Bluehost was established in 2003. It is currently one of the most used hosts online. Bluehost powers over 2 million websites by 2023.
Bluehost has focused its hosting efforts on WordPress in recent years. It’s an attractive option if you are looking to create a new website. Prices start at $2.95 per month.
Low prices aren’t the only perk Bluehost offers. Bluehost has been monitored by us since 2017. We will now share our Bluehost review.
Let’s get into it.
An Overview of Bluehost
SPEED: | 661 ms (January 2022 to December 2022) |
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UPTIME: | 99.91% (January 2022 to December 2022) |
SUPPORT: | 24/7 Live Chat, Phone, Email, Knowledge Base |
APPS: | WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, phpBB, and More Than 75+ Open Source Projects |
FEATURES: | Unmetered bandwidth, one Website, 10 GB Storage, Free Domain name 1st Year, Free SSL Certificate and CDN, Spam Experts, Domain Privacy, 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee, WordPress 1-Click Install |
HOSTING PLANS: | Shared, WordPress, VPS, Reseller, and Dedicated Servers |
SITE TRANSFER: | Single WordPress Site for Free |
PRICING: | Starting at $2.75/month (renews at $10.99/month) |
Bluehost’s Advantages
Bluehost is today’s largest host. Datanyze ranks Bluehost as the 7th most popular host in the world, with an estimate that Bluehost hosts 3.19% of all websites. You can find something for everyone, both new and experienced users.
Bluehost is a great choice for WordPress beginners looking for reliable WordPress hosting. It offers easy-to use features, friendly customer service, decent response time and beginner-friendly shared plans.
Bluehost’s features aren’t complete, however. We’ll continue to review them below.
1. It’s pretty good to have uptime
Bluehost’s average uptime for the year 2022 was 99.91%. We tracked this data over 12 months. Bluehost has had 100% uptime since January 2023.
September 2022 was its worst performing month, with an average uptime 99.43%. It experienced 4 hours and 6 mins of downtime total during that month. Although the longest downtime period was for 1 hour and 25 mins, most downtimes lasted less than a minute.
Bluehost’s uptime is quite good. However, unlike other hosts, Bluehost doesn’t offer an uptime warranty.
A2 is another company that we monitor and offers a 99.9% uptime warranty.
2. Customer Support is available to you without the need to hunt
Bluehost is focused on customer service and it’s easy to find a number to contact them. Bluehost makes it easy for you to reach sales support or customer service, and even if you are calling from abroad.
Bluehost features these numbers right from their home menu, rather than hiding them on their website like many hosts.
Chatbots can be found on key pages and are available to answer your questions or direct you towards a person who can provide chat support. Bluehost can be reached via email or multiple social media channels.
3. Bluehost Security offers peace of mind
Bluehost is one the few WordPress hosts that WordPress.org recommends — and it has been so for many years.
Although this is not a security feature, it helps to know that Bluehost CMS developers trust Bluehost and recommend it for WordPress users.
Bluehost also offers SSL security certificates for free with all its hosting services. Optional domain privacy and automatic back-ups are available for higher-level plans in case of an attack on your website.
4. Multiple Plans To Better Meet Your Needs
Bluehost offers many web hosting options. There are many shared hosting plans available, as well as VPS (Virtual Private Server) and dedicated hosting options. You can also access email and domains through the company’s website.
These options allow you to choose the best plan for you.
Bluehost’s Plus plan allows you to host unlimited domain names ($4.95/month the first 12 months, and $14.99 per month thereafter).
Bluehost offers managed WordPress hosting packages starting at $19.95/month. These managed WordPress plans offer additional themes and daily backups to your website.
One of Bluehost’s newer plans is a WooCommerce-optimized plan with tools, plugins, and themes centered around helping you make an online store quickly and easily. These plans start at $9.95/month the first year.
Additional plugins are included in these plans that allow you to quickly set up features such as wishlists and gift cards. You can also set up secure payment options. This plan is a good alternative to starting an ecommerce website from scratch if you have never created one.
5. Easy payment and 30-day guarantee
Bluehost accepts PayPal and all major credit cards. The host accepts money orders and checks from U.S. banks.
Bluehost offers a 30-day money back guarantee on website hosting if you are unhappy with their services. This policy does not apply to domain names or other add-ons, so make sure you keep this in mind before making your purchase.
6. An Intuitive Website Builder for Beginners
Bluehost, like many other web hosts, focuses heavily on WordPress hosting.
Bluehost offers a WordPress Website Builder that allows users to create a WordPress site using its drag-and drop builder.
If you want to build your site outside of WordPress, however, you can still use the standalone Bluehost Builder. This version is not compatible with WordPress and is best for blogs and online shops.
You’ll enjoy a pleasant experience with the drag-and drop editor, no matter what your choice. Bluehost customer service is available to help you with any questions.
7. It’s easy to use
Bluehost’s website can be navigated easily. Although signing up is easy, pricing can be confusing. This is partly due to upselling.
Bluehost’s cPanel makes it easy to sign up once you have done so. Many large hosting companies use the cPanel software and adapt it to their needs. If you have hosted before with another provider, you will likely find it familiar.
The main login page offers many options, including managing domain names, SEO tools, and moving to your WordPress dashboard.
8. WordPress Design in Mind
WordPress.org recommends Bluehost, as we have already mentioned in our Bluehost review.
Bluehost and Bluehost have a mutually beneficial relationship. Bluehost makes it easy for you to use the CMS with any plan. Bluehost makes it easy to install WordPress in just a few clicks. This is great news for WordPress beginners.
Bluehost’s disadvantages
Bluehost reviews wouldn’t be honest if they didn’t mention the negatives. Let’s find out what they are.
1. Confusing Introductory Pricing & Renewal Prices
Bluehost’s affordable pricing is appealing to many users. The basic plan costs only $2.75 per month. The shared hosting plan includes one website, up to 10GB SSD storage, and a free domain for the first year.
This is a fair price for the first year, but the Bluehost customer price will go up to $10.99/month after that. A 36-month option is available for $4.99/month if you want to lock in a lower price for a longer term.
This is compared to DreamHost, which costs $5.99 per month after the 12-month initial period. If you are looking for long-term affordability, Bluehost may not be the best choice.
Bluehost also often has multiple sales for its hosting packages. This means that the price you see could change daily or depend on which page you click.
Bluehost hosting is not recommended for everyone. Wait for the promotions. Bluehost tends to have big sales on major holidays. You can also search for coupon codes through their large affiliate network. Bluehost offers many ways to increase your chances for a sale.
You should also know that although most plans come with a domain name for the first year, additional domains and email hosting can be expected to cost more.
2. Storage Limitations
Bluehost’s basic plan has only 10GB SSD storage, which is less than other hosts that we monitor. For $4.95 per month, you can get more storage with the Choice Plus plan which offers 20 GB.
However, none of the plans that we examined offered unlimited storage. This could cause problems if your website contains large files.
GreenGeeks is a great alternative if unlimited storage interests you. Unlimited storage plans start at $5.95 per month.
3. No free email hosting
Bluehost does not offer free email anymore, but it offers domain-based email hosting at $6 per month as part of a collaboration with Google.
Email hosting comes with a Gmail Inbox, 30 GB storage, access Google tools like Docs, Calendar, and the ability of linking up multiple accounts, if you run a business.
This is not a better deal than what Google offers. It is also more expensive than DreamHost’s $1.67/month or GoDaddy’s year of free email.
You can find cheaper email options, or you can sign up for Gmail yourself.
4. Below average response time
Your website’s page load time and response times are critical. Fast responses will support your individual page load speed.
Bluehost has maintained a consistent response speed over the past twelve months. The slowest loading time between January 2022 & December 2022 was 877ms in October 2022. In 2022, the average response time was 661ms. January 2023 started at 629ms.
Although it’s one of our slower hosts, it is still possible to work with. This is a great value, especially if it’s part of one of Bluehosts’ basic plans.
It may be an option if your website doesn’t have too many images/videos to need high-speed responses to protect page load speeds.
Quick facts
- Money-back: 30-day money-back guarantee.
- Website Migratio: One (1) WordPress website transfer is free. Additional migrations starting at $149.99 for five websites or more and up to 20 email accounts.
- One-year free domain Domains are then renewed at $15.99/year
- Sign up is easy and straightforward.
- Payment Methods – All major credit cards, PayPal and checks or money orders made from US-based banks only
- Hidden fees and clauses: Domain names cannot be refunded. Both hosting and domain renewal rates are substantially higher than the initial rate.
- Account Activation – In most cases, instant activation Activation may be delayed if incorrect information is provided or suspicions of fraud.
- Dashboard Experience: An easy-to-use panel.
- Installation of Apps (WordPress and Joomla): ): Mojo Marketplace makes it easy to install apps.
Bluehost: Do We Recommend It?
We do.
Bluehost is a popular host that has millions of happy customers. Bluehost offers an excellent combination of uptime that is acceptable and many plan options for a reasonable price. This includes the first year.
Bluehost hosting plans are more expensive than others, but the features included in these plans make it possible for anyone with little experience in web design and development to create a custom WordPress website.
Bluehost’s customer support is also easy to reach and available to assist you with most of your common issues, including setting up a store, migrating your website, and many other things. Bluehost also offers telephone support, which is a big advantage over other hosts.
Although the base plan storage is quite limited, it shouldn’t pose a problem for most websites. Bluehost offers options for everyone. From beginner bloggers to small businesses that want to manage multiple ecommerce shops, Bluehost has them all.