Is this Web Hosting Company worth Signing up? Bluehost Vs Hostmonster
Did you know that Bluehost is home to more than 2 million websites?
This is 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 offers 24/7 support via phone and live chat, as well as a 30-day guarantee that guarantees your satisfaction.
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 Vs Hostmonster
Bluehost Video Review
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General Info & Hosting Overview
Our Verdict: 5.0
SPEED 688 ms (April 2020-March 2021).
UPTIME: 99.95% (April 2020 to April 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, Storage, and Free Domain 1st Years, Free SSL Certificate & CDN, Spam experts, Domain Privacy, 30-Day money-back Guarantee, WordPress 1-Click install
HOSTING PLANS – Shared, WordPress VPS, Reseller and Dedicated Servers
SITE TRANSFER: A Single WordPress Site Free of Charge Starting at $2.75/mo Bluehost Hosting Bluehost was founded in 2003. Their experience has allowed them to understand what makes hosting services 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. They offer high uptime and reliable server speeds.
Let’s take a more detailed look at Bluehost’s strong points. Bluehost Vs Hostmonster
1. Great uptime for 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. Consistent uptime should be a top priority when considering hosting services.
Over 40 web hosts were reviewed and our benchmark for “good” uptime was 99.93%. We prefer 99.93% as our benchmark.
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 for the entire year was just 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 Vs Hostmonster
May 2020: 99.90% (scheduled maintenance)
April 2020: 99.99%
2. Fast Page Loading Speed (688 ms)
Google conducted research that found that pages load faster when they are loaded from 1s to 3s. This makes it 32% more likely for visitors to leave your site. The problem only gets worse when page load times are longer.
Google is more mobile-first in its 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. So right after uptime, page loading time is the second most important thing that can make or break your website’s success.
Bluehost average speed — See stats Bluehost’s test website has had an average load of 688 ms over a year. Although it’s not at the top of the heap, it’s still quite acceptable. Bluehost Vs Hostmonster
3. Low Introductory Pricing ($2.75/mo)
Bluehost’s default price starts at $3.95/month. That is a introductory price that is lower than the $8.99/month standard rate.
Bluehost’s starting price has been reduced to $2.75/month. That is the good news. The package includes 50 GB SSD storage and unmetered bandwidth. You also get a free SSL certificate. So you’d be getting a pretty good value for the price, plus their consistent uptime and page loading speeds.
However, we are not happy with the restrictions on the cheapest plan. We’ll talk more about them later.
4. With Security Options and Features
Since Bluehost is one of the “cheapest” options on the market, we are pleased to see that they don’t cut too many corners on critical security options and features.
Bluehost gives your site a free SSL Certificate even though it is the most expensive plan. Bluehost also offers great features such as a free CDN (Cloudflare), a one click WordPress install, multiple CMS integrations and additional eCommerce plugins.
Higher-tier plans include Spam Experts, domain privacy protection, server backups, and Spam Experts. SiteLock protects you from malware attacks and offers more security features.
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 Vs Hostmonster
5. It is easy 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.
Their customer portal interface is simple and clear, though we have had some issues with it being slow at times. And the layout of the cPanel control panel makes Bluehost even easier to use. You can install WordPress quickly and easily through cPanel. Most cases you just need to point and click.
You can also create a website without WordPress by using a website builder such as Weebly, Drupal or Wix. 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 guarantee for all hosting plans.
To test the service, you can do so to get a feel for it and request a refund if not satisfied. A few words of warning, however.
Bluehost offers a guarantee that this will apply to you. Here are some examples of what falls under that guarantee.
Only the cost of web hosting can be refunded.
Bluehost would deduct $15.99 if you received a free domain name 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 Vs Hostmonster
7. Customer Support Available 24/7
Bluehost provides 24 hour customer support through live chat, phone, or email. You will also find useful information and frequently asked questions in their vast knowledgebase.
We decided to test their live chat option and found it pleasant.
Our questions were quickly answered and the representative was extremely knowledgeable. Some responses were a little too generic, but we received helpful, improvised answers to our questions.
8. One Free WordPress Site Transfer
If you already have a site and want to switch to Bluehost’s hosting plan, then this perk is for you.
Bluehost is only just starting to offer a complimentary site transfer with all their plans.
These free services come with some restrictions. First, your site must be a WordPress website. And secondly, you have to request the migration within the first 30 days after signing up with a hosting plan.
Contact their customer support and follow their instructions. The process usually takes 1-3 business days.
It is $149.99 for those who don’t have WordPress websites or have more than one. This includes up to 5 website and 20 email account transfers.
9. 9.
WordPress is the most used platform for website creation – approximately 44% of the Internet’s websites are built with WordPress.
You can be sure that they are an authority when it comes hosting solutions. WordPress recommends three hosting providers to be used with a WordPress website: Bluehost Vs Hostmonster
You can create a WordPress site using almost any web host provider. Bluehost is a recognized partner, which is encouraging.
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Cons of Using Bluehost Hosting
Even though we’re happy to see such low introductory prices, the renewal rates can get a bit steep.
Let’s examine these downsides.
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.
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. You can expect a sharp rise in rates once your initial plan expires.
Let’s assume you agree to the lowest plan for three years. It is $2.75/month. After the initial period, the next renewal price is $8.99/month. This requires a three years commitment.
The subsequent period will be three times as expensive as the first.
2. Cheapest Plan Restrictions
Bluehost’s shared hosting plans are the most expensive, but they come with heavy restrictions.
One website is allowed, but storage space is limited. The only security feature that you receive is an 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.
Sadly, such restrictions on the cheapest plan are quite common in the web hosting industry. The companies fight over who can get customers to sign up for their services at the lowest cost. Bluehost Vs Hostmonster
Bluehost Pricing, Hosting Plans & Quick Facts
Here’s how Bluehost’s shared hosting pricing plans appear:
| 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 available at $149.99 for upto 5 websites or 20 email accounts.
- You get a domain for free? Yes, for the first 12 months. For $15.99/year, you can renew.
- Ease of Sign-up: Easy and guided sign-up process.
- Payment Methods – Major credit cards and PayPal.
- Hidden Fees and Clauses: No refund on domain names. Both hosting and domain renewal rates are higher than the initial rates.
- Upsells
- Account activation: In most instances, you will receive an instant activation. Activation can be delayed if there is suspicion of fraud or if the information provided is inaccurate.
- Control Panel and Dashboard experience: Easy-to-use cPanel
- Installation of Apps & CMS (WordPress Joomla etc. Mojo Marketplace makes easy and quick app installation. Bluehost Vs Hostmonster
Do We Recommend Bluehost?
Yes.
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. Our special discount makes the price as low as $2.75 per month.
Still, Bluehost isn’t perfect, though. The renewal rates of hosting plans will go up dramatically after the initial signup period. Additionally, the cheapest plan comes with some significant restrictions that can be compared to the other tiers.
Bluehost is a solid choice for users who want to get good value for their money.
Have you used Bluehost before? It doesn’t matter if you leave a negative or positive review, as long as it is helpful for our visitors. Bluehost Vs Hostmonster
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