I hope you’ll agree with me when I say:
It’s incredibly difficult to decide on a web host.
Or is it?
Well, there is only ONE problem. Finding that “good” web host isn’t always easy.
If you’re considering starting a website or blog, you’re going to need to decide which is the best website host to go with.
This information will help you avoid the trial and error of people like myself, so you can enjoy your experience and get started faster.
If you want to skip everything I’m about to explain and get straight to the point, check out the following summary;
What you’re about to learn
- WordPress is the easiest and best blogging platform and Bluehost is the best and easiest host to use for new bloggers.
- You can install WordPress on Bluehost in a few simple clicks.
- For 10 years, Bluehost has been recommended by WordPress as a host for its platform.
- Free blog hosts and blogging platforms should be avoided if you’re to be successful in your blogging journey, especially if you’re looking to make money from it.
- More than 850,000 bloggers use Bluehost as their host.
If you’re new to blogging, I highly recommend Bluehost for your hosting.
After all, how could 850,000 bloggers be wrong about it? While that’s not the only reason for the recommendation, it’s one that should make think about it.
As a new blogger, you need to feel confident about the hosting you choose and that it’s the right decision for you. People who are using Bluehost tweet and say things like they have excellent customer service, they are quick to respond and always helpful, their prices are great, and they offer one-click WordPress installation.
Before we dig into Bluehost and WordPress, let’s discuss why free hosting and free blogs aren’t the way to success.
WordPress offers two platforms: WordPress.com and WordPress.org.
- The dot com version is free to setup, is hosted by WordPress.com, and offers some paid upgrades. Your security and backup solutions are automatic. If you don’t want ads invading your blog, you must pay. You have limited choices in blog templates, including the ability to edit themes and you don’t get to use any plugins. You must pay to get rid of WordPress.com branding as well as for email and live support.
- The dot org version requires that you have a domain name and that you can manage your blog yourself. You have access to unlimited theme customizations and no ads or WordPress branding will generate on your blog. You get access to hundreds of thousands of premium and free themes, or you can design one yourself. You get access to hundreds of thousands of free plugins to boost your blog and make it more interactive and engaging. Community support comes with it, but the host you use will also provide you with free support. Finally, with the WordPress.org version, you get full control of your site and your brand.
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Free Hosting and Blogging
What does a freely hosted blog do?
A majority of people who want to try out blogging turn to freely hosted blogs like WordPress.com, Blogger (Google’s platform), Live Journal, Tumblr, and other free-to-use blog sites.
You simply sign up and you get to start blogging.
What are freely hosted blogs good for?
They are good if you’re very early in your blogging career and you need something easy and free to use without too many issues or problems with messing things up on your blog.
Sites like Tumblr bring other advantages like reblogging for other people’s posts.
Every free blog platform has its advantages and they do work fine for some bloggers, but they have so many limitations that overshadow any advantages for a good blogging experience.
Why aren’t they good for making money?
When you’re looking to grow your blog or website to make money, it’s crucial that you have a self-hosted blog and domain name.
It’s simply not possible to grow as you should with free blogs and hosting because they come with too many limitations like the following.
- You don’t own the blog – The provider of your blog is the owner. Why would you spend years growing an asset that you have very little control over and don’t own at all? That only helps the blog provider.
- You have limited control – Limited control means you can’t do much with the blog other than what the provider allows. You can’t add coding to tweak your blog. Even if you don’t think that’s big deal now as a beginner, you will want to make changes to your blog that require coding in the future and you won’t be able to do it without paying the price for updates and new features.
- You only get limited designs – You’re at the mercy of the provider when it comes to themes and blog designs. You are stuck with what they offer because you can’t upload your themes or hire designers to create one for you because you can’t make any changes to the layout or themes like you can with your own self-hosted blog and domain.
- It’s not good for Google rankings – The goal of a money-making blog, or any blog you want to market is to get first-page rankings on Google. Free blogs aren’t as attractive to Google because its algorithm doesn’t see free blogs as authoritative. Hosting your blog and having a domain shows Google you’re an authority with a credible site.
- You can’t build your brand – Part of branding your blog lies within having your own domain name, which is something you don’t get from free blogs and hosting. While some free hosts provide options for domain name selection, again that is limited and is mostly part of the self-hosted blog platforms. Self-hosted blogs with your own domain, where you have full control is vital for branding your business.
These are some of the reasons that you need to use self-hosted blogs like WordPress.org and hosting like Bluehost for your blog.
When you choose self-hosted, on the best platforms and with the best hosting, you get the best flexibility and the most professional and powerful way to operate your blog under you own domain name.
What’s the primary disadvantage of self-hosted blogs?
Many people think that starting a self-hosted blog is complicated and difficult, but that is untrue. Nowadays, website hosts like Bluehost offers one-click WordPress installation, so right after you get signed up, you’re ready to blog.
Something you need to consider is that if you start with a free blog and then try to move it to a self-hosted blog, the setup and experience will cause more problems than if you simply start with a paid host from the start. Switching an existing free blog to a paid host will have a negative impact on your rankings and will be stressful for you.
The good news is that if you use Bluehost, you get 24-hour live support that will help you through any issues you come across while setting up and operating your self-hosted blog.
Must be pricey, right?
Whilst ‘free’ might seem like the cheapest way to start a blog, in the long term it can end up costing you more in lost potential revenue.
Besides, thesedays you can get web hosting to host your own blog very inexpensively. For up to date pricing from Bluehost, click here.
Why do I recommend WordPress and Bluehost for blogging?
The basic reason is that it’s the easiest, fastest, and cheapest way to start an efficient and effective blog.
You purchase your hosting from Bluehost and they give you a free domain name, then you install WordPress for your blogging software for free, and start working on your blog.
Check the video below to see how easy it is!
Why WordPress?
- The most popular – WordPress has been the most reliable, dependable, and popular blogging platform for well over a decade and it has a good reputation with the search engine community. More bloggers use WordPress than any other blogging platform, which is a testament to how reliable it is.
- Open source platform – WordPress works on the open source platform, which means thousands of coders across the globe are consistently enhancing WordPress for free. That means you get all the best security upgrades and new features possible several times per year.
- It’s so easy to setup – Setting up your WordPress on Bluehost is as easy as sending an email, so anyone can do it.
- Access to free plugins and gorgeous templates – This platform gives you tens of thousands of free templates and plugins you can use on your blog to enhance it. Because it’s an open source platform, users are always adding new, free beautiful templates and plugins that will let you do anything you want with your blog.
Keep in mind that you will be working with WordPress.org, not WordPress.com.
WordPress.org is free software you can install once you get your web hosting. WordPress.com is simply a free blog platform with limitations.
The one you want is the one you can install yourself.
Why Use Bluehost for WordPress Blogs?
Top bloggers will often tell you that they have almost no issue with Bluehost compared to other website hosting services.
I feel comfortable advocating their services because I’ve used them and like them better than the others. The following are eight benefits of using Bluehost for your WordPress blog.
- 24-hour live chat support from the best customer service agents out there.
You can’t do better than 24/7 tech support, and that’s what Bluehost does. If you have a problem on your site, simply click the Live Chat icon and you will be instantaneously taken to the chat screen and helped quickly by a technician who will resolve your issue.
Officially, they make no claims to be able to help with every issue, but in my experience, they have. If they can’t resolve it for you, they will refer you to someone who can. This is the kind of experience you should want as a new blogger.
- You Get One-Click WordPress Installation
When you use Bluehost, you get the benefit of one-click WordPress installation through a program called Simple Scripts. Most host make you install WordPress manually, which is very difficult for new bloggers.
Some hosts have a program called Fantastico, or others like it, which are outdated and may cause security risks.
- Access for unlimited blogs, email addresses, and domains
You can get unlimited blogs and websites through Bluehost. Understand that unlimited isn’t totally unlimited, but more of a theoretical ideal.
If your blog becomes hugely popular and takes up massive amounts of file space, you will eventually have to switch to a server that can handle your files.
If that happens, it means your blog is doing very well and you are making money so you can switch to a higher-end server, which might cost in the region of about $50 per month, but you’ll be able to afford it when you get to that point.
- You will get help with blog security
You may not realize how much you need to know when you start your own blog.
You need knowledge about WordPress, copy writing, social media, and more as you further your blogging career. Security issues can be a problem, but Bluehost is there to help you with that.
Bluehost has a feature with their hosting packages that is capable of auto-correcting major security threats on your blog for you.
They will notify you if this happens and of what changes they made. If you suspect security issues, contact live chat support and let them coach you on how to fix and avoid security problems.
You will find a huge list of security software and anti-spam option you can use on your site.
- Access to domain-specific personalised emails
While you can create your own new emails and personalise them yourself, Bluehost offers support with your hosting package using their email options.
Instead of having a standard email like mydomainname@gmail.com, you have access to an email address that looks like this: myname@mydomainname.com.
It’s more professional and personal for communicating with clients and readers as needed.
- You get an excellent uptime experience
You might hear a few complaints from some users about Bluehost’s uptime, but that has not been my experience.
What may cause some of the downtime is the fact that they are growing in popularity and more clients are using their servers.
That means they have to upgrade and keep up their maintenance.
The fact that they are growing is a good sign. It shows they are reliable and well-respected.
The regular addition of new clients provides them with the revenue to build new servers and to make their customer service even better.
- Access to a variety of blogging platforms
I recommend using WordPress with Bluehost, but this hosting service provider also gives you more choices like Joomla or Drupal.
It’s wise to get familiar with these other platforms just in case you work on a project that requires something different than WordPress can provide.
My personal experience has been that WordPress takes care of all my blogging needs.
- You get access to several free programs and software
Bluehost provides its users access to several superior extra features that you may eventually want to try.
Some of the best ones in my opinion include Spam filtering and Spam Assassin for emails, free SEO tools, Site Lock, site builders, free WordPress themes, and a lot more.
The Bottom Line
When you first sign up for Bluehost services, you will receive a free $75 Google Adwords credit that will help you advertise your new blog to give it a jump start.
You may not want all these grand features initially, but you will likely find them useful at some point.
The benefits of self-hosting with WordPress and Bluehost outweigh any advantages you might think you’re getting with free blogs and their hosting.
If you’re just blogging for fun, free is fine, but if you have any aspirations for making money from your blog, you’ll need a domain, WordPress, and a host like Bluehost.
