Finding a reliable web hosting service is crucial for online businesses, blogs and any website that wants to attract visitors and maintain a good level of traffic. One of the providers that you will find while searching for a service that can support your website effectively is Bluehost. The brand is owned by Endurance International Group, a leading name in the world of web hosting and it has become a popular solution for professional sites. Millions of users have chosen Bluehost as their web hosting provider thanks to its great selection of features and convenient price.
Bluehost was established in 2003, but the company’s history goes back to 1996, making it one of the oldest providers in the web hosting industry. Since it started, Bluehost has been committed to offering an affordable solution packed with useful features and topped with great performance. Another aspect that has made Bluehost very well known is the fact that it is recommended by WordPress to host websites powered by this popular blogging and Content Management System. This endorsement has ensured that Bluehost remains in the list of the most popular web hosting solutions.
The solid experience of the team behind Bluehost and the wide set of practical tools available from this provider, make it sound like a really promising option and it general, it does deliver good performance. Ensuring that your website runs without any issues and that all your visitors enjoy a good experience is essential and Bluehost is a provider that can support your site with 99.9% uptime, which has become standard in the industry. To find out if Bluehost is really a comprehensive service that can be trusted, we will take a look at what it offers.
Features
Bluehost offers cPanel, the most popular and user friendly control panel interface to manage web hosting services. With cPanel you can enjoy a great selection of options to create and maintain your site. Bluehost supports advanced features that will enhance your experience and ensure that you can administer your site without any issues. Through cPanel you can complete a variety of tasks such as creating and maintaining databases, doing backups and setting up email addresses with your domain names.
Thanks to the comprehensive scripting support that includes options like Mojo and SimpleScripts, you will be able to install useful software packages like Drupal, Joomla and WordPress, for which Bluehost offers one click installation. Even if you have no previous experience or technical knowledge, you will have no issues setting up blogs, adding images and many more options that will make your website stand out.
Thanks to practical options like web based file management and to the vast number of features available, cPanel is a top back end administration solution that will make things really simple for you. Additionally, Bluehost has a Page Wizard application that allows you to create professional websites easily and with only a few steps. There are also appealing extras like credits that can be used to promote your website, ensuring that you can position it and attract visitors.
The inclusion of Fantastico, a popular and easy to use script library that lets you install web applications automatically, reaffirms Bluehost’s place as an option that aims to help you make every part of the process as simple as possible. However, Bluehost also supports options for those who prefer to install scripts manually such as Python, CGI, Ruby on Rails, PHP4 & PHP5 and other languages.
To protect your data, Bluehost performs regular backups (daily, weekly or monthly) of your account, ensuring that you can restore your data at any time. If you have a large website, you can subscribe to the Pro-Backup service that offers advanced options and enhanced security.
Bluehost offers a shared hosting solution which suits websites that are just getting started. Once your site starts receiving more visitors and requires more powerful resources to run, you can upgrade to a private server such as a VPS (Virtual Private Server) or a Dedicated Server. These options are also available from Bluehost and you can move your website to the platform that meets your requirements.
Plans
There are three shared hosting plans: Starter, Plus and Business Pro. The Starter is the ideal choice for new users that are just setting up their site and it costs $3.95 per month. For $6.95 per month, you can enjoy unlimited bandwidth, domains support and more with the Plus plan and if you require extended support and higher performance, you can select the Business Pro plan, which starts at $14.95 per month.
The VPS plans are designed to offer incredible flexibility and powerful resources for websites that are enjoying high traffic. There are four options available including Standard (from $14.99 per month), Enhanced ($29.99/month), Premium ($44.99/month) and Ultimate from $59.99 per month. It is important to keep in mind that these prices are for the first month.
To enjoy the best performance and security for your website, you can opt for Dedicated hosting, with plans like the Standard, which starts at $74.99 for the first month, Enhanced for $99.99 for the first month and the Premium, available from $124.99 per month. This is a solution that would suit online businesses that require professional web hosting and greater control over their site.
Performance
When it comes to web hosting, reliability has the highest priority and as previously mentioned, Bluehost claims provide 99.9% uptime. They are committed to support these claims with a solid network that can guarantee that your website is not affected by long periods of downtime, giving you peace of mind. Independent testing showed that Bluehost does a good job keeping their promise and in most cases, the brief downtime experienced was related to scheduled maintenance, which took place during the least busy periods to minimize the impact.
Speed is another aspect that needs to be considered and while it would vary between websites, Bluehost is recognized for offering a fast service. Depending on your needs, it is possible to improve the performance of your website by activating Cloudflare, which is included in every hosting account. The fact that Bluehost runs its own network of servers contributes to make it an efficient provider that can offer reliability and good speed.
While in the past some users reported issues with the service, over the last few years, Bluehost has improved its infrastructure and it has become one of the leading web hosting solutions. Its impressive data center uses the latest technology and it features quad processor servers, mirrored storage backups and continuous monitoring. The basic hosting plan works on a shared servers, but Bluehost stands out from the competition with exceptional specifications that go beyond the industry standards.
Customer Support
This is another pillar of a good web hosting provider and Bluehost doesn’t disappoint in this area as it offers strong support for their customers. There are many options to reach out to Bluehost’s support team, making sure that you can get experienced technical assistance whenever required. There is a forum and a Knowledge base that features detailed information to help you resolve the most common issues.
If you are dealing with a problem that requires additional support, you can submit a ticket, which would be worked within 12 hours but in most cases, you can expect a response in just a couple of hours. Bluehost also offers live chat support and phone assistance. Some plans (like the Dedicated Hosting options) offer dedicated phone support to ensure that you can get any issue fixed as soon as possible.
Conclusion
Bluehost is a convenient and reasonably priced solution for anyone who wants good performance and efficient tools for their website. It may not be the most cost-effective option if you only intend to manage one website, but it is particularly suitable for running multiple sites under the same hosting account. With a solid combination of reliability, affordability, security and usability, Bluehost is a provider that can be trusted. Bluehost also offers a 30-day money back guarantee in case the service is not what your are looking for. The fact that they offer a wide range of web hosting plans, gives you flexibility to choose the option that adapts to your needs.
