BlueHost is a popular web hosting service and the official web hosting provider recommended by WordPress. BlueHost was founded in 2003 by Matt Heaton and Danny Ashworth and it currently powers over 2 million websites all over the world and adds a thousand more each day. For the most part, BlueHost still focuses mainly on shared hosting plans, despite launching additional types of hosting such as VPS, dedicated servers, and managed WordPress hosting. In this review of BlueHost, we’ll evaluate their shared hosting plans on key features, pricing, customer support, overall sentiment around the product, and also share its pros and cons to help you decide whether it’s worth creating your website using BlueHost shared hosting services.
Pricing and Features
BlueHost offers 3 shared hosting plans:
Basic – $2.75/month Plus – $5.95/month Prime – $5.95/month
*** Pricing as of May 2017 The above plans require you to sign up for annual pricing. If you sign up for 2-3 years, you get higher discounts. The Basic plan, priced at $2.75/month, is the most popular plan as it’s also the most economical. This is the perfect plan for people who are launching their first website. The plan allows you to host only one domain for your account. In addition to this, you also get 5 email accounts for your domain. Next up is the Plus plan, priced at $5.95/month. This plan allows you to host unlimited domains, in addition to offering unlimited bandwidth and storage. It also includes unlimited email accounts with unlimited storage. Their premium plan is called the Prime plan, priced at $5.95/month. The usual price of this plan is over $13, but BlueHost seems to be promoting this plan aggressively in the past few months. The only difference between Prime and Plus is that this plan comes with additional offering of domain privacy and SiteBackup Pro. Create Your First Website With BlueHost The table below highlights key features of each of the shared hosting plans: Get Started with BlueHost
Customer Support
When it comes to web hosting, customer support plays a critical role. This is because so many people are creating a website for the first time, and they’ll need help from the support team to set it up. BlueHost has a capable customer support team which helps you every step of the way. The company has over 750 customer support executives working 24/7 to help customers set up their websites and address other issues. Since it’s the official WordPress recommended hosting provider, BlueHost has a team of in-house WordPress experts who can help you setup or migrate your WordPress site and deal with any other WordPress-related issues. On the flipside, the wait time can be well over 30 minutes in some cases which can be frustrating when you are trying to get a serious issue resolved.
Online Reviews and Ratings
BlueHost has mixed reviews online. It is currently rated 3.4/5 on G2 Crowd (58 reviews) and 3.5/5 on WhoIsHostingThis (458 reviews). This seems to be the norm in online reviews for most web hosting services. Companies such as GoDaddy, HostGator, etc. also have mixed reviews online.
WPBeginner, a WordPress resource site run by Syed Balkhi, rates BlueHost highly, awarding them the title ‘Best Web Hosting for Small Businesses’.
Pros and Cons
BlueHost is a good, reliable web hosting service, but it may not be right for everyone. Consider these pros and cons before choosing a plan.
Pros
Affordable: Shared hosting plans are highly affordable for all users, especially people who are creating their first website. Seamless Integration with WordPress: Officially recommended by WordPress. Performance: BlueHost powers a large number of websites with minimum downtime. Free SSL Certificate: Free SSL certificate is included with all shared hosting plans. Knowledgeable and Helpful Support Team: The support team is friendly and courteous, and resolves most issues with ease. Free Domain: A free domain is included with all plans for 1 year. Refund Policy: All plans are covered with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Cons
No monthly Payment Option Available: To get the best price for your shared hosting plan, you’ll need to opt for annual pricing. Wait Time: While the live chat support is pretty good, the wait-time can get a little frustrating Mixed Online Reviews: As stated before, BlueHost, like many other web hosting services, has mixed reviews and ratings online.
Final Verdict
BlueHost’s shared hosting plans are ideal for small business owners and bloggers. You get a free domain with your hosting plan and the support team is available 24/7 in case you need help creating your website. Hope you found this BlueHost review useful. What is your experience with BlueHost? Please share your thoughts in the comments section. Create Your Website with BlueHost If you liked this article, you may also like:
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