Looking to move a blog or website from WordPress.com over to a self installed (WordPress software running on a different server) version of WordPress powered by Godaddy Hosting, well this is part 1 in a simple guide to walk you through the process and migration.
The first step is simple, you just need to spend a little money!
But which plan should you pick, how much money should you spend, how does it work? We’re used to paying nothing or at least very little through WordPress.com but there comes a time for some sites to move up and out.
If this is the time for your site, then keep reading.
Godaddy currently has 4 plans that are focused on WordPress sites. At times these are referred to as Managed WordPress hosting plans or Premium WordPress hosting plans. In our experience, Godaddy is not necessarily the fastest host for WordPress, but they are improving constantly and they definitely have some of the least expensive rates with Managed WordPress hosting conveniences that include automated migration (not from wordpress.com 🙁 ) and staging site capabilities, 30 days of rolling backups and more. Depending on the level of plan you purchase, security can also be included in the hosting, which can save you a couple hundred dollars per year as compared to a plan at Sucuri or a few hundred dollars to pay someone to clean up a hacked site that wasn’t protected.
Which Godaddy WordPress plan is for you?
First, keep in mind that they emphasize the SALE price, not the normal recurring price. So when you see $3.99 that is the sale price, the renewal price for the same plan is $6.99.
Tip! You can lock the sale price in for a month, a quarter, a year, 2 years or 3 years. If you don’t ever want to pay the full price, then prepay your hosting for years in advance.
Refund Tip! The prepayment is a ‘prepayment’ so if you ever need to cancel early, they will refund you a prorated amount of the balance of what is left. Its a great deal, if you have the extra money to pay in advance.
Godaddy WordPress hosting rates July 2015
Comparison Shopping for Managed WordPress Hosting Plans
You can browse our site for other Managed WordPress hosting companies. Godaddy is not the only one. They were not even the first. They are one of the least expensive to get a starter plan on. Their developer plan has a renewal price that is about the same as other Managed WordPress Hosting companies normal price, and that is just a starting point for them.
Which Godaddy Plan is right for you?
Pay attention to the total price. Also consider how many sites you want to move to Godaddy. If you have just 1 website on wordpress.com, simple enough. You can pick any of the plans.
If you need a staging capability (this provides a test site that you can build new things on and turn live when you are ready. If you do not know what this means and do not have a budget for a developer ignore it!), go with the 2nd, 3rd or 4th plans.
Ignore the plugin that talks about the search engine optimization stuff. That means nothing. There are many of these and they are all free in the WordPress plugin repository.
Worried about getting hacked? The malware scan and removal system can help. It may not be as strong as Sucuri but it is a lot more affordable.
Tip! The best way to avoid getting hacked, is to keep a password that is so strong you can’t remember it and have to copy paste it, never type it. Also, check your site regularly. If it gets hacked and you have been checking often, you can simply use Godaddy’s daily backups to roll back to a point in time when it was not hacked! A couple button pushes later and you are un-hacked. Although you will need to go in and change ALL of your passwords including the db password to avoid getting re-hacked, hacked again.
THE 800LB GORRILLA IN CHOOSING A PLAN
How much traffic does your site get?
If you know how many visitors you get every month, then use that as a guide to pick the right plan. If you do not know, start low and move up with upgrades as you need them. Or alternatively, if you expect a huge initial launch or spike, then get a bigger plan to avoid the need to upgrade.
Most sites moving from WordPress.com to Godaddy will be able to get started with the Basic plan. As of the writing of this article that starts (on sale) at $3.99 per month. You can prepay it for a year or two or three and lock in the sales price. If you need a new domain name, Godaddy throws in the registration of the domain name for free initially, but will charge you for the domain name when it comes up for renewal next year. That will be a separate fee and cost somewhere between $10-$20 typically depending on discounts and coupon codes you might find at the time of the renewal a year later.
Summary
Odds are good, you simply need to order the Basic Plan and get started! You can’t go wrong with any of the other plans either as they are all less expensive than almost every other Managed WordPress host. If you need superior speeds for your site, then Godaddy may not be the best choice. They are not the slowest out there, but they are not the fastest either.
BIG SAVINGS TIP!
As of the writing of this article, if you order the Basic Plan through our link, you can order the plan for just $1 per month and prepay that for 1, 2 or 3 years.
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