Bluehost is one of the world's largest web hosting companies, serving over 2 million domains from its Utah servers. It offers a range of hosting plans, from cheap shared hosting to dedicated servers, as well as managed WordPress and WooCommerce solutions. But is Bluehost really the best choice for your site? In this blog post, we will review Bluehost's features, pricing, pros and cons, and compare it to some of its competitors.
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Features
Bluehost has many features that make it stand out from other web hosts. Here are some of them:
- 24/7 support: Bluehost provides round-the-clock phone and chat support for its customers. You can also access a knowledge base, video tutorials, and user forums for self-help.
- Great performance: Bluehost delivers fast and reliable hosting performance, thanks to its own data centers, custom-built servers, and advanced technologies. It also offers a free Content Delivery Network (CDN) that distributes your site's content across multiple servers around the world, improving speed and security.
- User-friendly interface: Bluehost has an intuitive and easy-to-use interface that lets you manage your hosting account, domains, websites, email, and more. You can also install WordPress and other popular applications with one click.
- Free domain name: Bluehost gives you a free domain name for the first year when you sign up for any of its hosting plans. You can also transfer your existing domain name to Bluehost for free.
- Free SSL certificate: Bluehost provides a free SSL certificate for all its hosting plans, which encrypts the data between your site and your visitors, enhancing security and trust.
- One-click WordPress installation: Bluehost makes it easy to install WordPress on your site with just one click. You can also choose from thousands of themes and plugins to customize your WordPress site.
- Free WordPress website migration: Bluehost offers a free WordPress website migration service for its customers who want to move their existing WordPress site to Bluehost. You can request the migration through the Bluehost dashboard or contact the support team.
- 30-day money-back guarantee: Bluehost gives you a 30-day money-back guarantee for its hosting plans, which means you can try it risk-free. If you are not satisfied with the service, you can cancel within 30 days and get a full refund.
- Recommended by WordPress.org: Bluehost is one of only three web hosts recommended by WordPress.org, the official website of the WordPress project. This means that Bluehost meets the high standards of WordPress in terms of performance, security, and compatibility.
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Pricing and Plans
Bluehost offers four shared hosting plans, where your website shares server resources with other websites. The cheapest of these plans costs $2.75 per month for the initial term (rising to $9.99 per month on renewal) and includes:
- One website
- 50 GB SSD storage
- Unmetered bandwidth
- Free SSL certificate
- Free domain name (first year)
- Five email accounts (100 MB each)
- $200 marketing credits
The other shared hosting plans offer more features, such as unlimited websites, storage, bandwidth, email accounts, domains, subdomains, parked domains, spam protection, backup protection, domain privacy protection, and more. The prices range from $5.45 to $13.95 per month for the initial term (rising to $16.99 to $25.99 per month on renewal).
Bluehost also offers three VPS hosting plans, where you get your own slice of a server's resources that isn't shared with others. These plans offer more power, flexibility, and control over your hosting environment. The prices range from $18.99 to $59.99 per month for the initial term (rising to $29.99 to $119.99 per month on renewal).
The three dedicated hosting plans offer you an entire server to yourself. These plans are suitable for websites that need maximum performance, security, and customization. The prices range from $79.99 to $119.99 per month for the initial term (rising to $119.99 to $209.99 per month on renewal).
Bluehost also offers three managed WordPress plans, where the host takes over some of the day-to-day runnings of a WordPress site for you. These plans include features such as automatic updates, daily backups, malware detection and removal, staging environment, Jetpack Premium or Pro, and more. The prices range from $9.95 to $49.95 per month for the initial term (rising to $19.95 to $69.95 per month on renewal).
There's also a WooCommerce online store plan that starts at $12.95 per month for the initial term (rising to $24.95 per month on renewal). This plan lets you build and manage an online store using WordPress and WooCommerce, the most popular e-commerce platform in the world. It includes features such as a free online store setup call, a free SSL certificate, a free domain name (first year), unlimited products, storage, and bandwidth, $200 marketing credits, and more.
Pros and Cons
Bluehost has many advantages, but also some drawbacks. Here are some of the pros and cons of using Bluehost as your web host:
Pros
- Value-priced starter plan: Bluehost's basic shared hosting plan is one of the cheapest in the market, offering a lot of features for a low price. You can host one website with 50 GB SSD storage, unmetered bandwidth, free SSL certificate, free domain name (first year), five email accounts, and $200 marketing credits for only $2.75 per month for the initial term.
- User-friendly interface: Bluehost has a simple and intuitive interface that makes it easy for beginners to launch and manage a website. You can access all the tools and settings you need from the Bluehost dashboard, such as domain manager, website builder, WordPress installer, email manager, file manager, database manager, and more.
- 24/7 phone and chat support: Bluehost provides round-the-clock phone and chat support for its customers. You can also access a knowledge base, video tutorials, and user forums for self-help.
- One-click WordPress installation: Bluehost makes it easy to install WordPress on your site with just one click. You can also choose from thousands of themes and plugins to customize your WordPress site.
- Free CDN: Bluehost offers a free Content Delivery Network (CDN) that distributes your site's content across multiple servers around the world, improving speed and security.
- Recommended by WordPress.org: Bluehost is one of only three web hosts recommended by WordPress.org, the official website of the WordPress project. This means that Bluehost meets the high standards of WordPress in terms of performance, security, and compatibility.
Cons
- Renewal rates skyrocket: Bluehost offers significant discounts on your initial term, often up to 75% off, but remember that you'll revert to the regular rate when it's time to renew. This can be a big jump in price, especially if you sign up for a long-term contract.
- Lots of upselling: Bluehost tries to upsell you on many additional features and services during the signup process and after. Some of these features are useful, such as backup protection and domain privacy protection, but some are unnecessary or overpriced, such as SEO tools and site lock security.
- Limited storage: Bluehost's basic shared hosting plan only offers 50 GB SSD storage, which may not be enough for some websites. The other shared hosting plans offer unlimited storage, but they are more expensive.
- Not all plans include daily backups: Bluehost does not include daily backups for its basic shared hosting plan. You have to pay extra for backup protection or use a third-party plugin or service to backup your site regularly.
- No month-to-month plans: Bluehost does not offer month-to-month plans for its hosting services. You have to pay annually or longer to get the best prices.
- Inconsistent customer service quality: Bluehost's customer service is available 24/7 via phone and chat, but the quality of the service can vary depending on the agent you get. Some customers have reported long wait times, rude responses, or unhelpful answers from the support team.
- E-commerce capabilities not available on all plans: Bluehost does not offer e-commerce features on its basic shared hosting plan. You have to upgrade to a higher plan or use its WooCommerce online store plan to build and manage an online store.
