GoDaddy Update Question
Aug 21st, 2014
A client recently wrote:
I got an email from GoDaddy and spoke to an agent about updating [the website].
I didn’t understand much of what he was explaining but he said it was not that hard to do. He said I need to back up and move the content over to the new platform. Something called a linix C panal web hosting.
I answered:
GoDaddy is trying to get you to move [the website] into their new-ish account management structure in order to make it easier to sell you additional hosting products and services. This is separate from your domain name registrations with GoDaddy which won’t have to be renewed for another couple of years.
- You DO have to renew your Web hosting agreement for [the website] by Sept. 8.
- You don’t have to change the hosting plan.
- It would be a good idea to backup [the website] in any case.
Your current hosting plan is called, “Economy Classic Hosting Linux” and GoDaddy wants to move/upgrade you to “Economy Linux Hosting with cPanel”. In anticipation, they’ve already setup the new account with a dummy website and a separate username/password. The new plan would cost you $6.99/mo whereas your current plan is $5.99/mo.
Linux is the preferred operating system for Web servers. It’s very similar to MacOS – like two sisters who went to different schools and dress differently. cPanel is software for managing an account on a Linux server. Like the Systems Preferences application on a Mac, it has a number of panels for changing your settings and adding/removing features.
If you have no interest in adding new features to [the website] – i.e: email accounts, e-commerce packages, premium support – don’t upgrade, just renew the current plan. I can help you with that.
Don’t let GoDaddy persuade you that [the website] needs more than “economy” level resources. Although it is a gallery website, all of the images are optimized for quick loading and minimal bandwidth. The web pages are simple HTML, requiring no extra resources on the server for the amount of traffic you anticipate.