UK Christian Website Frozen by GoDaddy Finds New Global Audience After Moving Host Overseas

PRESS RELEASE

Issued  by Anglican Mainstream

23 December 2025

A UK Christian website that was abruptly “frozen” earlier this year for its traditional views on marriage is experiencing unprecedented global growth after relocating to an overseas web host - including more than 2,000 visits a month from China.

For more than 22 years, Anglican Mainstream, a registered charity, has published daily news and weekly briefings on church and social issues at www.anglicanmainstream.org

On 28 February, web-hosting giant GoDaddy suspended Anglican Mainstream’s website without warning. The company cited a single, vague complaint alleging a “potential breach of copyright” after the charity posted links to mainstream newspapers reporting on biblical views of marriage and sexuality.

GoDaddy refused to identify any specific legal basis for its action. The company made only a passing reference to an individual claiming to represent NLA Media Access, a body known for marketing copyright licence packages to charities and educational organisations. NLA did not claim to be acting on client instructions and had made no prior contact with Anglican Mainstream either to raise concerns, or to offer a licence.

Denying the charity any right of reply or further explanation, GoDaddy stated: “We appreciate your business, but due to the nature and scope of the infringement that we've identified, we have no choice but to terminate your use of our hosting services for this website. This suspension is permanent and there are no reactivation options available.”

Trustees faced a stark choice: pursue legal action in the UK at a cost of tens of thousands of pounds and months of delay or speedily find a new host.

Within a week, a Christian businessman offered to host the site outside the UK. Since March, traffic to the UK’s only dedicated Anglican news portal from an orthodox evangelical perspective has grown month-on-month, with readers now connecting from every continent.

The site averages 1,800 page views a day, with around 700 daily visitors. Trustees have been particularly encouraged by the breadth of its reach: alongside more than 2,000 monthly visitors from China, readers now come from 37 European countries, including Eastern Europe and Russia.

The UK remains the largest source of traffic (4,307 visits per month), followed closely by Belgium, Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands. Readers also connect from Australia and New Zealand, the USA and Canada, Brazil and Colombia, Vietnam, Angola, Benin, and many more. In total, visitors from 2,747 towns and cities worldwide now access the site.

Canon Dr Chris Sugden, Chairman and co-founder of Anglican Mainstream, said: “When Anglican Mainstream began in 2003, we were the only group coordinating orthodox opposition to the appointment of clergy in same-sex relationships to senior leadership roles in the Church of England.

“Over time, ministries such as the Church of England Evangelical Council and The Alliance have taken on that role. But, in an era of declining newspaper sales and shrinking religious coverage, there has never been a greater need for trusted, accurate Anglican news, especially for those who are evangelical or biblically orthodox.

“What initially felt like a disaster - even a spiritual attack - has proved to be God’s means of placing us on a firmer technological footing and extending our reach far beyond what we imagined.”

Anglican Mainstream seeks to balance coverage from global Anglican bodies such as the Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches and GAFCON, while also highlighting the work of often under-reported evangelical ministries including the Evangelical Fellowship in the Anglican Communion, the Langham Partnership, evangelical theological colleges, and patronage organisations such as the Church Pastoral Aid Society.

Trustees are now exploring ways to develop the website over the next five years.

For further information on Anglican Mainstream, visit www.anglicanmainstream.org

Anglican Mainstream is a registered charity, No: 1111739.

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