Bluehost Review (2024): Features, Pros & Cons, Support

There are thousands of Bluehost reviews out there.

All of them have mostly one mission - to get you to buy Bluehost hosting.

Unsurprisingly, most Bluehost reviews you will read are overwhelmingly positive.

Because Bluehost pays some of the most generous affiliate commissions in the hosting world, affiliates more often than not, will write positive Bluehost reviews, to encourage you to purchase their hosting.

If you read the few negative Bluehost reviews that exist, the aim is to dissuade you from buying Bluehost hosting.

Instead of Bluehost, the writer will point you to another web hosting service that also pays him a commission.

All that to say - it is virtually impossible to find a hosting review that is not driven by the writer's desire to earn affiliate commission off your purchase.

This is even more so in the hosting industry.

But I will try my best to make my review of Bluehost unbiased.

Let me state upfront, if you make a purchase from Bluehost using my link, after reading this Bluehost review, Bluehost will compensate me (...I bet you knew that already).

But I've been designing websites for the best part of the last 8 years, and I've worked with many web hosting companies. 

I have recommended my fair share of the best web hosting services to clients and acquaintances alike. 

I feel I'm in a good position to give you a fair reflection of what to expect while hosting with Bluehost.

So, believe me when I tell you that notwithstanding whatever commission I hope to get for referring you, I know what I'm talking about - even though I can't claim to be completely unbiased.

In the sections that follow, I'll try my best to tell you what you need to keep in mind about Bluehost, including the pros and cons of hosting with them.

But if you have read another Bluehost review before this one, and you seem a little convinced about them...

I highly recommend you try Bluehost.

Use my link to get a generous discount ($1.99/month instead of $2.95/month).

BLUEHOST REVIEW - A Brief Overview

Bluehost was founded in 2003.

Back then, every web hosting company offered pretty much the same thing - basic web hosting out-of-the-box.

And their offers were poor.

The founders, Matt Heaton and Danny Ashworth saw an opportunity and decided to build a better web hosting company.

...And Bluehost was born

Bluehost earned its 2 millionth customer in 2010.

In 2012, Bluehost was acquired by Endurance International Group (now Newfold Digital Group), which also owns HostGator.

Bluehost has been committed to the WordPress ecosystem since its inception and has earned the enviable badge of "recommended WordPress partner" since 2005.

Today, Bluehost has over 2 million live websites under management.

But...

Is Bluehost the Best Web Host for You?

Before we get to talking about Bluehost features to help you decide, let's talk about your web project and if Bluehost is the right fit.

This Bluehost review was written with beginners, tech-novices, small business owners, newbie bloggers and affiliate marketers in mind.

If you identify as any of the groups I mentioned above, then Bluehost hosting is a good fit for you.

Especially Bluehost shared hosting plan.

Follow me, let me show you why Bluehost is the best hosting service for you if you're just starting your online business...

BLUEHOST REVIEW - FEATURES

2. Bluehost Support:

Yes, you're just getting started, but I guarantee you will surely need help with your hosting someday.

When that day comes, Bluehost will be ready.

They offer live chat and phone support via a 24/7 support desk manned by very friendly staff.

If your issue is WordPress-related, they have in-house WordPress experts that will work with you to resolve it.

Aside that, Bluehost has a knowledge base, containing articles, guides, and how-to's answering almost every question related to your hosting.

For a beginner, I think Bluehost provides as much support as you'll be needing.

3. 1-Click WordPress Install:

With Bluehost, installing WordPress is a breeze.

One click and voila! A shiny new WordPress installation in less than one minute.

All you're left to worry about is which WordPress theme to use.

4. 10+ Websites with One Hosting:

Bluehost's cheapest plan - Basic Shared Hosting ($2.95/month) allows up to 10 websites.

As you go up to the higher plans, the number of websites increases to 50 and even 100.

For instance, if you want to start a blog and a forum website at the same time, all you need is to purchase the domain names for that purpose. 

Bluehost will allow you to host both of them on one shared hosting plan.

Again, this is a great deal for beginners, especially those starting out on a budget.

5. Free CDN:

Bluehost, through their partnership with Cloudflare, offers free Content Delivery Network (CDN) capabilities.

A CDN is a network of servers all over the world that stores your website content in a cache.

When a user tries to access your website, the server closest to him delivers your website files.

This leads to improved website speed.

6. Free WordPress Migration:

If your website is built on WordPress, and you just purchased hosting from Bluehost, then you can request free website migration within your first 30 days of signing up.

The offer includes the transfer of one WordPress website and the ability to review the site before it goes live.

Visit this page to learn more about Bluehost WordPress Website migration.

7. 30-day Money Back Guarantee:

Bluehost offers 30-day money-back guarantee.

Should their hosting not meet your expectation, you can cancel within your first 30 days and get a full refund.

But if you got a free domain during signup, Bluehost will deduct the cost of the domain ($15.99) from your total refund amount.

You will retain ownership of the domain of course.

You can transfer your domain to another registrar after a 60-day wait from the date of registration.

BLUEHOST USER EXPERIENCE

For a beginner, Bluehost user portal is very user-friendly, and you can easily manage your website and server.

Built on cPanel, you will find options for Softaculous app installer, to install various apps and tools on your site.

You can also manage your email and more.

BLUEHOST REAL USER REVIEW – What Other Users Are Saying

• “You could be cranky, or short, or distracted... They hold their end up, and deliver a prompt, professional and friendly service. My issues were solved quickly. Even when it was my lack of knowledge, I was never dismissed but walked through to help me better understand. Thanks Tech support!” – RadixPRO (Trustpilot)

• “Customer service team are always very helpful, but I moved (at great cost) from a poor hosting platform to Bluehost because I had received exception support in the past. This time the delivery was poor. Waited two weeks for a task to be completed that was confirmed to be one day. Then chased, now waiting again .. regret transferring. This said, I again confirm that the customer support team are excellent - just no action behind the scenes” – RB., (Trustpilot)

• “It is very easy to install WordPress and get it up and running very quickly. Backups and email could be better. You would have to use some custom plugins in WordPress to get better backups and email features. Shared hosting does not give you full control over the hosting. If you are only doing WordPress, then it gets the job done. It is still more expensive than Digital Ocean.” – Osama Khan (Trustradius)

BLUEHOST PRICING

Bluehost offers 4 pricing options for their shared hosting solutions;

• Basic

• Plus

• Choice Plus

• Pro

Since I'm writing this Bluehost hosting review with beginners in mind, I'll assume you're on a budget, so I'll talk about Bluehost cheapest hosting plan.

Bluehost Basic Shared Hosting 

Bluehost Basic plan is priced at $2.95/month.

Here's a highlight of some features you get with this plan;

• Free domain and SSL (1st Year only)

• Free CDN enabled

• 10 websites

• Approximately 15,000 visitors/month

• 10GB SSD storage

• 24/7 chat support

BLUEHOST PROS & CONS

Pros

• • WordPress setup is a breeze for beginners

  • Affordable prices

  • Great performance for lower-traffic sites

  • User-friendly custom dashboard (plus cPanel access)

  • Support is great and available 24/7

Cons

• The biggest let-down with this Bluehost Basic plan is that it is a shared hosting plan. 

And shared hosting has its unique disadvantages.

For one, your website is sharing resources with other websites on the same server. 

A spike in traffic from one of other websites sharing your server resources, can cause performance issues for your website.

Again, being on the same server and sharing the same IP address with other websites could mean that if any of them gets blacklisted for spam and malicious activities, your website will be affected too.

So, you're essentially at the mercy of other websites 'sharing' your server.

BLUEHOST FAQs

1. Which Bluehost plan is best?

Bluehost has different hosting plans designed for different use cases. The plan that is best for you is the plan that caters to your particular use case.

For beginner website owners, Bluehost basic shared hosting plan is perfect to get you started.

2. Why Should I Use Bluehost?

One good reason you should consider using Bluehost is if your website is built on WordPress. 

Bluehost has been a recommended WordPress partner for almost 20 years and their hosting, and servers are built with WordPress in mind.

You get automatic WordPress updates; technical tasks are handled for you - which is great for tech-novices.

3. Can I Use Bluehost to Host a Non-WordPress Site?

Yes, you can. 

Bluehost's WordPress hosting plans was built with WordPress CMS in mind. But if you'd prefer to use another content management system, Bluehost allows that.

4. What security features does Bluehost have?

Bluehost offers SSL certificates (free for beginners) to protect your website and visitors.

Beyond that, their CodeGuard backup delivers automated, daily backups and monitoring for your site, plus one-click restore with CodeGuard. 

SiteLock also protects your website from malicious attacks, spammers, and hackers.

5. What happens if my website starts getting higher traffic?

When you start receiving higher traffic numbers, Bluehost is most definitely able to handle it. But depending on your plan, if your site starts consuming too many server resources, then Bluehost will ask you to upgrade to a higher plan.

6. Does Bluehost have phone support?

Yes. Bluehost has 24/7 phone support. Unfortunately, Bluehost phone support is only for customers on their higher tier plans. Customers on our recommended basic shared hosting plan receive only live chat support.

7. Can I Use more than one domain on one hosting account?

Yes. Bluehost basic shared hosting allows up to 10 websites. The higher priced plans allow between 50 to 100 websites.

CONCLUDING THIS BLUEHOST REVIEW

As I stated earlier, this Bluehost review, was written with small business owners, newbie bloggers, tech-novices, etc. in mind.

So, my recommendation - Bluehost basic shared hosting, and the features it offer may fall way below your needs if you're a more advanced user.

If you're looking for more performance, please consider WP Engine (Read WP Engine review) or Pressable.

All said, Bluehost basic shared hosting plan takes care of everything you need to quickly get online.

• Read real user reviews of Bluehost web hosting