GitHub Pages vs HostGator

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GitHub Pages

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GitHub Pages vs HostGator: What are the differences?

Key Differences between GitHub Pages and HostGator

GitHub Pages and HostGator are both popular platforms for hosting websites, but they have some key differences. Here are six specific differences:

  1. Easy setup and deployment: GitHub Pages provides a straightforward setup process specifically designed for hosting static websites built with version control systems like Git. On the other hand, HostGator offers a more comprehensive hosting service suitable for various types of websites, including dynamic ones built with content management systems.

  2. Pricing structure: GitHub Pages offers free hosting for public repositories, making it an ideal choice for open-source projects or personal websites. In contrast, HostGator offers hosting plans with different price tiers depending on the features and resources required, making it a more suitable option for businesses or websites with high traffic.

  3. Development workflow integration: GitHub Pages seamlessly integrates with GitHub repositories, allowing for easy deployment of changes made to the repository. In contrast, HostGator does not have a direct integration with development workflows and requires manual uploading of files to the server.

  4. Custom domain support: Both GitHub Pages and HostGator support custom domain names. However, GitHub Pages provides a simpler process for configuring a custom domain, with the ability to automatically set up SSL certificates for secure connections. HostGator also supports custom domains, but the configuration process may require more technical expertise.

  5. Scalability and resource limitations: HostGator offers various hosting plans that can accommodate websites with different resource requirements, providing scalability options as the website grows. However, GitHub Pages has limitations on resource usage, including file size and bandwidth, which may pose restrictions for larger websites or those with high traffic demands.

  6. Additional features and support: HostGator offers a range of additional features, such as a website builder, email hosting, and extensive customer support options. GitHub Pages focuses primarily on website hosting and does not provide these additional features or extensive technical support.

In summary, GitHub Pages is a free and easy-to-use hosting platform specifically designed for static websites built with version control systems. HostGator, on the other hand, offers more comprehensive hosting services with additional features and support, making it a suitable choice for businesses or websites with specific requirements.

Decisions about GitHub Pages and HostGator
Howie Zhao
Full Stack Engineer at yintrust · | 7 upvotes · 214.3K views

We use Netlify to host static websites.

The reasons for choosing Netlify over GitHub Pages are as follows:

  • Netfily can bind multiple domain names, while GitHub Pages can only bind one domain name
  • With Netfily, the original repository can be private, while GitHub Pages free tier requires the original repository to be public

In addition, in order to use CDN, we use Netlify DNS.

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Pros of GitHub Pages
Pros of HostGator
  • 290
    Free
  • 217
    Right out of github
  • 185
    Quick to set up
  • 108
    Instant
  • 107
    Easy to learn
  • 58
    Great way of setting up your project's website
  • 47
    Widely used
  • 41
    Quick and easy
  • 37
    Great documentation
  • 4
    Super easy
  • 3
    Easy setup
  • 2
    Instant and fast Jekyll builds
  • 2
    Great customer support
  • 2
    Great integration
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    Cons of GitHub Pages
    Cons of HostGator
    • 4
      Not possible to perform HTTP redirects
    • 3
      Supports only Jekyll
    • 3
      Limited Jekyll plugins
    • 1
      Jekyll is bloated
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      What is GitHub Pages?

      Public webpages hosted directly from your GitHub repository. Just edit, push, and your changes are live.

      What is HostGator?

      HostGator is a Houston-based provider of shared, reseller, virtual private server, and dedicated web hosting with an additional presence

      Need advice about which tool to choose?Ask the StackShare community!

      What companies use GitHub Pages?
      What companies use HostGator?
      See which teams inside your own company are using GitHub Pages or HostGator.
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      What tools integrate with GitHub Pages?
      What tools integrate with HostGator?

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      Blog Posts

      What are some alternatives to GitHub Pages and HostGator?
      Netlify
      Netlify is smart enough to process your site and make sure all assets gets optimized and served with perfect caching-headers from a cookie-less domain. We make sure your HTML is served straight from our CDN edge nodes without any round-trip to our backend servers and are the only ones to give you instant cache invalidation when you push a new deploy. Netlify is also the only static hosting service with integrated continuous deployment.
      GitLab Pages
      Host your static websites on GitLab.com for free, or on your own GitLab Enterprise Edition instance. Use any static website generator: Jekyll, Middleman, Hexo, Hugo, Pelican, and more
      Amazon S3
      Amazon Simple Storage Service provides a fully redundant data storage infrastructure for storing and retrieving any amount of data, at any time, from anywhere on the web
      Medium
      Medium is a different kind of place on the internet. A place where the measure of success isn’t views, but viewpoints. Where the quality of the idea matters, not the author’s qualifications. A place where conversation pushes ideas forward.
      WordPress
      The core software is built by hundreds of community volunteers, and when you’re ready for more there are thousands of plugins and themes available to transform your site into almost anything you can imagine. Over 60 million people have chosen WordPress to power the place on the web they call “home” — we’d love you to join the family.
      See all alternatives