Bluehost offers a few choices for solid web hosting service. Their basic plan starts at only $3.95 per month!*
* Promotion valid as of the writing of this article on 12/14/19. Below is an example of one of their ads you may have seen.
Digital Marketing Partner (DMP) chose, from all available hosting partners, Bluehost as our preferred hosting service provider and is a proud affiliate partner. DMP will receive small compensation for any referral to Bluehost who signs-up and stays with Bluehost for a period of time. We design and develop websites, and if we are going to backup our work we demand reliability and security. for our clients This is why we are proud to refer hosting to Bluehost.
Bluehost is a great web hosting service provider for a WordPress site, if you are a do-it-yourself web designer, or professional web developer looking for a solid hosting platform.
Whatever your level of experience, Bluehost has a platform and package that is right for you.
Today we are going to cover what you need for a basic website, which is all that is needed for the majority of businesses. With that in mind, we will focus on their Shared hosting product and Basic plan.
The majority of businesses can save money and opt-in for their Shared hosting product plans – new websites/blogs. This product does not require a lot of technical knowledge.
For websites with or expected moderate to high traffic volumes, a need for scalability, and server control, the VPS product will be for you.
High traffic, resource intensive sites, requiring tight security, control, and strong performance, the Dedicated hosting product will be the correct solution.
Plans Under the Shared Hosting Product
There are four (4) plans under this product: Basic, Plus, Choice Plus, and Pro.
If you require two or more websites, unlimited storage and unmetered bandwidth, then Plus, Choice Plus or Pro is what you should be looking at.
The majority of businesses, hobbyists and users will be well served by Bluehost’s Basic plan in their Shared product.
All 4 plans offer a free SSL Certificate (https), at least one domain (YourBiz.com), and sub-domains.
You can compare and contrast the differed Shared product plans here.
How to Get Started
Begin by heading over to Bluehost.com and select the Get Started button.
You will see the 4 plans available under the Shared product. Choose the “Select” button under Basic (far left column).
Now you will be presented with two choices: “Create a new domain” (comes with the plan) or “Use a domain you own”.
If you do not have a domain, then choose “Create a new domain” Even if you have one, you can select another one and change it later. For example, maybe you own BestBurger.com and perhaps having BestVeggieBurger.com will be an asset to your online presence.
If you own a domain, you can choose either option, as mentioned above.If you chose “Create a new domain” and the domain you wanted is available, the next step is to create your Bluehost account.
There are four parts to this section:
- Account Information (straight forward)
- Package Information – You will want the 36 month deal, which offers the best per-month deal.
- Package Extras (we will review these options next)
- Payment Information (straightforward)
Package Extras:
Domain Privacy – (In our view, optional)
If you do not want your name and information to show-up in a directory like WhoIs.com, then select this add-on. If you already own a domain, then this may be offered from your wherever you purchased your domain. Here is an example by Bluehost of what your information will look like with and without Domain Privacy.
SiteLock Security – Find – (For informational or blog sites, in our view, optional)
This may be an important add-on if you’re requesting personal information from visitor or transacting any business on your site. What you get is a trust-badge based on your business’s verification along with, Spam, Malware and Blacklist monitoring. More information about this add-on at Bluehost.
Codeguard Basic – (For informational or blog sites, in our view, optional)
If you will be doing heavy coding/customizations to your site and need more than the basic WordPress backup offerings, this is an add-on that will give you peace of mind with daily backups, restores to select versions, redundancy and monitoring of your site for changes.. More information about this add-on at Bluehost.
Bluehost SEO Tools Start – (For everyone except absolute newbies, optional)
If you know nothing of SEO, then get this.. More information about this add-on at Bluehost.
1 Office 365 Mailbox – (For purposes of this article, optional)
Basically, you can get a personalized email address based on your domain. For example, [email protected]. An integrated calendar is included, plus other items. More information about this add-on at Bluehost.
Finish
Provide your Payment Information and you are on your way to getting your awesome website and idea up for the world to see.
If you are not feeling confident about the sign-up process, Bluehost has excellent help and guidance via their live Chat or via phone. It’s right at the top of their website at BlueHost.com.
Digital Marketing Partner is a proud affiliate partner with Bluehost.