Bluehost Vs. Hostgator
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In the world of web hosting, two big names are considered standout – Bluehost and HostGator. Both web hosting providers deliver great service in an already saturated market with poor quality hosting options.
But which is really the best web hosting service?
If you read my previous articles you will know that I am a champion for Bluehost. But even if I leave my personal prejudices aside when I look at tough, cold facts, Bluehost is still victorious over HostGator.
While HostGator isn't far behind, Bluehost's responsive packages are spot on for affordability and ease of use – something that both beginners and veterans will appreciate.
Read on to learn more about the reasons behind my judgment.
Bluehost can be a godsend for WordPress newbies and experts, and they want an extremely affordable hosting plan. It has a neat dashboard with great customer support and several great features. No wonder it is one of three websites recommended by WordPress itself. If this sounds like your wish list, sign up for a free trial with Bluehost.
HostGator is an insanely capable web hosting provider that offers you great availability and a comprehensive (and fast!) Customer support system. Feature-rich hosting plans include free website migration and a built-in site builder. This makes it a good choice for all levels of users. If you want to try it out, read it here.
A review of the best web hosting services
If you're looking for a credible hosting solution for your website, you don't have to limit your options to Bluehost or HostGator.
There are a lot of fish in the sea.
Visit our Best Web Hosting Service Guide to find the perfect solution for you based on your specific needs. From shared hosting options for startups to e-commerce hosting to scalability, we have something for everyone. And both HostGator and Bluehost made the list!
Bluehost wins
WordPress Approved: An official WordPress business endorsement means a lot to those looking for a WordPress hosting provider. That's exactly why I just had to specify how one of the largest (and possibly best-known) hosting platforms, WordPress, ranks Bluehost first on their list of the best WordPress web hosting providers.
Super fast: With a recommendation like this, you'd expect the loading speed to be fast, and Bluehost certainly doesn't disappoint. If you want to make your business successful, you need fast loading speeds and fast server response time. Bluehost's speed is much faster than the 200 ms recommended by Google in most countries like the US (23 ms) and Canada (92 ms). The average worldwide score proudly stands at 153 ms.
Incredible server uptime: Availability refers to the part of the time your website is online. This is incredibly important because how else can your users access your website when it is offline? The industry standard for hosting companies is 99%, but Bluehost beats it with an average of 99.9%. While this is the minimum for lower-level shared hosting plans, if you go for the dedicated hosting of VPS hosting plans, you can expect it to get close to 100%.
Image source: Who is hosting this?
Flexible and scalable: Bluehost subscriptions are tailored to meet the needs of all users and give you enough flexibility to expand without having to switch hosting providers. Upgrading to a parent hosting plan or something else can be done seamlessly without your website having to experience downtime during the move. In addition, Bluehost has a custom interface that you can use to monitor and manage server resources to determine when to upgrade.
Solid customer support: You don't necessarily need Bluehost customer support on a daily basis, but when you do you simply know that it is completely solid and efficient. You can get the solutions to your problems through live chat, phone support for different types of hosting, and of course social media support. Also, Bluehost support can resolve support issues before speaking to a qualified professional. All you need to do is access the extensive support library, which contains hundreds of detailed, walkthroughs and frequently asked questions to troubleshoot common problems.
First class security: Bluehost always offers good website protection to its users. It provides SSH (Secure Shell Access) to allow administrators and web developers to securely access configuration files. They also use anti-spam tools like SpamExperts, Spam Hammer, and Apache SpamAssassin to keep bot attacks at bay. Other security features include password-protected directories, a blacklist for IP addresses, filters for e-mail accounts and user accounts, as well as digital certificates and access to management of private keys.
App and integration library: One of Bluehost's biggest USPs is its extensive application library. You can activate all kinds of services and software through this app to add more features to your website and hosting account. You can add e-commerce functions and integrate your hosting account in Google Apps, which gives you direct access to an even more extensive library of plug-ins.
Offers freebies that are important: Many web hosting providers give freebies to their customers. Unfortunately, most of them are flat and offer no value. What else should you do with free 24/7 support or free WordPress installation? Not Bluehost. All hosting plans come with a free domain name (for the first year), a free SSL certificate, and even daily backups and website restores.
Bluehost losses
Higher renewal prices: Bluehost's introductory pricing makes it one of the cheapest hosting providers out there. However, make sure you are ready for a jump in price when you renew your subscription. While this is not a problem that is unique to Bluehost, like any hosting company does. However, it is important to point this out so that you can make the right decision.
No availability guarantee: Downtime is detrimental to any website as it indicates the possibility of losing potential sales and conversions. This is also the reason why an availability guarantee is important. While Bluehost offers great uptime, since there is no guarantee, you cannot expect compensation if you experience downtime that is less than the percentage shown. Given that most of the hosting provider competitors give their users a guarantee, one can only wish Bluehost to follow suit.
No Free Site Migration or ASP.net/Windows Hosting: Many hosting services offer free migrations if you want to move an existing site to their servers, but unfortunately Bluehost doesn't. If you don't want to migrate your website to Bluehost, you'll have to pay a $ 149.99 fee to migrate up to five websites and 20 email accounts. In addition, Bluehost is a pure Linux hosting company. This means that websites that require a Windows server to run are not supported. Since much of the market is using Linux, this isn't a deal breaker. However, if you need Windows Server you may want to look elsewhere.
HostGator wins
Reliable and strong availability guarantee: HostGator consistently offers 99.98-100% uptime, and that consistency is for a reason. The hosting service offers an availability guarantee. If they drop below 99.90%, users will get one month of credit on their accounts. Note, however, that this is the default as anything else is generally not tolerated.
(Almost) unlimited everything: HostGator has everything – well, kind of, unlimited. You can expect unlimited space to store as much data as you need and unmeasured bandwidth to move an unlimited amount of data between your host server, site visitors, and the Internet. In addition, you get unlimited databases, so you can do as many WordPress installations as you want. This can be especially useful for those who have multiple customers and want to test website changes before they go live. Note, however, that under certain conditions no more than 25% of the server's CPU is used, no more than 500 emails per hour are sent, etc. to keep things "unlimited".
Best cPanel hosting: No web hosting provider offers a better version of cPanel than HostGator. And this is not an empty proposition. You can find all kinds of tools and options to manage your site and domain from one place. The cPanel control panel in particular has many such tools. This includes file manager, FTP with user management, backup wizard, disk usage, domain manager, domain forwarding, DNS, database access via PHPMyAdmin, file compression, file upload and file download.
One-click installation and free site transfer: HostGator makes installing your favorite CMS as easy as the click of a few buttons. You can also use the unique QuickInstall tool to set up your website even if you have no technical knowledge. In addition, you can easily transfer from another host to this one. All you have to do is sign up for a plan you want to use and HostGator will take care of the rest. Easy!
Free SSL and Domain: You can't expect a premium quality SSL Certificate from every hosting provider, and you certainly can't expect it to be for free. However, HostGator breaks that thought by providing Comodo SSL for all users and their hosted domains. So you don't have to worry about encryption between your website in the web browsers you use. You will also get a free domain for one year – provided you sign up for hosting plans that offer this giveaway.
HostGator losses
Limited functions: While the unlimited bit sounds good, you can't help but notice that most of the features that HostGator offers are pretty standard. Shared hosting users can't expect any extras and have to do the administrative work of their websites manually. It is your sole responsibility to ensure the daily backups, the updating of all core functions, plugins, topics and security measures.
Slow customer support: HostGator offers 24/7 hosting customer service via live chat, phone, and email. The support team is ready to help you and fix most issues, but they're not necessarily the best in the business. Many customers have complained about slow support responses, which can become especially annoying when you get stuck on important tasks and need immediate help.
No free daily backups: If there's one thing every blog needs to have, it's a daily backup feature. Unfortunately, you won't find a daily backup guarantee at HostGator, as only one backup per week is offered. Also, you won't be able to restore the website until you pay for it. I recommend installing a plugin that is backed up for you daily. You can choose HostGator's premium backup and restore tool called CodeGuard, which is a one-time fee of $ 24 per year. You can also choose a WordPress tool to make a copy of the entire website and send it to Amazon, Google Drive, or Dropbox.
Comparison of the top ecommerce platforms
There is no doubt that Bluehost and HostGator are two of the leading web hosts that offer exceptional service. However, you can always look for other alternatives – one that has all of the features you need and fits your budget.
We have compiled a list of the best web hosting services to help you find the right match.
- Dreamhost – Best option if you want quick and responsive website changes
- Hostinger – Affordable shared hosting options for startups
- Bluehost – Best for WordPress hosting
- Nexcess – Best Ecommerce Hosting
- HostGator – The cheapest option for startups
- WP Engine – Best option if you know your limits
- InMotion – Best option for scaling BIG
- Siteground – Best for WooCommerce hosting
In conclusion, Bluehost is better than HostGator. The latter, however, comes second.
You should consider Bluehost if you want an affordable hosting plan that has excellent WordPress-specific support as well as some fantastic freebies. HostGator makes a better choice when you want higher uptime and an intuitive cPanel control panel.
Regardless of your choice, you can be sure that you have a reliable web hosting provider that will ensure your website will stay up and running year round. So you can get a better customer experience while maximizing conversions and revenue.
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