DigitalOcean

Author: Jenna Vasquez

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The Good

• High reliability
• Data centers
• Cloud web hosting options

Reliability and Data Centers

DigitalOcean has a high uptime of 99.99 percent that is guaranteed. DigitalOcean uses a network of data centers in North America, Europe, and Asia. These are located in San Francisco, New York City, Toronto, London, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Bangalore, and Singapore. The center operated in New York City is managed by DigitalOcean. The company uses the latest security and redundancy for its center. Those that are located in other areas are similarly managed. These multiple data centers increase the reliability of DigitalOcean's services.

Cloud Web Hosting

DigitalOcean offers many great plans for customers cloud web hosting needs. These 14 plans allow for scalability and customization for individuals and small businesses. Most companies in the web hosting industry offer more web hosting and security options for their customers.

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The Bad

• Lacking security features
• Poor customer support
• Only cloud web hosting

Lacks Security Features

When comparing DigitalOcean to other hosting companies, the company falls short of included security features. Notable is that the customer needs to install firewalls and other security measures on the sites. Beyond the security of the data center, which is extensive, all server management is up to the customer, not DigitalOcean. Security has become a major issue in the last several years. DigitalOcean's lack of security options should be considered when making a decision.

Customer Service Support

Missing from the customer support options is live chat and phone support. These are available from most of the company's competitors. DigitalOcean boasts a 30-minute average response time for its tickets, but this is not always met, according to some customer reports. Initial responses are often scripted answers which may or may not fully answer the question asked by the customer.

Only Cloud Web Hosting

DigitalOcean does not compare to many hosting companies because they lack hosting options and features. DigitalOcean only offers cloud web hosting, which greatly limits their customers. We would like to see DigitalOcean extend their services to include shared, managed, dedicated, and VPS web hosting options. This provides more options and customization for customers who would benefit more from plans that included these hosting options. DigitalOcean also only offers three plans to choose from, which does not allow for much scalability for their customers.

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The Bottom Line

DigitalOcean has created cloud plans that are affordable for most. Pricing for these plans is comparable to those for shared hosting plans offered by its competitors for shared hosting. The downside to DigitalOcean's plans is that there is a greater level of technical knowledge required to use DigitalOcean's services. The company doesn't have much in the way of beginner's tutorials, so this excludes many who do not have the background to create and manage a secure site with DigitalOcean. They also lack features, security, and hosting options. DigitalOcean's customer support is also very limited. We cannot recommend DigitalOcean's services at this time.