Top Hosting Review: BlueHost

Visit BlueHost for Reliability

2,500 E-mail Accounts	Add all the users that you need
cPanel	Manage your website more easily
Fantastico	Quickly increase your website functionality
Front Page Extensions	Design your own website
IDN Support	Reach International Customers
MySQL Databases	Store customer information
Perl, PHP, Python & Ruby on Rails	Build your site using a variety of languages
Search Engine Keyword & Position Report	Learn how to increase your site's visiblity
Secure Shell (SSH)	Develop your site in a secure environment
Shopping Carts	Open an online store
Spam Assassin	Protect against SPAM
Streaming Audio/Video	Host your own videos
TikiWiki	Manage website content more easily
Unlimited Domains per Acct	Point unlimited domains to your website
Web Blog Software	Start your own blog
Webmail	Check e-mail from any browser
Website Stats	Measure your site's performance

Reliable & Affordable

Location: Orem, Utah
Year in Business: 11

 

BlueHost is one of the oldest companies in the web hosting business. Over the course of more than 10 years, it has built a reputation for delivering robust web hosting plans that are reliable and affordable.

 

Responsive customer service is at the core of BlueHost’s reliability, with 24/7 availability by phone, live chat and a quick online ticket system. There is also a self-help knowledge center that contains close to 300 articles on various web hosting topics. This means you can get help anytime using a variety of methods.

 

But good customer service is not enough to make a top web hosting company. So what about the product? BlueHost provides some of the highest disk space and bandwidth levels in the industry – more than enough to support the typical website and give it room to grow. In addition, all the tools are included to quickly design and launch your website, like a free website builder and FrontPage extensions. It’s also quick and easy to add additional functionality like a blog or forum using Fantastico. This makes your website more useful and engaging to its visitors.

 

All of these features are easily managed through cPanel, one of the top web hosting control panel programs, which comes with every BlueHost account. Its icon-driven interface offers access to a variety of management tools organized according to account, e-mail, promotion, database management, web protection/security and statistics. The statistics software provides in-depth details on visitor information, pages with errors or missing images and bandwidth usage data. Everything is here for you to measure, maintain and improve your website’s performance, all for just $4.95/month. For a full list of features plus a live control panel demo, visit BlueHost.

 

Price & Plans
BlueHost offers one comprehensive plan with multiple payment options:

3 Months - $9.95/month
6 Months - $9.95/month
12 Months - $5.95/month
24 Months - $4.95/month - special
36 Months - $4.95/month

 

There is a $30.00 set-up fee and $10.00 domain registration cost which are both waived if you choose a 12, 24 or 36 month package.

 

For comparison sake, if you re-purchase the 3 month contract each time it ends over the next two years, you will pay roughly $270, including set-up fees. Meanwhile, purchasing the 24 month contract one time only costs $119, saving more than 50% – a much better deal.

 

Features

See table (left) for a list of key features and benefits. For a complete list of features, visit BlueHost.

 

Service
Phone support and live chat are available 24/7. There is also a responsive ticket system and a self-help knowledge center that contains over 200 articles on various web hosting topics. Spend some time reading these articles and you will become more effective at managing your website.

 

Space
Many web hosts are now offering unlimited disk space. While no host can truly provide unlimited resources, BlueHost easily supports the average website that uses 20 megabytes or less (1 gigabyte = 1,024 megabytes).

 

Bandwidth
In addition to disk space, many web hosting companies are also offering unlimited bandwidth. Again, no web host can provide infinite bandwidth each month, but BlueHost easily supports the typical website that uses 10 gigabytes or less. If your site has very high traffic (several million page views per month) or is very image intensive, consider a dedicated or VPS hosting plan.

 

 

Security
BlueHost employs SSH or Secure Shell Access; this allows you to make changes to your site and development environment within a secure channel. BlueHost also provides SSL servers (Secure Socket Layer) to make sure that any information exchanged between your visitors and the website is encrypted and safe.

 

Reliability
BlueHost uses the latest servers to make sure your website loads quickly for visitors. There are also a variety of features in its data center to keep your website performing at its best; this includes multiple power supplies and a 24/7 technical staff that monitors the network to keep it running smoothly.

 

Ease of Use
cPanel, one of the most well known hosting control panels, is included with every BlueHost account. This makes it very easy to manage your website – from checking stats, to adding e-mail accounts and website functionality. Even better, the control panel layout can be customized to suit your preferences. Try the demo at BlueHost.com.

 

Freebies
Every new web hosting account receives a free domain, free domain privacy service and free set-up when you purchase a one or two year plan. The total value of these items is about $50, but you get them free. BlueHost also provides $100 in search marketing credits for free so that you can increase traffic to your website.

 

Guarantees
Complete your purchase with confidence knowing that all new customers receive a 30 day money-back guarantee. If you’re not satisfied with the service for any reason, just ask for a full refund.

 

Discounts
BlueHost normally charges $6.95/month for its two year hosting plan but is offering this package for only $4.95/month at BigHosts.com (limited time only).

 

Visit BlueHost for more info »