During your research to find the web hosting that will suit your needs, you may have come across Bluehost. The latter was founded in 2003 in the United States and has since provided hosting services, but also domain names and professional email accounts.
So what is the worth of its services, particularly in the field of web hosting? This is the question we will try to answer in this review specially dedicated to this host. We'll take a look at each of Bluehost's features so you know all about it.
Bluehost Performance: Uptime and Loading Time
To begin our review dedicated to Bluehost, we will focus on an important parameter of any web host: the performance offered. You may know this, but this performance depends on two elements: uptime and loading time.
The uptime (or availability rate) reflects the duration during which the servers of your host and therefore, your site, will be available. This rate is expressed as a percentage and the best web hosts on the market display scores exceeding 99.99%. This corresponds to type III or even IV data centers.
Unfortunately, no information about the uptime or even the type of data centers used by Bluehost is given on the official page of the host. This disappoints us because if Bluehost had this kind of infrastructure and could offer quality uptime, it would seem logical for the host to display it proudly.
As for the loading time, it corresponds to the time required for the pages of your website to be displayed. At this level, we have information to give you which is not excellent either. Indeed, Bluehost does not have any data center in France, or even in Europe. All of the host's data centers are located in the United States, specifically in Utah.
This geographical distance will therefore lead to a longer loading time, which is clearly disappointing. As you will have understood, the performance offered by Bluehost is far from optimal. Our opinion on this subject is therefore rather bad because these parameters are the key to quality hosting.
Bluehost: Features
In order to continue our opinion on Bluehost as it should, we will now take a look at the features that this host has. Indeed, this can give you an idea of what you can do – or not – with its hosting offers.
As for the features dedicated to your hosting, Bluehost allows you to benefit from unlimited bandwidth, which is a good point. Additionally, this web host offers multi-site management on some of its hosting plans.
You will be able to host several websites via the same subscription, which is quite advantageous and which also has a practical aspect. Bluehost also provides you with automatic backups of your websites so that you can restore an earlier version if a technical problem occurs.
Only, this option is only available in the most expensive hosting plans, which is quite a shame. In addition, this host offers you a domain name with your hosting, which is nice. Bluehost also allows you to add options, plugins, or other services to your hosting and your website.
However, beware: many of the services offered are chargeable, which can reserve you some unpleasant surprises at the time of invoicing. In terms of security, Bluehost also shows some effort. Indeed, the host gives you an SSL certificate with each hosting plan, to ensure the security of your visitors.
To go further, Bluehost implements anti-DDoS protection, but also a firewall to protect its servers. These options are present with the vast majority of web hosts but they are nonetheless useful and valuable.
However, Bluehost does not seem to offer double authentication to access your administrator space, which is quite a shame. Your security would be significantly enhanced with this process, so we are disappointed that this is not possible. Clearly, our opinion on the features of Bluehost is to be qualified.
Getting started with the Bluehost interface
In the rest of our review of Bluehost, we will look at the administration interface of this host as well as its ease of use. So how is it when you start with Bluehost? Quite simply, after choosing your offer, you must complete a registration form.
Once your subscription has been validated, Bluehost asks you a series of questions concerning the purpose of your website(s) or your field of activity, in order to offer you suitable solutions. As soon as you have come to the end of these few questions, you can immediately access your administration panel.
This one comes in Bluehost colors, and we were pleasantly surprised by how clean and simple it looks. Effectively, your Bluehost dashboard is uncluttered, summarizing all your data on a single screen. You can easily access your accommodations, your websites, your invoices, and all your settings.
When it comes to administering your options and managing your websites, know that Bluehost is based on cPanel, which is a very popular and good-quality administration tool. This was a pleasant surprise during our test.
Therefore, even beginners will be able to find their accounts. However, more expert people will not be frustrated, because all the important parameters are accessible, so as not to reduce your possibilities.
Clearly, the interface of Bluehost is really complete and quick to learn, which therefore earned it a positive opinion from us.
Bluehost and Customer Support
To continue our review dedicated to the Bluehost host, we would like to address another essential point to judge its quality: its customer service. If this parameter is often overlooked, you must not lose sight of the fact that this service will be your only recourse in the event of a problem, so you must take care to choose an optimal host at this level.
So what about Bluehost? Unfortunately, it does not seem that this service is really satisfactory. First, be aware that Bluehost customer support can be accessed through a variety of means:
- A resource center
- A chat system
- A telephone line
It seems quite complete however, we have a very big regret: all these elements only exist in English. Indeed, discussions via live chat are only possible in English and no technician will be able to speak to you on the phone in French.
On top of that, the live chat service takes quite a long time to respond which can be quite frustrating if you get stuck or have a real problem. As you will have understood, even if Bluehost has a customer service that is intended to be complete, its use, in particular by French users who may find themselves lost in this technical vocabulary, is not really satisfactory.
We, therefore, issue a mixed opinion about it. If you want to choose a host that is optimal in terms of its customer service, opt for PlanetHoster instead.
Plans and prices at Bluehost
If despite everything we've said so far, you want to try one of Bluehost's web hosting services, you should know how much it's going to cost you. For this purpose, the rest of our opinion on this host will be dedicated to its offer and prices so that you know the types of accommodation offered as well as the prices charged by Bluehost.
However, first of all, know that Bluehost does not offer any free trial but makes up for it by providing you with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Shared Hosting
The first hosting offer we are going to talk about in this review is dedicated to Bluehost concerns shared (or shared) hosting. This type of accommodation is very widespread, in particular, because of its generally attractive prices. So what about Bluehost? Quite simply, the host offers four different subscriptions.
- Basic: at the price of €2.52 per month.
- Choice: for €4.65 per month.
- Choice Plus: also €4.65.
- Pro: for the sum of €11.90 per month.
All these solutions allow you to benefit from a domain name and a free SSL certificate, which is quite satisfactory. For the rest, these subscriptions have more and more capacities depending on the price you pay.
For example, the Basic offer will give you 50 GB of SSD storage. On the other hand, you can host only one website.
To go further, the Choice solution increases your SSD storage to make it unlimited. With this subscription, you can also host an unlimited number of websites. The Choice Plus and Pro plans will give you other more advanced options, such as automated backups or a dedicated IP offered.
However, if the advertised prices are for sellers, beware: they are only valid for your first subscription. When your hosting renews, regular prices will take over, significantly increasing the cost of your subscription.
Thus, the Basic offer goes to €7.67/month and Choice to €10.23/month. Similarly, Choice Plus is priced at €14.49/month and Pro at €23.02/month.
Our opinion on this subject is therefore rather average, as you can easily understand. The prices offered then become really too high for the service offered, which is not exceptional.
If you are looking for really advantageous hosting at more affordable rates, check Hostinger instead.
VPS Hosting
If you have substantial hosting needs, or if these are likely to increase over time, you may be interested in obtaining a VPS. At Bluehost, there are three such plans.
- Standard displayed at €16.19 per month.
- Enhanced offered at €25.58 per month.
- Ultimate at the price of €51.16 per month.
But be careful, here too, the prices displayed soar when you renew your subscription. The Standard offer goes to €25.58, Enhanced at a price of €51.16, and Ultimate at €102.33. But for such high prices, what will be the capacity of your accommodation?
As for the Standard plan, it will give you a 2-core processor, 30 GB of SSD storage, and 2 GB of RAM. You will also have 1 TB of bandwidth and a single IP. If you have larger needs, the Enhanced offer gives you 60 GB of SSD storage and 4 GB of RAM.
In the same way, you will benefit from this subscription with 2 TB of bandwidth and two IPs. Finally, the Ultimate formula contains a 4-core processor and 120 GB of SSD. You will also have 8 GB of RAM and limited bandwidth of 3 TB.
If you want our opinion on Bluehost's VPS hosting plans, we find them to be a bit light on capabilities. People opting for VPS hosting often have significant needs and what these subscriptions offer seems quite limited. It is therefore a mixed opinion that we deliver on this subject, especially given the prices charged by Bluehost in this area.
Do you want to install and manage your site via Magento? In this case, we advise you to consult our comparison of the best Magento-compatible hosting.
WordPress Hosting
In Bluehost's offer, we find a very widespread type of hosting: optimized hosting for WordPress. If you want to create a website with the famous CMS, you can choose one of the following three offers offered by Bluehost.
Like the accommodations presented so far in this review, the prices of these offers increase after renewal.
- Basic: offered at €2.52/month, this offer then increases to €7.67.
- Plus: this plan is displayed at €4.65/month, before climbing to €10.23.
- Choice Plus: this subscription also costs €4.65/month initially, then €14.49 thereafter.
The first of these solutions will allow you to host a single website under WordPress. It will also offer you 50 GB of SSD storage. The second increases the capacities of your hosting so that your hosted websites and your storage space are unlimited.
Finally, the third package allows you to benefit from automatic backups of your website. Also note that all offers dedicated to WordPress from Bluehost include a free domain name, as well as a free SSL certificate.
As you have surely noticed, these solutions are very similar (not say identical) to those offered by Bluehost in its shared hosting. Apart from the simplified WordPress installation, nothing looks different.
Therefore, we make the same criticisms here. Namely: these offers are too expensive after renewal and they are quite basic. Our opinion on them is therefore generally mixed.
Managed WordPress Hosting
To continue our opinion on Bluehost, we will quickly look at the second offer offered by this host for the use of WordPress. Indeed, Bluehost provides you with solutions adapted to WordPress that manage the technical aspects of your hosting for you.
There are three of these, and here too the price changes drastically after you renew your hosting. See instead:
- Build at €8.49/month then at €17.01.
- Grow displayed at €12.75/month then at €21.28 after renewal.
- Scale for €23.84/month before going to €32.36.
In the same way, you will be able to host up to 150,000 visitors per month and you will enjoy a premium JetPack as well as advanced SEO tools. Finally, the Scale plan offers you up to 80 GB of storage but also unlimited backups and restores.
Also note that in this offer, as in all the others, a domain name and an SSL certificate will be offered to you, which is a good point. However, in all these subscriptions, you will unfortunately only be able to manage one website, which is clearly disappointing, especially when you take note of the prices charged by Bluehost.
Our opinion on these solutions is therefore rather average. Indeed, we are not convinced that the sums requested are justified.
WooCommerce Hosting
To go further, Bluehost also offers dedicated hosting for the use of WooCommerce, the famous e-commerce plugin specific to WordPress. These subscriptions consist not only of your hosting but also of the simplified installation of WooCommerce and specialized e-commerce features and plugins.
The range is available in two possibilities.
- Standard at €11.04.
- Premium at €21.28.
The first of these plans let you take advantage of the basic functions of WooCommerce, such as an unlimited number of articles or analysis tools for your website. The second offer goes a little further, by adding appointment scheduling modules or even assisted accounting management.
If it may seem interesting, also know that the prices displayed increase after your first subscription period. The Standard package goes to €21.28 and the Premium offer goes to a price of €34.07.
Also, these hosting plans don't offer any free domain names, which is unfortunate. Therefore, although these offers are a good initiative on the part of Bluehost, our opinion on them is to be nuanced.
Dedicated servers
There is one last type of offer at Bluehost that we want to present to you in this review, and that is dedicated server solutions. These subscriptions are most often aimed at professionals, because of the substantial capacities they present, but also the prices charged. Here, Bluehost offers you three plans.
- Standard: at the price of €68.22/month before renewal then at €102.33 after.
- Enhanced: offered at €85.27/month then €136.44.
- Premium: displayed at a price of €102.33 per month then at €179.08.
As you will see, these offers are quite interesting. The Standard solution gives you, for example, access to a 4-core processor, 500 GB of storage, but also 4 GB of RAM. Moreover, this plan offers you 5 TB of bandwidth and 3 IP addresses.
If you want to go further, the Enhanced plan offers you 1 TB of storage and 8 GB of RAM. Here, you will also be able to access 10 TB of bandwidth, but also 4 IP addresses. Finally, the Premium solution further increases your possibilities, with for example 16 GB of RAM, 15 TB of bandwidth, or even 5 IP addresses.
If you want our opinion, these offers are quite interesting. The capacities have been satisfactory, and the prices displayed do not seem exorbitant.
Bluehost and domain names
Before we get to the end of our Bluehost review, we're going to review one last important feature of this host: its domain name sales business. If Bluehost offers you a domain name with the majority of these hosting plans, be aware that this is only valid for the first year of subscription. Beyond that, you will have to pay.
In addition, you may wish to acquire others. So, what will it be possible to do at Bluehost? Quite simply, this host offers you to check the availability of the domain names requested and allows you to buy them with the extension of your choice in a simple and fast way.
For example, you can choose the following extensions.
- “.com” for €11.08 per year.
- “.net” at the price of €12.78 per year.
- “.org” at €8.52 per year.
- “.website” for €1.70 per year.
Apart from this small lapse, our opinion about buying domain names from Bluehost is quite positive.
Summary of important information about Bluehost
- Free domain name: Yes, only the first year.
- SSL certificate offered: Yes.
- Pre-installed CMS: WordPress (WooCommerce option).
- Hosting activation: Immediate.
- Admin panel: cPanel.
- Means of payment: Credit cards, PayPal, Check, Money order.
- Money Back Guarantee: 30 days.
Our overall opinion on the Bluehost web host
This Bluehost review and test are now complete. We have tried to include all the important information you may be looking for, and hope that we have been able to answer all your questions. To sum up our opinion, we were not convinced by the service offered by the host.
Indeed, we found that the advertised prices were only valid at the start of your subscription. The latter increase enormously with its renewal, which makes them much less attractive. In the same way, a certain number of the options proposed are paying, which can reserve you some inconvenience.
Also, technical support and the official page of Bluehost are only available in English, which can be a problem for a large number of French users. Finally, the data centers of this host are only in the United States, which leads to a drop in performance on French territory.
However, it should not be concluded that there is nothing good about Bluehost. This host has shown an easy-to-use interface and offers its customers a domain name and an SSL certificate with many of its hosting plans.
Also, it offers a 30-day money-back guarantee and its sale of domain names is satisfactory. However, this is not enough for us. Our general opinion on the Bluehost host remains quite mixed. If you want a web host that won't disappoint, go with Hostinger instead.
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