If you plan to launch a new website in 2023, you’re going to need a reliable web hosting provider to get you started on the right path.
While there are over a hundred names for you to choose from, only a few of them can truly promise high-quality services.
Speaking of which, GoDaddy and Liquid Web are certainly part of the few.
However, they each cater to specific groups of people with very different needs. So the “better” option will depend entirely on what you’re looking for.
To give you an idea of which provider will suit you best, we’re going to undertake a GoDaddy vs Liquid Web comparison review.
So let’s get straight into it!
GoDaddy vs Liquid Web - An Overview
With over 20 million customers and managing over 80 million domains, it’s no wonder GoDaddy has been dubbed a web hosting giant in the industry.
They have over 37 thousand servers spread across nine locations, including Los Angeles, Chicago, Ashburn, Virginia, Amsterdam, and Singapore. The company is the leading provider for small- to mid-sized retail shops and/or blogs.
On the other hand, Liquid Web has around 45 thousand clients in over 150 countries.
They offer a robust selection of products and services; however, none for Shared Hosting. They are a great choice for mid- to large-scale businesses and/or websites.
GoDaddy vs Liquid Web: A Side by Side Comparison
Now, to make the comparison review, we’ll look at 3 things:
- Uptime and performance
- Products, prices, and features
- Support and security services
Before we get into the details, let’s have a look at this comparison chart:
Uptime and Performance | GoDaddy has an average uptime of 99.88% and a loading speed of 471ms. | Liquid Web has an average uptime of 99.97% and a loading speed of 720ms. |
Website Building | WordPress and a proprietary website builder. | Beaver Lite website builder |
Migration Services | $8.17/per .com transfer + one year free registration | Free for WordPress websites. |
Products |
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Features |
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Security and Support |
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Prices | Starts at $3.99/month | Starts at $169/month |
Uptime and Performance
When looking for a reliable web hosting provider, the first thing you should consider is the uptime and performance ratings.
The best web hosts offer about 99.9% uptime and a loading speed of at least 1 second.
GoDaddy has great loading speeds of 471ms. Your bounce rate is likely to decrease with this.
However, they don’t have the best uptime average. At only 99.88%, you could experience a few downtimes throughout the year.
Liquid Web, on the other hand, has an exception uptime, with an average of 99.97%. Your website will almost never go offline. As for speed, it might be a bit slower than GoDaddy, but rest assured that 720ms is still fast.
Products, Prices, and Features
When someone enters the online world with plans of launching their first website, Shared Hosting services are the most recommended product, as it doesn’t cost as much as the other options.
Unfortunately, Liquid Web doesn’t offer any Shared Hosting plans, which is why they aren’t the best choice for beginners who are on a budget. However, they are recommended for larger websites that bring in more traffic and require more consistent and flexible services.
Liquid Web clients can choose among several products, such as Dedicated Hosting, Cloud Hosting, VPS Hosting, CMS & eCommerce Hosting, and Enterprise Hosting. These products are a bit more expensive but offer a whole ton of features and benefits.
On the other hand, GoDaddy has a rich collection of Shared Hosting plans that clients can choose from.
Here’s a chart showing you GoDaddy’s Shared Hosting plans:
Plan name | Prices | Bandwidth | Storage | Features |
Starter | Starts at $3.99/month | Unmetered | 30 GB SSD |
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Economy | Starts at $5.99/month | Unmetered | 100 GB SSD |
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Deluxe | Starts at $7.99/month | Unmetered | Unlimited |
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Ultimate | Starts at $12.99/month | Unmetered | Unlimited |
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Besides Shared Hosting, GoDaddy also provides Business Hosting, VPS Hosting, Dedicated Server Hosting, and Domain Hosting services.
Support and Security Services
Both GoDaddy and Liquid Web have power security services available to their clients. This includes 24/7 monitoring, strong firewalls, DDoS protection, and free automatic daily backups with all plans.
Liquid Web goes the extra mile by providing its clients with a free CDN with all its plans. GoDaddy only offers this feature with its more premium plans. Clients can also buy it as an add-on to their basic Shared Hosting plan.
Both companies offer 24/7 assistance via live chat, e-mail, phone, and knowledge base.
The great thing about Liquid Web is that it offers a 59 Second Initial Response Guarantee for phone and chat support. This is a huge advantage to users, especially those dealing with time-sensitive issues that need to be solved immediately.
On the other hand, even though GoDaddy promises 24/7 customer support, there are times when their chat support lines are offline. They also tend to take much longer to respond when their services are up and running.
GoDaddy vs Liquid Web - The Verdict
GoDaddy is great for people who are just starting out as they offer affordable Shared Hosting plans that are enough to get any beginner started on the right path.
Alternatively, Liquid Web is perfect for users who are looking for more flexibility and scalability opportunities. True, their products are more expensive than most providers, but they offer one of the most exceptional services in the industry.
As we said, both are very different and cater to different needs.
So the better option is whatever fits YOUR needs more.