Is It Worth Signing Up for This Web Hosting Company? Bluehost Bluemail
Bluehost hosts over 2 million websites.
This is quite a lot.
Their large customer base is proof that they’re doing something right. They offer reliable uptime, fast server speeds, and all hosting plans have useful features that are suitable for both intermediate and advanced users.
Bluehost also offers live chat and phone support 24/7, and you can give them a chance with their 30-day money back guarantee.
However, there are downsides too such as higher renewal fees and restrictions on plans that are the cheapest.
All our reviews are based solely on actual data such as uptime, speed and cost.
So, without further ado, let’s take a closer look at Bluehost and find out if they can provide the high-quality website hosting service that you need. Bluehost Bluemail
Bluehost Video Review
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General Info & Hosting Overview
Our Verdict: 5.0
SPEED 688 ms (April 2020-March 2021).
UPTIME : 99.96% from April 2020 to March 2021
SUPPORT: 24/7 Chat, Phone and Email
APPS: WordPress. Joomla. Drupal. phpBB. And More Than 75+ Open Source Projects
FEATURES include Unlimited Bandwidth, Unlimited Websites and Space, Unmetered Bandwidth and SSL Certificate and CDN. Spam Experts are available to help you. Domain Privacy is also included.
HOSTING PLANS – Shared, WordPress VPS, Reseller and Dedicated Servers
SITE TRANSFER: Free Single WordPress Site Starting at $2.75/mo Bluehost Hosting: The Pros and Cons of Bluehost Hosting Bluehost is a company that has been in existence since 2003. This gives them a lot of knowledge about what makes a great hosting service.
The hosting company’s introductory prices are reasonable, their customer support is quick and helpful, as well as many other useful features. You also get reliable uptime, fast server speeds, and excellent customer support.
Let’s have a look at Bluehosts strengths in more detail. Bluehost Bluemail
1. Great uptime during 12-months (99.96%)
The most important aspect of choosing a webhost is uptime. Your users won’t have access to your site if your website is down. So, consistent uptime should be one of your top priorities when looking at hosting services.
We have reviewed over 40 web hosts and found that 99.93% is our standard for “good” uptime. We want to see at least 99.93%.
The good news is that Bluehost easily surpasses this benchmark, comfortably keeping our test site live for 99.96% of the time during the last 12 months (April 2020 to March 2021). The year-long total downtime was slightly less than four hours.
Bluehost average Uptime
March 2021: 100%
February 2021: 99.97%
January 2021: 100%
December 2020: 99.98%
November 2020: 100%
October 2020: 99.67%
September 2020: 100%
August 2020: 99.99%
July 2020: 99.99%
June 2020: 100% Bluehost Bluemail
May 2020: 99.90% (scheduled maintenance)
April 2020: 99.99%
2. Fast Page Loading Speed (68 ms).
Google research shows that page load times increase by 32% when compared to 1s and 3s. This means that your visitors are 32% less likely to leave your website. It gets worse if page loads take longer.
Google is also more inclined to mobile-first indexing.
This means that your site also needs to be optimized for mobile users, or otherwise, you’re losing traffic.
Slow websites almost always mean less traffic, and therefore lower sales. So right after uptime, page loading time is the second most important thing that can make or break your website’s success.
See stats Bluehost’s test site has an average load speed 688 ms in the past year. It’s not as fast as the top sites, but it’s still pretty good. Bluehost Bluemail
3. Low Introductory Pricing ($2.75/mo)
Bluehost’s default pricing is $3.95/month. This is an introductory rate from the $8.99/month rate.
Bluehost’s starting price has been reduced to $2.75/month. That is the good news. You get 50GB SSD storage, unlimited bandwidth, an SSL certificate, and much more. You’d get a good deal for the price and a consistent uptime.
The cheapest plan has some restrictions we don’t like. But, more on this later.
4. Packed with Security Options and Features
Bluehost is one the “cheapest” options available on the market. We’re happy to see they don’t compromise on key security options.
Bluehost already provides a free SSL certificate to your site as part of the lowest plan. Other great features include a free CDN(Cloudflare), a quick WordPress install, multiple CMS Integrations, and additional eCommerce plug-ins.
Higher-tier plans include the Spam Experts addon, domain privacy protection and server backups. SiteLock protects you from malware attacks and offers more security features.
Codeguard is another protection option that offers daily backups, so that you can rollback older versions of a site if it gets hacked.
Postini, a Google security tool, is worth mentioning. It prevents spam from reaching your inbox and protects it from being accessed by anyone suspicious. Bluehost Bluemail
5. Simple to use for beginners
The best web hosts are not the ones we have found, but they can be if you’re a skilled user. Bluehost is also great for beginners.
Although it’s intuitive and simple, the customer portal can be slow at times. Bluehost is made even easier by the layout of the cPanel panel. It is easy to install WordPress and get started with it through cPanel. You can install WordPress in most cases with just a click and point.
You can also start creating websites with website builders (such as Weebly) if you don’t wish to use WordPress. You can then customize a template by just dragging and dropping elements on your page.
Bluehost also offers advanced features for users who wish to use their code to build their sites.
6. 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee
Bluehost offers a 30-day guarantee for all hosting plans.
The service can be tried out to verify their performance, and you can request a return if the experience is not satisfactory. We have a few words of caution, though.
According to Bluehost’s terms , here’s what does and doesn’t fall under that guarantee:
Refunds are only available for web hosting charges.
Bluehost would take $15.99 off your bill if you get a free domain.
Bluehost won’t refund any requests beyond 30 days.
It isn’t like the host’s “no-questions-asked” policy. Before signing up, be sure to agree to these points. Bluehost Bluemail
7. 24/7 Customer Support
Bluehost offers 24/7 customer care via live chat and phone as well as an email ticketing system. You will also find useful information and frequently asked questions in their vast knowledgebase.
We went ahead and tested their live chat option, and the experience was pleasant.
We got answers to our questions quickly, and the representative was knowledgeable. While some answers felt like they were copied, others were helpful and improvised.
8. One Free WordPress Site Transfer
This perk can be used if you have a website already and would like to switch to Bluehost hosting.
Bluehost just recently began offering a site transfer for free with all of its plans.
The free service is subject to a few terms. First, the site needs to be a WordPress site. You must request the migration within 30 days of signing up for a hosting plan.
Simply contact their customer service department and follow their instructions. The migration process typically takes between 1-3 business hours.
The price for a WordPress website is $149.99. This covers up to five website migrations as well as 20 email account migrations.
9. 9.
WordPress is the most popular website platform available – 44% of all Internet sites are built using WordPress.
You can be sure that they are an authority when it comes hosting solutions. WordPress only recommends three hosting partners that can be used in conjunction with a WordPress site. Bluehost Bluemail
For a WordPress site, you can use nearly any web hosting company. Bluehost is one among the few partners that are officially recognized is encouraging.
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Cons of Using Bluehost Hosting
Even though we love the low initial prices, the renewal fees can be quite steep.
Let’s take a closer look at these downsides.
1. Higher Renewals Rates
Hosting is best when you prepay one, two, or three years in advance. While the average monthly price of hosting drops, you still have to commit hundreds of dollars upfront.
Don’t worry, there is a 30-day money back guarantee that you can use to get a refund if your service is not satisfactory. But, the rates will go up sharply once your plan is finished.
Let’s take the example of a plan that costs $2.75 per month. After the initial period ends, the renewal price of the next period is $8.99/month for a 3-year commitment.
The third period is more expensive in this example than the first.
2. Cheapest Plan Restrictions
Bluehost’s cheapest shared host plan comes with severe restrictions.
One website is allowed, but storage space is limited. The only security feature that you receive is an SSL certificate. If you need more security or have multiple sites, you must upgrade to at least the next pricing tier. This is twice as much.
Sadly, such restrictions on the cheapest plan are quite common in the web hosting industry. Companies are competing to be the best at selling hosting services for the lowest price. Bluehost Bluemail
Bluehost Pricing, Hosting Plans & Quick Facts
Here are the pricing plans for Bluehost shared hosting.
| Pricing | $2.75/month Renews at $8.99/mo |
$5.45/month Renews at $11.99/mo |
$5.45/month Renews at $16.99/mo |
$13.95/month Renews at $26.99/mo |
| Websites | 1 | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Bandwidth | Unmetered | Unmetered | Unmetered | Unmetered |
| Storage | 50 GB | Unmetered | Unmetered | Unmetered |
| Email Accounts | 5 | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Other Features | – | • Spam Experts | • Spam Experts • Domain Privacy & Protection • Codeguard Basic |
• 2 Spam Experts • Domain Privacy & Protection • Codeguard Basic • Dedicated IP |
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Quick facts
- Money-Back: 30-day money-back guarantee
- Website migration: 1 WordPress website transfer is free Other migrations are $149.99 for up to 5 websites and 20 email accounts.
- A free domain Yes, it is free for the first one year. It then renews for $15.99 per calendar year.
- Sign up is easy: It’s simple and straightforward.
- Payment Methods: Major credit card and PayPal
- Hidden Fees and Clauses: No refund on domain names. Renewal rates for both domains and hosting are much higher than the introductory rates.
- Upsells: Some upsells during sign-up, but nothing too aggressive.
- Account activation: Most cases are instant. Activation could be delayed if incorrect information is provided or suspicions of fraud.
- Control Panel and Dashboard Experience: Simple-to-use, cPanel
- Installation of Apps & CMS (WordPress Joomla etc. ): Mojo Marketplace makes app installation quick and easy. Bluehost Bluemail
Bluehost: Do We Recommend It?
Yes.
Bluehost has been able to perform slightly better in past years, but they still provide reliable service with decent speeds.
Also, they offer strong security options, a great money-back guarantee, plenty of user-friendly apps, and multiple tiers of hosting packages suitable for different customers. Prices start at $2.75/month, with our special discount.
Still, Bluehost isn’t perfect, though. The renewal rates for hosting plans will increase significantly after the initial signup period. Furthermore, the cheapest plan has certain critical restrictions in comparison to the next tiers.
Bluehost still delivers an acceptable level of performance and excellent value for your money.
Bluehost have you ever used them before? Leave a review for Bluehost below. It doesn’t matter what it says, so long as you’re helpful to others. Bluehost Bluemail
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