Hosting 
11 Comments Why I changed webhost from 1&1 to Host Gator
I recently wrote an article promoting the popular web hosting company 1and1, and it may seem a little silly given only a few days later I changed host. I was never dissatisfied with the service I received from 1and1. You’re probably wondering why I left? They had an awesome commission set up, which I never used to good effect. That wasn’t why I left.
I’m a firm believer in getting value for money. I recently had a friend approach me for advice on what web host he should use for his company. He had some requirements which were quite reasonable. I recommended 1and1 – I was a happy customer, so why wouldn’t I? He went away and thought about it, and did some research of his own, and he came back to me. He said he could get better contracts elsewhere. Fair enough, 1and1 wasn’t for everyone.
When I was with 1and1, I was had a Business Pro account with them as I had a number of websites, and wanted SSH access for working on the database. At the time when I got it, it was an awesome package. I had several included domains that I could register for free. Okay, they had to be .co.uk, .org.uk or .me.uk domains, but still. I also had the opportunity to use several databases – again I needed that.
As I said, at the time, it was an awesome package. Quite pricey, but I was happy to pay because I’d been a techie on an old F1 message board that was hosted by 1and1, and it was always running well. I was paying £53 (approx $80) every quarter.
After my friend had introduced me to a number of other hosts, and I read reviews on hosts suggested by many other bloggers, I soon realised I was getting a very poor deal. I soon settled on :HostGator:. I am on the Baby package, which means I can host as many sites as I like, with a massive amount of disk space, and unlimited databases. Of course, the word unlimited is subject to fair usage, but for my need, it is perfect. How much is this costing me? $8 per month! That’s about £5 to us British folk! I had to pay for the domains separately. I manage those with :NameCheap:. But, I don’t have to pay anything until they need renewed!
It doesn’t take a genius to see that I’m saving a s#!t load of cash! I’ve nearly halved my outgoings on this hobby/business venture. Not only have I saved cash, I am getting more value for money. This is particularly important!
I know this is turning into a glowing review for :HostGator: – I’m not bothered – I have had great service from them in this short time. I’ll do a “proper” review some other time. The other reason I was particularly impressed with :HostGator: was because I was able to speak live with the support staff about arranging my switch over. I wasn’t even a customer and I felt valued!
What web host do you use? Are you paying a lot more than you’d rather pay? Maybe you should look around for a better deal?
You have every right to save few pounds where ever you have the opportunity to do so. The good in what you have done is that you accepted advise from someone who originally was seeking advise from you – not only that you accepted his recommendations and its saved you time, effort and money.
If people are serious about making money online then as well as recommending services yourself its also important to accept recommendation from others too.
I would like to see how the new hosting company delivers over a longer period and I look forward in your review of them – if you ever do one.
Hey,
You are quite right. It’s about trusting tips given to you by others, and building trust so people take your tips.
I’m also a pretty big fan of Hostgator, like we talked about on my blog. Though it’s a little embarrassing now, when I first registered my blog I didn’t know how to port my domain to the hosting servers (and didn’t know what I was asking for). What sold me on Hostgator was – after a few hours of trying to figure out what I had to do, I contacted live support. They not only understood my gibberish about what was wrong, but they had my problem fixed in like 4 minutes flat. For less than $10 a month, that’s just awesome to me lol.
Hey Jillian,
I really liked the live support – I’m not a phone person lol. I had a real blonde moment trying to remember how to port the domain, then I remembered. It’s been years from I have ever had to use CPanel – it came back pretty quick though
I still use 1&1 and I’m not moving any time soon. I’ve never had a problem with customer service and have rarely had to contact them in about 5 years. I have the home package and I can add as many domains as I wish and have access to creating 100 subdomains, which I can’t see ever having a need for. I have to admit that I’ve seen some of the reviews and I’m stunned because things have been great except for a 3-day period in August 2008. Maybe I’m lucky.
Hey Mitch,
I too was stunned by some of the reviews. I was more than happy with the service provided by 1and1. I just felt I was no longer getting the same value for money.
I’ve heard so many scary stories about 1&1 and hostgator, mainly with problems with hosting blogs, but it seems everyone commenting here is doing fine with both. One to certainly steer clear of is streamline.net I was with them for ages, terrible customer service and lousy WordPress hosting, I moved my hosting to EvoHosting and have never looked back since, friendly customer service and fast servers, ideal for me
Hey Karen,
I hadn’t heard of many horror stories with either host. I guess all hosts have them – as long as you’re happy with the service and feel you’re getting value for money.
Cheers for the comment
good decision…
Today there so many great hosting provider that we can choose. Hostgator is one of it and they offer some great features =)
really you taken the good decision