Bluehost 2022 Review – The Good and the Bad
When using Bluehost, you may have a website up and running within minutes. Millions of individuals across the world are using it to operate existing online businesses, start new businesses, and create new things.
Why is Bluehost so popular?
In the realm of web hosting, Bluehost has carved out a significant niche for itself, becoming one of the most popular choices for individuals and businesses alike. With a legacy dating back to 2003, Bluehost’s rise to prominence can be attributed to a blend of its comprehensive features, user-friendly approach, and robust performance. This article delves into the various factors that contribute to Bluehost’s popularity, examining its offerings, customer support, pricing, and overall reliability.
1. Comprehensive Hosting Plans
One of the primary reasons for Bluehost’s popularity is its extensive range of hosting plans. Whether you are a beginner starting your first blog or a large enterprise needing dedicated server space, Bluehost has a plan that fits.
Shared Hosting: Ideal for small websites and blogs, Bluehost’s shared hosting plans are cost-effective and provide all the necessary features to get started, including a free domain for the first year, SSL certificates, and unmetered bandwidth.
VPS Hosting: For websites that require more power and flexibility, VPS (Virtual Private Server) hosting offers enhanced performance with guaranteed resources. Bluehost’s VPS plans come with root access, enhanced cPanel, and robust storage options.
Dedicated Hosting: For the most demanding websites, dedicated hosting offers maximum performance and control. Bluehost’s dedicated servers provide high-performance hardware, dedicated IPs, and extensive storage options.
WordPress Hosting: As one of the few hosting providers officially recommended by WordPress.org, Bluehost offers optimized WordPress hosting solutions. These plans feature one-click WordPress installation, automatic updates, and a free Content Delivery Network (CDN).
WooCommerce Hosting: For those looking to set up an online store, Bluehost’s WooCommerce hosting plans come pre-installed with the WooCommerce plugin, offering an easy way to manage products, inventory, and payments.
2. User-Friendly Experience
Bluehost is renowned for its user-friendly interface, making it accessible even to those with little to no technical expertise. The custom-built control panel, powered by cPanel, is intuitive and easy to navigate. Users can manage their websites, domains, emails, and databases with ease. The one-click installation feature for various content management systems (CMS) like WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal further simplifies the process, enabling users to get their websites up and running quickly.
3. Performance and Uptime
Performance is a critical factor in web hosting, and Bluehost excels in this area. With state-of-the-art data centers, modern hardware, and multiple caching layers, Bluehost ensures that websites load quickly and efficiently. The company guarantees an impressive uptime of 99.99%, ensuring that websites remain accessible to visitors almost all the time. This reliability is crucial for businesses that cannot afford downtime.
4. Excellent Customer Support
Customer support is a cornerstone of Bluehost’s popularity. The company offers 24/7 support through various channels, including live chat, phone, and email. Their support team is knowledgeable and responsive, capable of assisting with a wide range of issues, from basic setup queries to more complex technical problems. Additionally, Bluehost’s website features a comprehensive knowledge base, including tutorials, guides, and FAQs, empowering users to troubleshoot common issues independently.
5. Competitive Pricing
Bluehost offers competitive pricing across its various hosting plans, making it an attractive option for different budgets. The shared hosting plans, in particular, are very affordable, starting at a low introductory rate. Additionally, the value-added features such as free domain registration for the first year, free SSL certificates, and marketing credits for advertising on Google and Bing enhance the overall value proposition.
6. Scalability
As websites grow, their hosting needs evolve. Bluehost’s scalable solutions allow users to upgrade their hosting plans seamlessly. Whether moving from shared hosting to VPS or dedicated hosting, Bluehost makes the transition smooth, ensuring that websites can handle increased traffic and resource demands without compromising performance.
7. Security Features
In an age where online security is paramount, Bluehost takes security seriously. All hosting plans come with free SSL certificates, ensuring encrypted connections and secure data transfer. Additionally, Bluehost offers advanced security features such as SiteLock, which provides malware scanning and removal, and CodeGuard, which offers daily backups and restoration. These features provide peace of mind, knowing that websites are protected against common threats.
8. Integration with Other Platforms
Bluehost integrates seamlessly with a wide range of third-party platforms and services. For instance, its compatibility with eCommerce platforms like WooCommerce and Magento makes it an excellent choice for online stores. The integration with Google Workspace allows users to manage their professional email and productivity tools efficiently. Moreover, the availability of various plugins and extensions ensures that users can customize their hosting environment to meet their specific needs.
9. Environmental Commitment
In recent years, environmental sustainability has become an important consideration for many consumers. Bluehost has made strides in this area by partnering with various organizations to offset its carbon footprint. The company is committed to using renewable energy sources and implementing energy-efficient practices in its data centers. This commitment to sustainability resonates with environmentally conscious users.
10. Positive Reputation and Endorsements
Bluehost’s reputation is bolstered by numerous positive reviews and endorsements from reputable sources. The company’s association with WordPress.org as an officially recommended hosting provider adds significant credibility. Additionally, Bluehost frequently receives high ratings in independent reviews for its performance, customer service, and overall value.
11. Educational Resources and Community Support
Bluehost goes beyond just providing hosting services; it fosters a community of users and offers a wealth of educational resources. The Bluehost Blog, for instance, covers a range of topics from website optimization tips to digital marketing strategies. Their YouTube channel features tutorials and webinars, helping users maximize their hosting experience. The active community forums provide a platform for users to share experiences, ask questions, and offer advice, creating a supportive environment for both new and experienced webmasters.
12. Marketing Tools
Bluehost provides various marketing tools to help users grow their online presence. From offering marketing credits for advertising on Google and Bing to providing access to SEO tools that help improve search engine rankings, Bluehost equips users with the resources needed to attract and retain visitors. These tools are particularly beneficial for small businesses and startups looking to establish a strong online presence without incurring significant additional costs.
13. Developer-Friendly Features
While Bluehost is known for its beginner-friendly features, it also caters to more advanced users and developers. The hosting environment supports multiple programming languages including PHP, Python, and Ruby on Rails. Developers have access to SSH, FTP, and secure shell access, enabling them to manage their files and scripts efficiently. Additionally, the availability of staging environments for WordPress sites allows developers to test changes and updates before deploying them live, minimizing the risk of errors.
14. Migration Services
Migrating a website from one hosting provider to another can be a daunting task. Bluehost offers free migration services for new customers, ensuring a smooth and hassle-free transition. The professional migration team handles the entire process, from transferring files and databases to ensuring that all configurations are correctly set up. This service is particularly beneficial for users who may not have the technical expertise to manage migrations on their own.
15. Continuous Improvement and Innovation
Bluehost continuously evolves to meet the changing needs of the web hosting industry. The company regularly updates its infrastructure and introduces new features to enhance user experience. For instance, the introduction of the Bluehost Marketplace provides users with easy access to a wide range of themes, plugins, and services, enabling them to customize and expand their websites effortlessly.
Who does Bluehost do well with when it comes to web hosting?
Bluehost is a great place to start if you’re making your first or second website. As a new blogger, Bluehost makes it easy for you to get started without having to learn the details of web hosting.
Along with their customer service and cPanel, Bluehost guarantees your learning curve is minimised and assures that your site is publically accessible to the globe with lots of uptime.
If, on the other hand, you want to create an ecommerce store with a large number of items and need the fastest possible site performance as well as dedicated hosting, you may want to explore elsewhere.
The Good and the Bad of Bluehost
Pros
Not every firm can provide 24/7 customer service, particularly at such a cheap starting price point. In the event of a site issue, Bluehost’s customer support team will be ready to help you as soon as you have your site up and running and whenever you need it in the future.
An unrestricted domain name for a period of one year: One of the most enticing aspects of Bluehost is that you receive a free domain name for a year. And no need to register via a third-party domain seller or invest more money at the beginning of your website.
The Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate ensures the authenticity of your website and encrypts critical site information with a free one. If you’re running a website, this is a must-have. It’s good to know that Bluehost offers free SSL certification.
Easy site setup: Bluehost’s simple, step-by-step setup makes it easy and quick to get your site up and running. Also, if you have any trouble, you can use their live chat service for help.
Bluehost is a great option for those who are just starting out in the world of website creation and management. The reason for this is because setting up your site with it does not need extensive understanding of web administration or coding. They’ve teamed up with WordPress and made the process of installing WordPress as simple as possible.
Cons
Transfer fees: When it comes to migration perks, Bluehost isn’t always the greatest option. It will cost you at least $149 to migrate a website from Bluehost to another platform.
Not suitable for sites with a large volume of traffic: You’ll need a more robust hosting solution if you wish to expand an existing site with a significant volume of traffic. The more costly managed WordPress levels, which we’ll discuss in more detail below, are also available.
Pricing
Bluehost has a number of clear-cut price categories. But if you’re still unclear which one is ideal for you, contact them for a free consultation.
If you acquire a 36-month hosting plan at the beginning of the year, the price points for each shared hosting tier I’m going over here are only relevant. If you pick a 12- or 24-month payment plan, the monthly instalments will be different.
In the long run, you may expect to spend more for hosting if you pick a month-to-month plan. Even still, in terms of pricing and functionality, Bluehost is the ideal option for those just getting started.
Shared Hosting
Basic
- Rs. 179 / month
- 1 Website
- 50 GB SSD Storage
- Unmetered
- Bandwidth
- 25 Sub Domains
- 1 Database
- Domain for 1 Year (₹1,399/yr) value
- SSL Certificate Protection
- WordPress Website Migration
Plus
- Rs. 279 / month
- Unlimited Websites
- Unmetered SSD Storage
- Unmetered Bandwidth
- Unlimited Sub Domains
- Unlimited Databases
- Domain for 1 Year (₹1,399/yr )value
- SSL Certificate Protection
- Bluehost SEO Tools | Free 30 days (₹349/mo) value
- WordPress Website Migration (₹799/yr) value
- Free Speed Boosting CDN (₹4,499/yr value)
Choice Plus
- Rs. 279 / month
- Unlimited Websites
- Unmetered SSD Storage
- Unmetered Bandwidth
- Unlimited Sub Domains
- Unlimited Databases
- Domain for 1 Year ₹1,399/yr value
- Free Speed Boosting CDN ₹4,499/yr value
- Email Marketing Tool
- WordPress Website Migration ₹799/yr value
- Bluehost SEO Tools | Free 30 days ₹349/mo value
- Free Domain Privacy ₹499/yr value
- Free Daily Website Backupt ₹2,399/yr value
- SSL Certificate Protection
Pro
- Rs. 479 / month
- Unlimited Websites
- Unmetered SSD Storage
- Unmetered Bandwidth
- Unlimited Sub Domains
- Unlimited Databases
- Domain for 1 Year ₹1,399/yr value
- SSL Certificate Protection
- Automatic Daily Malware Scan
- Free Speed Boosting CDN ₹4,499/yr value
- Email Marketing Tool
- WordPress Website Migration ₹799/yr value
- Bluehost SEO Tools | Free 30 days ₹349/mo value
- Free Domain Privacy ₹499/yr value
- Free Daily Website Backup ₹2,399/yr value
- Optimized CPU Resources
Dedicated Hosting
Standard
- Price Rs. 6,499 / Month
- 8 cores @ 2.20 GHz
- 500GB (Mirrored) SSD Storage
- 8 GB RAM
- 5 TB Bandwidth
- 3 IP Addresses
- Free Domain for 1 Year ₹1,399/yr value
Enhanced
- Rs .8,499 / Month
- 8 cores @ 2.20 GHz
- 1TB (Mirrored) SSD Storage
- 16 GB RAM
- 10 TB Bandwidth
- 4 IP Addresses
- Free Domain for 1 Year ₹1,399/yr value
Premium
- Rs. 10,499
- 8 cores @ 2.20 GHz
- 1.5TB (Mirrored) SSD Storage
- 30 GB RAM
- 15 TB Bandwidth
- 5 IP Addresses
- Free Domain for 1 Year ₹1,399/yr value
VPS Hosting
Standard
- Price – Rs. 1,159
- 2 Cores
- 30 GB SSD Storage
- 2 GB RAM
- 1 TB Bandwidth
- 1 IP Address
- Free Domain for 1 Year ₹1,399/yr value
Enhanced
- Price – Rs. 1,859
- 2 Cores
- 60 GB SSD Storage
- 4 GB RAM
- 2 TB Bandwidth
- 2 IP Addresses
- Free Domain for 1 Year ₹1,399/yr value
Ultimate
- Price- Rs. 3659
- 4 Cores
- 120 GB SSD Storage
- 8 GB RAM
- 3 TB Bandwidth
- 2 IP Addresses
- Free Domain for 1 Year ₹1,399/yr value
Conclusion Should You Use Bluehost?
Perhaps now that you’ve read this Bluehost review, you’re wondering whether they’re the ideal host for your website.
Bluehost is often listed as one of the best web hosting on a variety of websites. You may make advantage of their wide range of hosting options and services while creating your website.
In addition to 24/7 customer support, all of their hosting plans feature access to highly-trained experts.
Most significantly, they provide beginning programmes that may be tailored to any financial situation.
You can’t go wrong with a Bluehost shared hosting plan if you’re just getting started. It’s affordable and comes equipped with everything you need. It’s easy to upgrade your hosting plan as your website grows.
Get your website up and running with Bluehost now! To choose a Bluehost plan, go to this page.
Frequently Asked Question
We’ve done our best to examine every area of Bluehost’s web hosting services in this in-depth review. We’ve collected a list of the most frequently asked questions regarding Bluehost since we know there are a lot of them.
Definitely. Bluehost, in fact, is one of the top WooCommerce hosting providers. Starting an internet business has never been easier with their beginning package.
But remember that you’ll need to upgrade when your site gets more traffic. Ideally, you’ll have made enough money by then to cover the expense of the improvement.
Yes. Using Bluehost is the most straightforward way to host your WordPress site. WordPress is pre-installed when you sign up. They provide a user-friendly control panel that makes managing your hosting account a breeze.
In the form of comprehensive manuals, videos, and articles, there is a lot of knowledge available. Live chat and phone support are also accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Start-ups and small enterprises may use their shared hosting options. This company’s shared hosting package performed well when subjected to our stress test, which included 100 virtual users.
Unexpected traffic surges are no match for these tactics. The problem is that they still don’t have much server capacity. The more visitors you anticipate, the more you’ll need to upgrade your hosting plan.
Bluehost is one of the best web hosts, and WordPress.org has approved them as a hosting partner. They have been helping the WordPress community for a long time and know a lot about how to use it.
WordPress websites run faster and smoother using their technology. Learning that they have WordPress developers on staff is a comforting thought.
Bluehost takes credit cards, but if you’d rather pay with PayPal, you can do that at checkout.
The assistance offered by Bluehost is superior than that offered by GoDaddy, and we believe this to be the case. For beginners, they provide a more user-friendly My Sites dashboard and onboarding process. Bluehost, on the other hand, has lower prices for small enterprises.
There is an in-house data centre at Bluehost’s headquarters in Utah. It is a massive 50,000-square-foot structure that serves as the company’s primary data centre.
If you’re just starting started with a new website or blog, start with their basic plan. It’s OK to use this website as a learning tool; you can always enhance afterwards.
