HostGator

(1 Star)

HostGator used to be amazing. Now they're just a joke.

Back in 1998 when I first used them, HostGator was the *** - fast, reliable, honest.

Today? They're nothing but an overpriced, bloated upsell machine.

Trying to get to my own cPanel feels like running through a digital flea market - nonstop ads, pop-ups, and attempts to squeeze more money out of me just to do basic tasks.

And don't even bother with tech support.

Half the time, the reps can't even speak recognizable English.

You cant trust a company you literally cant communicate with.

I've already pulled all my sites off their servers and moved on.

Changed my DNS, wiped everything clean, and won't look back.

If HostGator actually cared about their customers, theyd have noticed.

Spoiler: They didnt.

Bottom line:

They had their chance.

They blew it.

Dont waste your money here unless you enjoy paying premium prices to be ignored, frustrated, and upsold to death.

Love and rockets,

Dave Monroe

HostGator screwed up sending mail to the registered mail to the account, so the ICANN registration fell through the cracks. That got my account completely locked by ICANN for 60 days.

After that time, I got the account unlocked and wanted to transfer it to ANYONE else. I made a request. Again, they ran me in circles about having a bad e-mail address (which was untrue). But I went through the process of moving to another e-mail to validate that I wanted to make the move.

That took my submitting photo ID and copies of utility bills to prove my identity. At that point, I FINALLY got the transfer authorizations from them, and I asked to have the web hosting moved to someone else as well as the registrar duties moved to someone else. Mind you, by now I'd been from May until September without a website for my business, my business URL locked, and all business e-mail unusable.
Finally, I thought I was rid of them.
But no!

They turn up on a credit card statement two months later indicating that they'd just billed me for another year of service. That precipitated more calls to customer support people in Elbonia who were utterly clueless.
In the end, I've been forced to open a credit card dispute over the issue and have them blocked from billing that card ever again.
This has been the absolute WORST customer service I've ever received from anyone anywhere.

HostGator was a nightmare for our small business website. We experienced constant downtime, which caused major disruptions for our operations.

Every time I contacted their technical support, instead of resolving the issue, they tried to upsell me on a ridiculously expensive hosting plan costing hundreds of dollars a month. It became clear that they weren't interested in fixing the problem; they just wanted me to spend more money. This felt like a shady tactic to force small businesses into upgrading unnecessarily. I finally had enough and moved my site to a new hosting provider.

Since switching, I haven't had a single issue—no downtime, no hassle, just smooth operation. It's clear the problem was with HostGator all along. If you value reliability and honesty, stay away from HostGator.

They're more focused on squeezing money out of their customers than providing the quality service they promise. Don't make the same mistake I did.

This is the worst web hosting EVER. One Star is too much for this company.

It's taken gazillion phone calls to get set up, including opening a dispute at Chase Bank after paying for a 3-year Baby Plan (good till 2027): (1) It took 6 weeks to migrate my website (2) Now, every 2 weeks I get HostGator emails threatening to SUSPEND my account because of a (nonexistent) billing error. Two weeks ago they suspended my website before I was contacted. Today I'm reassured again that they won't keep bothering me, but I'll believe it when I see it.

HOSTGATOR, DON'T BOTHER ME WITH SCREWUPS AND JUST LET MY WEBSITE RUN TILL 2027. To anyone who reads this, you'll be sorry if you sign up with this company.

I bought 3 domains from HostGator in January 2024. I did not ask for anything else.

Just 3 domains. I was charged over £154 for these (because HostGator automatically charged me for products I did not request). I then cancelled the entire service via HostGator Chat. I could not get a refund although they claim a full refund is given in the first 30 days.

However, I got assurance that my account was cancelled and I would NEVER be charged by HostGator again, as a result. Despite that assurance, on checking my MasterCard Debit account, in February (a few days ago), I noticed HostGator charged me £52.72, (although I HAVE NO SERVICES AT HostGator. I have no websites, and the domains I bought I cancelled/switched off, so I would not be charged for them in January 2025.) I immediately contacted HostGator on 'Chat' requesting a refund of my £52.72, and written confirmation this time (instead of verbal, on their Chat platform as before, that they will not charge me for anything again). The HostGator person on Chat, who was looking at my account, then asked for my email address and PIN, which I gave.

That person then cut me off 'Chat'. I then received 2 emails from HostGator. The first email 'Thank [me] for [my] new purchase. (words to that effect).

The second email sent me a 'Change of Password' link. Now, please understand: 1) I bought NOTHING that day. 2) I did NOT ask for a change of password --- or anything else, EXCEPT MY REFUND. So now, it looks like not only has HostGator fraudulently charged me £52.72 (after I had already lost £154 + to it, for products I no longer want due to already overcharging me, and refusing to refund me, although it claims to do so, within 30 days if the customer is dissatisfied, it seems to have on the spot charge me another amount (I am afraid to open those emails in case there is another scam waiting for me), ALTHOUGH, I HAVE NO SERVICES OR LIVE PRODUCTS AT HostGator).

Over the past two days, I have sent 2 complaints to HostGator's head addressI, with no reply. I have completed a survey yesterday, that HostGator sent me. In it I explained EVERYTHING, yet again, and Still I have not received a reply, nor my refunds. As I told HostGator, this is theft.

It is fraud, it is day-light robbery, and individuals would face consequences of the law for so doing, and so should HostGator. However, HostGator knows that it is ABOVE facing legal strife, so it will continue to treat customers as it has treated me.

PLEASE, PLEASE, STAY AWAY FROM HostGator EVERYONE. Don't say that you have not been warned.

Hostgator started charging to do third party updates from MySQL for instance. This is just a button click on their end, but they refuse to do the updates while they try to trick you into thinking you need their most expensive supposed service.

Then they said they would escalate my request and someone would be in touch with in 2 hours. That was a flat out lie. On top of that, they changed all my nameservers and made themselves unreachable. Meanwhile, they collect my autopay which I am about to switch off and terminate service with them as anyone reading this should do the same.

They have become a bunch of unethical criminals who will charge you for hosting and not provide it while they upsell you security packages that they are able to break into and they do. They should be run out of town!

In Sept they charged what I thought were fraudulent charges. Tried contacting HostGator, but almost impossible as they never came back with any reason.

Amex stopped payments. Only after that did HostGator come back with any explanation. I then authorized payment and they received payment for Oct 2023 to Oct 2024. In Feb 2024 they said they refunded the money to my Amex card and if I wanted the website to be active I had to pay them.

Their refund never showed up.

I have lots of discussions with them and Amex. To this date, it is impossible to get the website back active and HostGator wants me to pay them the charges again.

Discussions with their chat, emails, etc, have not provided any results. I would be leary of HostGator.