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Choosing the Right Hosting Platform

Whether this is your first website hosting experience or you've done it before, all of us at Bluehost want to make sure you're set up with the best hosting platform for you and your website needs. Our hosting packages are designed to include all the tools you need to be successful online. From economical shared hosting plans to high-performance cloud solutions and flexible VPS and Dedicated servers, you're sure to find the right hosting plan to fit your needs!

If you've already signed up and think you might benefit more from a different package, our Customer Support Team will be happy to help you change your hosting plan!



Shared

Primary Advantage: Managed and economical
Primary Disadvantage: Limited resources
Best Use: Most small businesses, blogs, student and personal websites, etc.

Shared hosting is kind of like living in an apartment: As a tenant, you reside in the same building as the other tenants with whom you share available resources, like the parking lot and playground. In the hosting world, it means your account is on a server with other accounts, all of which share the server resources. It's a very economical way to host a website. However, because the server resources are shared, each user will have some restrictions on their service. For example, if one user is experiencing a spike in traffic or overusing other resources, other users on the server may also experience a temporary decline in their hosting performance. We have some very sophisticated systems in place to mitigate the effects of this, so most users won't even notice a problem, but it is possible.

To mitigate the potential disadvantages to shared hosting, we offer multiple shared server hosting plans, so you get to choose which customized plan is the best fit.

Basic, Plus, and Choice Plus

Our Basic hosting package is terrific for students, novice bloggers, family websites, and more. If you're unsure where to start, the Basic package gives you everything you need to publish your first site. It includes hosting for one domain and a few email accounts, making it the perfect introduction to website building and hosting so you can get your feet wet.

If you're planning to add more domains and build multiple websites as you pick up more projects, our Plus package is the way to go because it has plenty of room for growth, such as the ability to create and host unlimited domains and email accounts. 

Pro

Every day new businesses are starting up, trying to make a name for themselves. It can be not easy to find everything you need to get your company’s site to earn money faster. Our Pro server has 80% fewer customers than our Basic or Plus shared servers, which means fewer customers share server resources, resulting in increased performance to help roll out your company's site faster and smoother. The package also includes over $180 worth of additional products, such as a dedicated IP and an SSL certificate, essential to an online store. With all of that and unlimited email accounts and website storage, your business has all the room it needs to grow!

For more information, you may check out our Shared hosting packages.

WordPress + WooCommerce

Primary Advantage: Bundled services at a lower cost than purchasing additional a la carte.
Primary Disadvantage: Control
Best Use: Small to mid-sized e-commerce sites.

Building an e-commerce site? Then this is for you. We've bundled WordPress, a powerful content management system designed to work with the best shopping carts and online stores in the world, and WooCommerce, an e-commerce solution known for nonexistent transaction fees and expansive customization options to create an enhanced e-commerce hosting platform. With the power of WordPress, the versatility of WooCommerce, and the reliability of Bluehost, setting up and managing your online store is a breeze!

For more information, you may check out our WordPress + WooCommerce hosting packages.

Optimized Hosting for WordPress

Primary Advantage: Lower cost compared to a VPS account.
Primary Disadvantage: Not as much control as you'd have with VPS.  
Best Use: High-end WordPress sites and online stores.

Optimized Hosting for WordPress is a managed hosting platform. Specifically, that's been fine-tuned to optimize performance. It runs on a virtual private server (VPS), which means your account is on a physical server with other users, but it has its own resources that aren't shared with other users. With benefits like server-side caching, SiteLock CDN, and the ability to add additional CPU, RAM, and SAN storage, OHWP gives you everything you need to make your WordPress website is fast and secure.

For more information, you may check out our Optimized Hosting for WordPress packages.

VPS

Primary Advantage: More flexibility and control than shared hosting.
Primary Disadvantage: Higher cost and learning curve.
Best Use: Small businesses that need more control over their server.

A virtual private server (VPS) is like living in a condo building: the building is shared with other people, but you own your space and what you do with it is entirely up to you. Each VPS uses its own resources and is configured independently from the other virtual machines on the server, so you won't be affected by other accounts sharing the server.

Our VPS packages come with CentOS and cPanel preinstalled. And with root (administrator) access to the server, you and your developer can make server-side modifications, install server-side software, and utilize more control over your services and data so you can use your server to its fullest potential. You can even add additional resources, including CPU, RAM, and SAN storage, as needed. VPS is ideal for sites with outgrown shared hosting, companies that deal with resource-heavy applications and secured data, techies ready to take charge of their server management, and even for training and development as the root user.

For more information, you may check out our VPS hosting packages.

Dedicated Server

Primary Advantage: Control
Primary Disadvantage: Cost
Target Audience: Large, high-performance sites.

If VPS is like an apartment building, a dedicated server is like buying a house: the entire server is yours to customize and use as you see fit. Our dedicated servers allow root-level access and come preinstalled with CentOS and cPanel for easier server management. And for added security, your data is mirrored across two hard drives, so you'll always have a backup in case of hardware failure. Dedicated servers are ideal for elite sites with the highest performance standards that can’t afford unknowns detracting from their online presence.

For more information, you may check out our Dedicated hosting packages.

Not sure which package is right for you? We'll be happy to help you evaluate your website needs and answer any questions you have so you can find the hosting platform and package that best fits your needs. 

If you need further assistance, feel free to contact us via Chat or Phone:

  • Chat Support - While on our website, you should see a CHAT bubble in the bottom right-hand corner of the page. Click anywhere on the bubble to begin a chat session.
  • Phone Support -
    • US: 888-401-4678
    • International: +1 801-765-9400

You may also refer to our Knowledge Base articles to help answer common questions and guide you through various setup, configuration, and troubleshooting steps.