Ask HN: Specific feedback on GoDaddy / Rackspace | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Specific feedback on GoDaddy / Rackspace

5 pointsTallGuyShort7 comments

Hi all,

A friend of mine and I are embarking on a start up. Our web-app is essentially done and we're just waiting to hear back on some funding. I'm a programmer, but I don't feel THAT comfortable with site administration, so I just wanted to get some feedback from those of you who have been in a similar position before (googling for reviews - it's hard to find unbiased-ness!)

GoDaddy: I like the fact that they have everything we need, or plan to need in the future all bundled in one. Domain, SSL, languages/servers, etc... Very easy to use, and pretty well priced. My only concern is that update and confirmation emails will be very integral to our service, and it seems that GoDaddy's php mail() setup is sketchy. Some people say it works, others no, others say there are limits. GoDaddy's site seems silent on the issue. I also don't like the 'tone' GoDaddy's had recently. They seem very big and impersonal.

Rackspace (Cloud): I've heard a lot about them around here, and it seems they tailor more to startups. I like their flexible pricing, and the fact that you have root access. It also seems like they're pretty polished and easy to use. My main concern here is SSL - I don't know a lot about it, but some hosts I've seen require that you be on a dedicated server for SSL to work. If I buy my own SSL certificate, can I install it onto a Rackspace cloud host? I'm also a little fuzzy on what 'cloud' means, since it seems to mean different things every where - but I can read into that on my own (though if you have comments - they are more than welcome!)

Thanks, and thanks for all the advice I've gleaned from your comments over the past year!

I've had Godaddy, Server Beach and The Planet. I wasn't that happy with the Godaddy because I found the management interface a real pain to figure out. Same with the reporting tools.

I just bought an SSL cert yesterday from GoDaddy to use on my Server Beach server, and that brought back the memories of how difficult it is to get around inside godaddy's products.

I really like the reporting features from The Planet, and the pricing was good. I just figured I'd try something else, and I've been pretty happy with Server Beach, but find I just run mpstat/ps to get server stats, rather than looking through a management console.

As far as php mail(), my understanding is that it isn't the server that is necessarily the issue, but rather domain, and spam filtering. I'm using http://swiftmailer.org for mail from php, and I've been quite happy with it (although I haven't actually launched the service yet, so I'll have to see how it goes).

I can't comment on Rackspace because I haven't tried it yet, though I'm thinking of going Cloud if the project I'm currently working on gets traction.

I would recommend Rackspace over GoDaddy anyday. But if you dont want to spend as much at Rackspace, a cheaper option (unless you require significant amount of resources) would be to go with Dreamhost.

For a brief period, I hosted a site with SSL (about $4 additional per month for the SSL) with them and was happy. They did all the set-up or maybe they explained how to do it but it was enough that I forgot. You can also SSH into the server which can be quite helpful and they have options to use a whole instance with full administrative access and their support is remarkable.

PS. I do not work for dreamhost - I just have had my best experience among webhosts with them for almost an year.

For SSL, you generally need a dedicated IP address, not a dedicated host. Newer versions of the protocol allow for multiple SSL certs on a single IP, but most places don't do that. If you have only 1 SSL cert, you probably are fine.

Godaddy's servers are highly variable in performance. So you may have periods where your site is unusable.

As a bootstrapped startup, you presumably have SOME money. I wouldn't use Godaddy just because they're cheapest, though -- spend your money on hosting before anything, as your website is your product. And as google reminds us, your website's performance is also part of your product.

I was hosting with GoDaddy but now only use them for domain registration. I'd say their managed service is for people who have a simple website to host. If you're looking for something specific from your environment, then any kind of shared hosting wouldn't be appropriate.

I don't have any experience about Rackspace.

Having said that, I now host on webfaction which is still a shared host but they're developer friendly and usually accommodate requests(libraries or apps on server) if it's reasonable enough. As a customer, I recommend them.

Rackspace is NOT a good place for bootstrapped startups. They are relatively quite expensive and the services they provide towards their low-end clients are nothing like what their reputation is commonly based on (higher end sites).

If you're not comfortable being a sysadmin and your webapp doesn't require a dedicated host, then go with a shared host that can easily scale your allocated resources. If you really need something more demanding, look elsewhere for managed hosting.

GoDaddy is great for domains and SSL certs. I don't deal with them for anything else, and I hate fighting my way through their upselling checkout process.

I can't comment on Rackspace, but Layered Tech is in a similar space and I've dealt with them for years - great, great and more great :)

I'm unclear: are you looking for suggestions (a) after you have funding and can afford whatever is best for you, (b) before you have funding and are boot-strapping, or (c) during business planning so you can more accurately do financial projections and/or sound impressive to potential investors? The answers that I've seen seem to imply one or the other but I'm not quite sure your initial post told us this critical bit.

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