Hostgator Questions : Is HostGator suitable for an e-Commerce site?

By web hosting on Jun 11, 2008 in Hostgator Blog

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For Hostgator FAQ or any questions about hostgator webhosting or hostgator sales read this query posted by softwarecandy on 09 June 2008

However, I am asking my question in the Pre-Sales forum because I am still within the 45-day money-back-guarantee period and, depending on the answers that I receive, I may need to look for a web host that may be more suitable for e-commerce (or online store).

Or… I could be convinced that HostGator is still the better choice, even for an online store.

What prompts my question is a recent problem in HostGator’s billing system. The problem is characterized by never sending any notification on payment due (i.e. the day I was billed), but fortunately sending an overdue notice one day after payment due, with a 10-day grace period.

In my case, I paid the amount owed as soon as I received the email and so no interruption occurred. I was puzzled, though, by the fact that my site could have been shut down, simply because of a glitch in the billing system.

The glitch was not in the amount owed, but rather in missing delivery of time-sensitive notifications.

Yes, the 10-day grace period is much appreciable (and it worked well for me this time). However, 10-days could be marginal. Also, no one (at least not at HostGator, as I was told by HG’s support) could guarantee that the bugs in the billing system cannot manifest themselves in not sending any notifications. Not even the overdue ones.

I can understand HostGator’s concerns for not getting paid for its excellent services, but treating 10 cents the same as $1,000 ??? Does that seem right? Sensible?

I mean, if my web site were for blogging purposes only, I would have probably been OK with shutting it down until paying the balance due. But for an online store… this couldn’t be possibly acceptable.

Thus I am very interested to know whether I made the right choice in choosing HostGator for my online store.

To clarify: TECHNICALLY speaking, HostGator’s service is superb. HostGator’s tech support team is so much more competent & responsive than many tech companies with which I have dealt in the past 10 years. But… with the policy of shutting down an business for tiny amounts owed, how can one commit to host his/her online store on HostGator?

I know that HostGator’s developers are currently working on a custom billing system that hopefully will eliminate the existing bugs/glitches. But until that bug-free system is launched, why scare away customers that plan on long term relationship with HostGator?

I am still working on building my web site, but I am quickly approaching the point in which I need to make a decision whether HostGator’s policies are right for e-commerce based web sites.

Your comments are much appreciated.

I would be even happier to learn that a decision to shutdown a commercially viable web site (that is hosted by HostGator) is made by PEOPLE, not a computer program.

Read the questions and related answers about the hostgator and once you are satsified, you can place your order with hostgator here

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