Bluehost Web Hosting Review: Is It Right For Your Website?

Are you looking to start your first ever website? Confused about choosing good web hosting? This Bluehost web hosting review may be helpful for you.

People are doing business online with their websites, and more and more people tend to come online to start and nurture their businesses. However, it is not only the business; people create their business. For many other reasons, people create their websites.

Web hosting is an inevitable part of your website which people do not see, but you do. Choosing the right hosting provider often creates differences and keeps you safe from unwanted troubles.

This article will walk you through Bluehost, one of the biggest names in the website and hosting services. We will discuss their features, types of web hosting, and pricing.

So, let’s get started with,

Bluehost introduction:

Bluehost is popular for its advanced and easy-to-use hosting services all over the world. It has started its journey in 2003, and no wonder it powers over 20 million websites through various web services.

If you are likely to start your own website, you must hear of WordPress, which is the most popular content management system in the world. WordPress recommends Bluehost. That matters a lot because as nearly 40% percent of total websites are on WordPress, you can imagine how many of them would use Bluehost, as they suggest it.

Bluehost key features:

Although hosting is the same if we look only at the working and usage perspective, there are massive differences in terms of the features companies provide for their users. Bluehost has some useful and advanced features that might be very helpful for the users.

Free Domain:

People cannot reach your website unless you make it available with its name. Without a domain name, your website has only some complicated digits that are not rememberable at all. So you need a domain name for your website so that people would remember your website and a visit by typing. Web hosting and domain name are two different things, and you typically need to purchase them separately. But, in Bluehost, you get a free domain with your hosting, even with the lowest plan.

However, domains are as renewable as hosting or server. Usually, people rents domains for one or two years. After that time, they need to renew it otherwise, you will lose access to the domain. Bluehost offers free domain names for only one year. After that, you have to pay the usual rental charges.

Free SSL:

Many of you are aware of the SSL, which stands for the Secure Sockets Layer. It is a website security feature that protects user’s data from going into the hacker’s hands. It encrypts the data, which a user submits to the website that SSL protects. Similar to the domains, it is also an extra feature that you need to buy separately for your website.

Bluehost offers this security feature to all of its users. Security is a significant ranking factor in the search engine. There is no denial SSL websites rank higher than non-SSL websites. However, there is various type of SSL available for a different type of usages. Bluehost offers basic SSL protection for your website.

SSD Storage:

Storage is a crucial thing, be it your smartphone, computer device, or hosting. The higher your data requirement is, you are going to require more disk space. Of course, all the hosting companies offer as much as you require as per your hosting plan. Bluehost uses the most advanced disk technology, the SSD, which stands for Solid-state drive. That is the most advanced drive technology that is being used. But still, many hosting providers do not offer this next-gen feature. That is because SATA drives are way cheaper than SSDs. But the higher price gives less boot-up time and superior smooth website performance. All hosting plans in Bluehost offer the SSD feature to their customers. When you are about to boot your hosting or install the updates of plugins as well as WordPress, the speed is much higher. It minimizes your website downtime due to the updates or these types of situations.

Automatic daily malware scan:

As more people are coming online, the incidents of vulnerabilities and security threats are also rising higher. Hackers and spammers are continuously trying to harm your website as well as your business. To combat these practices, various security features and tools are needed to implement. When you host a website, you install many plugins and other tools to your web host. Many times, during that time, various malicious files came with them. They might come in many different ways, but they have the ability to hit your website the most.

So, it is important to keep an eye on your hosting if there are any spammy or malicious files. Bluehost does the job for you. It checks your site on a daily basis so that you stay away from those files and your website speed stays up to the mark. Your website is checked via sitemap to detect the infection.

Unmetered bandwidth:

That is also a very impressive feature that Bluehost is providing, the unmetered bandwidth. Bandwidth is the amount of the that transmitted to users devices each time they ask for accessing your website, and its services. Suppose you have a web page of one MB size. If 5 people visit your website each time, your bandwidth will reduce 5MB. Hosting companies allocate a fixed amount of bandwidth to their customers. If your bandwidth limit for the month exceeds, your visitors won’t be able to visit your site. In Bluehost, you can avail of unmetered bandwidth, which means, in case you exceed your bandwidth quota, you can still use more bandwidth without sending any additional amount. With many hosting providers, a customer often faces this issue that.

Once they finish the allocated amount, they need to pay a high amount to get additional bandwidth. Customers are forced to do so because their site would be unavailable if they do not upgrade, and they face losses.

24X7 support team:

Even though Bluehost has very high server uptime, technical flaws might still happen without informing. But once you live your website, it should stay up all the time. Many times you face some unexpected situations when your website suddenly got down due to various technical reasons. The first thing people do is, contact the hosting provider.

Many people who purchase hosting from unreputed companies face support-related issues. Each moment your site is unavailable, you might lose precious visitors, leading to huge losses. Bluehost has a dedicated support team that is available 24×7 in phone and chat support.

Bluehost SEO Tools:

Search engine optimization is the key point of your website success if you are playing organically. In fact, in paid campaigns, SEO helps you to minimize your visitor costing. Bluehost offers in-house SEO tools for their customers, which shows them a to-do list of tasks to improve their website SEO score. SEO tools are so expensive; even with simple functionalities, SEO tools charge quite high. This tool allows you to find your competitors, searching the right keywords for your website. Besides, the tool examines your website periodically and searches for the flaws of your site that are preventing your site SEO performance.

However, expecting much with the SEO tool won’t be right because the tools are being provided to all their users for free. It may not provide detailed or extensive reports on various metrics, but still, it may help you improve your website’s SEO performance.

Now let’s dive into the hosting part. below we are mentioning in detail all types of web hosting solutions that Bluehost offers. We will walk you through each of them’s features and pricing so that you can easily decide which hosting would be the best fit for your needs.

As Bluehost is a hosting major and have a huge user base, it offers nearly all type of hosting.

Bluehost Shared hosting:

Shared hosting is entry-level hosting suitable for beginners who do not have much traffic to their site and do not require extensive features. Using hypervisor software, a sever is technically divided into many parts and sold to the customers. When someone purchases any shared hosting, many other customers like them are also using the server, hosting their sites. They all have the same IP and Server. This type of web hosting is most popular because, if you are just starting or want to try, this is the hosting most people choose. After all, it costs very cheap. Bluehost offers four types of Shared hosting plans. They are, as mentioned,

1. BASIC.
2. PLUS.
3. CHOICE PLUS.
4. PRO.

BASIC:

It is the cheapest hosting plan you can go with on Bluehost. If you started your journey or have a tight budget, this plan would be ideal for you. Originally this plan costs you $8.99, but you can get it at a huge discount of $2.95/ month if you go for the three-year plan. If you go for 12 months, it costs $.4.95 and $3.95 for the 24 months plan. It’s nearly 63% savings when you go for 36 months.

This plan offers key features such as,

• Free domain.
• 50GB storage.
• Free CDN.
• Free SSL certificate.
• Unmetered bandwidth.

PLUS:

The PLUS gives enhanced features that you don’t get on the BASIC plan. You can host unlimited websites with this plan at $5.45 per month when you go for 36 months payment cycle. The yearly plan offers $7.45/ month, which is quite higher. If you want to run multiple sites but do not have higher traffic and complex features, this plan might fit your requirements. This plan includes key features such as,

• Unlimited Websites.
• Unlimited SSD Storage.
• Free Office 365 for 30 days.
• All other BASIC plan features.

CHOICE PLUS:

The CHOICE PLUS plan comes with Bluehost’s recommendation that gives customers additional privacy and security features. One of the most required features for websites is backup, and it is available with this plan. If you are pretty sure about your journey and have some extra money to invest in your website, this plan is a standard choice. CHOICE PLUS costs you as same as the PLUS plan. It costs $ 5.45 per month with the three-year billing. It gives added key features such as,

• Free domain privacy.
• Free automated backup.
• All the PLUS plan features.

PRO:

That is the high-end plan in Bluehost shared hosting which gives superior performance, more optimize web resources, and many robust features. This plan costs 13.95 per month with the three-year package. If you go with the annual fee, it costs $18.95 per month. If you want to have pretty much all standard features on shared hosting, that is the one you have left.
It offers,

• Free dedicated IP.
• Customized CPU resources.
• ALL CHOICE PLUS features.

Is Bluehost shared web hosting right for you?

As mentioned above shared hosting is the entry-level hosting plan and you cannot expect much with it. With the BASIC, PLUS, CHOICE PLUS, you are most likely to see an average performance. The PRO plan will give much higher speed and performance. The BASIC plan will allow you to keep the expenses as low as possible and start your online journey. As you do not have higher traffic to your site at first, you can start with the BASIC plan. But if you have a growing number of traffic on your site, choosing the  CHOICE and CHOICE PLUS plans would be better. The last and top-notch Bluehost shared hosting plan PRO enables you to use dedicated IP for your website. When you work on shared hosting, many times spam practices of other users on your server affect the performance and reputation of others. By using dedicated IP, your site won’t be marked as spam. So, if you have the budget, the PRO plan would be a good choice.

However, if you tend to start your eCommerce business choosing shared hosting plans would not be a good idea at all. For blogs, or article websites, or simple portfolio websites works smoothly with these type of hostings.

Try Bluehost web hosting

Bluehost VPS hosting:

VPS stands for the virtual private server. As its name denotes, it gives more privacy and protection than the shared hostings. If you have grown a good userbase, or want to kick start with more power, or have heavy projects to start, then VPS hosting would be your next option. The virtual private servers give you more control. For example, you can create passwords and give access to others.
In shared hosting, the RAM and CPU usage of other users would affect your performance. But in VPS, you got dedicated RAM, CPU, and storage options.

Bluehost offers three VPS hosting plans,

1. STANDARD.
2. ENHANCED.
3. ULTIMATE.

STANDARD:

If you want a VPS hosting in Bluehost at the cheapest price, this is the one. This plan starts at $18.99 per month with a 36-month plan. This package offers key features such as,

• 2 CPU Cores.
• 30 GB SSD Storage.
• 2 GB RAM.
• 1 TB Bandwidth.
• 1 IP Address.

ENHANCED:

That VPS plan Bluehost suggests for users because gives nearly all the features that you would require to run a standard website. It costs $29.99 per month. The pricing is based on a three-year payment. When the renewal period comes, it will cost a $59.99 per month rate. It offers key features such as,

• 2 CPU Cores.
• 60 GB SSD Storage.
• 4 GB RAM.
• 2 TB Bandwidth.
• 2 IP Addresses.

ULTIMATE:

That is the top VPS plan in Bluehost that is an excellent combination of power and advanced resources to maintain and scale up your website. This plan costs double than the ENHANCED plan, and no wonder it will or double features. The pricing of this plan is $59.99 per month when billed 36 months term. The highlighted features are,

• 4 CPU Cores.
• 120 GB SSD Storage.
• 8 GB RAM.
• 3 TB Bandwidth.
• 2 IP Addresses.

Is Bluehost VPS web hosting right for you?

Shared hosting is just for your web journey start. As soon you start getting higher traffic on your site, you should upgrade it immediately; otherwise, it will affect your website performance and what could be the next upgrade to the shared hosting than VPS. The ENHANCED plan is most suitable for typical standard usage where you get 4GB RAM and 60GB SSD storage. However, if you are looking for WordPress-centric features, the VPS won’t be so useful for you. Also, if your budget is tight and you do not have comprehensive knowledge, it won’t be suitable for you. But if you are searching for a more secure and reliable hosting service, Bluehost VPS hosting is the perfect one.

Try Bluehost VPS hosting

Dedicated hostings by Bluehost:

The server is the whole machine, the whole setup that is made in part to use as shared hosting or VPS. Basically, all the shared hostings are a part of the main server. The shared hostings have lots of problems with privacy and performance. If you want to solve it pretty much in an affordable way, VPS might be the solution. But, you want full privacy and access to all the resources, you have to go with the dedicated hostings. It is the last thing you can choose, and most of the big businesses, companies host their sites into servers. Bluehost offers three dedicated hosting plans,

1. STANDARD.
2. ENHANCED.
3. PREMIUM.

STANDARD:

When you go for dedicated hosting packages, money should not be a concern because they cost a lot. The entry-level server cost is $79.99 per month when you pay with the three-year plan. All the plans include features such as Panel & WHM with Root access. This highlighted features with this plan are,

• CPU – 2.3 GHz.
• Number Of Cores
• CPU – 4 Threads.
• CPU – 3 MB Cache.
• RAM – 4 GB.
• RAID Level 1 Storage – 2 x 500 GB.
• 5 TB Network Bandwidth.
• 1 Free Domain.
• 3 Dedicated IPs.

ENHANCED:

The ENHANCED plan is recommended by Bluehost which costs $99.99 per month when you pay for 36 months plan. Here you get additional power and storage options if you have a higher amount of daily traffic. It gives you key features such as,

• CPU – 2.5 GHz.
• 4 CPU Cores.
• 8  CPU Threads.
• CPU – 8 MB Cache.
• CPU – 8 GB.
• RAID Level 1 Storage – 2 x 1000 GB.
• 10 TB Network Bandwidth.
• 1 Free Domain.
• 4 Dedicated IPs.

PREMIUM:

That is the highest level server you can rent on Bluehost, which costs $119.99 per month. If you have a massive number of traffic, a complex website, lots of functionalities, this is the one you can choose. It gives everything you require for running a high-performance site(s).
The key features include,

• CPU – 3.3 GHz.
• 4 CPU Cores.
• CPU – 8 Threads.
• CPU – 8 MB Cache.
• 16 GB RAM.
• RAID Level 1 Storage – 2 x 1000 GB.
• 15 TB Network Bandwidth.
• 1 Free Domain.
• 5 Dedicated IPs.

Is Bluehost dedicated web hosting right for you?

No matter you choose STANDARD, ENHANCED, or PREMIUM, you only should go for it if you have a detailed and proper knowledge of managing and handling the servers. Managing a server is a highly critical thing and a small mistake can bring disaster. However, if you are about to start a big business where you are going to provide a product or service on a large scale dedicated hosting is a must require. When you running a business a big business, you cannot compromise with the performance and the security. These dedicated servers provide the most advanced and high-performance features that would run your operations smoothly.

Try Bluehost dedicated hosting

Bluehost Shared WordPress Hosting:

WordPress is the most popular CMS around the world. Many popular websites are on WordPress, and the number of their users are counting is huge numbers. The main reason WordPress is so popular is, it’s free to use. Bluehost offers a dedicated hosting service for WordPress sites. It offers three shared WordPress hosting plans,

1. BASIC.
2. PLUS.
3. CHOICE PLUS

BASIC:

It is the entry-level shared hosting plan dedicated to WordPress sites. It features almost identical to the normal hostings. The pricing is also exact $2.95 per month when you bill for 36 months. This plan is suitable for small WordPress sites or WordPress blogs that just has started.

PLUS:

If you need something more than the BASIC features, the PLUS plan may be a better option. It is ideal for small businesses. This plan costs $5.45 per month when billed for 36 months term. All the BASIC plan features are included in the plan, but the only addition is Office 365, which is available free for 30 days.

CHOICE PLUS:

That is the recommended WordPress hosting plan by Bluehost that has all the superior features for your WordPress site. This plan is suitable for growing businesses and costs $5.45 per month. Same as standard hosting, you get a free automatic backup for one year with this plan.

Is Bluehost WordPress shared web hosting right for you?

Bluehost offers three WordPress hosting plans for entry-level users. Like the normal hostings, they offer all the robust features such as SSD storage, free SSL, Free CDN. Creating a website in WordPress is quite simple and does not require coding knowledge either. That’s why many people with tight budgets come to make their websites. The BASIC plan would be an excellent choice. The PLUS and CHOICE PLUS plans are more expensive and suitable for people looking for additional features.

Try Bluehost WordPress Shared web hosting

Bluehost web hosting- managed WordPress hosting:

Users require higher performance, security, and scalability requires by managed WordPress hostings. Like its name, the managed hosting is simply managed by the host. Hosting is a complex thing, and many people find it quite a hassle. So, many web hosting providers launched managed WordPress hosting, where they manage your website speed, safety measures, backups, and WordPress updates. Bluehost offers three managed WordPress hosting plans. Such as,

• BUILD.
• GROW.
• SCALE.

BUILD:

It is the cheapest option in managed WordPress hosting offered by Bluehost. If you are looking to create a professional-looking WordPress site, you can choose this plan at $ 9.95 when you choose 36 months plan. BUILD plan offers key features such as,

• Visitors up to 50,000 Visitors per month.
• 20 GB Web Storage.
• 200+ Global Edge Servers.
• Free SSL.
• Built-in High Availability.
• Staging Environment.
• Jetpack Personal.
• Daily Scheduled Backups.
• Malware Detection and Removal.
• Domain Privacy + Protection.
• 30 Day Free Trial – Microsoft Email.

GROW:

This plan offers way more features than the BUILD plan. If you want to grow your website audience, this package has all the features and functionality for that. Even though this does not cost double the BUILD plan but offers nearly double features. The pricing is $14.95 per month. It includes features such as,

• Visitors up to 150,000 per month.
• 40 GB Web Storage.
• Business Review Tools.
• Bluehost SEO Tools.
• 10 GB Video Compression.
• Blue Sky Ticket Support.
• All BUILD Plan features are included.

SCALE:

This managed WordPress hosting plan has the most advanced features that help you run an online store in WordPress. This plan prices $27.95 per month with the three-year plan. You get double Web storage in this plan than the GROW plan and more than triple the visitor capacity. It offers features such as,

• Visitors up to 500,000 per month.
• 80 GB Web Storage.
• PayPal Integration.
• Unlimited Video Compression.
• Elastic Search.
• Blue Sky Live Chat Support.

Is Bluehost managed hosting right for you?

All the managed WordPress hosting plans are suitable for different types of websites. As you can see the pricing is quite higher than the typically shared hostings. If you are serious about your dreams with WordPress, these managed WordPress hostings are the perfect ones to pick up.

The BUILD plan is awesome to start your own professional website that would give you all the power and functionalities you would require. One thing you can’t avail here is the video compression feature. If you are not fond of videos, this plan is perfect for you.

The next GROW plan is the one that gives you a video compression feature. Using videos pretty much to your site will make your website performance smooth even if you integrate videos.

The final plan, SCALE, is suitable for online stores. For demonstrations and other purposes, you may need so many videos to your site, and thankfully this package let your unlimited compress videos.

All the managed WordPress hosting plans come with features such as free SSL, Jetpack, and other additions. So, As per your requirement, all the plans are perfect if you want to get started with WordPress.

Try Bluehost managed WordPress hosting

Bluehost WooCommerce hosting:

Many of you might know about WooCommerce, a specialized plugin that is willing to set up their online store and want to sell online. WooCommerce is a dedicated shopping plugin offered by WordPress. As WordPress is soo popular among people, no doubt people would love WooCommerce too. Looking towards the popularity of WooCommerce, Bluehost offers a specialized hosting solution for WooCommerce. Like dedicated WordPress hosting, it comes with Pre-installed WooCommerce on it. Also, it has almost all the tools that would be required for eCommerce. They offer two packages for WooCommerce,

1. STANDARD.
2. PREMIUM.

STANDARD:

Compared to the shared hosting, it will cost much higher as you are to do business which requires lots of tools. The STANDARD plan prices are $12.95 per month with the 36 monthly plan. This is the basic plan if you are looking to start your online store.

• Online Store (Website + Blog).
• Email Marketing.
• Unlimited Product uploads.
• Jetpack free installed.
• Store-front theme installed.
• Customer Product Reviews.
• Discount Codes.
• 24/7 Customer Support.
• Payment Processing (One-Click Install).
• Manual Order Creation.
• CodeGuard Backup Basic.
• Website Traffic Analytics.

PREMIUM:

The PREMIUM plan offers everything you need to customize and grow your store with WordPress. You get it at $24.95 per month with the 36-month plan. If you something bigger plan with the online selling, this plan got all the features you would require. Its main features are,

• Online Bookings & Appointment Scheduling.
• Free Domain Privacy + Protection.
• Subscriptions.
• Product Customization.
• All the features of STANDARD included.
• Local & Country Tax Management.

Is Bluehost WooCommerce hosting right for you?

The combination of WooCommerce and Bluehost WooCommerce hosting is excellent whether you are going with the STANDARD or PREMIUM plan. At the cost of $15.95, it is an ideal plan for beginners who are likely to start their eCommerce journey. On the other hand, the PREMIUM plan offers much more options like free domain and privacy protection, local and country tax management, product customization, and more. That’s excellent and makes sense to go with when you have a considerable amount of budget. Both plans are offering Unlimited products, custom product reviews, and more.

Try Bluehost WooCommerce web hosting

Bluehost offers hosting solutions for all needs. From the beginner-level shared hosting plans to the high-end dedicated server, you can find everything here. The BASIC plan gives everything for a starter, especially if you are a beginner, just starting your web journey. For WordPress lovers, Bluehost has pre-installed WordPress servers and cannot be ignored the fact that WordPress recommends them.

Apart from the hostings, Bluehost offer many other web solutions tool that you may require for your website such as,

Domains:

When you are about to buy domain names, Bluehost might not come into your mind, you might consider trying GoDaddy or Namecheap, or Google domains. But Bluehost offers domain purchasing, even with good features. One Good thing with Bluehost is they offer free one-year domain with any of their hosting plans. When the renewal comes, it follows the regular price. If you are only looking for the domains, they give some good features.

• Bluehost offers easy to use control panel by which you can manage everything of your domains.
• Auto-renewal feature that protects your domain from losing when it expires.
• Automatically redirects domain visitors to other tailored locations through domain forwarding.
  And more.

You can find all types of TLDs. Below are some of the common TLDs, and their prices are mentioned as per the first year.

• .com – $12.99.
• .org – $9.99.
• .net – $14.99.
• .tech – $4.99.
• .co – $27.99.
• .website – $1.99.
• .blog – $22.99.
• .Me – $17.99.

Buy Domains from Bluehost

Bluehost also offers services such as business emails, SSL certificates. Bluehost also offers Office 365 with many of their plans for one month. after that if you require it, you have to purchase the premium plans. As a web hosting company, no need to go deep that, they offer the website migration service.

Thanks for reading. We hope you find it useful. read more related articles,

• ShortPixel Image Optimizer Review- WordPress Plugin, Features.
• WordPress Download And Installation Tutorial Through cPanel In Detail.
• Top Email Plugins That Are Excellent For Your WordPress Site.