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Bluehost Reviews: Features, Pricing, Support, Pros & Cons
Disclosure: We’re reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. For more information, see our Disclosure page. Thanks.
Bluehost is a popular web hosting provider known for its ease of use, reliability, and strong integration with WordPress. Below is a comprehensive review of Bluehost, including its features, pricing, customer support, and the pros and cons of using the service.
Contents
Features of Bluehost
- User-Friendly Interface
- Bluehost offers an intuitive dashboard, making it easy for beginners to set up their websites. The control panel (cPanel) is simple to navigate and manage.
- Performance and Uptime
- Bluehost provides strong uptime, usually around 99.98%–99.99%, which means your website will be accessible to visitors most of the time.
- The hosting speeds are relatively fast, although not the absolute fastest in the industry, they are sufficient for most users.
- Free Domain Name (for 1 Year)
- Bluehost gives new users a free domain name for the first year, which can help save on upfront costs when starting a website.
- One-Click WordPress Installation
- As one of the officially recommended hosting providers for WordPress, Bluehost offers easy, one-click WordPress installations.
- Security Features
- Free SSL certificate: Bluehost offers free SSL certificates for all its plans, ensuring that data transferred between your website and visitors is encrypted.
- Website Backup: Bluehost offers daily backups for an additional fee, which is a critical feature to protect your site.
- Free Cloudflare CDN: For faster loading times and added security, Cloudflare CDN is included in all plans.
- Scalability
- Bluehost provides various hosting plans ranging from shared hosting to VPS and dedicated servers. This allows users to scale up their websites as traffic grows.
- Marketing Tools
- Bluehost provides several marketing tools, including email marketing, SEO tools, and $100 in Google Ads credits, which are useful for growing your website’s audience.
- Email Hosting
- Bluehost offers email hosting with its plans, allowing you to create custom email addresses using your domain name.
Pricing
Bluehost’s pricing is quite competitive, especially for beginners. Here are the most common plans:
- Basic Plan
- Price: Starting at $2.95/month (Renewal price: $7.99/month)
- Includes: 1 website, 50 GB SSD storage, Free CDN, Free SSL, Free Domain for 1 Year, 5 Email Accounts.
- Plus Plan
- Price: Starting at $5.45/month (Renewal price: $10.99/month)
- Includes: Unlimited websites, Unlimited SSD storage, Free CDN, Free SSL, Free Domain for 1 Year, 50 Email Accounts.
- Choice Plus Plan
- Price: Starting at $5.45/month (Renewal price: $14.99/month)
- Includes: Everything in the Plus Plan, plus added features like website backup and more advanced security features.
- Pro Plan
- Price: Starting at $13.95/month (Renewal price: $23.99/month)
- Includes: All the features in the Choice Plus Plan, plus more resources and performance optimization.
- VPS and Dedicated Hosting
- Pricing for VPS hosting starts at $19.99/month, and dedicated hosting starts at $79.99/month. These options offer more control, better resources, and higher performance for larger websites or businesses.
Customer Support
Bluehost offers 24/7 customer support via:
- Live Chat: Immediate support via live chat.
- Phone Support: Available at any time.
- Email: You can submit a ticket, though response times can vary.
- Knowledge Base: A large collection of articles and tutorials for troubleshooting common issues.
Most users report that Bluehost’s support team is friendly and helpful, though wait times for chat support can sometimes be long during peak hours.
Pros of Bluehost
- Ease of Use: Ideal for beginners with an intuitive control panel and one-click installations for WordPress.
- Reliable Uptime: High uptime (99.98%–99.99%), ensuring that your website is accessible most of the time.
- Free Domain: One year of free domain registration with all hosting plans.
- Good Customer Support: 24/7 customer support via phone, live chat, and email, with a helpful knowledge base.
- WordPress Integration: Bluehost is officially recommended by WordPress, making it one of the best choices for WordPress hosting.
- Security Features: SSL certificates, Cloudflare CDN, and free daily backups on higher-tier plans.
Cons of Bluehost
- Higher Renewal Prices: While initial pricing is affordable, Bluehost’s renewal rates can be significantly higher.
- Limited Backups on Basic Plans: While backups are included with higher-tier plans, the Basic Plan does not come with a backup option (available for an additional fee).
- Upselling: During checkout, Bluehost tends to upsell additional features such as website backups, security options, and more.
- Storage Limitations on Lower-Tier Plans: The Basic plan comes with 50 GB of SSD storage, which may not be sufficient for larger websites.
- Limited Email Accounts: The Basic plan only allows for 5 email accounts, whereas higher plans offer unlimited email addresses.
Conclusion
Bluehost is a strong choice for beginners looking for a reliable and easy-to-use hosting provider. With its competitive pricing, high-quality customer support, and solid performance, it’s an excellent option for those running WordPress websites. However, users should be aware of the higher renewal rates and the limited features available on the lower-tier plans. For more advanced users or growing websites, Bluehost’s higher-tier plans or VPS hosting options offer the scalability and control needed.
