Comparison Details
CloudAccess and Go Daddy could not be two more different companies. CloudAccess offers Joomla as a service, they have a great, navigable control panel, and Joomla comes preinstalled. Go Daddy sells hosting for all types of websites, their control panel is decent, and you have to install Joomla on your own.
1. Company Info
The main difference between CloudAccess and Go Daddy is that when you buy service from CloudAccess it is only Joomla. When you buy Go Daddy service is a server which you can install anything onto.
CloudAccess
CloudAccess was founded in 2008, they are located in Traverse, Michigan, and they have over 30 employees. They currently host over 7500 customers. Their datacenters are located in Detroit, Michigan; Phoenix, Arizona; and Bissen, Luxembourg.
They host the official demo.joomla.org website.
Go Daddy
Go Daddy was founded in 1997, they are located in Scottsdale, Arizona, and have over 3400 employees. They currently have over 11 million customers. They have 9 datacenters in Arizona, Iowa, California, Colorado, Washington, D.C., and India.
Go Daddy has no official affiliation with Joomla.
2. Plans and Prices
CloudAccess
Shared Hosting
- Standard - $19.95/Mo. RAM 1GB, 2 CPU cores, 20GB space, unlimited bandwidth, unlimited email addresses.
- Business - $49.95/Mo. RAM 2GB, 3 CPU cores, 50GB space, unlimited bandwidth, unlimited email addresses
- Pro - $99.95/Mo. RAM 3GB, 4 CPU cores, 100GB space, unlimited bandwidth, unlimited email addresses
- View all discounts
VPMC (Virtual Private Memory Cloud) Hosting
- $699.00/Mo. 15GB RAM, 8 CPU cores, 15GB flash storage, unlimited bandwidth, unlimited emails.
Go Daddy
Shared Hosting
- Economy - $2.99/Month unlimited bandwidth, 1 website, 100GB, 10 Databases, 100 Email Addresses.
- Deluxe - $4.49/Month unlimited bandwidth, websites, and disk space. 25 databases, 500 email address.
- Ultimate - $9.99/Month unlimited bandwidth, websites, disk space, databases, and email address.
VPS Hosting
- Entry plan Economy - $23.99/Month 40GB storage and 1TB bandwidth.
- Top plan Ultimate - $149.99/Month 240GB storage and 8TB bandwidth.
Dedicated Hosting
- Entry plan Economy - $89.99/Month 160GB storage and 5TB bandwidth.
- Top plan - $249.99/Month 1 TB storage and 15GB bandwidth.
Discounts for paying upfront
- Shared Hosting: 50% OFF
- VPS: 10% Off 12 Months, 20% Off 24 Months.
- Dedicated: 10% Off 12 Months, 20% Off 24 Months.
3. Control Panel and User Experience
The control panels and and usability for CloudAccess and Go Daddy are very different. CloudAccess gives you access to important tools and functions associated with Joomla while Go Daddy standard set of web hosting tools.
CloudAccess
Using the CloudAccess control panel is very easy and it doesn't take long to get used to. You can access features like MySQL, FTP, error logs, manage backups, etc...
Since the whole control panel is centered around Joomla, there are no confusing extras.
Go Daddy
Go Daddy handles their control panels differently. Their services are broken into packages and each package has it's own control panel. The way in which they control panels are set up require you to launch different control panels for each different tool.
The only mention of Joomla on their control panel is in Hosting Connection which will install Joomla with one-click.
4. Installing and Managing Joomla
CloudAccess comes with Joomla preinstalled and is manageable through the account login. Go Daddy uses Hosting Connection, 1-click installer, to install Joomla and it's manageable through the hosting control panel.
CloudAccess
Since CloudAccess comes preinstalled much of the guess work involving setting up Joomla is non-existent. You can also have them migrate a current Joomla site to a new location for free.
Managing Joomla is a piece of cake at CloudAccess since it's their job. You have access to all the necessary hosting tools without feeling overloaded, but still in control.
Go Daddy
Installing Go Daddy is done using Hosting Connection 1-click installer or using the manual install method. Both work well and return no compatibility errors.
Managing Joomla can be done using Go Daddy's tools. They have everything you need to modify databases and manage files.
5. Performance
I only have performance data for CloudAccess at this time.
CloudAccess
I switched to CloudAccess from a server at MediaTemple over a year and have had much better performance results. After a year the average uptime is 99.72% and the average response time is 923ms. That is both very reliable and fast.
Also, navigating the backend while making changes to articles or other items is much more responsive than it was at MediaTemple. I found that very helpful.
6. Technical Support
The main difference between CloudAccess and Go Daddy's technical support is that CloudAccess's technical support is trained in Joomla and they work with it every day.
CloudAccess
These guys are only interested in hosting Joomla. They spend the resources on quality highly-trained Joomla professionals to handle accounts. If you have a problem you can reach them 24/7 by ticket. It takes about 20-30 minutes to get a response.
My experience with CloudAccess has always been great. When one of my sites went down, a technical support expert called me to explain why. He said I could call back to get updates, but it would all be resolved soon and he was personally sorry. This shows me that they are willing to go over and beyond your typical hosting company in terms of customer service.
Go Daddy
Go Daddy has great support, but they are not Joomla experts. It's nice to be able to reach them on phone 24/7 (CloudAccess' phone hours are limited to workday hours). Their ticket system is very helpful, but expect to wait up to 13 hours to get a response.
I have dealt mostly with Go Daddy's phone support. They are very helpful and respond quickly to issues. They aren't Joomla experts, but they do a good job with basic hosting issues.
Conclusion
My pick is CloudAccess. They are experts at hosting Joomla. When compared to Go Daddy they have superior user experience, Joomla management, performance and technical knowledge.
