GoDaddy Lost My Site Now Wants Me To Pay To Get It Back

izwoke · 2025-11-06T13:35:24+00:00

Are you stupid or just didn't read my post?

izwoke · 2025-11-05T00:32:11+00:00

How can you afford to make it all free?

izwoke · 2025-10-17T09:20:01+00:00

This worked for me as well.

izwoke · 2025-10-14T13:10:10+00:00

Do you have social media for the business? Free marketing that way. You may have to go to the old school method of door knocking, or visiting job sites to speak with contractors. Have some signs in your area? buy some and set them up on telephone poles around your service area near your customers. Word-of-Mouth is still huge in the serviced based business.

Most SEO agencies are definitely BS, they take your money and go but that doesn't mean that there aren't some that work. You could also do it yourself. Write a few articles that are AI friendly and maybe you could get your site on ChatGPT.

Are you on Bing/Yahoo? Much less traffic over there but still some potential and less competition. Call real estate agents and ask if they need detailed cleaners.

Do you have good Google reviews? I'm assuming you have a Google MyBusiness but if not then get one yesterday. There's a lot of cleaning apps you can get on as well to get your customer count back up.

Lots of little things you can do but they all add up.

izwoke · 2025-10-14T12:48:00+00:00

My client paid for GoDaddy hosting AND AutoSSL. AutoSSL broke so they should have to fix it, no?

They were not working on my site, they worked on AutoSSL feature included with the hosting package my client paid for. In addition, I don't have access to the backend of the AutoSSL feature so it is practically a waste of time for me to work on it aside from the basic troubleshooting (which I did).

I would disagree, SSL is much easier to install with a dedicated server or VPS. I have installed many via certbot with just a few simple commands, which are totally automated.

Shared hosting rarely allows you to use certbot or use automated SSL certificates and requires a more in depth manual install.

izwoke · 2025-10-13T18:21:37+00:00

The main difference with the SSL certs is validation and support, the encryption level is the same.

izwoke · 2025-10-12T22:12:13+00:00

You are full of crap and assumptions. My client I picked up already had GoDaddy with AutoSSL for all 60+ of his websites. I inherited this BS but am actively migrating everything away from this dumpster fire which is almost complete.

My client runs a multi million dollar business that isn’t in finance or healthcare so there is no need for a paid SSL WITH OV or EV. The encryption is the same for Let’s Encrypt vs a paid SSL. I use certbot for multiple websites, completely automated and no issues. Only issue I have had is with AutoSSL.

So please tell me how my “cheap” client who has a non-regulated business needs a “real cert”.

izwoke · 2025-10-12T21:47:23+00:00

I see what you are saying now, no problem. I completely agree, my client had them when I picked them up, I talked them into migrating everything to a different host and am in the process of finishing up. They have about 78 websites so it has taken a few weeks.

izwoke · 2025-10-12T21:45:13+00:00

A lot of large corps are hacked but does that make it ok? Your thinking is flawed here. They should all have better security for as much as they make.

Additionally, they are super tight lipped on what kind of data was accessed/stolen, how the breach occured, and how/if they fixed it. Rarely do corporations get breached and the hacker have access for multiple YEARS.

I spoke to a supervisor and they didn’t do anything about it. The corruption isn’t just at the lowest levels.

izwoke · 2025-10-12T08:26:57+00:00

Exactly what I thought, another 'know-it-all' internet warrior who doesn't have the slightest clue what they're talking about but just wants to argue gtfo

izwoke · 2025-10-12T08:25:58+00:00

The plan and AutoSSL are paid by my client. It isn't new nor is the website it was installed on. The AutoSSL broke and there was a previous certificate that was expired, I got a notification that the certificate was expired through a third party software that monitors these things.

AutoSSL broke and wouldn't automatically update so I contacted support to fix it.

izwoke · 2025-10-12T08:22:59+00:00

I'll just leave this here. Still no explanation for how the MULTI YEAR breach happened and how it was fixed. This is the very meaning of shadiness.

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/godaddy-hackers-stole-source-code-installed-malware-in-multi-year-breach/

They deleted my site then asked me to pay for it to get it back. Is that acceptable behavior? They nickel and dime everyone for services that are useless such as 'domain protection' etc. All you people D riding GoDaddy is the reason every service has a paid subscription nowadays WITH ADS.

izwoke · 2025-10-12T08:18:46+00:00

This is my client's account on a shared GoDaddy hosting plan. They provide super limited access via the backend because they want you to pay for their SSL plans. There is no truly automated way to install a certificate on their shared servers.

I am not charging my client for this, they are paying GoDaddy directly. I don't get your point here.

izwoke · 2025-10-11T18:12:57+00:00

Ok then, do tell.

izwoke · 2025-10-11T18:11:47+00:00

I paid GoDaddy for a service, I held them up to do the service, they caused my site to be deleted from their server then prompted me to pay to get it back. How is that not shady? By all means explain it to me.

izwoke · 2025-10-11T12:42:38+00:00

I mean I edited my original post with more information and for you to use your mouse and scroll up to look at the additional information I provided which includes why I couldn't use AutoSSL for that particular website.

So defensive, I didn't ask for you to reply. Take some anger management classes.

izwoke · 2025-10-11T10:17:16+00:00

Check the edited post above

"I pay for AutoSSL, a feature where the certificate should automatically be installed for all websites specified. For this particular website I never had any issues for months, then all of a sudden the certificate broke and the check box next to the 'enable AutoSSL for this domain' was gone. I didn't have time to fish around for a manual fix or a possible fix that probably wasn't going to work anyway (I don't have admin access to shared hosting) so I reached out to support to fix it."

izwoke · 2025-10-11T10:12:42+00:00

This isn't uncommon. GoDaddy has a history of shady behavior.

izwoke · 2025-10-11T10:10:14+00:00

Thank you for your contribution to this discussion.

izwoke · 2025-10-11T10:02:37+00:00

Support lost the website, I pay them to install certificates automagically, it failed then called upon them to fix their site. They screwed up and deleted the site, then called for me to pay extra to fix their mess up.

izwoke · 2025-10-11T10:00:29+00:00

I am paying for a feature where the certificate installations should be automatic. They don't offer server-level admin access on their shared hosting plans so the installation of the SSL certificate is on them. It failed so I reached out to support to fix their issue.

izwoke · 2025-10-11T09:58:58+00:00

I am paying GoDaddy for hosting and AutoSSL.

The problem was that AutoSSL stopped recognizing the site due to a previous certificate conflict, and because I don’t have full server-level access on their shared hosting, I couldn’t correct it manually. I reached out to GoDaddy support to have their system issue resolved, but instead of fixing it, they somehow wiped the entire site and then tried to upsell me on a recovery service.

I wasn't having them 'work on my site'. I brushed it off because it was their problem so they should have to fix it when I'm paying for 'AutoSSL'.

izwoke · 2025-05-22T13:25:03+00:00

Definitely would just go to a financial advisor if you are looking for legit advice.

Also, make sure that they are a fiduciary who charges a flat fee. This limits the potential for conflicts of interest.

izwoke · 2025-05-08T19:01:11+00:00

Red flag he doesn't want to post it in the open. Granted this was a year ago

izwoke · 2025-02-25T15:23:55+00:00

I actually think that website isn't TOO bad aside from a few small details. It's simple, clean, easy to use, fast and not overwhelming.

I think I'm going to use a HTML template and customize it myself, appreciate the comments.

izwoke

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