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Studies
Our studies cover a range of trending topics and deliver original, reliable data you can't get anywhere else on the web.
By: Ryan Frankel
Editor: Lillian Castro
Reviewer: Cristian Lopez
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★★★★★
Bluehost has long been a favorite of mine in the shared and WordPress hosting spaces. The company adheres to modern standards for hardware, and its customer service resources are now backed by hosting industry titan Newfold Digital. Bluehost’s shared hosting options will accommodate the vast majority of customers' needs. Independent proprietors, small business owners, and non-developers needn't look beyond the host's shared server (read: cheap hosting) plans. Once your website outgrows the traffic allowances of a shared hosting plan, however, Bluehost excels in the VPS hosting and dedicated server niches, too. Bluehost has revamped its user experience — beefing up the user-friendliness factor significantly in recent years. Users will find the web host dashboard and overall customer experience to be welcoming. Easily navigate installing popular apps, such as WordPress, Joomla, or Zen Cart, with the familiar cPanel control panel. The domain management panel makes it easy to add on domain services, should you choose to opt for an upgraded plan, where domain privacy and support for unlimited domain names come standard. If you’re looking for WordPress hosting specifically, whether on a shared, virtual, or dedicated server, you’ve come to the right host. Bluehost is one of the few providers endorsed by the WordPress Core team, ranked among SiteGround and DreamHost. Install the popular blogging platform in a single click via the web hosting control panel, or have the Bluehost pros take care of it for you by leveraging a managed WordPress hosting service. As previously mentioned, Bluehost also tops the charts in VPS and dedicated server hosting — offering fantastic performance at competitive prices. With two to four cores and guaranteed resources, your virtual or dedicated server will be performant, powerful, and online virtually 24/7. The Bluehost team leverages industry-leading open-source technologies, such as KVM and OpenStack, to eke out as much performance as possible, leaving you with the utmost flexibility and reliability. And in case you're not quite yet sold: Both the VPS and dedicated hosting plan options include instant provisioning because waiting for your server is so 2000s. Read on for more Bluehost reviews as we rate the web hosting company for affordability, reliability, ease of use, as well as the features offered in each hosting product category.
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★★★★★
Behind a mission to make life easier for website developers and their customers, Hostinger provides fast, stable, and streamlined services at a price that is very hard to beat. Founded in 2004, the bootstrapped company hit the 10 million websites mark a decade later, achieving ICANN accreditation and localizing services in 39 countries. Now, Hostinger serves more than 2 million customers and sees an average of 20,000 new users sign up each day — roughly a new customer every five seconds. The company's team of roughly 1,000 employees maintains several international offices and a strong force of remote workers to ensure Hostinger services and support are always running and responsive. As such, Hostinger is able to offer around-the-clock live chat support and a 99.9% service uptime guarantee. The company concentrates on resource-rich shared hosting and scalable virtual servers. The former boasts WordPress-friendly optimizations and an intuitive drag-and-drop website builder, along with daily or weekly backups and a free domain name for annual plans. Hostinger clearly aims to strike the perfect balance on price versus performance. Instead of offering subpar services at the lowest price in the industry, the company equips its infrastructure with high-powered solid-state drives and recently even completed a self-imposed challenge to achieve a perfect score on Google PageSpeed Insights. Finding NVMe SSDs and that level of performance at a price lower than most competitors is a striking victory for the company.
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★★★★★
#6 out of 10 in Cheap Hosting reviews Bluehost pricing is about as competitive as the industry offers. Sign up for a shared hosting plan for as little as $1.99 per month, and WordPress hosting packages are consistently priced; a VPS plan starts at around $31.99 per month; and the dedicated hosting rates are as little as $91.98 per month. The only way to feasibly sweeten this deal would be a free trial, which, unfortunately, the hosting company does not offer. However, the 30-day money-back guarantee is marketed heavily. The Bluehost customer support team promises complete service satisfaction or a full refund. Bluehost hosting has a reputation for affordability and usability, which both web novices and veterans can appreciate. Unlimited website hosting — from SSL certificates and email to disk space — is available with almost all plans. Even the most basic Bluehost plan sets users up for success with ample hard disk storage, unmetered bandwidth, and both a free SSL certificate and free domain registration for the first year of hosting service. Optional add-on services, such as automated backups, and complimentary marketing credits for select plan holders sweeten an already attractive hosting bargain. Some common freebies we love seeing include:
Due in part to its affordability but mostly the quality of service, most Bluehost reviews will rank the hosting company atop (or near the top of) lists of the best shared, VPS, and/or WordPress hosting services. You'll see similar results from our Bluehost review. We regularly recommend Bluehost hosting products that are geared toward beginners, including shared, WordPress, and WooCommerce hosting customers, where cost and ease of use are top priorities. Bluehost is a solid, reputable choice of hosting provider with competitive pricing, industry-standard hardware performance, and all the premium add-ons imaginable. The web host's low costs, coupled with its supremacy in the shared hosting arena, make this web host a bang-for-the-buck favorite throughout the hosting community.
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★★★★★
#1 out of 10 in Cheap Hosting reviews As the shared hosting market becomes increasingly saturated, unlimited storage, bandwidth, and email accounts have become surprisingly average. Hostinger, however, extends the routine, expected metrics to greater lengths — the number of websites, databases, FTP users, subdomains, and parked domains are all unrestricted for most customers. Hostinger clients who opt for the slightly more expensive (but still quite reasonable and remarkably affordable) Premium and Business hosting packages enjoy unlimited computing power and a free domain name registration, along with free backups. Premium customers will see performance that measures up to two times faster than the company's cheapest shared hosting plan, while Business users benefit from speeds up to four times faster. Those consumers will also receive daily backups (instead of weekly), deluxe support, a free SSL certificate, and twice the processing power and memory. The company's lowest tier of shared hosting services, geared for small, single sites, gets below the $3-per-month benchmark. While perfectly adequate for new projects, professional résumés, and new blogs, we recommend users sign up for one of the more upscale plans; room to grow is important, and the forward-thinking decision eliminates any potential hassles with upgrading services or migrating files. Overall, we appreciate how Hostinger doesn't sacrifice performance and functionality when trying to appeal to budget-minded site owners. The company's all-SSD infrastructure, combined with the inclusion of an easy-to-use site builder, maxed-out speed boosts, and options for a free SSL certificate and domain name, are sure to facilitate lasting and long-term hosting relationships.
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★★★★★
#6 out of 8 in Dedicated Hosting reviews Built on modern technology, with a minimum of four CPU cores per dedicated server, Bluehost offers reliable and flexible dedicated hosting options at an extremely reasonable price. We continually praise the company's shared hosting options for having fantastic hardware and a great management console, and the brand's dedicated server offerings are no different. Designed and maintained in house, Bluehost servers rely on only the latest technologies. The hosting company leverages open-source platforms, such as OpenStack and KVM, to boost flexibility and performance. All dedicated machines boast at least four CPU cores, 1TB of RAID-1 storage, and at least 4GB of available RAM. Each dedicated server is provisioned instantly and can be upgraded at any time with essentially just a few clicks. Bluehost prides itself on the always-available customer support staff. The experienced support agents work directly with engineers who have their hands on your machine, so to speak. As a former Bluehost customer, I've always found the support technicians to be incredibly responsive and helpful.
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★★★★★
#8 out of 9 in VPS Hosting reviews We love recommending Bluehost for its lifetime customer growth potential, meaning you can start with shared hosting and seamlessly scale to VPS hosting plans and beyond. The price versus performance is pretty unbeatable in the virtual hosting space, and Bluehost's engineering team will kick off the customer relationship by instantly provisioning your server. Bluehost’s VPS offerings boast several benefits compared to standard shared hosting and other VPS providers. The first is speed; Bluehost offers your choice of two or four cores and 4GB to 16GB of RAM with guaranteed resources, so you have the power you need when you need it. The second perk is security; Bluehost offers redundant storage and optional SiteLock protection to secure your data. For those new to VPS hosting who may not know exactly what is needed, Bluehost makes it incredibly easy and seamless to switch between plans to find the perfect package for you. The company's enhanced cPanel interface enables users to instantly adjust computing resources. If you have questions or need some advice, Bluehost's wonderful support staff is standing by to assist 24/7.
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★★★★★
#4 out of 9 in VPS Hosting reviews Hostinger's laser focus on providing affordable hosting solutions shines brightest with the company's VPS packages. The company provides six different virtual server plans, including one that costs less than $5. Regardless of which plan customers choose, both site owners and visitors will enjoy the all-NVMe SSD infrastructure that loads pages up to 30 times faster than many shared hosting services. Although disk space, RAM, and bandwidth capacities are all a slight touch lower than those of many mainstream competitors, Hostinger's prices reflect the limitations. Site administrators likely won't miss an extra 10GB of storage, but they're more likely to notice and appreciate the $5 or so per month they save on high-powered hosting. A key distinction to be aware of, though, is the lack of managed services. Experienced developers should have no problems using the company's powerful control panel, however, and we have faith that the Hostinger support team is prepared to handle any task or challenge thrown its way. Customers can manage computing resources through the admin portal, which enables admins to reboot servers or turn them on or off. Users can quickly install or update operating systems or applications with just a few clicks, or view performance statistics or manage root access passwords. Those who prefer cPanel can opt to manage backups and restores, among other components, in the familiar interface. Unlike Hostinger's shared hosting services, virtual server plans do not include a free domain registration. However, the ICANN-accredited registrar offers incredibly cheap domain registrations. Addresses ending in .com and .net cost less than $10 per year, while .biz and .org domains are still a few dollars more affordable when registered through Hostinger, compared with most competitors. Domains with those extensions cost about $12 per year.
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★★★★★
#2 out of 9 in WordPress Hosting reviews Bluehost's WordPress hosting packages are aimed at first-time site owners and personal bloggers. These services come at a premium compared to the standard Bluehost web hosting (basic shared hosting) plans, but the WordPress optimization and platform-specific resources are arguably worth the cost. The shared WordPress hosting plans are arguably the most popular. Equipped with the web's famous MOJO Marketplace, enjoy single-click installations of popular apps and tools, including WordPress. Bluehost is on a short list of providers officially endorsed by the experts at WordPress.org, so, when faced with WordPress-specific issues, you can reach out to the customer support team with confidence. Bluehost's managed WordPress hosting service is based on the hosting company's VPS offering. Though not as customizable as others, this managed hosting service focuses on simplicity and speed. The account management interface is easy to navigate, and the instant provisioning allows for speedy setup. Integrated features, such as the MOJO Marketplace and ManageWP, are nice touches as well. Though simple by design, Bluehost doesn't skimp on WordPress fan favorites:
Formed in 2003, Bluehost has long been one of the foremost shared hosts on the planet, and the hosting company now powers more than 2 million websites. With an experienced team, competitive pricing, and always-there support, Bluehost is an industry veteran when it comes WordPress hosting.
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★★★★★
#4 out of 9 in WordPress Hosting reviews As much as we love WordPress, one of our biggest pet peeves is when hosting providers exploit the popularity of the world's most-used content management system by offering so-called WordPress hosting that, in reality, is exactly the same as the host's shared server plans. Fortunately, Hostinger's ultra-fast infrastructure and easy access to SSL certificates and backups sets up the company to outperform the vast majority of the violators of our admittedly made-up rule. One prime benefit to WordPress hosting with Hostinger is that customers can enjoy the same affordable rates for which the company offers shared hosting. For less than $3 per month, users will benefit from optimal hardware, unlimited features, and better-than-average security programs. When setting up a new hosting account, users are asked if they want to install WordPress as soon as they log into the account management portal. Hostinger does an exceptional job at streamlining the installation and setup process for even the least-experienced site owners. In addition to the more performant storage on solid-state drives, Hostinger's top two shared plans come optimized for WordPress by increasing page load performance between three and five times more than the base package. Also, the top-tier Business plan comes with twice the processing power and memory. Otherwise, site administrators can enjoy unlimited MySQL databases, phpMyAdmin, and the ideal InnoDB storage engine. Although we'd like to see more features specific for WordPress, such as caching tools and automatic updates, Hostinger includes server security from BitNinja and SpamAssassin protection for email. Most WordPress users will be very well served by choosing Hostinger to house their website.
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★★★★★
#5 out of 9 in Website Builder Hosting reviews With Bluehost, new site owners have the drag-and-drop simplicity of the WordPress website builder at their fingertips. This makes launching a new online brand, store, or personal site from scratch relatively painless. Sure, site building has its headaches for newbies, but the Bluehost team is ready and willing to assist you every step of the way. To help prime your site launch for success, Bluehost offers a plethora of unlimited freebies:
These freebies, coupled with several options for site-building services, is everything a new website owner needs to get started, and the cost is hard to beat. If WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) isn’t for you, perhaps a CMS (content management system) option sounds appealing. Choose from the most popular content management and blogging software, including Joomla, Drupal, and WordPress, and download and install the application(s) with a single click. Most Bluehost hosting plan options have even been customized to cater to WordPress — and Bluehost is one of three hosts officially endorsed by the WordPress Core developers. For quick, cheap, and easy website building — backed by one of the web’s most reliable web hosts — you can’t go wrong in choosing Bluehost.
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★★★★★
#3 out of 9 in Website Builder Hosting reviews Whether you're taking your first foray into website hosting or are a developer looking to save some time, a strong website builder can dramatically streamline the creation process and enable users to launch a website in five minutes or less. Fortunately for customers, Hostinger has invested heavily in crafting an impressive visual editor sure to appeal to users of all levels of experience. More than 2 million websites have been created through Hostinger's free tool. The drag-and-drop interface can be launched in a single click from customers' hosting account management panel. Site owners can choose from hundreds of templates, which are organized into dozens of categories. The overall designs might not be as flashy as the templates found on well-known site builders, including Wix, Weebly, and Squarespace, but users will have plenty of modern options from which to choose. From there, the WYSIWYG platform intuitively guides users through various steps of adding and editing text, organizing navigational menus, and managing SEO settings. While some drag-and-drop editors actually make adding and aligning elements surprisingly difficult, Hostinger assists users by having images, text boxes, and the like snap to a grid — ensuring your design has the greatest impact. All in all, we have a soft spot for hosts that deploy in-house solutions for website builders, as opposed to those companies that white-label third-party products. As with other Hostinger services, the company shows a refreshing dedication to providing top-notch services and experiences for their customers.
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