I have been in UX and UI for several years though not a coder (Designer and Project Manager). I am starting my own side gig and was looking for a group to host my site and register my URL. I originally thought of Go Daddy and have used them in the past professionally with good success. One of my competent coder friends recommended 1&1 which also looked good – 24/7 support line, great pricing, etc. I have another client who does all of their customers' work on SquareSpace and remembered they said it was easy to use. So, because of their flashy ad campaign and the fact they brag about their "Award winning customer service" throughout their site I ended up signing up with them. I almost immediately regretted this. The process of setting up an email associated with my URL was unbelievably complex, throwing out tech terms I've never heard of previously (despite my being over UX at a tech company for years), etc. Further, when I sought to contact them for support I found they were only open M-F during regular business hours, I believe Eastern Standard Time (i'm in LA). This was very regretful and kicked myself for not actually researching the "Award winning cust. service" prior to committing. So, this relegated me to emailing for assistance. This of course was comparatively slow to a call or text chat. Had to wait at least 24 hrs. Additionally, they are very expensive in hosting and in their Site Builder service compared to others (like 1&1), also didnt find that out until after I registered my domain unfortunately. Anyway – I will be transferring my domain away from them as soon as the dreaded 60 days is up. Really felt that I fell for their vague marketing claims and glossy appearance. I would recommend all to seek services elsewhere.
