A heads up on Hostgator!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just wanted to let you guys know of a bad experience and some BS that Hostgator has done now in hopes that it helps any of you to not make the same mistake.
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Hostgator does not provide Fantastico software anymore. Push button wordpress installs and other scripts are not available any more. If you want fantastico on your server you now have to pay for it. Yes, it is easy to install them yourself but so much faster to use Fantastico.
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My situation-
I have a couple VPS accounts that have fantastico on them already as HG has provided it for free for years now. I had an issue with a hostname on one of my accounts and contacted HG live chat support to fix the issue. The lazy chat tech did not want to do all the work involved so he said that it would be faster and easier to fix by just starting a new account and requesting HG to transfer my sites for me (would take a long time for me to do myself with so many sites) so it didn't "inconvenience me". lol, funny stuff because it made for a lot of work for me and now this BS. Now that I have changed over all of my sites, MYSELF (another story, sadly), I noticed Fantastico was not there. So I contacted HG AGAIN and they said I have to send them my Fantastico license info and they would put it on there. NOW you have to pay for Fantastico and if you have VPS it can be pricy.
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So I just wanted to let you guys know that if you go to buy a hosting plan shop around and see if any others still provide this.
AND
If you already have an account and it has Fantastico, then don't let a lazy chat tech tell you to create a new account and transfer your sites just to make something easier for them. Make them fix the issue on your existing account.
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and yes, HG pissed me off and I came to DP to bitch about it. BUT, I feel this might save somebody a headache in the future so I don't mind venting here.
If somebody feels I am wrong PLEASE let me know.
If anybody knows a host that still provides Fantastico, please post that here for other users who may be looking for hosting and need these easier install methods for these scripts.
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Sorry if this is sloppy but I wrote it fast on my way out the door...

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EDIT:
I just found this and thought it might help. The owners of fantastico have posted what hosting companies still provide fantastico.

The following dedicated server suppliers or web hosting companies  will pre-install some of our products on their servers. Conditions vary.  Sorted alphabetically.                     
[B]Beachcomber Creations[/B]                             
[B]Bluehost[/B]                             
[B]BodHost[/B]                             
[B]BurstNET[/B]                             
[B]Caro net[/B]                             
[B]DedicatedNow[/B]                             
[B]eUKhost[/B]                             
[B]FastServers[/B]                             
[B]FDC Servers[/B]                             
[B]Gnax[/B]                             
[B]HiVelocity[/B]                             
[B]HostDime[/B]                             
[B]Hostforweb[/B]                             
[B]Hosting Matters[/B]                             
[B]Hosting Zoom[/B]                             
[B]Hostmonster[/B]                             
[B]Inmotion Hosting[/B]                             
[B]Insider Hosting[/B]                             
[B]iWeb Technologies[/B]                             
[B]JaguarPC[/B]                             
[B]Joe's Web Hosting[/B]                                                          
[B]Jvds[/B]                             
[B]Knownhost[/B]                         
[B]Layered Technologies[/B]                             
[B]Liquidweb[/B]                             
[B]Lunarpages[/B]                             
[B]Midphase Website Hosting[/B]                             
[B]NetDepot[/B]                             
[B]Nocster[/B]                             
[B]Rackforce[/B]                             
[B]Sagonet[/B]                             
[B]Serverbeach[/B]                             
[B]SingleHop[/B]                             
[B]Servint[/B]                             
[B]Site5[/B]                             
[B]SLhost.com[/B]                             
[B]Softlayer[/B]                             
[B]Spry[/B]                             
[B]Superb Internet[/B]                             
[B]Tailor Made Servers[/B]                             
[B]ThePlanet[/B]                             
[B]TotalChoice Hosting[/B]                             
[B]Virtacore Systems[/B]                             
[B]WiredTree[/B]                                                                                                                  

                     

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I myself have been considering transferring to bluehost. Now seems like a good time with HG cutting their own cost and screwing us over.

 

So what do you need?

 

I don't need anything. Just giving a heads up to anybody that might be looking for hosting that like and/or require Fantastico software.

 

never used unlimited hosters before dont plan to

 

@indyonline ..I am totally agreed with your points .Hostgator now a days becomes somewhat commercialized rather than focusing on customers and there needs .

 

Hostgator has a HostGator in-house made script installer that they offer (Quick Install), which in my opinion is even better then Fantastico. Not only that, but they give it out for free with VPS accounts. You simply need to shoot them an email or go to chat and they will install it for you.

Oh and they also provide Fantastico for free on all accounts except VPS accounts.

 

thanks for that info. will check into that.

 

You told that you are considering to transfer your sites to bluehost. But they don't have VPS or dedicated server plans. Isn't it?

 

Many of the big box hosts are making changes which don't always benefit the users. I find that many mid sized hosting providers still care more about their clients and their satisfaction more than they do about the bottom line. I am also not a fan of providers who pass out their own control panels. You don't get the same level of support or/and features when this is the case.

 

They still have "one click Installer" Which is way better then most if you ask me.

I have never had a problem with them..

 

IDK, will have to look into that. That would be weird if they don't since I have heard they are one of the bigger hosting copanies. Thanks for the info. I have HG for 6 years so I have no experience with anybody else.

Ya, sucks when companies get big and start going for pure profits rather than customer satisfaction. That's the corporate world I guess though.

Ya, somebody else mentioned that oo and I am still looking for it on HG. I'm going to ask them via chat when I get a chance.

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Thanks everyone for your input and discussion.

 

If you aren't happy with HG, you most certainly aren't going to be happy with Bluehost. Have heard nothing but bad things about them.

 

right on. thanks for the tip.

 

6 years means quite long time. Have you faced any other issues with HG such as long down times, slow page loading speed and account suspensions?

 

Their reseller plan is garbage. I had it first. everyday around 3am CST all my sites would slow down so slow they wouldn't hardly work. Getting crawled by Google at that time wasn't good. So I had to upgrade to VPS. That was a mess in itself. I could go on an on about bad experiences with them. I wish I never got started with them but didn't ever want to transfer all my sites so I just stuck with them. Now I am ready to leave. Even besides this mess, enough is enough and I am ready to try and see if another host can better accommodate my needs.
They have screwed me over and over charged me before too and refused to credit me back. and I have seen that happen to a few of my customers I build sites for. I could go on and on about problems with them but don't have time tonight. I will try and post more of my experiences tomorrow.
thanks all for the discussion.

 

Many web hosts are now replacing Fantastico in their cPanels with other script installers - for example Bluehost has SimpleScripts.

 

Since you said you've got a VPS, why not just go for Softaculous. It hardly costs around $2/month.

 

thanks for sharing your review. This might help me to know to know about this host

 

I have seen some people saying to use only Hostgator without any doubt and they are much reputed webmasters. More over they are using it for more than 4-5 years. I guess the experience varies from person to person.

 

Since you are familiar with Fantastico, why not finding a host that able to provide the same auto installer such like Softaculous - http://www.softaculous.com/softaculous/apps.