Pros
ConsThe details
If you’re looking for a web hosting service that has stood the test of time, Dreamhost is a safe bet. The platform was established back in 1997 by four allies who were, at the time, undergraduates at the California-based Harvey Mudd College.
The four were passionate about open-source software, technology and they longed to assist online users in some kind of way. This is how Dreamhost came about.
In the 24 years that the platform has been in existence, it’s become a home to over 400,000 of its members who hail from 100+ countries. Furthemore, the hosting service powers at least 1.5 million websites and over 750,000 WordPress installations.
Speed
If you’re running a website, then one of the things that you’ll never want your customers to experience is sluggish performance. Sites that take too long to load could end up harming your user engagement as well as organic rankings.
Unfortunately, speed isn’t one of DreamHost’s key strengths. Over the past year, the platform has averaged a speed of 1320 ms, making it slower than that offered by SiteGround.
The saving grace is that the firm has been making a couple of improvements to boost its speed.
For one, it’s designed a number of products to be compatible with WordPress. This has helped optimize user’s performance by guaranteeing a seamless and smooth integration between DreamHost and the client’s WordPress site.
It’s also switched to SSDs which provide faster speed when it comes to data transfer, caching and performing other activities on your website.
Uptime reliability
Sadly, DreamHost falls a bit short when it comes to its uptime reliability. Based on the past 12 months, its average uptime has been 99.90% but with up to 8 hours of downtime.
This could result in massive losses of site traffic and subsequently, profits.
The good thing is that DreamHost offers an uptime guarantee. As with the majority of web hosting services, if your monthly uptime drops below a given threshold, you’ll receive a credit for the cost of service.
As a matter of fact, DreamHost goes as far as to guarantee a 100% uptime guarantee in their terms of service. For every one hour of downtime your website encounters, the web host offers a free day’s worth of service.
The downside is that this offer is given up to a maximum of 10% of your next pre-paid renewal fee. What this means is that it’s only available in the future. Some clients may not like the terms as they may prefer providers who offer an instant discount of refund instead.
Customer support
Customer support may not be one of DreamHost’s key strengths either, but it’s relatively good compared to other web hosting providers.
The biggest concern among users is the fact that they cannot contact DreamHost directly. However, the web host tries to make up for this by offering an array of alternative means of communication.
The support is offered through call backs, a live chat platform, forums, tickets and a help center.
The live chat support is usually available starting from 5:30 am to 9:30 pm Pacific time throughout the week. If you’re not fluent in English, you’re allowed to speak to Spanish customer representatives.
That said, be prepared to wait for a while before you’re connected to one. Oftentimes though, you’ll get a response within a few minutes or so.
We like how user-friendly the ticketing system is. All you need to do is raise your concern and then submit a ticket. The support personnel will then look into your issue, and respond promptly.
Once your ticket receives a response, you’ll be notified immediately so you won’t have to refresh the page every other time to check this.
DreamHost also prides itself in its highly-resourceful help center. Available online, this sector allows you to search any questions you have- much like typing a query into Google.
There are multiple help articles and guides, all of which are packed with useful information to help you solve your issue. If you have any concerns, we recommend using the help center first to prevent avoidable delays that you may encounter at their other support systems.
Value
Across the board, DreamHost’s packages range from a measly $2.59 a month to $399 per month. Their cheapest is the shared hosting while the most pricey plans are those in the dedicated hosting category.
Quick tip: always opt for long-term subscriptions as they save you more money than their short-term (monthly) plans.
Here’s a look at DreamHost’s plans and their respective prices:
Shared hosting
DreamHost offers two plans under this category: Shared Starter and Shared Unlimited. The Shared Starter goes for $4.95 a month.
With this plan, you’ll only get hosting for one website, and you have to pay an additional cost of $1.67 per month to add email. On the brighter side, you get fast SSD storage, a free SSL certificate, and a pre-installed WordPress.
The next plan, Shared Unlimited, sets you back $8.95 a month (or $2.95 per month annually). This one gets you everything offered on the Shared Starter and unlimited email.
VPS Hosting
Here, you’ll have the freedom to pick from four different packages.
VPS Basic, which costs $15/month, is the cheapest and it offers 1GB of Ram and 30GB SSD storage. VPS Business follows at $30 per month, and it includes 2GB Ram and 60GB SSD storage.
If you want at least 4GB Ram and up to 120 GB SSD storage, then you should subscribe for VPS Professional. This goes for $60 a month.
The last plan, which is priced at $120 a month, is VPS Enterprise. With this, you get 8GB Ram and 240GB SSD storage.
Dedicated Server Hosting
If you’re just getting started on this type of hosting, their Standard package, which goes for $169 per month, is a great choice. It comes with support for Intel Xeon 4-Core, 1TB HDD and 4GB Ram.
But if you want a fully comprehensive plan, their Enhanced plan is a better option. This one costs $299 per month, and it offers Intel Xeon 12-Core, 2TB HDD and 16GB Ram.
Managed WordPress Hosting
If you’re interested in DreamHost’s Managed WordPress hosting, you’ll be able to choose from three different plans. Here is a brief overview of each:
DreamPress ($12 a month)
- Designed for up to 100,000 monthly visitors
- 30GB SSD storage
DreamPressPlus ($24 a month)
- Designed for up to 300,000 monthly visitors
- 60GB SSD storage
- Unlimited CDN
DreamPress Pro ($79.95 a month)
- Designed for 1 million+ monthly visitors
- 120GB SSD storage
- Unlimited CDN
Safety
DreamHost employs a number of strategies to keep your website safe. For one, they use a malware removal, which constantly scans your website for potential malware. The platform also guarantees privacy of your domain and it uses HTTP/2 support, which helps to encrypt your site’s data.
Final verdict
If you’re looking to create a Linux-powered site on a budget, Dreamhost is a good option. It may not offer support for Windows, but it’s rich in other features.
One thing that makes it stand out is the use of solid-state drives on its shared and VPS packages; this significantly improves speed. Other aspects you’ll love are unlimited bandwidth, unlimited data storage and fair prices.
