Is Bluehost Really the Best Hosting Provider? A Closer Look
When searching for a reliable hosting provider, BlueHost review results often highlight its affordability and beginner-friendly interface, making it a popular choice for new bloggers and small businesses.
While BlueHost offers competitive first-term discounts and easy setup, its performance and reliability deserve a closer look. Our in-depth testing examined uptime rates, speed, and overall value for WordPress users. One key consideration is the renewal pricing, which significantly increases after the initial term. Additionally, some competitors offer better features and performance at similar price points.
Overall, BlueHost provides a solid hosting experience, but it’s worth comparing alternatives before making a final decision.
Pros:
- Budget-Friendly
- Free Domain
- Free CDN + SSL
- Reliable Support
- WordPress Endorsed
- 1-click WordPress install
Cons:
- Higher Domain Renewal Fees
- No monthly shared hosting plans
4.3
Ranked 1303 from 3860 Web Hosting
Pricing
Bluehost is one of the largest web hosting providers globally and an officially recommended host by WordPress. With a range of hosting plans suited for beginners to large businesses and 24/7 customer support, Bluehost aims to be a reliable choice for website owners. But is it the right host for you?
- Speed: How fast does a website load on Bluehost? We’ll assess speed and server response times.
- Performance: Can Bluehost handle traffic spikes efficiently? We’ll conduct a stress test to find out.
- Reliability: Is your website guaranteed 24/7 uptime without unexpected downtime?
- Customer Support: Can Bluehost’s support team provide timely and effective assistance?
- Features: Does Bluehost offer all the essential tools to build and manage your website?
- Pricing: Are Bluehost’s plans competitively priced? Are there special deals to help you save?
This in-depth Bluehost review will break down the pros and cons, helping you decide if it’s the best hosting solution for your needs. If you’re short on time, check out our quick Bluehost scorecard and verdict below.
Bluehost Review Summary
| Performance grade: | A+ |
| Average load time: | 1.1 s |
| Average response time: | 140 ms |
| Free domain: | Yes |
| Free SSL: | Yes |
| 1-click WordPress: | Yes |
| Support Options: | Phone / Live Chat / Knowledge base |
After thoroughly reviewing Bluehost, we found it to be a reliable, fast, and budget-friendly hosting provider with excellent 24/7 customer support.
That’s why we confidently recommend Bluehost as one of the top WordPress hosting options available.
Now, let’s take a deeper look at our detailed review so you can decide if it’s the right fit for you.
About Bluehost
Let’s start by taking a closer look at Bluehost itself.
Founded in 1996, Bluehost has grown into one of the largest web hosting providers globally, powering over 2 million websites worldwide.
With a strong and lasting relationship with the WordPress community, Bluehost has been an official WordPress.org recommended host since 2006.
They are known for their reliable 24/7 customer support, robust hosting infrastructure, and commitment to supporting free and open-source software like WordPress.
Bluehost Performance Tests
Website speed is a crucial factor in both user experience and WordPress SEO rankings. Research indicates that a 1-second delay can lower conversion rates by 7%, while a 3-second delay may result in losing up to 50% of visitors.
To evaluate Bluehost’s speed and performance, we conducted a series of tests to see how well it handles real-world website traffic.
Bluehost Speed Test Results
Choosing a fast and reliable hosting provider is essential for maintaining a high-performing website. To assess Bluehost’s speed, we set up a test site using WordPress with the default Twenty Twenty-Three theme.
We imported dummy content, including images, to simulate a real-world website environment. Finally, we ran a speed test using Pingdom to measure Bluehost’s loading times.
Our test site loaded in under two seconds, which is impressive considering we didn’t use any caching plugins or speed optimization techniques.
However, a simple speed test isn’t enough to evaluate real-world performance, as it doesn’t account for high traffic loads.
To see how Bluehost handles increased traffic, we conducted a load test using K6 by Grafana Labs.
We gradually increased the number of virtual users (VU) to 50, simulating multiple simultaneous connections to measure how well the server responds under stress.
The gray line represents the number of active virtual users on the site, while the green line shows the server response time.
As you can see, the server maintained consistent performance throughout the test, even during peak traffic.
This test suggests that Bluehost is a great option if you’re aiming for a fast website.
Additionally, we didn’t experience any failures or downtime during our testing.
Although many hosting companies promise a 99.99% uptime guarantee, we set up an uptime monitoring alert for our test account. Check out the screenshot below for a detailed view of Bluehost’s server uptime.
Bluehost Server Response Time
When testing a live website with tools like Pingdom, you see how everything on the site loads, including images, which can slow things down compared to plain text.
For a more precise server response time, we used a tool called Bitcatcha. It measures the server’s response time without loading any extra data, providing a clearer picture of performance.
As shown, the Bluehost server in the US responded in less than a second. While response times were slightly higher in other locations, they still remained under one second.
If your target audience is primarily based in the United States, this will work to your advantage. However, if your users are spread globally, you have the option to change your server location for improved performance.
Bluehost Hosting Plans and Features
Bluehost offers a range of hosting plans to suit various needs and budgets, including shared hosting, VPS, dedicated servers, cloud hosting, WooCommerce hosting, and managed WordPress hosting. Let’s take a closer look at these options:
- WordPress / Shared Web Hosting: Ideal for newcomers with websites that have low traffic, shared hosting means your site shares server resources with other websites.
- WooCommerce Hosting: Designed for eCommerce websites, WooCommerce hosting provides everything you need to launch and run an online store using WordPress.
- VPS (Virtual Private Server) Hosting: An upgrade from shared hosting, VPS hosting offers virtual dedicated resources within a shared environment for better performance.
- Cloud Hosting: A premium managed WordPress hosting option with features like CDN for faster loading speeds, advanced security with WAF, automatic updates, and real-time uptime monitoring.
- Dedicated Hosting: With a dedicated server, you get all server resources exclusively for your site, though you’ll be responsible for managing the server.
All plans come with 1-click WordPress installation and an easy-to-use control panel. Beginners will find Bluehost’s custom panel straightforward, while more advanced users can access the classic cPanel version for additional features.
Breakdown of Bluehost’s Shared WordPress Hosting Plans
Bluehost offers a shared WordPress hosting package designed for beginners. Their shared hosting plans come in four different tiers, each with its own introductory pricing.
Here’s a breakdown of Bluehost’s pricing and what’s included in each plan:
- Basic: Ideal for a single website, the Basic plan offers 1 domain, 10GB SSD storage, and 5 email accounts with 100MB storage per account. The introductory price is $1.99 per month, renewing at $7.99 per month.
- Choice Plus: The Choice Plus plan supports 3 websites, offers 50GB of storage, and includes unlimited cPanel email accounts. The first-term price starts at $3.99 per month and renews at $13.99 per month.
- Online Store: Tailored for eCommerce, this plan includes premium WooCommerce add-ons that would normally cost hundreds. It starts at $7.45 per month and renews at $18.99 per month.
- Pro: Starting at $9.99 per month, the Pro plan offers 100GB of storage, support for up to 100 websites, and is optimized for high-traffic sites. After the introductory period, it renews at $20.99 per month.
All plans come with a free domain for the first year, free SSL, and 24/7 live chat support. You’ll also get malware scanning, 1-click staging, free Cloudflare CDN (with Argo routing), and DDoS protection.
Plans beyond the Basic tier also include free domain privacy for the first year.
If you’re just starting, any of these plans can work for you. As your website grows, upgrading is simple, so you can start small and scale up as needed.
Bluehost Customer Support and Service
Sometimes, everyone needs a little assistance, and it’s essential to choose a hosting provider that offers reliable support when you need it most.
Bluehost offers an extensive knowledge base, which includes articles, step-by-step guides, and video tutorials. This is incredibly useful for beginners, allowing you to quickly find solutions to common issues with a simple search.
However, if you require more personalized assistance, Bluehost has you covered with 24/7 support. You can easily reach their support team through live chat or phone support. Whether you need urgent help or more in-depth technical support, their team is always just a click away.
One feature that’s no longer available is the ticket-based support system. Bluehost recently made the decision to phase it out in favor of a more personalized approach through live chat and phone support.
While this shift enhances direct communication, some users might still prefer the ticket-based system, especially for issues that require more time and follow-up beyond a single live chat or phone session.
Bluehost: Pros and Cons
Like any web hosting provider, Bluehost has its strengths and weaknesses. Some factors may be deal-breakers, while others are simply considerations. After thorough testing, here’s what we found:
Pros of Bluehost
Here are the key advantages that make Bluehost a popular choice:
- Affordable Pricing – Their hosting plans are budget-friendly, especially for beginners.
- Reliable Performance – Bluehost hosts millions of websites with minimal downtime.
- No Hidden Fees – Transparent pricing with no unexpected charges.
- Free Domain – Enjoy a free domain for the first year when you sign up.
- Free CDN & SSL – Each site gets a free SSL certificate and Cloudflare CDN to boost security and performance.
- 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee – Risk-free hosting with a full refund if you cancel within 30 days.
Cons of Bluehost
While Bluehost offers many benefits, here are a few drawbacks to keep in mind:
- Higher Domain Renewal Fees – The renewal cost for domains is above the industry average.
- Upselling Add-ons – The checkout process includes several optional add-ons, but you can manually uncheck them if not needed.
Conclusion: Is Bluehost the Right Choice for You?
After reading this BlueHost review, you might be wondering if it’s the best choice for your website.
BlueHost is consistently ranked among the top web hosting providers, offering feature-packed plans that simplify website building. Their 24/7 expert support ensures you get help whenever needed, and their budget-friendly starter plans make them an excellent choice for beginners.
If you’re starting a new website, BlueHost’s shared hosting plan provides essential tools at an affordable price. Plus, upgrading is easy as your site grows.
Ready to launch your site with BlueHost? Click here to explore their hosting plans.
Bluehost Coupon
WP steer users can enjoy up to 83% off Bluehost WordPress hosting with our exclusive coupon code. This offer also includes a free domain and a free SSL certificate.
Simply click on our discounted Bluehost link, and the coupon code will be automatically applied to ensure you get the best deal.
Our users can save on all Bluehost plans, starting at just $1.99/month.
Pro Tip: Use our special Bluehost discount link to get 83% off WordPress hosting, plus a free domain, free SSL certificate, free CDN, and a 30-day money-back guarantee!
For more details, check out our Bluehost discount deal.
Frequently Asked Questions About Bluehost
In this comprehensive Bluehost review, we’ve covered all key aspects of their hosting services. Below are some of the most frequently asked questions we hear from users.
Can I create an online store using WooCommerce on Bluehost?
Yes, you can. Bluehost is an excellent hosting provider for WooCommerce, making it ideal for building an online store. Their starter plan is great for beginners, but as your store grows and traffic increases, you’ll likely need to upgrade to a higher plan.
Is Bluehost suitable for beginners?
Yes, Bluehost is great for beginners, bloggers, and small businesses. It is often praised for being beginner-friendly. When you sign up, WordPress is automatically installed, and the control panel is easy to navigate. They also provide a wealth of resources like guides, tutorials, and 24/7 support via live chat and phone.
Can Bluehost handle high traffic?
Bluehost’s shared hosting plans work well for small websites and businesses. During our stress test, they managed 50 virtual users without slowing down. However, for websites expecting high traffic or sudden spikes, you’ll need to upgrade to a more powerful plan.
Why should I use Bluehost for WordPress?
Bluehost is one of the largest hosting providers and is officially recommended by WordPress. They’ve been supporting the WordPress community for years and offer an optimized platform that ensures excellent performance for WordPress websites. Plus, their team includes WordPress experts, so your site is in good hands.
Do I need a credit card to sign up with Bluehost?
Bluehost accepts credit cards, but you can choose other payment options, including PayPal, during checkout.
Is Bluehost better than GoDaddy?
In our opinion, Bluehost outshines GoDaddy, especially in terms of customer support. Their onboarding process is more beginner-friendly, and their pricing is more competitive for small businesses.
How does Bluehost compare to SiteGround and HostGator?
When compared to SiteGround and HostGator, Bluehost provides more value for money. Bluehost’s plans start at $1.99/month and include a free domain, while SiteGround’s plans start at $4.99 and don’t include a free domain. However, SiteGround offers better speed and security features. Bluehost and HostGator are quite similar, but we find Bluehost’s user experience to be slightly superior, especially for WordPress users.
Where are Bluehost servers located?
Bluehost operates its own in-house data center in Utah, USA. The 50,000-square-foot facility serves as the company’s primary data center.
Which Bluehost plan should I choose?
For a brand-new website, blog, or online store, we recommend starting with the basic plan. It’s perfect for beginners, and you can easily upgrade as your site grows.
Ready to start your website with Bluehost? Click here to select your Bluehost plan.
