3 Years +

[runemusic]

I have used hostgator for three years without a single problem that wasn't resolved within a few minutes and my website has never been down due to a server outage. I have multiple websites with them and they all function amazingly well on a shared server. I use both Moodle and Joomla and have never had a serious problem.

Before I found hostgator, I went through 15 different hosts. Some of these were supposedly top quality hosts and had incredible reviews. There was always something that didn't work, and I was always the one that was blamed for it. If there was a restriction and Moodle didn't work correctly, they said it was because I misconfigured something.

It was only after moving to hostgator, that I began to realize it had nothing to do with my installations, it was the limitations of the servers I was on. Everything works perfectly in my installations at hostgator and functions are not blocked because of overly restrictive security policies.

The support is always quick, and friendly. I have never had a rude response yet. Although, the Live Chat probably isn't the way to go to get more in depth problems fixed. I have found that I get much more in depth answers when using the ticket system. Live chat is probably good for rebooting your server on a VPS or Dedicated account, or dealing with a billing issue, if those ever arise.

For me to stay with a host for more than 6 months is unheard of. Typically, what happens is that you find out the quality of the host after the introductory period as things start to fall apart. I was very satisfied with my previous host until a year in I started to receive hourly alerts that my website was down. They denied the issue, and I went to hostgator. I'm very glad that I did. I've gone through over 15 hosts. I used to tell my wife, that it seems that you just have to move hosts every year. They are always good at first and then they go downhill quickly.

I've read many of the negative reviews when looking for information on here and judging by some of them, it is not the fault of hostgator because they usually aren't given a chance to correct things. Things go wrong when you are hosting a website. You have to take responsibility for your site, make personal backups and monitor your usage. If you aren't willing to do this, fine, but that is your responsibility. Don't blame your host for things that are out of their control. They make it possible to make backups, and if your website is too big to do that, you can still backup through ftp.

Personally, I blame hosts for having server issues, rude service, and not being transparent enough to understand what is going on with your website. I understand there is a certain responsibility that falls to me as well. Your CPanel will show you the resources you are currently using. If you need to move to a bigger box, that will become evident as long as you pay attention.