Is this Web Hosting Company worth Signing up? Bluehost Nonprofit
Bluehost is the home of more than 2,000,000 websites.
That’s a lot.
Having such a vast customer base is enough evidence that they are doing something right. Their hosting plans are reliable and fast, and they offer helpful features for beginners as well as intermediates.
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 a few downsides, too, like higher renewal prices and some restrictions on the cheapest plan.
All of our reviews are based on actual data, such as speed, uptime, 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 Nonprofit
Bluehost Video Review
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General Info & Hosting Overview
Our Verdict: 5.0
SPEED: 688 ms, April 2020 to March 2021
UPTIME : 99.96% from April 2020 to March 2021
SUPPORT: Live Chat, Email and Phone Support Available 24/7
APPS: WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, phpBB, and More Than 75+ Open Source Projects
FEATURES – Unlimited bandwidth, Unlimited websites and storage, No Metered Bandwidth, SSL Certificate and CDN Free, Spam Experts, Domain Privacy. WordPress 1-Click Install.
HOSTING PLANS
SITE TRANSFER: A Single WordPress Site Free of Charge 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 introductory prices are affordable, customer support is easy to reach and helpful, and you get many useful features to go with your hosting plan. In addition, they provide reliable uptime and fast server speeds.
Let’s examine the strengths of Bluehost. Bluehost Nonprofit
1. Great uptime over 12-months (99.96%)
Hosting companies must ensure that uptime is maintained. If your site goes down, it will be impossible for users to access it. When looking for hosting services, you should prioritize consistent uptime.
Our benchmark for “good uptime” is 99.93% after reviewing more than 40 web hosts. 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 total downtime was a bit less than four hours for the whole year.
Check stats Bluehost’s average downtime over the past 12 month is shown below:
March 2021: 100 %
February 2021: 99.95%
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 Nonprofit
May 2020: 99.90% (scheduled maintenance)
April 2020: 99.99%
2. Rapid Page Loading Speed (688ms)
Research conducted by Google “As page load time goes from 1s to 3s the probability of bounce increases 32%.” This translates to your visitors being 32% more likely to leave your site. It gets worse if page loads take longer.
Google is more mobile-first in its indexing.
Also, your site should be mobile-friendly. Or else you risk losing customers.
Either way, a slow website almost always means less traffic and, therefore, lower sales numbers. Page loading times are the second most important factor that can determine your website’s success.
Check stats Bluehost test site had an average load time of 688ms for the past one year. It’s not as fast as the top sites, but it’s still pretty good. Bluehost Nonprofit
3. Low Introductory Pricing ($2.75/mo)
Bluehost offers a default pricing starting at $3.95/month. This represents a significant discount from the $8.99/month rate.
We were able to negotiate a deal with Bluehost that brings the price down to $2.75/month. With this price you get everything you need for one website. This includes 50GB SSD storage, unlimited bandwidth, a free SSL certificate, as well as unmetered bandwidth. So you’d be getting a pretty good value for the price, plus their consistent uptime and page loading speeds.
The cheapest plan is not without its limitations, but we are not completely satisfied with them. More on this later.
4. Enhanced 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. 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 is a security feature that helps to prevent malware attacks.
Codeguard provides another level of protection. It offers daily backups that allow you to rollback previous versions of a website in case it is hacked.
Postini, a Google security tool, is worth mentioning. It provides spam protection for email, so suspicious information is blocked from entering your inbox. Bluehost Nonprofit
5. It is easy to use for beginners
Only advanced users can consider some of the top web hosts. Bluehost is great for beginners.
Their customer portal is clean and intuitive, although we have found it to be a bit slow at times. Bluehost’s control panel is easy to use thanks to its cPanel layout. Easy installation and activation of WordPress is possible for beginners using cPanel. In most cases, it is as simple as a point-and-click.
You can also start creating websites with website builders (such as Weebly) if you don’t wish to use WordPress. The template can be customized by simply dragging and dropping components on the 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 moneyback guarantee on all their hosting plans
You can test out the service and ask for a full refund if you aren’t satisfied. Here are some cautionary words.
According to Bluehost’s terms , here’s what does and doesn’t fall under that guarantee:
You can only get refunds on the web hosting cost, not any other products like domains or other add-ons.
Bluehost would subtract $15.99 if you got a free domain in your plan.
Bluehost cannot refund any request after 30 calendar days.
It is not an open-ended policy, as some hosts claim. Before signing up, be sure to agree to these points. Bluehost Nonprofit
7. 24/7 Customer Support
Bluehost offers 24/7 customer support via live chat, phone and email. They also have an extensive knowledge base with useful information and answers to frequently asked questions.
We went ahead and tested their live chat option, and the experience was pleasant.
We received quick answers and were well-informed by the representative. Some responses were a little too generic, but we received helpful, improvised answers to our questions.
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.
However, there are some terms that apply to this free service. First, the site must be a WordPress site. Second, the site must be a WordPress site.
You simply need to contact the customer service team and follow their instructions. The migration usually takes around 1-3 business days to complete.
If you don’t have a WordPress website or have more than one then it costs $149.99. This covers up to five website migrations as well as 20 email account migrations.
9. The Official WordPress.org Recommended Host
WordPress is the most well-known website platform on the Internet. WordPress makes up 44%.
They are the authority in hosting solutions. WordPress only officially recommends three hosting partners to use with a WordPress site: Bluehost Nonprofit
For a WordPress site, you can use nearly any web hosting company. Bluehost is an official partner. This is encouraging.
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Cons of Using Bluehost Hosting
Although we are pleased to see such low prices at the onset, renewal rates can get quite expensive.
Let’s take a closer glance at these downfalls.
1. Higher Renewal Rates
Prepaying upfront for hosting will get you the best deal. The average monthly price decreases, but you’re also committing hundreds of dollars in advance.
You can still use their 30-day money-back guarantee to receive a full refund if you aren’t satisfied with their service. However, once the initial plan duration is over, you can expect a steep rise in the rates.
Let’s say that you choose the cheapest plan for three year, which costs $2.75/month. The renewal price for the next period starts at $8.99/month if you make a three year commitment.
In this instance, the third period is three times more costly than the first.
2. Cheapest Plan Restrictions
Bluehost’s cheapest shared hosting plan comes with some heavy restrictions.
You can only have a single website, the storage space is limited and the only security feature you get is a free SSL certificate. So, if you have multiple sites or want more security, you have to go for at least the next pricing tier, which is twice as expensive.
These restrictions on web hosting pricing are common. The companies fight over who can get customers to sign up for their services at the lowest cost. Bluehost Nonprofit
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: Transfer for one WordPress website free of charge Other migrations: $149.99 up to 5 websites, 20 email accounts.
- You get a domain for free? Yes, for the first year. It then renews for $15.99 per calendar year.
- Sign Up Easy: A simple, guided process to sign up.
- Payment Methods
- Hidden Fees & Clauses: No refund for domain names. Both domain names and hosting renewal rates are more expensive than the introductory rates.
- Sign-up bonuses: There are some upsells, but not too aggressive.
- Account activation: In most instances, you will receive an instant activation. 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 (WordPress and Joomla): Mojo Marketplace makes easy and quick app installation. Bluehost Nonprofit
Do We Recommend Bluehost?
Yes, we do.
Bluehost has performed slightly better in the past, but they still provide a reliable service with decent server speeds.
They offer strong security options, a great guarantee of money back, many user-friendly apps, multiple tiers of hosting packages that are suitable for different customers, and many tiers. Prices start at $2.75/month, with our special discount.
Bluehost isn’t perfect. After the initial signup period ends, renewal rates for hosting plans will rise dramatically. The cheapest plan also has critical limitations that are not applicable to the next tier.
Bluehost is a solid choice for users who want to get good value for their money.
Bluehost have you ever used them before? Please consider leaving a review below good or bad doesn’t really matter as long it’s helpful to our visitors. Bluehost Nonprofit
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