Bluehost: Is It Right For Your Website?

So, it’s time to start a website for you or your business.

You’ve been thinking about it for a while now.

It might even be overdue.

You know it could potentially be a complicated, expensive, confusing, and time-consuming process, but you also know it doesn’t have to be so difficult.

Web Hosting: Where to Start?

Web hosting is the backbone of your web presence.

It’s what keeps your website up and running, delivering web pages to web browsers around the world in milliseconds.

Web hosting (also called webspace, web hosting services, and webspace hosting) is called that because the server host is essentially providing you space or a certain amount of web storage on their servers.

When you’re just starting off, it can be extremely difficult to know what web hosting service is best for you. 

Shared Hosting vs VPS Hosting vs Dedicated Hosting? What does it mean?

Plus, there are so many different types of web hosts and companies out there, varying in prices from $5 per month to $200+ per month. Every one of them with their own specific bundles of bells and whistles.

With all of the options to choose from, how do you ever go about selecting the right one?

Bluehost Web Hosting

Bluehost is one of the most popular web hosts in the world today. It was founded in 2003 with the aim of building a better hosting company.

They offer everything you need to get your website up and running, including webspace, email accounts, domain name registration, and much more.

In my opinion, here’s how I break down the advantages from the disadvantages:

If you’re starting a website and need a hosting company that’s easy to understand, I highly recommend you check out what Bluehost has to offer. You can visit their website by clicking on this URL – https://smugpelicancopy.com/bluehost

Clicking on the Link Above Will Take You to My Bluehost Affiliate Offer.

^{Please keep in mind, I may receive commissions when you click on my links and make purchases. I try my very best to NOT let this impact the opinions and reviews expressed here. My goal is to keep things fair and balanced to help you make the best choice for yourself.}

For those who do purchase through my affiliate link, I’d like to show my gratitude by giving you FREE ACCESS to WordPress Automation Secrets.

I took this same 8-part video course, and it helped me free up time with quick-and-easy automation for my most tedious/boring tasks within WordPress. Hopefully, it can do the same for you too!

I am excited to have the opportunity to share it with all of the individuals who buy Bluehost through my affiliate link. Simply email me (jonathan@smugpelicancopy.com) a copy of your receipt after purchasing, and I’ll give you access to the course through the Smugger Copy Mobile App via Learnistic.

Beginner-friendly web hosting (packed with features) that is easy to use.

About Me

Hi, my name is Jonathan Hartman.

I’m a freelance copywriter, and I’ve been using Bluehost for a couple of websites since 2017.

I entered as a complete novice and beginner into the hosting world.

I did know how to use WordPress for blogging.

Had that going for me.

But the hosting thing was confusing and completely overwhelming. 

I didn’t know in the slightest what to do. 

So, I honestly did what a lot of people do. 

I fell victim to advertising. 

Seems like Bluehost advertises everywhere, and that’s how I first heard of them (if I’m being honest).

More importantly, and before actually purchasing, I searched online looking for reviews — possibly similar to you now.

The feelings I got from those reviews are similar to my opinions now with ONE MORE IMPORTANT THING TO NOTE from my own experiences. 

You’ve likely heard before that Bluehost is affordable and great for beginners. I read that too during my research and personally decided on Bluehost for three key features:

(1) Simple and affordable shared web hosting

Seems like many bloggers, small business owners, and website newbies pick BlueHost for their domain registration because it allows them to manage their web presence and grow as needed without a large upfront cost.

Their easy-to-use web tools simplify the web hosting process from start to finish.

Bluehost now features a FREE Drag-and-Drop Website Builder that allows you to build attention-grabbing WordPress sites quickly and directly from within Bluehost.  

(2) Free SSL certificate to secure your site

Bluehost gives users a free lifetime SSL certificate allowing them to encrypt their website and get that much-desired green padlock next to their domain name. Plus, it includes a Free Domain for the 1st year.

The SSL certificate was really important to me.

If I’m being honest, I didn’t really understand it very well at the time.

I simply knew it was the green lock symbol next to your domain name. 

Green = Go!

And I knew I wanted to make my viewers feel secure. 

I came to learn the icon meant a website is secured with a digital certificate. That means the information sent between browsers and sites is sent securely and can’t be intercepted by a third party during transit. 

This is far from total security, but it’s definitely a level of confidence and comfort.

(3) Free Business Email

Bluehost offers a 1-Click WordPress Installation tool, which is usually the feature everyone mentions (and it was great to use), but I wanted that legitimate business email much more.

I needed my name with the @ my URL on the end. It helped me get clients.

There is a FREE and paid advanced email option offered through Bluehost.

(Admittedly, I’ve only ever used the FREE email version)

TIP: I generally set my website email to forward back to my main email, so I’m not checking a thousand inboxes. I was surprised by how simple it was to set up with Bluehost. 

Downsides to Bluehost

The main complaints I have read about Bluehost involved their lack of monthly billing and high-volume speeds. I don’t necessarily share these feelings from my own experiences.

I personally never had an issue with the lack of a monthly billing option. 

I guess I could understand someone’s disappointment, especially after seeing a monthly price advertised, but I’m used to that sort of marketing. 

I respect if you feel it’s a little shady, but I don’t care much about that type of stuff.

Many companies use promotional pricing or monthly breakdowns. 

The possibilities of speed and upload restrictions are much more serious issues. 

I included this because Bluehost doesn’t rank as the fastest shared web hosting service on the market, but it is very competitive for its price-point and features. 

Similar to before, I’ve never personally had any issues with website speeds. 

Even if I did, between the four different shared Linux-based hosting plans they have available, I believe Bluehost has a potential solution to any and all traffic issues. 

Here is a comparison breakdown of these shared hosting plans from the Bluehost website itself:

Not to mention they have three tiers of Linux-based VPS hosting, ranging from $29.99 to $119.99 per month, depending on what you need. Bluehost can also provide you a dedicated hosting if your site’s traffic requires a full server. The server starts at $119 per month. 

Keep in mind…

Most of you will never need either of those options. 

Shared hosting should be more than enough for the average user. 

Plus, Bluehost will always let you upgrade plans as you go. 

I personally started on the Basic Plan and moved up to Plus. 

It’s only a messenger chat away as you’re about to find out.

Why I Stayed with Bluehost?

Admittedly… Bluehost is the first and only web hosting company I have used so far.

Having said that, there are many competitors in the hosting world. 

Some of these businesses even offer to do the tough part of transferring over your site for FREE (zero hassle to you).

So why have I STILL kept my hosting with Bluehost?

Or better yet…

What was the one important thing to note that I mentioned earlier? 

24/7 customer support. 

It’s great!

Downright amazing!

And they really do mean whenever. See I tested them on that! 

I tend to work at odd hours, and I’ve more than once gotten great assistance from Bluehost customer service as the sun or moon was rising. 

Not to mention my novice nature in hosting got me in trouble. 

Basically, I messed up some things along the way. 

I accidentally took down my site completely — twice. 

The first time I still don’t know what I did, but I messed it up so bad it wouldn’t load. With help from the live chat located at the top of their site, some kind soul at Bluehost got me back online within a handful of minutes.

I took down my WordPress site the other time by adding Thrive Themes. Totally botched the install somehow and messed up the security settings supposedly. Either way, the site was down multiple days. 

I was sure I was in for a headache of a solution.

Messaged for help on the Bluehost chat again, and another wise helper dug me out of my problem again. 

In fact, after chatting with this person for a while on my situation and my other website, they recommended I upgrade to the Shared Hosting Plus Plan that I didn’t even know about at the time. 

The recommendation saved me a little money and gave me more features for FREE. 

And I owe it to the helpful 24/7 support. 

REMEMBER: Bluehost is specifically recommended by WordPress. 

These people who are helping over the Bluehost chat have much more experience with WordPress than myself. I believe that contributed to how helpful they were with my questions. 

It’s like they knew what I needed more than I did.

Do You REALLY Need a Website?

I can’t answer that for you. Depends on your own situation.

When it comes to using Bluehost, here’s the breakdown:

It can be extremely difficult to understand all the nuts and bolts of how web hosting really works, especially in the beginning. There are so many different types of companies, price ranges, specifications, and bundles.

It can get overwhelming quickly.

Bluehost offers web hosting that is designed with beginners in mind, so it’s perfect if you’re just starting out.

And despite the affordable pricing, Bluehost still offers everything you need – including webspace, email accounts, domain name registration, and much more!

From 1-Click WordPress Installation to FREE Google search engine verification and Site Search Features that will help you get indexed and rank higher on Google, if you’re in the market for a solid web hosting company, I recommend you use Bluehost to connect with your audience faster and easier.

For those who do purchase through my affiliate link below, I’d like to show my appreciation by giving you FREE ACCESS to WordPress Automation Secrets.

This same 8-part video course helped me free up time by streamlining my most tedious and boring tasks on WordPress. Hopefully, it can do the same for you too!

I am excited to have the opportunity to share it with anyone who buys Bluehost through my affiliate link.

Simply email me (jonathan@smugpelicancopy.com) a copy of your receipt after purchasing, and I’ll give you access to the course through the Smugger Copy Mobile App via Learnistic.

You Can Purchase Here Through My Affiliate Link – https://smugpelicancopy.com/bluehost

^{Clicking on the link above will take you to my Bluehost Affiliate Offer. Please keep in mind, I may receive commissions when you click on my links and make purchases. I try my very best to NOT let this impact the opinions and reviews expressed here. My goal is to keep things fair and balanced to help you make the best choice for yourself.}