Pros
ConsThe details
Bluehost is a very popular and widely used web hosting service. It was founded by Matt Heaton and Danny Ashworth in 2003. In 2010, it was acquired by Endurance International Group.
Having been in existence for over 15 years, Bluehost has learned to provide intuitive hosting plans at very affordable prices.
Bluehost boasts of hosting over two million websites worldwide. It is also rated the number one hosting service for small businesses.
An interesting fact to note about Bluehost is that they usually build their servers from scratch. They also own and operate all their data centers.
Speed
The time it takes for a page to load is instrumental to the success of any website. Faster page load times equals higher conversion rates leading to higher profits. Unfortunately, Bluehost does not have the fastest speeds in the market, but it is pretty decent for the price.
It offers an average load speed of 713ms. Compared to other hosting services, this is definitely on the slower side of the spectrum. It means that if you have a website that is computationally demanding, you may have to upgrade to a Pro plan, which offers higher-performing servers.
To further improve the speed of your Bluehost website, you can choose to activate the Cloudflare CDN(Content Delivery Network).
These are servers that store a cached version of your website. This reduces the time it takes for data to travel when people visit your website. They will receive the content of your website from the nearest CDN point. Cloudflare CDN is offered on every Bluehost plan.
Uptime reliability
Bluehost is quite reliable when it comes to server uptime. Though there have been a few complaints about server outages and a slow response team, most users agree that Bluehost has a strong server performance.
Bluehost has an average uptime of 99.97%, which is quite impressive. Occasionally, the company can deliver 100% uptime.
When you experience downtime, they allow you to cancel your hosting plan without any cancellation fee.
Customer support
When it comes to offering the best customer service, Bluehost is only comparable to a few. They have an online web chat, a ticket-based system, 24/7 telephone support, and an expansive knowledge base.
Two of its most defining features are the online webchat and the knowledge center. The knowledge center is full of guides, articles, and answers to the most frequently asked questions, making it very easy to resolve any issues that you might have.
If you’re not able to get a proper answer through this system, there is a 24/7 phone support system available with a very prompt response time.
Safety
Bluehost goes out of its way when it comes to security. It uses SiteLock to scan for viruses and malware on your website and the company servers daily.
However, Bluehost undertakes security backup at its discretion, so you would have to do your backups daily for more security.
They also have a feature called RAID Level 1 (Redundant Array of Independent Disks), which you get when you opt for their dedicated servers. It mirrors your data in various disks to increase the reliability and security of your information.
In addition to providing you with the best security, Bluehost also gives you the option of taking your own security measures. You can create password-protected directories, manage your private keys and digital certificate, and create filters for your email accounts.
Value
Bluehost is among the most affordable web hosting services. Its shared hosting plans start from $2.95 per month to high-end dedicated servers going as high as $119.99 per month.
The prices vary depending on the hosting plan you choose and how much data, features, and support you want.
That said, Bluehost offers a lot of discounts and free extras. For example, they have a steep discount during the first month when you purchase any plan with them. The company also has a lot more features on its basic plan in comparison to its competitors.
The Bluehost hosting plans come with a 30-day money-back guarantee. Although this is common for most web hosting services, it does not beat DreamHost’s 97-day money-back guarantee.
Bluehost offers four types of web hosting services. Here is a more indepth look at these services:
Shared web hosting
Bluehost offers four plans under shared web hosting. They are: Basic, Plus, Choice and Pro plans.
The Basic plan is affordable with a starting price of $2.95 per month, but only with an initial three-year subscription.
Ater this, the plan then renews at $7.99 per month, which can be expensive for some people. The plan also offers upto 50 GB of SSD storage, unlimited bandwidth, free SSL certificate and free domain for the first twelve months.
The Plus plan starts at $5.45 per month and renews at $10.99 per month while the Choice plan starts at $5.45 per month and renews at $14.99. Both of these plans allow an unlimited number of websites with unlimited domains.
The Pro plan, starting at $13.95 per month and renewing at $23.99, is similar to the Choice plan but with a dedicated IP address and lower-density servers.
WordPress hosting
The WordPress hosting plan for Bluehost offers value for money, even if it is more expensive than the shared hosting plan. There are three plans in this category.
The Build plan which starts at $ 19.95 and renews at $ 29.99, the Grow plan at $ 29.95 per month and a Scale subscription that starts at $ 49.95 per month.
All the plans have daily backups, malware detection and removal as well as an integrated marketing center.
The Grow plan also adds Jetpack Premium, Bluehost SEO tools and a ticket support system. The scale subscription has everything from the Grow plan and an additional unlimited video compression as well as Jetpack Pro.
VPS hosting
If you’re looking for a hosting solution that’s more powerful than Bluehost shared hosting plan, then VPS is a very good alternative.
Its plans are in three tiers: Standard, Enhanced and Ultimate plans. Each plan has twice the maximum SSD storage and RAM available than the previous plan has.
The cheapest plan, Standard, starts at $18.99 per month and renews at $29.99 per month. The Enhanced plan goes for $29.99 per month while the Ultimate plan costs $59.99 per month.
Although a good option, this VPS hosting plan is a little simplistic compared to similar plans by other hosting sites.
Dedicated Server hosting
If you expect a ton of traffic on your website, then consider Bluehost’s dedicated server hosting. Here, you’ll get to choose from three tiers: the Standard, Enhanced and Premium.
With the Standard, which costs $79.99 per month, gives you access to several CPUs, 5TB of network bandwidth, a free domain and up to 3 dedicated IPs.
Enhanced gives you everything under the Standard tier, but the network bandwidth is 10TB. It goes for $99.99. The Premium package builds on this by offering 15TB of network bandwidth, and it costs $119.99 per month.
Safety
Worried about the safety of your website? Well, you don’t have to if you enlist the help of Bluehost. The web host offers several security features, including a hotlink protection. This feature ensures that no other websites can use your images.
Bluehost also offers three anti-spam tools, namely: Spam Experts, Apache SpamAssassin and Spam Hammer.
It even gives you the freedom to set up your email account filters and create IP address blacklists. This web host also offers CloudFlare, which further enhances your site’s security.
Final verdict
Bluehost is an excellent choice for website owners looking to save money on their email hosting. Rather than having to pay extra for an email host provider, Bluehost offers some form of email support in all their plans.
In addition to this, the platform offers a 24/7 live chat, meaning you’ll always have help at your disposal- should you need it.
