GoDaddy Canada Hosting Review 2024

I tested out the provider by subscribing to its plans and building a fully functional website on their servers. Throughout the following GoDaddy review, I’ll be covering how it measures up in areas like plans, features, pricing, reputation, ease of use, security, performance, and customer support.

You’ll also get a closer look at what worked for me and what didn’t to help you decide if it’s the website hosting solution you’ve been looking for.

GoDaddy got its start in 1997, originating in Phoenix, Arizona. Today, it supports 21 million entrepreneurs and manages the trust of its customers with 82 million domain names under its care. All of this positions the web host as the world's fifth-largest by market share.

But the company claims to "do more than sell domain names." They "help millions of small businesses globally accelerate their growth, giving entrepreneurs confidence at every stage of their business journey." More specifically, they deliver tailored services for domains, web hosting and design, email solutions, digital marketing, and SSL certificates.

On top of that, they prioritize understanding customer needs, resolving technical problems, and helping users reach their goals of bringing their ideas online.

GoDaddy has earned its place in the market for its strong domain services, user-friendly hosting solutions, reliable support, and dependable uptime. That said, no provider is without its flaws. Let’s break down its Strengths and weaknesses:

Let’s see how GoDaddy in Canada really holds up.

GoDaddy Web Hosting: Plans and Prices Explained

GoDaddy has a bunch of different hosting solutions to choose from, more specifically, three tiers: basic, managed, and advanced hosting. These further break down into:

Shared Web Hosting

Shared web hosting refers to sharing the same server, RAM, and vCPU resources as other sites. In other words, you're only given a fraction of the total bandwidth, memory, and processing power available on the server. Also, since costs are split, it's typically the most affordable option. Sure, it has its perks, which is why it's a go-to choice for many small businesses, but naturally, there are a few downsides to keep in mind, including the limited scalability and customization options, as well as the lack of control over server configurations.

GoDaddy in Canada calls its shared web hosting plan 'Standard Performance' and comes highly recommended for launching simple, straightforward sites. Pricing goes as follows:

Whichever plan you go for, GoDaddy throws in a 1-click tool for either installing or migrating your WordPress site. You’ll have a neat control panel that makes it easy to handle your apps, manage backups, and keep things secure. There’s no cap on bandwidth, so don't worry about hitting limits. Backups are automatic and happen daily. Plus, you can choose data centers across North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific—wherever works best for you and your target audience.

Dedicated Web Hosting

As the name suggests, dedicated web hosting gives you your own physical server, which is solely reserved for your site. Naturally, this increase in control, performance, security, and flexibility with server configurations leads to a price gain.

GoDaddy in Canada brands its dedicated web hosting plan as 'High Performance' and is a top choice for those running multiple sites, handling high traffic, or managing resource-heavy projects. The pricing breaks down as follows:

With each plan, you’re covered with free, unlimited SSL for all your sites, plus a free domain and unlimited databases. You even get a dedicated IP. The starter plan gives you everything you need for up to 50 websites, with 4 GB RAM and 2 vCPUs.

Need more power? The advanced option can handle up to 200 websites, boasts 400 GB of speedy NVMe storage, 32 GB RAM, and 16 vCPUs.

Managed WordPress Hosting

Managed WordPress hosting is like shared hosting, but this one is explicitly fine-tuned for WordPress, one of the most popular CMSs (content management systems) out there.

Therefore, by choosing one of the following GoDaddy's plans, you can easily create, launch, and manage your WP site without worrying about the technical stuff or backend.

Every plan comes with WordPress already installed, automated malware scans and removal, AI creation tools, up to 5 free trial email accounts, a free GoDaddy Digital Marketing trial, and access to the Airo Site Optimizer, which focuses on SEO, accessibility, and content. WordPress core software updates are handled automatically as well.

On top of that, the highest-tier option includes advanced WP features like a smart plugin manager, priority support, the ability to sell online with WooCommerce, and much more.

Managed WordPress eCommerce Hosting

GoDaddy collaborates with WooCommerce, the leading open-source eCommerce platform, for its managed WordPress eCommerce hosting solutions. This allows you to sell physical or digital products and services or subscriptions anywhere online.

You’ll also get access to exclusive WooCommerce Storefront extensions like shipping, product add-ons, and Google Analytics, with over 50,000 WordPress plug-ins and 10,000 themes, starting at $20.99 monthly.

Amongst the other features are unlimited storage, visitors, and product listings for one store, an SEO optimizer to boost traffic, daily malware scans and hack repair for security, a 1-click staging environment for safe testing, and a CDN Boost for faster page load times.

VPS Hosting

Similar to its shared hosting solutions, GoDaddy offers 2 tiers for both its self- and fully-managed VPS hosting, as follows:

Self-Managed | Standard Performance

Every plan comes with WordPress already installed, automated malware scans and removal, AI creation tools, up to 5 free trial email accounts, a free GoDaddy Digital Marketing trial, and access to the Airo Site Optimizer, which focuses on SEO, accessibility, and content. WordPress core software updates are handled automatically as well.

On top of that, the highest-tier option includes advanced WP features like a smart plugin manager, priority support, the ability to sell online with WooCommerce, and much more.

Managed WordPress eCommerce Hosting

GoDaddy collaborates with WooCommerce, the leading open-source eCommerce platform, for its managed WordPress eCommerce hosting solutions. This allows you to sell physical or digital products and services or subscriptions anywhere online.

You’ll also get access to exclusive WooCommerce Storefront extensions like shipping, product add-ons, and Google Analytics, with over 50,000 WordPress plug-ins and 10,000 themes, starting at $20.99 monthly.

Amongst the other features are unlimited storage, visitors, and product listings for one store, an SEO optimizer to boost traffic, daily malware scans and hack repair for security, a 1-click staging environment for safe testing, and a CDN Boost for faster page load times.

VPS Hosting

Similar to its shared hosting solutions, GoDaddy offers 2 tiers for both its self- and fully-managed VPS hosting, as follows:

Self-Managed | Standard Performance

Self-Managed | High Performance

Fully Managed | Standard Performance

Fully Managed | High Performance

Whichever you choose depends on what you're after.

Are you an admin, designer, or developer looking for complete control over your server? Then, I’d recommend going for one of the self-managed plans. This way, you'll gain full root access via SSH keys, a command-line interface, and adaptable, scalable server setups tailored to your every need.

On the other hand, if you lack the technical skills and prefer to have your server managed for you, you should definitely go for the fully managed VP hosting option. You'll get up to 3X faster speeds, unlimited traffic, DDoS protection, and SSL, with easy RAM, CPU, and storage upgrades.

GoDaddy Domain Registrar

GoDaddy's domain registrar service makes it easy to search, register, and manage domain names globally. It's got all the comprehensive tools you can think of for domain forwarding, DNS management, and renewal protection.

Plus, the platform supports a wide range of domain extensions, including .com, .net, and many others. Individuals or businesses in Canada can choose the country code Top Level Domain (ccTLD) .ca—it's easily accessible and affordable, starting at just $1.99, with features like WHOIS privacy protection, SSL certificates, and 24/7 customer support.

GoDaddy Website Builder

GoDaddy has its own free mobile-friendly drag-and-drop website builder with the option to upgrade to a paid plan for more advanced tools. It comes with built-in marketing, customer support, hundreds of pre-designed templates, real-time performance and presence tracking, payment processing, and a free trial email matching your domain. Also, since it's an all-in-one solution, you can manage reviews, orders, and socials, amongst many other things, from a single dashboard on any device.

The best part? You don't need any coding or programming know-how at all!

GoDaddy Customer Support

I've personally leaned on GoDaddy's customer service quite a bit, and contrary to what I've often seen in user reviews, I have nothing but good things to say about it. I know, unpopular opinion!

Their help center is packed with step-by-step guides if you prefer to troubleshoot independently. But if you'd rather have a real-time exchange, they also have a 24/7 live chat, text and phone support. From my experience, both were quick to respond and efficient in solving issues. The only two downsides I could see is that you have to be logged into your account to access the live chat feature, and you can’t reach out via email.

GoDaddy Review: Key Takeaways

GoDaddy in Canada might not be the cheapest option for web hosting, but it's definitely a solid choice. I found the interface to be super user-friendly, the server performance fast, and customer support better than expected. What I mean here is that it's the overall quality hosting experience that'll keep you coming back.

Before wrapping up this GoDaddy review, here’s my take on the five key pillars that matter most: