For years, Bluehost has appeared in the top 10 UK web hosting reviews, often being hailed as the best hosting provider, described as a cheap, fast, and reliable host.
On their website, Bluehost state that “No one powers WordPress better or understands it more than we do,” a sentiment that points to the central ethos of Bluehost as a company.
It appears that it is the combination of technological “power” and the “understand[ing]” of their customer’s needs that have provided Bluehost with their strong reputation. This is evident in their faultless success rate and years of experience within the field.
In this Bluehost review, we will take a closer look at the intricacies behind Bluehost’s excellent reputation.
Quick Facts & Checklist
Updated January 2022
| Speed | 502 ms (June 2021 to January 2022) |
| Uptime | 99.94% (June 2021 to January 2022) |
| Features | Unmetered bandwidth, Free Domain 1st Year, Free SSL Certificate, Free CDN, Custom Themes, 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee |
| Hosting Plans | Shared, WordPress, VPS, Reseller, and Dedicated Servers |
| Support | 24/7 Live Chat, Phone, Email, Knowledge Base |
| Pricing | Plans start from £2.96 per month renews at £6.99 per month |
Bluehost Overview
What Is Bluehost?
Bluehost is an American-owned web hosting company founded by Matt Heaton and Danny Ashworth, responsible for powering over two million websites worldwide. Founded in 2003, Bluehost has been on the up ever since.
Within the first four years of business, it had over 500,000 domains registered to its site, a number which doubled in the space of another year; pretty impressive stuff.
Corporate History
With a team of over 750 members, the company aims, in their own words, “to empower people to harness the web fully.” Offering 24/7 support and troubleshooting assistance, Bluehost simplifies the complex web hosting process through the format of bespoke packages designed to support every level of web hosting needs.
However, Bluehost is not a lone wolf in the field of web hosting. It has been connected to its parent company, The Endurance International Group, for a decade, doubling its credibility and increasing the quality of work.
Teamwork appears to be central to Bluehost’s principles, exemplified in their relationship with The Endurance International Group.
In an increasingly individualistic world, Bluehost recognises the need for collaboration to be the best in the market.
Bluehost is recommended by WordPress
This is further illustrated in the company’s partnership with WordPress. This free software source powers 35% of websites on the internet, a partnership spanning over ten years.
The company’s relationship with WordPress runs so deep that WordPress has officially recommended Bluehost as a reliable host.
Are you looking to create your website with WordPress?
Speed & Reliability
How Fast is Bluehost?
With shorter attention spans and an increased desire for immediate consumption, we have become an impatient species.
If a website takes an age to load, people will click it and find a faster site. This means that your webpage host needs to be fast and reliably so; [even a handful of back-clicks could be damaging for your site’s reputation].
Bluehost Speed Test
We created a test site on Bluehost’s basic shared plan. We monitored its performance using Uptime Robot to offer an accurate review of Bluehost’s loading speed.
From our research, the host’s server response time averages 0.85 seconds over the last six months, coming up in the middle range compared to its competitors.
As our test site doesn’t receive many visitors, the above loading time results don’t give the complete picture regarding the performance levels a live website might experience when hosted by Bluehost.
Load Impact & Stress Test Results
So, to provide more performance-related information, we also used the K6 service to simulate multiple visitors accessing our test site. K6 (formerly known as Load Impact) measures the response time of our site to see how well their server can handle an increasing number of virtual users.
We carried out a five-minute ‘stress’ test. The number of virtual users accessing the test site gradually increased from one to 50 to see how the server would handle increased requests from multiple connections at once.
Bluehost K6 Stress Test Results
As you can see from our screenshot above, even when 50 virtual users (the grey line) were accessing the site simultaneously, the response time (the blue line) remained stable.
This means that when multiple users are using your website, there is no drop in performance.
Admittedly, from our research, there are faster web host providers. However, the speed difference is very slight.
If you were to ask the average Joe if they could detect a fundamental difference between 0.4 and 0.8 seconds, you would probably find that while seconds count, milliseconds don’t.
So, Bluehost is fast, not necessarily the fastest in the market, but undoubtedly up there.
Bluehost Shared Hosting Uptime
Arguably, the next most important feature of a top 10 web host is its uptime.
Bluehost has a strong and practically faultless uptime. From our research over the last six months, Bluehost’s Uptime stands at 99.94%. This means that Bluehost can ensure that your site is almost always live, optimising its engagement.
In comparison to other host sites, Bluehost ranks one of the highest for uptime. So, where it slightly falls behind its competitors in speed, it outshines them in uptime. Sometimes, you can’t rush a good thing.
Is Speed & Performance important to you?
Pricing & Plans
How Much Does Bluehost Cost?
So, we’ve discussed the importance of speed and uptime when deciding on the best website host, but what’s the next most important thing when choosing the right hosting platform? You guessed it – cost.
As previously mentioned, Bluehost offers priced packages that integrate every hosting need into groups, reflecting the size and requirements of your site.
Suppose you’re starting with a smaller budget. In that case, you might want a more economically friendly, basic package to get you on your feet.
Bluehost’s Shared Hosting Plans
However, you might be looking for a web host for a more large-scale site, for example, an online shop. Therefore things like maximum security and peak performance would be necessary to you.
Bluehost’s Alternative Hosting Packages
BlueHost offers up a whole range of hosting options alongside their popular shared plans that include: WordPress, VPS and Dedicated hosting.
In this case, you could skip the basic package and head straight to the ‘dedicated’ package. This range in price makes Bluehost affordable for everyone. However, how does it rank in comparison to its competitors?
Bluehost vs. Competitors Prices
Bluehost’s prices are undoubtedly low, starting at £2.96 a month. However, it is the features offered which indeed reinforce the bang-for-your-buck. Bluehost provides:
- A free domain name.
- Unmetered bandwidth.
- An SSL certificate.
- A 30-day money-back guarantee no matter which plan you choose.
Affordable Feature Rich Plans
These features are a given, even on the most basic plans, are exemplary of Bluehost’s devotion to customer satisfaction.
It’s rare to find a company that offers so much as a minimum, so you can only imagine the range of features on the more intermediate plans!
Despite this, we take issue with the discount schemes Bluehost offers, mainly because you have to sign up for 36 months to receive a worthwhile discount.
No one likes getting stuck in a long-lasting plan, however with the numerous positive reviews supporting the company, hedging a bet on Bluehost is a risk worth taking.
Help & Support
How Good is Bluehost’s Customer Service?
With the previously mentioned 24/7 customer support, Bluehost ranks highly in its approach to hands-on service. Their 30-day money-back guarantee is another indication of their interest in the customer.
Bluehost offers great support with plenty of resources to help you with your site
It appears that put if the customer isn’t satisfied, then the job is not done. They have a vast team of staff to help troubleshoot and fix their customer’s issues. With so many employees specialising in different aspects of tech, Bluehost has one of the most extensive knowledge banks in the field.
Furthermore, they have a simple interface that breaks down the jargon for those who are less well-versed in the field of web hosting.
This easy to navigate interface is accessible to all, and with 24/7 support available, any issues can be solved quickly.
Does expert help matter to you?
Features & Products
What Features & Services Do Bluehost Offer?
Now that we’ve touched on the basics of any top 10 web host provider, it boils down to the added features which set Bluehost aside from other providers.
Bluehost Shared Hosting Features & Comparison
| Main Features | Basic | Plus | Choice Plus | Pro |
| Websites | 1 | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Storage | 50 GB | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Bandwidth | Unmetered | Unmetered | Unmetered | Unmetered |
| Free Domain Name | ✔︎ | ✔︎ | ✔︎ | ✔︎ |
| Free SSL Certificate | ✔︎ | ✔︎ | ✔︎ | ✔︎ |
| Daily Backups | ✖︎ | ✖︎ | ✔︎ | ✔︎ |
| 24/7 customer service | ✔︎ | ✔︎ | ✔︎ | ✔︎ |
| Money back guarantee | ✔︎ | ✔︎ | ✔︎ | ✔︎ |
One of Bluehost’s most impressive additional features is their unmetered bandwidth, meaning site traffic is rarely an issue.
East To Mange Control Panel
As previously mentioned, the interface has been hailed as super easy to use, a feature that propels it ahead of its competitors.
This is achieved by using cPanel, simplifying the often-complex process of setting up, running and maintaining a website.
Bluehost’s user interface is beginner friendly and easy to use
Moreover, besides providing users with a free domain name, it also offers a free website builder working alongside WordPress. This means that if you are starting, you can still build a successful website.
Free SSL Certificates
As previously mentioned, it also offers a free SSL certificate, ensuring strong internet security and protecting your data without you having to lift a finger.
Sign me up!
Are you looking for a feature-packed hosting plan?
Security & Protection
Is My Website Secure With Bluehost?
In a world where every move we make is tracked, recorded and stored online, it’s hard to keep track of our security.
In finding a new web host provider, you are entrusting the privacy of your site to them. Therefore their security protocol is an important thing to consider.
Bluehost offers great security on all their packages
In looking at Bluehost’s website, it is clear that the security of their servers is something which a lot of thought has gone into.
They offer a ‘Basic Site Security Checklist,’ aiming to inform users how to spot and sort any security issues with their own websites.
The list features preventative measures, such as updating plug-ins regularly, investing in anti-virus applications and using a secure network.
Bluehost Protects Your Data
Aside from the advice they give to their customers, they also offer anti-spam protection, password-protection throughout and the option to block web addresses.
So, in answer to my initial skeptical security question – I think it’s clear to see that Bluehost has got security down to a fine art!
Is Security an important factor for you?
Pros & Cons
What We Like & Dislike About Bluehost
Bluehost Pros
Extremely affordable – Bluehost plans offer great value for money. Their basic shared plan comes at just £2.96 per month, including a free domain name for a year and a free SSL certificate.
Excellent Uptime – Bluehost offers an impressive uptime guarantee of 99.98%, which is why many consider this host one of the best web hosting services for UK users.
Recommended by WordPress – WordPress.org officially recommends Bluehost as one of their preferred web hosts.
Beginner-friendly – Learning to use Bluehost is a breeze thanks to their comprehensive self-help documents and video tutorials.
What Are The Alternatives To Bluehost?
Hostinger Best for cheap pricing
SiteGround Best Customer Support
A2 Hosting Fastest Shared Hosting
Cloudways Best Cloud Hosting
HostGator Great value option
GreenGeeks Best “Green” Hosting
InMotion Hosting Best Featured hosting
Final Thoughts
Do We Recommend Bluehost?
There are tons of web hosting services nowadays, so it can often be hard to see the wood from the trees. Still, by breaking down the various elements which go into making a great web host, it becomes clear that Bluehost ranks pretty highly against its competitors.
In terms of customer support, Bluehost is faultless and arguably one of the best in the world. Their massive team of staff are available day and night and ensure that the job is done right the first time.
Likewise, they have their security features sorted so that you know that your data is safe.
In terms of uptime, Bluehost excel, meaning the sites they manage, are almost always live – an essential feature of any good hosting provider.
Where things become a bit ropey is in the approach to speed and cost. To put it simply, they aren’t the quickest or cheapest provider out there. However, regarding speed and price, we are talking about minute differences between Bluehost and their competitors.
We certainly recommend Bluehost, so now it’s time to figure out if you would too!
Ready to give Bluehost a try?
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