Bluehost is a one-stop shop for getting everything that is needed from a hosting service. Is it the best hosting option for you? Let’s look at the review of Bluehost in greater detail.
More than 2 million websites are powered by Bluehost, one of the top providers of website hosting. It is an excellent choice for beginners as it is a dependable web host that makes site creation a breeze. This is particularly true if you plan to build your website with WordPress.
Bluehost plans are simple to use and come with
- free CDN
- free domain (during the 1st year)
- great uptime (as per real-world data)
- simple website builder
- free SSL certificate
Bluehost’s Services
Bluehost provides a wide range of web hosting services to suit the needs of most customers. Here is a detailed review of Bluehost products:
As previously mentioned, shared hosting is the most sought-after option among Bluehost customers since it makes it simple to set up a website.
Simply said, shared hosting enables several customers to manage their websites on a single server. This option is good for blogging, websites used for hobbies, or small businesses.
The best part of the shared hosting option is that users don’t have to deal with platform administration or server patches because Bluehost monitors and manages the server.
The features of the shared hosting plans include a domain manager, SSL certificates, resource protection, and Google Ads.
Shared hosting is good for small business owners because it is affordable and easier to manage. Small businesses are less impacted than larger companies that require additional space because shared hosting doesn’t guarantee RAM or CPU.
WordPress Hosting
WordPress and Bluehost work well together and using WordPress hosting is the best way to manage your website. Bluehost designed this particular hosting plan with tools and resources that integrate seamlessly with WordPress to improve your site.
This hosting package is ideal for blogs, online stores, or websites having the greatest WordPress compatibility. WordPress installation, GMB verification, and automatic updates are options that Bluehost offers.
Additionally, you may select from a distinctive selection of WordPress-specific templates and themes through the Marketplace of Bluehost. With easy-to-setup plugins and customization capabilities, you have complete design freedom.
Office 365, 1-year free domain, secure login setup, and 24/7 customer service are some additional features of WordPress hosting.
The cost for this hosting plan is different from the Managed WordPress option. Three plans with 36-month periods are available for WordPress hosting, including:
- Basic – $2.95 per month
- Plus – $5.45 per month
- Choice Plus – $5.45 per month
Dedicated Hosting
This is a great option for bigger companies that require more power, storage, and control. As a high-end web hosting option, this one emphasizes security and performance.
Dedicated hosting offers its users the best level of security and safety in comparison to shared hosting. Since the servers are independent of one another, each user has complete control of the server without interfering with or negatively influencing the experience of another user.
Every user is assured predictable and stable site performance, along with complete privacy and control with Bluehost dedicated hosting.
Dedicated hosting offers the entire range of CPU and RAM to operate the website effectively. This option is therefore perfect for consumers that have high traffic on their websites.
Here are some additional features of dedicated hosting:
- Quick provisioning
- High speed
- Root access
- RAID storage
- Dedicated customer service
- 1-year free domain
- Storage upgrades
However, dedicated hosting from Bluehost isn’t cheap. There are three pricing tiers available, including:
- Standard – $79.99/month, 4GB RAM & 500GB storage
- Enhanced – $99.99/month, 8GB RAM & 1TB storage
- Premium – $119.99/month, 16GB RAM & 1TB storage
All pricing tiers include a money-back guarantee of 30 days.
Pricing Plans For Bluehost
Bluehost has a variety of pricing tiers to suit the requirements and goals of any website. Let’s get into the details of each plan separately.
Bluehost Pricing
The best part about Bluehost is the number of options it offers at a reasonable cost. It offers 3 main tiers, each with great pricing structures. These consist of managed WordPress, online stores, and shared hosting.
The most popular Bluehost plan and one that offers the greatest flexibility is shared hosting. Let’s look at the 36-month and 12-month pricing for Bluehost because the 36-month plan is significantly cheaper. There are 4 price options for this plan, including:
- Basic – $4.95 per month for 12 months | $2.95 per month for 36 months
- Plus – $7.45 per month for 12 months | $5.45 per month for 36 months
- Choice Plus – $7.45 per month for 12 months | $5.45 per month for 36 months
- Pro – $18.95 per month for 12 months | $13.95 per month for 36 months
As can be seen above, the 36-month term for each option is cheaper than the 12-month term. A term of 24 months is also available from Bluehost; however, it is only slightly cheaper in comparison to the 12-month term.
All pricing options come with a one-year free domain, free SSL, free CDN, 24/7 customer service, and custom themes.
Unlimited websites, SSD storage, and Office 365 are free for 30 days in the Plus, Choice Plus, and Pro plans.
Managed WordPress
This effective plan is geared toward people who use WordPress to create their websites. It lets you select an option that gives your WordPress site scalability, speed, security, and support.
There are 3 pricing tiers for this plan, all with 36-month periods:
- Build – $9.95 per month
- Grow – $14.95 per month
- Scale – $27.95 per month
All of them come with features, such as 1 WordPress site, over 200 global servers, built-in high availability, free SSL, and a staging environment. The plans work best for websites with less than 50,000 monthly visitors.
You can also count on malware detection, daily scheduled backups, and domain protection and privacy.
Online Store
In comparison to shared hosting, Bluehost’s online store plan appears to be quite straightforward. These plans are ideal for eCommerce websites where you’ll be able to create, market, and start making sales using WooCommerce tools.
For the 12-month and 36-month periods of this plan, there are 2 pricing options, which include:
• Standard – $15.95 per month for 12 months | $12.95 per month for 36 months
• Premium – $32.95 per month for 12 months | $24.95 for 36 months
Both options include unlimited products, 24/7 customer service, WooCommerce installation, payment processing, CodeGuard Backup, and discount codes.
Comparing Bluehost To The Top Web Hosting Providers
Bluehost made it to my list of the best web hosting companies after thorough testing that includes signing up, creating a website, speaking with customer care, and 1 month of speed testing and uptime. If you’re searching for a free, beginner-friendly, drag-and-drop website builder for WordPress, Bluehost outperformed most of the other hosts.
There might be other options depending on what you are looking for. Check out my top recommendations including detailed reviews and a scoring system, to find out which one is the best for your needs.
Review Of Bluehost: Pros And Cons
Even the best web hosting services may have shortcomings. Here is a detailed analysis of the pros and cons of Bluehost.
Pros
Simple To Use
Bluehost is easy to use and a reliable web hosting service with various product offerings and features. Web hosting can be confusing for some people – it would be more challenging if the onboarding process is complex as well. Ease of use is therefore an important aspect to consider.
Bluehost features a quick and simple onboarding procedure that will have you operational in no time. It will prompt you to complete a form with an easy-to-use interface where you may list your website’s objectives, what you would like to have on it, and the tagline and name of the website.
Following the completion of the questions, you are given the option to select a theme from the Marketplace, and WordPress is then installed for your convenience. You only need to work on customization; Bluehost will handle the backend along with all the technical details.
Prompt Customer Service
Bluehost’s fast and responsive customer care team is yet another standout feature. Customer care is essential for every web hosting provider, but it can be difficult to find one that offers quick and helpful assistance.
Fortunately, Bluehost does a good job in this area, and most customers agree that customer service is invaluable when they require instant assistance. In fact, there’s a good probability that within 5 minutes, you’ll connect to Bluehost’s live chat platform.
You don’t have to bother with time zone differences because its entire support network is available 24/7. The wait times for email and phone support from Bluehost vary. While on hold, you can always browse the large knowledge base and support forum, which contains a wealth of FAQs, detailed articles, videos, and other information on everything related to web hosting.
Enhanced Security
Bluehost offers great security systems compared to other web hosts. All of Bluehost’s security tools are effective and will save you hours of tinkering with the website. Additionally, it will provide you with peace of mind that especially beginners can appreciate.
Resource protection is included in every Bluehost plan, and CodeGuard Backup can be included for $2.99 more each month. Monitoring and daily backups are handled for you by CodeGuard, which also notifies you when there are changes.
The basic security function includes 3 monthly restorations, monitoring, and daily backup, and 1GB of storage space. However, you can get automatic backups for a year and continuous network monitoring with more expensive options like Choice Plus and Pro.
Affordable Price
When you choose Bluehost, there are cost savings
The monthly plan is quite low, especially if you sign up for a subscription of 36 months. If you are a new customer, you can get a domain name for free during the 1st year. With Bluehost, you can be sure that there won’t be any hidden fees.
Last but not least, Bluehost offers a money-back guarantee for 30 days. So, if you are not satisfied, you can always cancel the plan.
Servers With Superior Performance
Another amazing feature of Bluehost is that the Pro plan customers get access to servers with superior performance. Although paying extra doesn’t work for everyone, in my opinion, it is totally worth it. You get the servers with the Dual Quad Processor that can be used on big e-commerce websites for $14.95 per month.
Bluehost ensures that each server has fewer users and that each user only has access to 300,000 files, making this server a good choice for larger websites.
However, I still think that the standard Bluehost servers included in the other plans are just fine if you don’t want to pay the premium for these servers.
Cons
No Uptime Guarantee
Compared to many web hosts, Bluehost doesn’t guarantee a solid uptime for its plans. This is something to consider since website downtime can negatively impact website owners resulting in the loss of customers.
Guaranteed uptime gives users the reassurance that the service provider will maintain their site and keep it running as effectively as possible. It also shows that the provider takes customer service seriously by prioritizing the needs of their users.
Although this might be a problem for some, there are many user reviews stating Bluehost’s good uptime (99.98%).
Site migration Is Not Free
This is one of the drawbacks of Bluehost. It does not currently provide site migration for free, which may be a concern for customers switching from another web hosting provider.
Bluehost would charge you $149.99 to migrate up to 5 sites and 20 email accounts. For many users, this service can be expensive, even though it includes 24-hour support, a thorough review, and a seamless transition. This is especially the case when there are other web hosts that will do it for free.
It’s also unfortunate that this transfer service excludes domain registrations, resellers, VPS, and dedicated servers.
Conclusion
Bluehost is a fantastic option if you are just getting started because it includes everything for WordPress, such as automatic installation, a free domain name, a free drag-and-drop site builder, and a comprehensive set of instructions for each step of the process.
I think that most customers will appreciate the Bluehost experience due to its diverse product offerings, which include shared hosting, WordPress hosting, dedicated hosting, and tiered pricing options.
It’s a web host worth considering, especially if you are a WordPress user because the pros outweigh the cons.