Bluehost Review -The complete Guide Bluehost Hosting 2022
- Abhinay Kumar
- Reviews
- October 15, 2022
Bluehost is a major web hosting company based in the USA. It was founded in 2003 by Matt Heaton. It hosts over 2 million domains. It is officially recommended by WordPress for hosting WordPress sites. Over the years and at present Bluehost has been the go-to choice for beginner bloggers as it offers a combination of speed, reliability, and near 100% uptime. It is packed with features that make maintaining and growing a domain easy. It has an easy-to-use web hosting panel which makes your life easier when looking to manage a domain. In this Bluehost Review, I will be looking into those features and will guide you in selecting the correct hosting company for your domain.
Features to look out for when selecting a web hosting company
Let us see the features that we should be looking out for when selecting a hosting company.
1. Speed-Speed is one of the main factors you look for in a host. Your Blogs loading time is critical to Search engine rankings. It gives users a good feel and decreases bounce rate. As per a study users start leaving the site after more than 3 seconds of delay in loading. So speed should be a top priority when selecting a web host.
2. Uptime-Good Server performance when there is traffic to the site matters. You want maximum uptime for your site 100%.So that the users do not get a bad experience and in turn, you are penalized in Search engine rankings for such downtimes.
3. Features-It is very important for you to have easy, resourceful access to the web host panel so that you can easily manage and access all the parts of your website. You should have the access to customize and use features as per your need.
4. Customer Support-Good customer support is a big help in case we run into any kind of trouble or we need any kind of website hosting issues and related technical issues.
5. Pricing-It is one of the major areas to look out for when you are new and is just going to start your blog/website.Reasonable pricing with good hosting features is one thing users should look at while selecting Web hosting. It is not just the initial starting cost but also the affordability in the next cycle.We will be looking at all these features and how Bluehost performs in these areas.It will help you in selecting the correct web host. What we are talking about here is shared hosting.Bluehost offers three types of hosting
Shared Hosting-
Shared hosting is a hosting in which on the same server your website will be hosted with the website of other users. Although it is shared it is a good option for beginners. We will be discussing in detail the proof of the shared hosting in a little while. Let us first see what shared hosting by Bluehost offers.
1. It has good speed and for beginners, the load time of the blog/website is under 2 seconds which is very good.Also, the response time is about half a second which is great.
2. Uptime-Bluehost shared hosting has almost 100% uptime which is very great. It touches from 99.7 to 100.We will see the details and proofs in a while below.
3. Features-It is loaded with features for website owners wherein users can manage most of the features themselves. It allows you to install WordPress with one click.
From backup, caching, creating sites/staging, access to the database, visitor metrics, access to the code editor to security, all of this is included in the web host Cpanel. Security is a very critical aspect of website maintenance and Bluehost has a very robust system of security.
4. Free CDN-It has free Cloudflare CDN integration available.
5. Customer Support-The Bluehost Support is knowledgeable and offers good support.It is available 24/7. It has sections for any query related to WordPress or specific to website or database and can help you in all the fields by connecting to the respective support personnel.
6. Pricing-It starting price is very reasonable and starts at 2.95$ per month. The renewal price is higher a bit. From the second year, it costs you 9.99$ per month.
Dedicated hosting-Dedicated hosting is hosting under which a whole server is available for your domain only. It has more resources and power as compared to shared hosting. It starts at 79.99$ and renews at the regular rate.
VPS hosting-VPS hosting is a hosting under which a dedicated server is shared between users, you will be having dedicated and fixed access to the server. A separate operating system and its dedicated resources will be exclusively for you. The Resources like RAM and CPU cores will be for your domain and no other user can use them unlike in shared hosting.it starts with a price of 19.99$ and renews for 29.99$.If you take these three hosting types, shared hosting is the best for beginners as it allows a mix of resources and financial freedom. Anybody starting looks for space to experiment and get a grasp on server management before selecting for higher packages like a dedicated server. In addition, having a dedicated server makes sense only when you have a reasonable amount of visitors to your site.
Selecting the correct plan like choice plus in shared hosting allows you to have a bandwidth to experiment and security at the same time. It gives you the freedom to make your changes and then revert them if you have any issues. You can create a staging site and apply the changes to a staging site. And then move on to the production environment. Let us move on to the Bluehost Review details on these features.
Speed-The number one feature that everybody looks for because search engine rankings are also influenced by it. Speed is a factor in determining your rankings. Speed is analyzed mainly from two factors. One is the response time of the server and the other is the load time. I tried analyzing ToolstoBlog on these parameters after running several rounds of testing in GTMetrix.The average response time was half a second and load time was around 1-1.5 secs. In some cases the load time less than a second. However, I took the screenshot of both the maximum load time and the least which can be seen below.You can see that any loading time that is less than 2 seconds is considered good for ranking.
I have shown here a breakdown of all the parameters of the browser load time in GTmetrix which can be viewed below image.
Uptime-Uptime is critical to retaining visitors and maintaining search engine rankings. Bluehost delivers wonderfully well on Uptime. I recorded the uptime of my site in Pingdom. Over 3 days it recorded an uptime of 99.91% which is excellent.
Features
Bluehost comes loaded with features. You will get a web host panel that will give you access to all the components of your website. The Bluehost web host panel or CPanel gives is divided into 5 sections.
1. My Sites -My Sites gives you access to manage your site as well as create a new site.It gives you access to manage Themes, Plugins, marketing center, user, backup, performance, security, and settings.The marketing center let you access google ads.Users give you access to the users associated with your site.It is generally the admin user.
Backup gives you the option to set up a code guard backup of your site. The free code Guard backup allows you up to 1 GB of backup.For more than 1 GB you have to subscribe to a Code Guard Plan.Next comes the performance section which gives you access to free CDN.You can configure it to free Cloudflare CDN.
The server-level caching level can be set. It allows you to set caching based on eCommerce, blog, or portfolio whatever you set.Also, you can clear the cache of a specific URL or your entire site from here.
Security-Security allows you to install an SSL certificate. In general, this is done by the Bluehost admin.You don’t have to worry about it. You can force a secure connection that is an HTTPS connection for your website by selecting the option from here. There is a Sitelock security plugin that protects your website from malware.It scans and protects the website from any kind of malware.Also, you can scan your core WordPress files from here.This helps in maintaining the sanity of the core WordPress files.
Plugins-This tab displays all your installed plugins.It helps in enabling or disabling plugins from the Bluehost CPanel itself.Also, Plugins can be updated from here.
Settings-Settings allow you to change the Site URL from the Bluehost CPanel. You can select automatic updates for WordPress core, plugins, and themes. Several content revisions can be set from here. Empty Trash settings can be modified from here. Comments for posts can be enabled or disabled from here. The days for closing comments can be set here. The number of comments per page to be displayed can be set here. Coming Soon page when your website is under launch can be set from here. You can delete the site from here. Create and manage your SSH keys from here. You can administer PHPmyAdmin from here.Also, you can access File Manager from here and edit and upload files.
MarketPlace
MarketPlace gives you access to specific products, plugins, themes, services, and addons.You can buy these to enhance and protect your website.Bluehost gives you options to buy from a variety of security and SEO tools and add-ons to add to your existing package.There is a dedicated section for viewing your hosting plan, options, and the plans available.You can select your existing plan to renew or upgrade based on your choice.Bluehost offers WordPress dedicated hosting. It caters to WordPress-based sites only.There are higher-level plans from basic to advanced for specific WordPress hosting.It is generally for people who have got the website up and have a fair amount of visitors coming to their site.Then there is a separate section for WordPress Themes and Plugins.These are high-end themes and plugins which you can purchase through Bluehost.
Email and Office
This section is dedicated to Emails and office productivity tools.You can upgrade or manage your mail from here.The upgrade feature requires you to call the helpline number and avail of upgrade services separately.Manage helps in managing existing mail and creating new ones.
Domain
My Domains tab lists the domain that you have.It has got options to manage your domain.Under Manage you have got the option to
- Renewal
- contact info
- Security
- DNS
- Settings
- Redirects
- subdomains
You can manage all of this from here. Also, you can purchase a domain from here.
The purchase helps you find an available domain with the help of a domain checker tool and then purchase it.
Also, you can set up redirects, and create and see subdomains. This has got the option to assign a domain as well as transfer a domain.
The last option is the advanced tab. It has got the following options.
- Email-This has got all the settings for the Email. Access all the email accounts from here.You can set autoresponders. Spam Filters and contacts can be imported. The calendar and contacts can be
viewed. Email Filters can be applied. Email disk usage can be seen from here. Mails can be encrypted
by creating a specific key. Emails can be routed to specific destinations. - Files-It gives you access to all your files. It can be code files or images.
You can check your home directory from here and see and work on your website files.You can edit and upload files. It allows you to search files too. There is a version control system too through GIT.
It shows your disk usage,FTP accounts and current FTP connection. - Databases-PHPmyAdmin can be accessed from here. All database connections can be configured from here.You can upload and download the database from here. You can create a database using the MYSQL database wizard.
It has PostgreSQL wizard and PostGre databases. Postgres or PostgreSQL is an open-source relational database system.You can access the database remotely. - Metrics-Metrics tab allows you to check all the visits to your site. It gives access to raw logs.Raw Logs contain all the IP addresses that have visited your site.
- Security-It provides you with SSH access and saves SSL/TLS certificate. You can block specific IP addresses using IP Blocker. Access to certain resources can be blocked using Hotlink Protection.API tokens can be managed from here.
- Software-Customized software for managing your websites like WordPress Manager, PHP PEAR packages, and PERL modules can be found here.
All your website files can be compressed using an optimized website while sending the data to the visitor’s browser. - Advanced-Advanced tab gives access to the terminal, Apache handlers, MIME types, indexes, and custom error messages.
Custom file types and extensions can be created and associated using MIME types. - Preferences-Language can be changed from here. All the created users can be
viewed and can be linked to manage your website as an admin. - Softaculous Apps installer-WordPress and specific niche website scripts and apps can be installed from here.
Customer Support
Bluehost has got an excellent customer support. They provide support on call, through chat, and the mail. The average waiting time I have noticed is around 5-10 mins and the whole call gets wrapped in about 20-25 mins. The customer support executives are very knowledgeable and helpful. The support timings are 24/7. Support is there for WordPress-specific issues, website issues, or any other general issues. They have streamlined support dividing into sections each field of support and will connect you to the specific section to which your query relates.
- Basic-This is a plan for a single site and costs 2.95$ a month. The regular cost is 9.99$ and auto-renews at this rate. This has got 50GB SSD storage. Access to 24/7 support, custom themes, a Website builder, and a free SSL certificate is provided for the first year. Free CDN is included. The max database size is 5GB. The max file count is 200000. Drag and drop website builder is included.
- Plus-It is for running multiple sites. Unlimited SSD storage, custom themes, and 24/7 customer support are major features. The domain registration is free for the first year as well as the SSL certificate.IT gives access to office 365 free for the first 30 days. The max database size is 5GB. The max file count is 200000. It has got 200$ google ad credit for USA users. Spam protection is provided for one domain. Drag and drop website builder is included.
- Choice Plus-It is for running multiple sites. Unlimited SSD storage, custom themes, and 24/7 customer support are major features. The domain registration is free for the first year as well as the SSL certificate.IT gives access to office 365 free for the first 30 days. The max database size is 5GB. The max file count is 200000. In addition, it has got free automated backup for a year. It has got 200$ google ad credit for USA users. Spam protection is provided for one domain. Drag and drop website builder is included.
- Pro-It is for running multiple sites. It gives a dedicated IP. Unlimited SSD storage, custom themes, and 24/7 customer support are major features. The domain registration is free for the first year as well as the SSL certificate.IT gives access to office 365 free for the first 30 days. The max database size is 5GB. The max file count is 200000. In addition, it has got free automated backup. It has got 200$ google ad credit for USA users. Spam protection is provided for two domains. Drag and drop website builder is included.
Dedicated server Hosting
The dedicated server hosting gives you a dedicated server for your website.
No one shares it. This comes in three types of plans Standard, Enhanced, and Premium.
- Standard-The standard plan comes for 79.99$ for a 36-month term which is usually 119.99$.It offers one free domain. It auto-renews at the regular rate of 119.99$. It comes with a CPU of 2.3GHZ with four cores,3 MB cache, and 4 GB RAM. It gives you 3 dedicated IPs. It has got a RAID level one storage of 2*500GB and network bandwidth of 5TB. Provides access to cPanel and WHM with root.
- Enhanced-The Enhanced plan comes for 99.99$ for a 36-month term which is usually 159.99$. It offers one free domain. It auto-renews at the regular rate of 159.99$.It comes with a CPU of 2.5GHZ with 4 cores,8 MB cache, and 8 GB RAM. It gives you 4 dedicated IPs. It has got a RAID level one storage of 2*1000GB and network bandwidth of 10TB. Provides access to cPanel and WHM with root.
- Premium-The Premium plan comes for 119.99$ for a 36-month term which is usually 209.99$. It offers one free domain. It auto-renews at the regular rate of 209.99$.It comes with a CPU of 3.3GHZ with 4 cores,8 MB cache, and 16 GB RAM. It gives you 5 dedicated IPs. It has got a RAID level one storage of 2*1000GB and network bandwidth of 15TB. Provides access to cPanel and WHM with root.
VPS Hosting
VPS hosting is available in three types Standard,Enhanced and Ultimate.
- Standard-This is priced at 19.99$ per month for a 36 month period.It renews at its regular rate of 29.99$.It comes with 2 cores,30GB SSD storage,2GB RAM,1TB Bandwidth,1 IP address and cPanel/WHM access.
- Enhanced-This is priced at 29.99$ per month for a 36 month period.It renews at its regular rate of 59.99$.It comes with 2 cores,60GB SSD storage,4GB RAM,2TB Bandwidth,2 IP addresses and cPanel/WHM access.
- Ultimate-This is priced at 59.99$ per month for a 36 month period.It renews at its regular rate of 119.99$.It comes with 4 cores,120GB SSD storage,8GB RAM,3TB Bandwidth,2 IP addresses and cPanel/WHM access.
Abhinay Kumar
A software Analyst by Profession.The author and head behind Toolstoblog.My passion is to write and deliver quality information through this Blog.I look forward to delivering information on all aspects of WordPress and Blogging.
