Bluehost – is a remarkable platform in the web hosting niche that has been in the market since 1996. It offers an extensive range of hosting services tailored to suit the needs of bloggers, small to large businesses and personal website owners. Bluehost managed to establish a strong online presence, currently powering over 4,220,575 sites. Known for its robust infrastructure and comprehensive hosting solutions, Bluehost is a go-to provider for anyone looking to get trusted hosting.
The fact that Bluehost is officially recommended by WordPress speaks for itself. Whether you are a novice setting up your first blog or a seasoned developer looking for powerful hosting capabilities, the software offers plans and features that cater to a wide range of requirements.
In this review, we will focus on the most crucial Bluehost aspects, exploring everything from the host’s integrated functionality and up to diversity of its plans, pricing options and special features. Hopefully this info will help potential users make informed decisions about whether Bluehost is the right hosting provider for their website needs.
Pros and Cons of Bluehost
As one of the top providers of quality hosting services, Bluehost offers numerous highlights that make it stand out from the crowd. At the same time, it comes with a number of demerits that may potentially prevent users from choosing the platform. To help you with your choice, we have compiled the chart below. Have a look at it now.
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Bluehost Features and Tools
Just like its multiple competitors, Bluehost offers various hosting types that refer to versatile needs of users and are based on their special preferences, budget, project types etc.
Types of Hosting
- Shared Hosting
- Dedicated Hosting
- VPS Hosting
- WordPress Hosting
- WooCommerce Hosting
- Cloud Hosting
Shared hosting allows sharing servers with other sites. This is actually one of the most affordable options for websites with low to moderate traffic. It will be a nice pick for bloggers, owners of small personal projects and startups. Bluehost’s shared hosting plans include one-click WordPress installations, a free domain for the first year, free CDN and free SSL certificates.
With dedicated hosting, a client can rent an entire server. This means that all of the server’s resources are devoted to powering their website alone. This provides optimal performance and security for high-traffic sites. Bluehost’s dedicated servers come with full root access, multi-server management, enhanced cPanel-based interfaces etc. This is what makes the option perfect for large businesses and high-traffic sites that need maximum control and performance for their projects.
VPS hosting is more cost-effective as compared to dedicated hosting, being a smart pick for users whose hosting needs has overcome the possibilities of shared hosting. It offers greater stability and customization options along with SSD storage, one straightforward dashboard, enhanced performance, unlimited bandwidth, sites and domains.
If you are an owner of a website powered by WordPress looking for trusted hosting, then Bluehost is what you should consider first. The platform is specifically optimized for these projects, offering automatic WordPress updates, security and scalability options to handle varying traffic levels. All plans come with free domain name registration, opportunity of automatic installation of the latest WordPress version for extra security, reliable setup of default WP login data along with Google My Business verification.
Willing to set up a full-featured web store? Bluehost provides this opportunity as well. For this very purpose, you need to pick one of the subscriptions the platform offers. This is how you will be able to use both WooCommerce tools and YITH plugins depending on your site’s characteristics and special needs.
Bluehost cloud hosting plans are also available to the software users. The only difference is that these subscriptions can be bought for 12 months only. Three-year packages are currently unavailable.
Manageable Control Panel
For users looking for a host with user-friendly design, Bluehost’s cPanel will provide the major functions all in one place. Along with easy navigation, it makes it simple to find and pick the required tools without the need to look through hundreds of tables and icons. What’s more, the cPanel will grant access to your site stats, app installation and domain management tools.
One-Click Installations
You can install popular applications like WordPress (read review), Joomla, Drupal etc. with just one click through the Mojo Marketplace integrated into Bluehost’s cPanel. This feature simplifies the setup process for various CMS and web apps.
App Marketplace
As soon as you log in, you will come across lots of apps, add-ons and scripts you may require to customize a project. In the catalog, you will be able to pick numerous apps, marketing tools, WP image galleries, shopping cart themes, support options, business extensions, free WP plugins, payment gateways, accounting and financial tools like Intuit QuickBooks, communication and marketing apps etc.
Marketing Credits
To help users promote their new sites, Bluehost provides marketing credits that can be used on platforms like Google and Bing. This can be a great boost for initial marketing campaigns to drive traffic and attract visitors to your site.
eCommerce Features
With Bluehost, users can easily install popular eCommerce platforms like WooCommerce with a single click, thanks to its integration with the Mojo Marketplace. Each eCommerce hosting plan includes a free SSL certificate to secure online transactions, dedicated IP addresses for enhanced security and SEO benefits as well as support for multiple payment gateways to accommodate a variety of shopper preferences.
Additionally, Bluehost provides unmetered bandwidth to handle high traffic volumes and scalability options to support business growth. These features, combined with strong customer support and promotional tools like free marketing credits, make Bluehost a compelling choice for anyone looking to set up a professional online store.
Free Domain Name and SSL Certificate
Bluehost provides a free domain name for the first year when you sign up for any of their hosting plans. This offer is particularly attractive to new website owners, reducing the initial costs of setting up a website. Additionally, they include a free SSL certificate with all their hosting plans. SSL certificates encrypt data transmitted between your website and its visitors, essential for security and for boosting your site’s SEO rankings.
Free WordPress Site Migration
With Bluehost, you can migrate the existing WordPress site to its servers at no cost and tech expertise. What you need is to make use of free online consultation available to all Bluehost users to find out more about the service and its terms. Then follow the guidelines to apply for a procedure.
Enhanced Security Features
Bluehost’s security features include Spam Assassin protection, Secure Shell (SSH) access, and hotlink protection. Additionally, Bluehost offers options for more advanced security features like SiteLock, which provides malware detection and removal, and CodeGuard, a website backup solution.
Integrated Cloudflare Support
Bluehost includes Cloudflare integration, which enhances your website’s performance and security. Cloudflare’s CDN speeds up load times by caching content locally in multiple locations around the world and provides additional security measures to protect against DDoS attacks.
Email Accounts
With Bluehost, you can create professional email addresses with your domain name. This feature is included with most hosting plans, allowing you to manage your communication and enhance your brand professionalism.
Performance and Uptime
Bluehost has distinguished itself as one of the most trusted hosts out there. Along with smooth response times, it also ensures instant prompt page load along with exceptional uptime rate.
What’s important, the platform utilizes high-performance servers with SSD storage that significantly reduces page loading times compared to traditional hard drives. This is particularly important for dynamic websites and online stores where faster load times can improve user experience and decrease bounce rates.
Additionally, Bluehost has implemented various performance-enhancing features such as Cloudflare CDN integration. The CDN optimizes the delivery of web content by caching it on servers around the globe, which helps decrease load times for international visitors by serving data from the nearest location. According to recent research results, the average site load speed proved to be 85% faster than that of other hosting providers.
As for uptime rate, Bluehost demonstrated up to 100%, which is quite a high result needed for smooth and reliable website performance. The host’s data centers are equipped with redundant power supplies and a backup generator system, which helps mitigate the risks of power failures. Their servers are also monitored 24/7 by both automated systems and human personnel, ensuring any potential issues are quickly identified and addressed to maintain optimal performance and uptime.
Customer Support
Bluehost has one of the most professional and helpful support teams in the market. The assistants are ready to answer users’ questions 24/7, while the average time to solve a tech or usability problem is around 15 minutes. An important innovation is that the Bluehost team uses a specific alert system that notifies the clients about potential downtimes in advance so that they could get ready. The following customer support options are available:
- Email Support;
- Phone Call;
- Live Chat.
The response times for both live chat and phone support are generally very good, helping to reduce downtime and frustration for users.
Mind that if you own a WordPress site, the software has an extra support option to resolve the CMS-related issues. You will get access to how-to guides and tutorials, special information resources, useful articles etc.
For visual learners, Bluehost provides a library of video tutorials that cover many aspects of hosting management. These tutorials are especially useful for new users who might be unfamiliar with certain processes or for those who prefer video-based guidance to text articles.
Pricing Policy
Bluehost pricing is quite affordable, irrespective of the hosting type you will go for. Let’s explore the available options below.
- Shared hosting – starts at $4.95 ($9.99 upon renewal) to reach $18.95 per month ($26.99 upon renewal) when bought for a 3-year term. All packages include a free domain for the 1st year;
- VPS hosting – starts at $31.99 ($81.99 after renewal) to reach $71.99 ($144.99 after renewal) per month for the entry plans when purchased for three years ahead;
- Dedicated hosting – starts at $91.98 per month ($181.99 after renewal) to reach $141.99 per month ($291 after renewal) when bought for a 3-year term;
- WordPress optimized hosting – starts at $1.99 per month. Renewal prices extend from $3.99 to $19.99 per month;
- Cloud hosting – starts at $29.99 per month ($79.99 after renewal) to reach $109.99 per month ($249.99 after renewal);
- WooCommerce hosting – is between $25.99 and $39.95 per month (upon renewal) when bought for a 3-year term.
If you are not sure that you need an annual subscription and wish to test the host, Bluehost makes it possible to pick from four monthly shared server packages listed below:
- Basic – the setup cost is $2.95/mo;
- Plus – starts at $5.45/mo;
- Choice Plus – costs $5.45/mo;
- Pro – the starting fee is $13.95/mo.
Mind that Bluehost offers a trial period of 30-Days for any plan you go for. Likewise, there is a refund guarantee, if you decide to cancel the selected subscription for any reason before the trial ends.
Conclusion
To sum it all up, Bluehost is one of the most powerful, full-featured and respectable hosting providers out there. Being officially recommended by WordPress, the host works great for all projects powered by the CMS. However, you can also host any other website with the software as it offers several types of hosting solutions to entrepreneurs, bloggers, company owners and for all those looking for a trusted host.
Integration of advanced features like SSD storage, Cloudflare CDN and one-click installations, along with the strong focus on uptime and security, ensures that Bluehost meets the high demands of the modern hosting market.
What’s more, Bluehost stands out due to its excellent and diverse customer support (with 24/7 access via multiple channels), eCommerce options, integrated security and site building tools and other advantages. Whether you are going to set up a simple personal site, a business project or a complex eCommerce platform, Bluehost is equipped to effectively support your hosting needs.