Intro: Bluehost Review | Details on Pricing, Refund, & Customer Reviews
You have probably heard of Bluehost, whether you found it while researching web hosting options or simply stumbled upon it while surfing the web.
Bluehost is one of the most popular web hosting companies in the world. But do you want to use Bluehost to host your website? Read on, and we’ll cover the important aspects like Bluehost pricing, problems, refunds, and customer opinions.
Image Source: Bluehost Review
What Is Bluehost? (Reviews)
Bluehost is a web hosting service with low rates, an easy-to-use platform, appealing built-in features, and opportunities to expand.
Bluehost pricing is the biggest selling point, and with those prices you get:
- A one-of-a-kind control panel to help you create and manage your website.
- A free domain.
- Free emails using the domain name.
- 24/7 support including people ready to give out website advice.
- Easy migration (moving your site from one host to another).
- Easy upgrading policies.
- Many additional (paid) services to expand your site’s functionality.
- Built-in anti-spam functionality.
- Daily backups of your account.
- A wealth of hosting types.
- Basic LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) capabilities, if you know about such things.
Convenience is synonymous with their name as it is the driving force behind Bluehost pricing and services. Bluehost lets customers jump right into their first website and even provides personalized assistance with creating the site for a $79.99 fee.
If you want to create your first personal or small business website, Bluehost provides more than enough features and functionality to easily start and grow a web presence.
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Bluehost’s History (Bluehost Review)
Bluehost has been around for decades. In 1996, Matt Heaton was working with a website statistics program he created when he discovered that the world greatly needed better web hosting. He started two web hosting services, 50megs.com and 0catch.com, in a process to perfect his vision.
The names show that he was trying even from the get-go to find the perfect service to offer more bang for your buck.
In 2003, he officially launched Bluehost and it promised a delightful package of affordability, exciting features, and convenience. Though Bluehost was purchased by Endurance International Group (EIG) in 2010 and Heaton resigned his CEO position in 2011, Bluehost remains known for its core goals. Bluehost pricing and ease-of-use continue to make the company a star.
Bluehost Pricing & Reviews
Pricing is one of Bluehost’s main claims to fame. Their rates compete with all the web hosting heavy-hitters, and Bluehost provides exciting and quality services for those rates. In fact, you can start a website today for as little as $3.95.
Bluehost pricing covers three main plans — Basic, Plus, and Pro:
- Basic is a great way for anyone to get started with their own website or blog.
- Plus offers the best overall value, so if you need the services and want a good price on them, Plus may be your best bet.
- Pro is built to offer many of the powerful services that more demanding sites need, but you may want to compare their Pro service to competitors to determine if you can get a better package somewhere else.
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Bluehost Review: Downsides to Bluehost Pricing
Bluehost expects you to pay the total amount for whatever package length you choose all at once (the rate varies with each package). The most exciting Bluehost pricing deals apply to longer packages. You can get shorter packages so you feel less invested, but you pay extra for that non-commitment.
Bluehost offers you the choice to cancel at any time with a prorated refund, so it may be best to get the longer package, pay less per month, and cancel if you decide you don’t want the service anymore. If paying all at one time scares you, compare the cost of the monthly plans at HostGator.
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Also be aware that Bluehost pricing deals are introductory rates; after the initial package runs out, the price will go up. Right now, they state that the $3.95 deal will become a $7.99 rate. Web Hosting Secrets Revealed confirms that this is a common practice in the web hosting industry, so don’t let it scare you off; compare rates to see which price and services combo will best suit you in the short- and long-term.
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Bluehost Review: Bluehost Refund Policy
The Bluehost refund policy looks pretty solid.
If you cancel within the first 3 days, you can get a full refund on your hosting service, including your domain name. According to Web Hosting Plan Guide, Bluehost will offer you a deal to purchase your domain name (to use elsewhere) for $14.99.
After 3 days but fewer than 30, Bluehost’s refund policy refunds you everything but your domain name. You will still owe them $15.99 for the domain (but at least it can still be used anywhere).
After 30 days, you can cancel any time to receive a prorated refund. This means they’ll give you your money back minus what you have already paid them for services used. The domain fee is non-refundable at this point, as are any additional services you may have purchased.
Bluehost Review: How Easy Is It To Get A Refund?
The Bluehost refund policy lets you cancel your account and request a refund via phone or live chat. Both methods of communication are reported to be available 24/7.
They will send you an email with a cancellation link, where you will fill out a form that gets you to verify:
- That you have backed up your site.
- That you understand your website will be deleted.
- What you would like done with your domain name and add-on services.
- Why you are leaving Bluehost.
Each Bluehost refund is processed within one business day. PayPal refunds show up in PayPal within 24 hours, while credit card refunds will be dependent on the credit card company’s processing policies.
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Potential Bluehost Problems (Cons & Negative Bluehost Reviews)
Common Bluehost problems include:
- Website downtime?
- Slow customer support.
- Page speed.
Bluehost problems make for a short list, huh? You may also notice the question mark beside the item about website downtime. Some people complain about too much downtime on their Bluehost websites, but many others have no complaints at all.
You can answer the question about Bluehost downtime problems for yourself with Down Detector. Before choosing a web hosting company, visit this page for a period of time and compare the real statistics of Bluehost and many of its competitors. With this site, you can see how often the servers for every company listed go down in real time.
Page speed is also an important consideration and may rank as one of Bluehost’s problems. In their Bluehost review, Hosting Facts states that their personal experience presented with “slightly below” average page speed compared to other web hosts they have reviewed.
Techtage ranks Bluehost’s servers as “fairly fast” and explains that Bluehost cannot compete with services like SiteGround and InMotion, but that it isn’t bad, either. It sounds like the other advantages of Bluehost may outweigh the page speed issue for the common customer.
Customers’ Bluehost Reviews
Bluehost reviews on the internet are very mixed. Some people say they have awful downtimes, while others have no complaints. Some say they noticed a marked difference in the quality of their past experiences versus bad service and downtimes more recently.
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Bluehost Review: Is Bluehost Good?
There is no easy answer to that question. Let’s go over the main problems. Potential Bluehost problems mainly consist of downtime and unreliable customer support.
They offer 24/7 customer service, and they do have a lot of customers to cater to. Many businesses make you wait on hold for long periods of time and can’t be reached right away. Bluehost offers many phone lines dedicated simply to advice and questions (though with a sales bent). You could call one and discover firsthand whether you think you can trust them or not.
The best advice we have about downtime is to not take someone else’s word for it. Use the Down Detector or a similar service to determine with your own eyes how often Bluehost is having problems and how Bluehost’s problems compare to their competitors.
You will also want to compare Bluehost pricing and services to its competitors. What do you need in a website? Which site is offering you the best short-term and long-term deals? What do you see with your own eyes?
Conclusion: Review Reviews
Most people are using Bluehost to run a starter website, and the company should be well-suited to meeting these customers’ needs.
The original intent behind Bluehost was to provide a simple and reasonably priced web hosting service, and they seem to be maintaining that goal. I do recommend that you thoroughly research Bluehost pricing plans, its downtime statistics, and its competitors’ pricing and services to make sure it is the right web hosting service for you.
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