Hello friend, welcome back. Blogging shouldn’t be difficult. Bluehost has hosted my WordPress website since 2018. Today I am going to tell you about my experience with BlueHost.
Disclosure: Please note that some of the links below are affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, I’ll earn a commission. When you purchase hosting using my Bluehost affiliate link, they compensate me, which helps make this guide free of charge to you. Know that I only recommend products and services I’ve personally used and stand behind.
Why did I pick Bluehost
I had no idea what I was doing when I started to blog in 2017. I used the WordPress platform. Hostgator was the hosting service.
I didn’t know what the hosting service meant or why I needed it.
“Just Have a website name and a web address, and that’s it.” – So I thought
It was challenging for me trying to learn. After a few months, I gave up and switched to Shopify and Wix. After a few failed adventures with online entrepreneurs, I decided to give blogging another try. Learning from my past experience, I told myself I would still use WordPress since it has been around for years. I need to pick another hosting service this time, and Bluehost appeared on top for many reviews. It was promised to be super user-friendly and very easy to integrate with WordPress with just one click. I gave in.
1. It’s so easy to connect with WordPress.
I keep the domain name I originally had with Wix. Once I signed up with BlueHost, my WordPress domain and account was linked with Bluehost in just a few easy step.
RELATED: What is Blogging?
2. Bluehost dashboard is easy to understand
Top right corner Button
Logging into WordPress conveniently.
Home tab
Information about resources, updated plugins, and site customization is available readily.
Marketplace tab
This is where you look for services such as plugins, security, emails, SEO optimization, available themes, and other professional services that can help you create a beautiful website. Some a free, and others cost money.
Domain tab
I can assign a new domain, redirect, transfer, or get subdomains.
Marketing Tools tab
There are options for me to get my business on Google, improve my ranking, understand Google Ads, or I can turn on Site Subscriptions through WooCommmerce. I am familiar with a few options, such as Google Adsense, but there is always so much to learn.
3. Professional service: Blue Sky
Team up with WordPress experts to help you build your website: subscription base.
I love this. WordPress powers 33% of the web. If you are like me, who thinks: “If you want things to get done right, you do it YOURSELF.” Yup, this blog is built ENTIRELY by ME. I spent countless hours searching the web for tutorials, reading answers in the forums, and watching a bunch of outdated Youtube vid. At the beginning of this journey, and still is: I don’t like to rely on others when a problem occurs. At the same time, I hate myself sometimes for spending too much time searching for answers while I can just pay for a service like Blue Sky.
I don’t gain any money talking to you about Blue Sky. I still haven’t subscribed to Blue Sky, but I just want you to consider the advantages of this service.
This is the Youtube Vid explaining Blue Sky.
And this is their pricing:
Under the Youtube vid, I saw a few comments showing what real customers say about Blue Sky:
Even though there are only 3 comments, I see that
- They are responsive
- Send your question to SocialSupports@BlueHost.com
- 25 mins Phone call is included in the package. But you have unlimited phone calls.
4. Great Security
Occasionally, I saw spam comments under my blogs. But other than that, I haven’t had any incidents where my blog is taken by another person or any other security breach. Bluehost offers a couple of extra paid add-ons to enhance security. You can see them in the picture above.
My website currently only has 3 things under Security.
- SSL Certificates and Enforce HTTPS: it helps keep information like login, passwords, and customers’ credit card numbers safe. It also forces a secure connection to provide a secure browsing experience to my visitors.
- Check Core WordPress files: It stores crucial WordPress information.
- SiteLock: Detects malware. My current plan is FREE.
Here are additional add-ons security.
Which add-on security features are best
- Many plugins for security and site monitoring are available from WordPress and numerous third-party designers and developers worldwide. Any security plugins that are installed to protect your site will need to be updated as recommended. These security plugins can be broadly categorized into two groups: full security suites and single-issue security plugins. Full security suites encompass multiple security needs within a single plugin. Some popular options include:
Do I really need to purchase one?
- If you can’t afford to purchase a security add-on feature, make sure to look into these tasks:
- Secure passwords and permission: Hackers often attempt to access a site by “brute-force attack” — entering usernames and passwords repeatedly until one works. The default username for a WordPress website is “Admin,” which is an easy one to guess. So, you must change that to something unique as soon as possible.
- Backup your WordPress site: Backing up your WordPress website is always a good idea in case of accidental loss or errors when editing WordPress.
- Stay on top of spam: New WordPress sites and those that aren’t regularly maintained are prime targets for spam comments. Such spam can easily infect a site with malware.
My final thought.
So far, I am happy with BlueHost. There are a few problems with my site being offline last month. Jetpack sent an email alert every time that happened. But that issue seems to fix now. I hope you find this blog helpful. There are so many things to learn when it comes to blogging. I have done a lot of readings and research to help you create your first successful website. If you are interested, you can grab a free guide by signing up below.
