There are many Web hosting companies out there, and each one has its pros and cons. I mostly deal with web hosting for WordPress, and when it comes to shared hosting, there are many companies which offer top notch hosting for a WordPress blog. Bluehost is one such hosting company.
Bluehost has created a name for itself with outstanding server performance. Today I will be sharing a
complete review of Bluehost hosting, and why you should opt for this particular hosting service.
Being a blogger, I know that some of the things we look for in a web hosting service are:
- Reliability
- Affordability
- Support
Review of Bluehost Shared Hosting:
Bluehost offers various hosting packages including shared hosting, VPS hosting, WordPress managed hosting and dedicated hosting. Their shared hosting package is perfect for your new blog, but if you have an existing WordPress blog with good traffic, I suggest you use their managed WordPress hosting.
Before I get into detail regarding Bluehost, let me start with the basics. As a WordPress blogger, whenever I evaluate a hosting company I measure its value based on several parameters:
- Hosting optimized for WordPress
- Pricing
- Resources
- Ease of use
- Custom Support
I will further explain all this below, allowing you to evaluate whether Bluehost is right for your blog.
Bluehost as WordPress hosting:
My first interaction with Bluehost occurred in 2009 (and I’m still using it in 2015!), when I transitioned one of my clients from BlogSpot to WordPress. Bluehost’s easy installation and nice, simple interface allowed me to install WordPress in less than five minutes!
The best thing about Bluehost is that their servers are well optimized for a WordPress blog, and this is one of the reasons they are a top recommended hosting service on the official WordPress hosting resource page
For a reliable WordPress host, apart from running the latest version of
PHP and
MYSQL, servers should be configured to handle the extra load that typically occurs with WordPress. I can verify that Bluehost handles it all very well. In fact, I have seen
traffic up to 20000/day without any downtime at all. (I was using W3 total cache and Cloudflare to speed up my blog, and recommend the same to you.)
Pricing:
Bluehost shared hosting comes in three different packages, and you can choose the one that is right for you according to your unique needs.
- If you want to create only one website, you should buy the starter package.
- If you plan to host multiple sites, go with the “plus” package.
- If your needs include using HTTPS, you should go for the business pro package which comes with one dedicated I.P and SSL.
My recommendation for most users would be the “plus” package as it offers everything you need (unless you are a business user in need of the dedicated IP and SSL).
With this discount link, you can get Bluehost for
$3.95/month. You will also be getting
one free domain, which will help you to save even more money. There are also many
free goodies like AdWords credits, which will help you to get the best value for your money. You can pay via PayPal or credit card.
Hosting resources:
Bluehost offers
unlimited hosting
resources. This means that you can host unlimited files, and use unlimited bandwidth. Remember, however, that they have certain fair usage policies (Bluehost limit). But the fair usage policy limit is so high that you will probably find it to be the same as “unlimited”. Unless you are running an auto-script, or auto-blogging, you are very unlikely to reach that limit. They have a CPU limit, but again that’s high compared to other hosting services, and in most cases Bluehost will transfer you to a more powerful server if necessary. You can read about their unlimited policies and other terms
here.
Ease Of Use:
Bluehost uses
cPanel, which is so far one of the easiest hosting panels that I have come across. Most of the shared hosting companies use the standard cPanel, and you will not find it hard to use. In fact, cPanel makes managing your hosting account easier. Also, Bluehost is one of very few shared Web hosting companies which will allow you to access SSH.
Customer support:
Compared to other hosting services, I would rate Bluehost’s customer support as 4/5. You can get in touch with them via live chat, email or telephone. In most cases, resolution time is 5-30 minutes, which is an average support time for any shared hosting.
Since Bluehost servers are optimized for WordPress hosting, you will find that you have very few issues with them. Moreover, they have been in the hosting business for almost 17 years, which is remarkable longevity for any web-hosting company.
In a nutshell, for a cost of $3.95/month, Bluehost is a reliable hosting company that is perfect for hosting a small or mid-sized WordPress blog.
Bluehost also offers a 30-day money back guarantee, so if you are not happy with their hosting, you can cancel your account within the first 30 days and get a full refund!
Grab hosting from Bluehost (Discounted link)
I hope this Bluehost review will help you to assess your options for a reliable hosting service. Here is a video where you can learn which Bluehost hosting package is suitable for you
