You've heard of GoDaddy. Maybe you've seen the commercials, maybe you own a domain through them. In case you haven't, GoDaddy is a web hosting service that allows users to create and purchase domain names for their websites. They also offer a website builder and other marketing tools.
Below is a cautionary tale - and hopefully a reason to rethink your decision to host with GoDaddy.
One of our clients had a website hosted by GoDaddy. She built her website on WordPress, which is an open source format website builder. Open source websites are susceptible to hackers... and in this case, one found their way in.
"Experts point to very small open-source projects as the primary target for malicious actors looking to insert malicious code," according to this blog.
In April of this year, hackers planted a virus in Rebecca's website.
She contacted GoDaddy, hoping they could find a solution to this problem. They obliged, and charged her a $1,200 fee to restore a backup version of her site, along with tying her in to a three-year contract. Here are the charges - none of which are for the restoration of the old version of the site :
Instead, she was charged for a security package, SSL certificate, and three year website subscription. When she stated that she did not want to commit to three years, GoDaddy refused to refund her any of her money.
Months later, she came to us and we rebuilt her website using Wix.
Wix is NOT an open source format website builder. It also comes with a free (read that - free) SSL certificate for your website. For only $13 a month, you can build a secure website, host and connect your domain, and feel confident that your site will not be susceptible to hackers.
Seems like a pretty easy decision if you ask us.