
Is this Web Hosting Company worth Signing up? Bluehost Free Email
Bluehost is home for more than 2,000,000 websites.
That’s quite a lot.
Their large customer base is proof that they’re doing something right. Their uptime is reliable, server speeds are good, and all of their hosting plans pack useful features for beginners and intermediates alike.
Bluehost also provides 24/7 live chat and telephone support. They offer a 30-day money-back guarantee so you can give them another chance.
There are also some downsides to this plan, such as higher renewal costs and restrictions on the cheapest one.
All of our reviews are based on actual data, such as speed, uptime, and cost.
Let’s have a look at Bluehost now to find out if they offer the quality website hosting services you are looking for. Bluehost Free Email
Bluehost Video Review
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General Info & Hosting Overview
Our Verdict: 5.0
SPEED: 688ms (April 2020 – March 2021).
UPTIME: 99.96% (April 2020 – 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
SITE TRANSFER: One WordPress site for free starting at $2.75/mo Bluehost hosting Bluehost has been around since 2003 so they are well-versed in what makes a hosting service great.
Their hosting plans come with many helpful features, including affordable prices and customer support. In addition, they provide reliable uptime and fast server speeds.
Let’s look closer at Bluehost’s strengths. Bluehost Free Email
1. Great Uptime Through 12-Months (99.96%)
Uptime is one of the most critical aspects when choosing a web host – after all, if your site is down, your users can’t access it. You should make sure you have consistent uptime when looking into hosting services.
After reviewing over 40 web hosts, our benchmark for “good” uptime is 99.93%. We would prefer to see 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 entire year’s downtime was 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: 99.98%
June 2020: 100% Bluehost Free Email
May 2020: 99.90% (scheduled maintenance)
April 2020: 99.99%
2. Fast Page Loading Speed (688 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. And it only gets worse with longer page load times.
Furthermore, Google is more geared towards mobile-first indexing.
This means that your site also needs to be optimized for mobile users, or otherwise, you’re losing traffic.
Slow websites are almost always associated with lower traffic and consequently, lower sales. Page loading times are the second most important factor that can determine your website’s success.
Bluehost average speed While it isn’t competing for the top positions, it isn’t bad either. Bluehost Free Email
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 is able to offer a special price for our readers. It’s $2.75/month. For that price, you get all the features you need to have a website. That includes 50 GB SSD storage, unmetered bandwidth, a free SSL certificate, and more. The price is reasonable, and you get consistent uptime as well as fast page loading speeds.
The cheapest plan has some restrictions we don’t like. But, more on this later.
4. Enhanced Security Options and Features
Bluehost is a “cheap” option on the market. We are happy to see that they do not compromise on important security features and options.
Bluehost already provides a free SSL certificate to your site as part of the lowest plan. You also get access to great features like a free CDN (Cloudflare), a one-click WordPress install, multiple CMS integrations, and additional eCommerce plugins.
Higher-tier plans include the Spam Experts addon, domain privacy protection and server backups. SiteLock, which protects against malware attacks, is an additional security feature.
Codeguard is another form of protection, which provides daily backups so you can roll back previous versions of a site, should it get hacked.
Postini by Google is the last security feature worth noting. It protects your email from spam, so any suspicious emails are blocked. Bluehost Free Email
5. Easy to Use for Beginners
Some of the web hosts we’ve seen can be considered the best only if you’re an advanced user. But, Bluehost is great for beginners, too.
Their customer portal is intuitive and clean (although, we have experienced it is a bit slow at times). Bluehost is even more user-friendly because of the layout of their cPanel control panels. You can install WordPress quickly and easily through cPanel. In most cases, it is as simple as a point-and-click.
If WordPress is not your preferred platform, you can still create a website by using a website building tool like Weebly. You can then customize a template by just dragging and dropping elements on your page.
Bluehost offers advanced features to help you create your site using your code.
6. 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee
Bluehost offers a 30 day money-back guarantee for all of its hosting plans.
The service can be tried out to verify their performance, and you can request a return if the experience is not satisfactory. But, here are some warnings.
Bluehost’s terms stipulate that the following is what qualifies and does not qualify for this guarantee.
Only web hosting prices are eligible for refunds. You cannot get refunds on any other products such as domains and other add-ons.
Bluehost will deduct $15.99 from your account if you receive a domain name for free.
Bluehost does not refund any requests after 30 days.
This isn’t a blanket policy with no questions asked, like some hosts have made it out to be. These points should be agreed upon before you sign up. Bluehost Free Email
7. 24/7 Customer Support
Bluehost offers 24/7 customer support via live chat, phone and email. On top of that, they have a vast knowledge base packed with answers to frequent questions and useful information.
We decided to test their live chat option and found it pleasant.
We received quick answers and were well-informed by the representative. While some answers felt like they were copied, others were helpful and improvised.
8. One Free WordPress Site Transfer
This perk applies to site owners who want to move to Bluehost’s hosted plan.
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 should be a WordPress web site. The second requirement is that you request the migration within the first 30 day after signing up for a hosting account.
Simply contact their customer service department and follow their instructions. The migration process typically takes between 1-3 business hours.
It costs $149.99 if you don’t own a WordPress site or have multiple websites. You can migrate up to five websites and 20 email accounts.
9. The Official WordPress.org Recommended Hosting Host
WordPress is the most popular website platform available – 44% of all Internet sites are built using WordPress.
It’s safe for us to say that they are an authority on hosting solutions. WordPress only recommends three hosting companies to use in conjunction with WordPress sites. Bluehost Free Email
To create a WordPress website, you can use any web hosting provider. Bluehost is an official partner. This is encouraging.
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Cons of Using Bluehost Hosting
We’re glad to see such low introductory rates, but the renewal rates can get a little steep.
Let’s look closer at these negatives.
1. Higher Renewal Rates
The best way to get the lowest possible price for hosting is to prepay for one, two, or even three years upfront. You’re not only paying a lower monthly price, but also you’re committing hundreds to the future.
Rest assured, you can use the 30-day money-back guarantee to get a refund if you don’t like their service. But, the rates will go up sharply once your plan is finished.
Let’s say you commit to the cheapest plan for three years, which is $2.75/month. After the initial period, the next period’s renewal price starts at $8.99/month with a three-year commitment.
In this case, the subsequent period is three times more expensive than the first.
2. Cheapest Plan Restrictions
Bluehost’s shared hosting plans are the most expensive, but they come with heavy restrictions.
You can only have one website. Your storage space is limited. And the only security feature you get, a free SSL certificate. If you have multiple sites or require additional security, the minimum pricing tier is required.
These restrictions on the cheapest plan in web hosting are unfortunately quite common. The companies compete over who can lure the customers in with the lowest price, only to upsell a decent hosting service at a higher price. Bluehost Free Email
Bluehost Pricing, Hosting Plans & Quick Facts
Here’s what Bluehost’s shared hosting pricing plans look like:
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: Free transfer for 1 WordPress website. Other migrations cost $149.99 for up 5 websites and 20 email addresses.
- You get a domain for free? Yes, the first year. You can renew at $15.99 per annum.
- Sign-up is simple: The process is straightforward and easy.
- Payment Methods: Major credit card and PayPal
- Hidden Fees, Clauses and Refunds: Domain names will not be refunded. Both hosting and domain renewal rates are higher than the initial rates.
- Upsells
- Account activation: Most cases are instant. Activation may be delayed in the event of incorrect information or suspicion of fraud.
- Control Panel and Dashboard Experience: Easy-to-use cPanel
- Installation of Apps and CMS (WordPress, Joomla, etc. Mojo Marketplace makes installing apps fast and easy. Bluehost Free Email
Bluehost: Do We Recommend It?
Yes, we do.
Bluehost’s performance has been slightly better than in the past. However, they still provide reliable services with decent server speeds.
You also get strong security options, a money-back guarantee, lots of user-friendly applications, and multiple tiers for hosting packages to suit different customers. Prices start at $2.75/month, with our special discount.
Bluehost isn’t perfect. The renewal rates of hosting plans increase rapidly after the initial signup period. Also, the cheapest plan is subject to some important restrictions.
Bluehost still delivers an acceptable level of performance and excellent value for your money.
Bluehost have you ever used them before? If you have, please consider leaving a review. Good or bad it doesn’t really matter so long as it helps our visitors. Bluehost Free Email
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