Bluehost Honest Review 2023 [ In-Depth Review]

7 min readApr 6, 2022

Bluehost.com is home to almost 2 million websites, in case you didn’t know.

That’s a lot of information.

The fact that they have such a large consumer base is sufficient proof that they are doing something correctly. Their uptime is consistent, server speeds are fast, and all of their hosting plans include features that are beneficial to both beginners and intermediates.

Bluehost also offers live chat and phone assistance 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and a 30-day money-back guarantee.

However, there are certain drawbacks, such as increased renewal costs and limitations on the lowest plan.

All of our assessments are based exclusively on real-world statistics such as uptime, speed, and pricing.

So, without further ado, let’s take a deeper look at Bluehost to see if they can give you with the high-quality website hosting that you require.

Benefits of Bluehost Hosting

Bluehost has been in business since 2003, so they know a thing or two about what makes a good hosting service.

Their beginning costs are reasonable, their customer service is responsive and friendly, and you receive a lot of valuable features with your hosting package. They also give dependable uptime and fast server speeds.

Let’s look at Bluehost’s strong qualities in further depth.

1. Excellent uptime over a 12-month period (99.96 percent )

When it comes to picking a web host, uptime is one of the most important factors to consider. After all, if your site is down, your users won’t be able to access it. When shopping for hosting services, continuous uptime should be one of your top objectives.

Our standard for “good” uptime after assessing over 40 web servers is 99.93 percent. We don’t want to see anything less than that in the perfect world.

The good news is that Bluehost easily exceeds this standard, keeping our test site up and running for 99.96 percent of the time during the previous 12 months (April 2020 to March 2021). For the whole year, the total downtime was little over four hours.

2. Quick page loading time (688 ms)

According to Google’s research, “the probability of bouncing increases 32 percent as page load time increases from 1s to 3s.”

This means that visitors are 32 percent more likely to abandon your site. Longer page load times exacerbate the problem.

In addition, Google is focusing more on mobile-first indexing. This implies that you must also optimize your site for mobile visitors, or you will lose traffic.

In any case, a sluggish website will almost always result in less visitors and, as a result, fewer sales. So, after uptime, the second most essential factor that may make or break your website’s success is page loading time.

Over the last year, our test site using Bluehost has averaged a load time of 688 milliseconds. It isn’t in the running for the top spots, but it isn’t horrible either.

3. Low Initial Pricing ($2.75/month)

Bluehost’s standard pricing starts at $3.95/month, which is a discount off the typical fee of $8.99/month.

The good news is that we were able to work out a bargain with Bluehost for our readers that reduces the beginning price to $2.75/month.

You get almost everything you need for a single website at this price. This includes 50 GB of SSD storage, unlimited bandwidth, and a free SSL certificate, among other things. As a result, you’d be receiving an excellent deal for the money, especially considering their continuous uptime and page loading speeds.

Even so, the lowest plan has a few limitations that we don’t agree with — but we’ll get to that later.

4. Security features and options galore

We are delighted to notice that, while being one of the “cheapest” solutions on the market, Bluehost does not skimp on key security settings and features.

Bluehost already includes a free SSL certificate with their most basic service. You’ll also get a free CDN (Cloudflare), a one-click WordPress installation, several CMS integrations, and other eCommerce plugins.

Spam Experts, domain privacy protection, and server backups are included with higher-tier services. You also get more advanced security features like SiteLock, which helps protect you from malware attacks.

Another type of security is Codeguard, which provides daily backups so you may restore past versions of a site if it is hacked.

The final security tool worth mentioning is Google’s Postini. It protects your email from spam, preventing anything suspect from getting into your inbox.

5. Beginners will find it simple to use.

Only sophisticated users should regard some of the web hosts we’ve seen as the finest. Bluehost, on the other hand, is excellent for novices.

Their customer portal is simple and easy to use (although, we have experienced it is a bit slow at times). Bluehost is considerably easier to use because to the structure of the cPanel control panel. cPanel makes it simple for beginners to install and use WordPress. In most situations, all you have to do is point and click.

You may start building a website with a website builder tool if you don’t want to utilize WordPress (such as Weebly or Drupal). After that, you may personalize a template by simply dragging and dropping pieces onto your page.

6. Money-back guarantee for 30 days

All of Bluehost’s hosting plans come with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

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You may test out the service for yourself and get a refund if you aren’t totally happy. However, there are a few words of warning.

Here’s what does and doesn’t fit within that guarantee, according to Bluehost’s terms:

You can only receive a refund on the cost of web hosting; you cannot get a refund on any other items such as domains or add-ons.
If your package included a free domain name, Bluehost would subtract $15.99.
After 30 days, Bluehost does not refund any requests.

Some hosts have a no-questions-asked policy, but this isn’t one of them. So, before you sign up, make sure you agree with these points.

7. Customer Service Available 24 Hours A Day, 7 Days A Week

Bluehost offers live chat, phone, and email helpdesk assistance 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They also feature a large knowledge library with answers to frequently asked queries and important information.

We tried out their live chat option, and it was a good experience.

We received prompt responses to our queries from a qualified employee. Although some of the responses appeared to be copied and pasted, the follow-up questions elicited improvised and helpful responses.

The Drawbacks of Bluehost Hosting

Bluehost’s hosting service offers several amazing features, but there are a few flaws as well.

Although we appreciate the cheap starting costs, the renewal rates can be rather high.

Let’s take a deeper look at some of the drawbacks.

1. Increased Renewal Rates

Prepaying for one, two, or even three years in advance is the best method to receive the greatest hosting deal. Although the average monthly price drops, you’re still investing hundreds of dollars up front.

If you don’t like their service, you may receive a refund using their 30-day money-back guarantee. However, once the first plan period expires, you should expect a significant increase in charges.

Let’s suppose you sign up for the lowest plan, which costs $2.75 per month, for three years. Next the introductory term, the renewal pricing for the following period begins at $8.99/month with a three-year commitment.

A Few Quick Facts

Money-back guarantee: There is a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Free website migration for one WordPress website. The cost of other migrations is $149.99 for up to five websites and twenty email accounts.
Is there a free domain? For the first year, yes. After that, it renews for $15.99 each year.
Effortlessness Sign-up: Sign-up is simple and guided.
Major credit cards and PayPal are accepted as payment methods.
Fees and clauses that aren’t disclosed: Domain names are not refundable. Both domain and hosting renewal rates are substantially higher than the promotional pricing.
Upsells: There are a few upsells throughout the sign-up process, but nothing too forceful.
Account activation: In most circumstances, your account will be activated immediately. Activation may be delayed if the information is incorrect or there is a suspicion of fraud.
Dashboard and Control Panel cPanel is an easy-to-use control panel.
Apps and CMS (WordPress, Joomla, etc.) installation: Mojo Marketplace

Is Bluehost Recommended By Us?

YES, Bluehost is top notch.

Bluehost has done significantly better in the past, but they continue to deliver a dependable service with reasonable server speeds.

They also provide excellent security features, a fantastic money-back guarantee, a plethora of user-friendly apps, and numerous levels of hosting services to suit different consumers. With our exclusive offer, the monthly price starts at $2.75.

However, Bluehost isn’t without flaws. After the first registration time, the hosting plans’ renewal costs will skyrocket, and the lowest plan has some significant limitations compared to the other tiers.

Bluehost, on the other hand, provides adequate service and fair value for money.We do, in fact.

Bluehost has done significantly better in the past, but they continue to deliver a dependable service with reasonable server speeds.

They also provide excellent security features, a fantastic money-back guarantee, a plethora of user-friendly apps, and numerous levels of hosting services to suit different consumers. With our exclusive offer, the monthly price starts at $2.75.

Bluehost, on the other hand, provides adequate service and fair value for money.

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