Last Updated on October 17, 2022
Bluehost is one of the most easy-to-use and affordable hosting providers that can get a website up and running in no time. It is also one of the most reputable hosting providers in the world, and as a matter of fact, the hosting of Bluehost is even recommended by WordPress.
The hosting of Bluehost costs as little as $2.95 per month, and upon signing up, users get a free domain name for a year, which usually costs around $10-15 in other hosting providers.
Although Bluehost comes with various features and may seem like a hosting provider worth investing in, there are various shortcomings in Bluehost hosting, which we will discuss in detail in this Bluehost review.
To start this first Bluehost review, let’s first look at its pros and cons.
Pros of Bluehost Hosting
1. 24/7 Customer Support: Although every hosting provider offers customer support, not every one of them is available 24/7. The customer service of Bluehost is available round the clock and can be used as extra guidance.
2. Free Domain for One Year: Perhaps Bluehost’s most appealing feature is that they offer a free domain name for one year. This eliminates the extra step of investing more money to start a site.
3. Free SSL Certificate: An Secure Socket Layer (SSL) certificate is a must for any site as it identifies the site and encrypts the data. It is one of the most important features of a secure website, and Bluehost offers it for free.
4. Quick Site Setup: Bluehost offers a step-by-step guide to set up a website in no time, and if a user does get in any trouble, then they can sort it out with its 24/7 customer support.
5. High-Performance Server: Bluehost allocates fewer users per server, meaning more computing resources per user and consistent site speed.
Cons of Bluehost Hosting
1. Charges for Site Migration: Unlike its competitors, such as Cloudways, Bluehost costs users an additional $149 to migrate a site to another platform.
2. Poor Performance in Traffic Surges: An entry-level plan of Bluehost is not going to cut it if you have a high-traffic site.
Bluehost Pricing
Bluehost offers several plans which are clear to the cut. However, if a user is still unsure about which plan they should go with, they can reach out to Bluehost’s customer support for a free consultation.
Take note that Bluehost hosting plan divides into 12, 24, and 36 months of services, and their monthly service amount changes accordingly.
A month-to-month hosting plan will be a tad more expensive than Bluehost’s shared hosting plan. However, Bluehost monthly plans are time cheaper when compared with other top hosting providers such as Cloudway.
Although Bluehost has various hosting plans, its shared hosting plan is hands down the best one and starts from $2.95/mo and offers 50 GB of storage, including free CDN and a free SSL certificate.
However, if you are familiar with the hosting market and know how to solve how and are looking for a bigger plan, then going with Bluehost’s Plus tier would be in your best interest. The Plus tier plan starts at $5.45, and not only it includes all the features of the basic plan, but it also allows users to manage an unlimited number of sites and 30-day access to Microsoft 365.
The Plus tier is also the most recommended plan by Bluehost and is a bang-for-the-buck hosting plan for more experienced people, and not to forget that the Plus tier includes additional security features.
At last, if you are looking for more than the Plus tier, then consider Bluehost’s Pro plan, which sits at a pricing of $13.95/mo and offers additional CPU resources and a free dedicated IP address.
VPS Hosting
Virtual Private Server (VPS) hosting lies within a shared server but acts as a dedicated Virtual Space for the user’s site. In comparison, VPS hosting is better than shared hosting as VPS is less expensive and has better security and performance than shared hosting.
The named resources are guaranteed in Bluehost’s VPS hosting options. Moreover, the VPS features of Bluehost stack up against the competitors and offers an additional 2GB of RAM and 1TB of bandwidth.
Dedicated Hosting
Security, Privacy, and control around the panels are the standout benefits of dedicated hosting. Bluehost has a separate dedicated hosting plan that is best for hosting a site for scale and reliability.
The dedicated hosting plan starts right off the bat by whooping 500 GB of storage, 4GB RAM, and 5 TB of bandwidth. Moreover, all these offerings come at the cost of only $79.99/mo, which is comparatively low compared to other hosting providers.
Managed WordPress Hosting
Bluehost is an all-in-one managed platform and can be scaled to suit the demands of the website. Bluehost allows users to directly manage WordPress from the admin dashboard at an incredibly fast speed with marketing tools and multi-tiered security features.
Bluehost offers different WordPress hosting packages, which divide between Build, Grow, and Scale. Each package offers features suited to the user’s needs.
The plans come with additional features such as storage space starting from 20 GB, access to over 200 global servers, scheduled backups, a staging environment, and more.
However, what ultimately set’s them apart is their traffic capacity. Here’s a quick overview:
- Build: $9.95/mo. Traffic capacity of 50,000 monthly visitors.
- Grow: 14.95/mo. Traffic capacity of 150,000 monthly visitors.
- Scale: $27.95/mo. Traffic capacity of 500,000 monthly visitors.
Bluehost Online Store Capability
Bluehost has separate hosting plans for WordPress eCommerce sites, and from the standard plan, the WooCommerce plugin is included. Moreover, robust payment processing, plenty of analytics, and the ability to create basic backups are included in the basic plan, which starts from $15.95 a month.
However, if your store requires a bit more complex than a simple storefront, then going with the premium plan would be the better option as it has much more reliable eCommerce features.
Live WordPress Support
Bluehost offers BlueSky, which is a tech support system that helps users to build, grow, and maintain any WordPress site through individual training and guidance.
Live WordPress support starts at $29 for on-demand ticket support. The assistance prices can go up to 149 per month, including various features such as SEO tools, content optimization, mobile optimization, access to constant contacts, and more.
Professional Marketing Services
Other than its hosting services, what makes Bluehost unique is its ability to assist users in their business with designs and marketing strategies, allowing users to focus more on their revenue-generating activities.
The Primary Services Offered by Bluehost Are:
- Support for website design, marketing, and content
- Support for SEO-optimized website and targeted keywords
- Support for PPC campaigns and practices to get more customers
The cost of professional marketing services is not listed on the Bluehost website, which can be a downside, but all these can be discussed by directly contacting Bluehost’s customer support.
FAQ About Bluehost Hosting
1. Is Bluehost good for beginners?
Yes, Bluehost’s hostings are the best for beginners as WordPress is automatically installed during sign up and users have an easy-to-use control panel that allows them to manage hosting and test endeavors
2. How does Bluehost work with WooCommerce?
Bluehost works impressively with WooCommerce, and as a matter of fact, Bluehost is the best WooCommerce hosting service provider. From the starter plan of Bluehost to the most premium ones, all suit perfectly with WooCommerce.
However, you will need to upgrade to Bluehost’s bigger plans when your store starts generating more traffic.
3. Can Bluehost handle high traffic?
The shared hosting plans of Bluehost are suitable for starting websites and small businesses and can handle reasonable traffic and sudden traffic spike.
However, the standard shared hosting plans are limited and can suffer handling high traffic rush, and will require users to upgrade to Bluehost’s bigger plans.
To Conclude
Bluehost offers a wide range of hosting options with tons of features that helps to build a website easily.
Every hosting plan of Bluehost includes 24/7 customer service, meaning no matter what the clock says, users can expect helpful guidance to solve their queries.
All in all, Bluehost is a reliable hosting provider that offers reliable services at a reasonable cost, and users can upgrade to Bluehost’s bigger plans as their website grows. The hostings of Bluehost are one of the best for WordPress and are even recommended by it.
