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Bluehost Review: How Does This WordPress Host Fare For Beginners?

Updated: March 26th, 2024 • 17 min read

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With affordable pricing, easy WordPress integration, and reliable performance, Bluehost has become a popular choice for many first-time website owners. However, it’s important to take a closer look to determine if Bluehost is the right fit for your needs.

Based on extensive testing and analysis, I break down whether Bluehost’s budget hosting lives up to expectations. With shared hosting prices starting at an impressively affordable $2.95 per month, Bluehost manages to pack in features despite minimal costs.

Their rock-bottom pricing seems to good to pass up. But Bluehost delivers solid speeds, uptime, and capabilities despite bargain basement rates. For beginners wanting to launch their first site or blog, it’s an cost-effective way to establish your online presence.

In this detailed Bluehost review you’ll discover:

  • Bluehost’s server speeds, uptimes, and ability to handle traffic loads
  • The security protections, support options, and ease of use
  • How their plans and pricing compare to competitors
  • Ideal site types and use cases for Bluehost
  • Pros and cons to consider before signing up

By the end, you’ll know whether Bluehost offers the right blend of value and power to fuel your website as a starter host. Let’s evaluate if this popular budget host can support your early-stage goals.

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Find out more about how I research including the tools I use, test sites and live uptime monitoring. Learn more about my testing and review process

Bluehost Quick Stats

Speed544 ms (October 2023 to January 2024)
Uptime99.98% (October 2023 to January 2024)
Hosting Types Shared, Cloud, VPS, WordPress, eCommerce, dedicated
Support24/7 Live Chat, Email, Knowledge Base, Phone
PricingPrices start from $2.95/mo

Bluehost is a web hosting company owned by Endurance International Group. They have been around since 2003 and are recommended by WordPress itself since 2005.

Some key facts about Bluehost:

  • Recommended by WordPress for managed WordPress hosting plans.
  • Offers shared hosting, VPS hosting, dedicated servers, and WordPress hosting.
  • Has served over 2 million websites with over 850 employees.
  • Based in the United States with data centers in Utah.
  • Known for affordable pricing and 24/7 customer support.

Bluehost has become one of the most well-known web hosting brands. Their shared hosting plans are a popular starting point for beginners due to the low cost and inclusion of a free domain name.

For more advanced users, they offer VPS and dedicated server options. But the core of their business remains focused on shared hosting and WordPress users.

A screenshot of the Bluehost homepage for Bluehost review with the phrase "Bluehost makes wordpress wonderful."

Bluehost Pros and Cons

Next, let’s take a deeper look at the pros and cons of using Bluehost.

Pros of Using Bluehost Web Hosting

Here are some of the biggest benefits Bluehost has to offer:

  • Recommended by WordPress – Bluehost earns credibility for optimized WordPress hosting, providing confidence in their reliable service.
  • Affordable Pricing – One of the main reasons Bluehost wins over web hosting customers is affordable pricing. Their introductory shared hosting price starts at just $2.95 per month.
  • Complimentary Domain Registration – Every single shared hosting account from Bluehost comes with one free domain name registration for the first year. This is extremely valuable since domain registration typically costs $12-15 per year.
  • Included SSL Certificate – Bluehost enhances security with a free SSL certificate, offering encrypted connections at no extra cost.
  • Unlimited Bandwidth and Storage – Bluehost shared hosting plans come with unlimited resources, reducing the risk of website downtime for growing sites.
  • User-Friendly Dashboard and cPanel – Bluehost’s dashboard and full cPanel access cater to both novices and advanced users for streamlined site management.
  • Free Domain Privacy – Bluehost protects personal information on higher tier shared hosting plans with complimentary domain privacy.
  • Automatic WordPress Installation – Thanks to the Mojo Marketplace platform, Bluehost allows you to install WordPress with one-click. This takes all the hassle out of manually uploading and configuring WordPress files.
  • Assisted Site Migration – Migrating an existing website to a new host can be tricky. Bluehost offers 24/7 migration support to help you safely switch over your site with minimal downtime.
  • 30-Day Money Back Guarantee – Bluehost’s refund policy allows testing their hosting services with the assurance of a full refund if not satisfied within the first month.

Cons of Using Bluehost Web Hosting

While Bluehost has many advantages, there are a few downsides to consider:

  • Renewal Price Increase – The biggest complaint with Bluehost is the significant price jump after the introductory offer. The starting price may be just $2.95 per month, but renews closer to $9.99 per month.
  • Shared Server Resource Competition – On shared servers, websites are competing for resources. Some Bluehost users complain of sluggish performance during periods of heavy site traffic. Upgrading to a VPS plan would resolve this issue.
  • No Basic Plan Email Hosting – Bluehost’s entry-level shared hosting lacks email, necessitating an upgrade or third-party services for professional email.
  • Limited Backup and Security – Bluehost’s advanced security and backup features incur additional costs, which may be a concern for businesses seeking robust protection.
  • U.S.-Only Data Centers – Bluehost’s data centers are U.S.-based, potentially affecting the speed and performance for international audiences.
  • Basic Plan Excludes Phone Support – Bluehost’s most economical plan omits phone support, available only with higher-tier plans for additional assistance.

Shared Web Hosting Plans and Pricing

The core service Bluehost provides is shared hosting. This is the most affordable and common type of hosting for small websites and blogs.

With shared hosting, many websites share space on the same server. It allows web hosts to offer cheap plans starting as low as a few bucks per month.

Let’s compare Bluehost’s shared web hosting plans and pricing:

Basic Plan

  • $2.95/month intro rate
  • Renews at $9.99/month
  • 1 website
  • 10GB SSD storage
  • Unmetered bandwidth
  • Free SSL certificate
  • 5 email accounts
  • Basic features

The Basic plan is a good starter option for one small website. For just a personal blog or simple business site, the 50GB storage should suffice. You’ll just want to keep an eye on site growth.

Unfortunately email hosting isn’t included, so you’ll need to use an external provider. Also, advanced features like backups are only available on higher plans.

Choice Plus Plan

  • $5.45/month intro rate
  • Renews at $13.99/month
  • 3 websites
  • 40GB SSD storage
  • Unmetered bandwidth
  • Free SSL certificate
  • Unmetered email accounts
  • Daily backups
  • Domain privacy

Plus is the most popular shared hosting option from Bluehost. The resources are unmetered, so you never have to worry about outgrowing your hosting plan.

You get daily automated site backups, domain privacy, and unlimited professional email accounts. Overall an excellent value for growing sites that need more power and features.

A screenshot from Bluehost website describing the features included in all shared hosting plans on a blue background with the words "all plans include".

Online Store Plan

  • $5.45/month intro rate
  • Renews at $18.99/month
  • Unlimited websites
  • 40GB SSD storage
  • Unmetered bandwidth
  • Free SSL certificates
  • Spam protection
  • Exclusive Store Theme
  • Unlimited Products
  • Secure Online Payments
  • and more

Online store includes everything in the Plus plan but adds more security, performance and specific ecommerce features. The dedicated IP address improves speed and allows you to install an SSL certificate for each site.

Advanced security like anti-spam and anti-malware come built-in. And with the automated site backup and restore, your content stays protected.

Pro Plan

  • $13.95/month intro rate
  • Renews at $26.99/month
  • 5 websites
  • 100GB SSD storage
  • Unmetered bandwidth
  • Free SSL certificates
  • Spam protection
  • Site backup & restore
  • Domain privacy
  • Dedicated IP address
  • $200 advertising offers

The Pro plan unlocks priority support, a dedicated IP, and is optimized for high traffic. Everything else matches the Choice Plus plan.

This high-end shared hosting option is designed more for established online businesses. For most new websites, Plus or Choice Plus will be the better value.

Performance Testing – Uptime, Speed and Stress Handling

Two of the most important criteria for any web host are performance and reliability. You want fast page load speeds and near 100% uptime.

Let’s see how Bluehost stacks up when it comes to site performance and server uptime:

Speed & Page Load Times

To test speeds, I setup a sample website on a Bluehost shared server in Utah. Testing from various locations around the world using Pingdom, here are the results:

  • New York: 605 ms
  • London: 801 ms
  • Singapore: 683 ms
  • Sydney: 1.01 sec

These are very reasonable speeds for a shared hosting environment. The sub-1 second page load times indicate Bluehost can deliver solid website performance.

As mentioned earlier, upgrading to VPS hosting would improve speeds even further. But on shared servers, Bluehost still provides fast page load times.

Uptime & Reliability

Using UptimeRobot, I monitored my Bluehost site over a 3 month period. Their uptime track record was great but not exceptional:

  • 99.98% uptime over 3 months
  • Average response time of 544ms
  • 1 downtime incidents detected

Considering Bluehost does not even advertise an official uptime guarantee, this level of reliability is extremely impressive. For all practical purposes, your site should never be down.

As long as you pick a good theme and optimize images, Bluehost’s servers will keep your site running 24/7. Their hosting infrastructure produces excellent uptime results.

Stress Testing

I wanted to see how Bluehost would hold up if my site suddenly got more visitors than normal. So I used K6, a website load testing application, to simulate an increase in traffic.

I had K6 send 50 visitors to my test site at the same time for 5 minutes straight. This put extra stress on Bluehost’s servers. However, my site continued working normally the whole time. Pages loaded just as fast as they did without any extra traffic.

This shows that Bluehost can handle spikes in traffic volume. Even with 50 simultaneous visitors, their servers kept up without any slowdowns or interruptions. So if my real website gets busier than expected someday, I can be confident Bluehostt’s infrastructure can take it in stride.

A screenshot of a graph showing the test results when fifty virtual users were sent to the Bluehost test site over the period of five minutes.
Bluehost Stress Test Graph

Ease of Use and Key Features

A big advantage with Bluehost is the intuitive control panel and lag-free performance. Managing your hosting and websites is made much simpler.

Some examples of Bluehost’s easy-to-use interface:

  • 1-click WordPress installer – Install a new WordPress site in just a few clicks. No need to manually upload WordPress files and setup the database.
  • Drag and drop website builder – Choose from professionally designed templates and build your site visually using Bluehost’s website builder app.
  • cPanel included – Get full access to cPanel for more advanced management like configuring email accounts or PHP versions. But the interface remains clean and fast.
  • Mojo Marketplace – Browse WordPress themes, plugins, and services from the Mojo Marketplace. Installing WordPress tools is simplified.
  • Extensive documentation – Bluehost provides hundreds of tutorial articles and guides to help you manage hosting tasks and get the most from your services. Answers are just a Google search away.

The combination of an intuitive custom interface plus industry-standard cPanel results in a very user-friendly hosting management experience overall.

A screenshot from Bluehost website of their website builder dashboard.
Bluehost website builder

Security Features and Tools

Security is an increasingly important consideration when choosing a web host. You want to be sure your site is safe from hackers, malware, phishing scams, and spam.

Here are some of the key security protections Bluehost has built-in:

  • Free SSL certificate – Essential for encrypting sensitive data and enabling HTTPS on your site. Included with all plans.
  • Domain privacy – Protects your contact information from public view. Optional on lower plans, included on higher tiers.
  • Anti-spam – Built-in SPAM Assassin helps filter out spam comments and contact form submissions.
  • Anti-malware – Bluehost scans for malware to prevent malicious code from hijacking your site.
  • Cloudflare integration – Cloudflare CDN and firewall protects against DDoS attacks and blocks dangerous traffic.
  • Automatic backups – Daily backups on higher plans ensure your data stays safe if something goes wrong.
  • Two-factor authentication – Extra login security requiring your phone in addition to a password.

For shared hosting industry standards, Bluehost does a nice job providing site security fundamentals. Areas they could improve include offering sitelock protection and DDoS filtering on lower plans.

But overall, I’m satisfied with their security for starter websites. Their platform remains secure and trustworthy.

Bluehost Customer Support

Reliable customer support is a must for any decent web hosting provider. You want help when you need it.

Here’s an overview of Bluehost’s main customer service options:

  • Live chat – Instant access to support agents 24/7 through chat. My average wait time was less than 60 seconds.
  • Phone support – U.S. based phone support is available 24/7. Only offered to Plus tier customers and higher.
  • Tickets – Submit an email ticket for non-urgent issues. Response time is typically 1 business day.
  • Knowledgebase – Extensive DIY help documentation covering hundreds of topics like migrating your site, using cPanel, speeding up WordPress, and more.
  • Forums – Active community forums with over 200k members. Get help from other Bluehost users.
  • Video tutorials – Short video tutorials walking you through setup, WordPress, security, and account management.
A screenshot from the Bluehost website of their customer support with a vector image a woman sitting at a computer with the words "Here for you 24/7."

My experience reaching out to Bluehost support via live chat was fantastic. Despite contacting them on a weekend, I connected with an agent in under 60 seconds.

The support rep was friendly, patient, and took time to fully answer each question. Issues were resolved quickly and efficiently.

Phone support hours are more limited than live chat, so keep your shared hosting plan tier in mind when you need help. But their chat and self-help options smoothly cover other times.

Other Bluehost Hosting Options

Beyond standard shared hosting, Bluehost offers additional specialized hosting services to meet the needs of larger and more complex websites. For those who outgrow basic shared plans or require more customization, Bluehost provides managed WordPress hosting, VPS hosting, and dedicated server options.

These tiers include tailored features, increased resources, and more fine-tuned control suitable for higher-traffic sites. Let’s explore the details of Bluehost’s WordPress, VPS, and dedicated server offerings for more demanding hosting requirements:

Bluehost WordPress Hosting

Bluehost managed WordPress hosting plans are optimized specifically for WordPress with features like automated WordPress installation, daily backups, themes, and more.

Here are the details on their managed WordPress hosting options:

Basic WordPress Plan

  • $2.95/month intro rate
  • Renews at $9.99/month
  • 1 WordPress site
  • 10GB SSD storage
  • Unmetered bandwidth
  • Free SSL certificate
  • Daily backups
  • WordPress themes

The pricing matches their basic shared hosting plan. But you gain access to the managed WordPress environment, daily backups, and Bluehost’s theme library.

A screenshot from Bluehost website of the wordpress features and dashboard with the phrase "Take all the stress out of wordpress."

Choice Plus WordPress Plan

  • $5.45/month intro rate
  • Renews at $13.99/month
  • 3 WordPress sites
  •  40 GB SSD Storage
  • Unmetered bandwidth
  • Free SSL certificates
  • Daily backups
  • WordPress themes
  • Domain privacy
  • Spam protection

This tier offers unmetered resources so you never risk your WordPress sites running out of space. Added security features like domain privacy and anti-spam provide protection.

Overall an excellent value for running multiple WordPress sites.

Pro WordPress Plan

  • $13.95/month intro rate
  • Renews at $26.99/month
  • 5 WordPress sites
  •  100 GB SSD Storage
  • Unmetered bandwidth
  • Free SSL certificates
  • Unmetered email accounts
  • Daily backups
  • WordPress themes
  • Domain privacy
  • Spam protection

The Pro WordPress plan matches the features of the shared hosting Pro plan. For high traffic WordPress sites and online stores, the priority support and extra resources are worthwhile.

Most WordPress users will find the Plus plan has everything they need at a more affordable price though.

Bluehost VPS Hosting

For sites that outgrow shared hosting, the next step up is VPS (virtual private server) hosting. This provides guaranteed resources, root access, and improved performance.

Bluehost has three managed VPS plans ranging from $29.99 to $69.99 per month. The higher your needs, the more you pay for things like storage, bandwidth, speed, and RAM.

VPS is ideal for medium to large websites that need faster page loads. Shared hosting just can’t provide the same speed and reliability under heavy traffic loads.

Bluehost Dedicated Servers

At the enterprise level, Bluehost offers dedicated server hosting. This gives you an entire server all to yourself for maximum performance and control. No other sites are sharing resources.

Dedicated servers are recommended for large companies, ecommerce stores, or sites with very high traffic demands. They require technical expertise to manage though.

Bluehost dedicated server plans range between $90-$140 per month. You get full root access, a dedicated IP address, your choice of Linux or Windows server OS, and more.

For most personal or small business sites, a dedicated server would be overkill. But they remain a solid option as you scale up to enterprise-level workloads.

What You Need to Know About Bluehost

When weighing Bluehost for your web hosting needs, there are some key questions worth asking before signing up. Let’s explore some frequently asked topics around using Bluehost’s services:

Yes, Bluehost is fully optimized for WordPress hosting and recommended by WordPress itself.

Yes, Bluehost is extremely beginner-friendly with an intuitive interface. Easy WordPress setup and site migration also appeal to first-time site owners.

Shared hosting prices are deeply discounted for the first term but renew closer to $10-$27 per month depending on features.

Basic shared hosting plans omit phone support. You need Plus or higher tiers to access 24/7 phone assistance.

Yes, Bluehost provides excellent uptime and decent shared hosting speeds. VPS plans are even faster for more demanding sites.

As you can see from common questions around Bluehost’s pricing, performance, support and more – getting clarity on what to expect is key to making an informed decision. While Bluehost works well for many site owners, confirming the host aligns with your specific use case makes all the difference.

Bluehost Alternatives

While Bluehost is a quality choice for web hosting, companies like Hostinger, SiteGround, and HostGator are also worth considering as alternatives.

Hostinger square color logo

Hostinger is an ultra-budget host starting at just $2.99/month. With unlimited sites, bandwidth, and features like free SSL and email, they offer tremendous value. However, they do lack phone support and extra fees apply for some add-ons.

SiteGround square color logo

SiteGround is more expensive than Bluehost, but also provides superior performance, speed, and 99.99% uptime thanks to their own custom servers. Their top ratings in support with multiple language options appeal to clients worldwide. Prices start around $2.99 monthly.

HostGator hosting square color logo

HostGator historically offered competitive pricing and rich features, but performance and uptime have recently declined. Still, for simple blogs and small sites, they remain a recognized budget host with strong WordPress tools on the affordable Baby Plan starting around $3.75 monthly.

Checking out the competition is wise to make sure you select the best host for your specific needs and budget. The hosts above all have strengths that could beat Bluehost for some users.

Bluehost Review: Final Thoughts

So with all factors considered, is Bluehost a good choice for your website hosting needs?

For beginners on a budget looking for an inexpensive starting point, Bluehost is tough to beat. Shared hosting plans provide everything you need to get online.

The prices are affordable, even on renewal. Performance is faster than many budget hosts. And theirWordPress integration simplifies site management.

Users with prior web hosting experience will also appreciate Bluehost’s robust feature set and easy-to-use control panel. cPanel access caters to more technical users.

The one group I would not necessarily recommend Bluehost to is advanced developers or site owners expecting extremely high traffic loads. In those use cases, the limitations of shared web hosting may require an upgrade to VPS or dedicated servers.

But for everyone else – personal blogs, small business sites, online stores, affiliate marketers – Bluehost has the features and pricing to be a top contender. Their continued popularity and growth over 20 years is a testament to satisfying customers.

Here are the key takeaways from my Bluehost review:

  • Affordable pricing – Shared hosting intro rates starting at just $2.95/month.
  • Easy setup – Guided WordPress installation and website builder.
  • Speedy performance – Pages load under 1 second thanks to global CDN.
  • High uptime – Servers are reliable with 99.98% uptime.
  • Helpful support – U.S. based 24/7 live chat, phone, and ticketing.
  • Ideal for beginners – User-friendly cPanel dashboard and WordPress integration.

As you can see, Bluehost checks all the essential boxes for a quality web hosting provider. Their continued success over 20 years speaks for itself.

While not the best fit for developers managing huge enterprise sites, Bluehost remains a top choice for small business owners, bloggers, affiliate marketers, and anyone creating their first website.

Their low pricing, reliable performance, and top support provide tremendous value. If you’re looking for an affordable and capable host to start your online journey, Bluehost is a great option worth considering.

author
Neil Beckett
Neil is an accomplished web, designer and developer with over 15 years of experience in creating and optimizing websites for small businesses and online entrepreneurs. Read full bio

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author

Neil is an accomplished web, designer and developer with over 15 years of experience in creating and optimizing websites for small businesses and online entrepreneurs.