, and the office and the pre-installed Wordpress. Is everything you will need? You probably need a web designer, or a store manager, or a content manager, or a writer... all depends.

Improve this answer
0

All great answers. The main difference between WordPress as your host and ANY of the other shared hosting plans, is that the others also offer options such as Joomla!, Drupal, and many other CMS website builders. They are recommending WP to you because that's the in thing at the moment. They offer options for WordPress multisite in specialized hosting accounts. But if you want to experiment with other options, use subdomains for free and test out different options on the standard account. Better yet, try Bitnami stacks on your PC and learn all about whichever option you choose offline. You can then backup your site and install it to your web hosting server. Google and AWS force you to also manage a machine instance as well as your website, so keep it simple at the beginning. Look for a webhost that supports Let's Encrypt so you don't have to pay for your SSL certificate.

Improve this answer

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.