Best WordPress Hosting Company, Beginners

ByClorinda

Whether you are new to the world of website building or this is your second website in the works a good hosting company can be a game changer. So in this post is the rundown of the hosting company I use, trust and all the reasons you should too.

Bluehost is completely compatible with WordPress. They have a first-year free domain name, cheap hosting, free CDN and free SSL. With 24/7 chat and call support, and the monthly rate for hosting is 2.95$. A fully functional website can be set up in under thirty minutes for less than 60$ per year. They have an uptime of 99%.

For all those new to site building here is a list of quick answers to questions you may have:

  • what is a domain name: a domain name is your website address like your P.O. Box number
  • what is hosting: hosting is the amount of storage your website has like Gmail will give you 15 GB space for every email address
  • what is SSL: it is website security against hackers
  • what is CDN: it is the distribution of your website on servers in geographic locations across the globe for a better and faster user experience

This website has affiliate links that I earn a commission from without any extra cost to you. This means that if you click on a link and purchase something, I might make a little money. You will not be charged extra, and some of the affiliate links I use have discounts so stay tuned!

Why is Bluehost great for beginners

Have you heard the term “you get what you pay for”? It is true in most cases but with Bluehost, you can get a great deal and quality service. They take care of all the heavy lifting like keeping a backup of your site and much, much more.

For people new to WordPress, building a website from the ground up is a learning curve. Even though WordPress has come a long way in terms of formating without code, it can be quite a challenge for beginners. With Bluehost, you can just make a call or have a chat with support for all number of issues you will inevitably face while constructing your site. So here are some obstacles you may face with website building and how Bluehost will hold your hand through it all.

  • If your site breaks because you updated your PHP manually you can ask them to correct it, (I know because that is what I did and Bluehost support fixed everything for me).
  • If you have done six months of work on your site and a plugin destroys your website you can ask them to make yesterday happen again, (you should always back-up your site anyway because this can make you cry tears of blood)
  • A theme can also break your website if you meddle with customization or get a weak free theme that needs too much customization (get Astra, Twenty Seventeen or X theme when you are new to WP, they are clean, simple, look good, and the free versions are fantastic)
  • they have a thirty days money back offer for customers not satisfied with their service

Is Bluehost compatible for WordPress

Yes, it is fully compatible with WordPress and they work seamlessly together. You can set-up your entire package and get your site on the web within twenty-four hours. Furthermore, Bluehost is a WordPress partner.

Does Bluehost provide free SSL and CDN

Yes they do, and if you are wondering what SSL and CDN are then just read my post about it at How to get free SSL and CDN.

Why Bluehost is better than most

When I first started my site, I got it without SSL and CDN. At the time, I had no idea what they were and why I needed them, but then I made an account with Cloudflare for free SSL and contacted Bluehost for them to apply my new name servers. They did it for free. I later discovered that they provide the same service for free. So after a single interaction, Bluehost activated SSL and CDN for my site.

Although you can use a website like Cloudflare for free (beware that Cloudflare is great for SSL, not CDN and because it is free the customer service is horrible) CDN and SSL some hosting companies will charge you an extra 60$ for the transition (HostGator will charge the extra 60$). Why not acquire the service for free and the user experience is excellent, and the service is affordable.

Updated Bluehost pricing

Here is my discount link for Bluehost with all the discounts shown above. Please let me know if you do not see a discount.

Overall review of Bluehost

I have read all number of bad reviews for Bluehost, and they are simply not true. The chat support is helpful to a fault, extremely polite and wonderfully knowledgeable. They are available 24/7, and if you cannot correct the problem in your first chat, you can always start a conversation, make a call or talk to them via email.

For beginners, Bluehost is incredible if your website is getting over 15,000 pages views a month then shift to a better hosting company. Until that happens stick with them because they are really great for newbies.

Also, people usually give bad reviews for Bluehost because they have an affiliate link for another hosting company.

Why is the back-up by Bluehost gold

You might not know this, but Bluehost keeps a Back-up of your website irrelevant of the fact that you have paid for it or not. It is a lifesaver because when you are new to site building breaking your site is inevitable my dear reader’s! If you have hosting from a company that cannot make yesterday happen again, then your past month-six months could be lost forever.

Of course you can manually back-up your site for free with Dropbox or get a paid version of Updraft. In case you do not do this correctly Bluehost will save your life.

How you can get unlimited domains free

The cheapest domain name and hosting deal will cost a little over 60$. You can just pay for hosting and get it for less, but I do suggest that you spend a little extra for security and anti-spam. Additionally, if you only buy the hosting with a free domain name, then it will cost you only 47$.

If you are serious about starting online then buying the second plan with unlimited domain names is so much better. The offer is of course about a dollar more per month. What are the downsides of Bluehost

It cannot take too many visitors at one time and after 15,000 page views a month you will know you need to upgrade to another hosting company like WP Engine. They are so much more expensive and their lowest pricing is 300$ per year. Below is their pricing, yikes!

Bluehost is really for new websites but if you have already got a ton of traffic Bluehost should not be your transition.

Final thoughts

Not all hosting companies are fantastic, but the negative reviews about Bluehost are what I do not understand. Always remember happy customers do few reviews, and unhappy customers go all out about something they do not like. So make sure you investigate your hosting company before making a purchase.