Fast Page Load Speed
Deciding which host to choose can be a herculean task. Especially when you’re deciding between two popular hosts like Bluehost and WordPress (NOT the content management system, the web host). But a few things can make your job easier.
You could analyse markers of performance like average load speed to see how well your site would function in a prospective web host. A fast web host would do your website a lot of good, as your bounce rate would decrease, and your site would have a great ranking on search engines. A slow web host would do precisely the opposite.
So how does one know if they have a fast web host or not? Easy. They run a test. Like we did on Bluehost and WordPress
Bluehost Fast Page Load Speed
Our site with Bluehost had an average page load speed of about 870ms. This was faster than most hosts we’ve tested, but we were not too surprised. Bluehost has a reputation for delivering great speed.
WordPress Fast Page Load Speed
WordPress proved to be much slower and our site has an average page load speed of 2.7 seconds. If your web page takes over two seconds to load, be prepared to go down Google rankings faster than light. Or something.
But average page load speed isn’t the only metric you should use in deciding what web host to choose. Web hosting is a service that you have to pay for, and when paying for something you need to know if it is worth what you’re paying.
Bluehost vs. WordPress; Pricing And Value Comparison
Before purchasing a web hosting plan, you need to know whether you’ll be wasting your money or not. That’s why it’s important to compare the plans of prospective web host to see which host offers better value.
It’s important that you do not only go with the host that offers the greatest value, but you also choose a web hosting plan that is perfect for your needs. That’s why we’ll be comparing the web hosting plans or Bluehost to that of WordPress.
Entry Tier Plan; Basic vs. Personal Plan
The Basic plan is Bluehost’s cheapest plan and it comes with 1 website, 50 GB of storage space, unmetered bandwidth, a free SSL certificate, 1 included domain, 5 parked domains and 25 subdomains. The plan costs $2.95 per month.
The Personal Plan of WordPress comes with a single site, Jetpack Essential Features, a pre-installed SSL certificate, 6 GB of space, and dozens of free themes. The plan costs $4.
The Basic plan of Bluehost is cheaper than the Personal WordPress plan and it comes with way more features. It has 50GB of storage compared to Bluehost’s 6 GB, and it costs almost half the price. It’s a no brainer, really.
Mid Tier Plan; The Plus Plans vs. The Premium plan.
Bluehost has two very alike shared hosting plans, and they are the Plus and Choice Plus plans. Both plans are very similar and have two standout differences. What are these differences? Well, The Choice Plans renews at a different price and it comes with extra security features.
The Plus plan of Bluehost has unlimited websites, unlimited storage, unmetered bandwidth, a free SSL certificate, standard performance, unlimited domains, unlimited parked domains, unlimited subdomains, Spam Experts and 1 Office 365 Mailbox— free for thirty days. The plan costs $5.45 per month for an initial three-year plan and renews at $10.99
Bluehost’s Choice Plus has all the features of the Plus plan plus Site Backup in the form of Codeguard Basic. However, instead of renewing at $10.99, the plan renews at $14.99.
The Premium plan of WordPress comes with one site, jetpack essential features, free domain for a year, pre-installed SSL certificate and 13GB of storage. The plan costs $8
The Plus plans cost less than the Premium plans, but you wouldn’t know that if you only looked at the specs of the plans. All Bluehost midtier Plus plans offer unlimited space and websites, and the Premium plan could not even produce any, despite costing $8. The Plus plans of Bluehost is definitely the better plan.
Top Tier Plan; The Pro Plan vs. Business Plan
The Pro plan is Bluehost’s most expensive plan and it comes with unlimited websites, unlimited storage, Domain Privacy + Protection, Codeguard Basic for site backup, a dedicated IP, unlimited domains, Spam Expert, free SSL certificate, unmetered bandwidth and 1 Office 365 Mailbox free for thirty days. The plan costs $13.95 per month.
The Business plan of WordPress comes with 20GB of space, one website, jetpack essentials, pre-installed SSL certificate and a free domain for a year. The plan costs $25 per month.
The Pro plan of Bluehost maxes out the base specs of space, bandwidth and websites like one would expect. Asides this, it comes with a lot of other security features. This decreases your need to purchases add-ons after buying the plan. From here, it looks like a very good deal.
The Business plan of WordPress, on the other hand, costs $25 per month and only bothers to come with 20 GB of space. It’s clear that the Bluehost plan is the best choice once again.
The Right Host For You.
Choosing the right web host to help you take your site online can be a difficult decision to make. There are many great hosts that offer great value at decent prices. Unfortunately, WordPress isn’t one of those hosts. If you have to decide between WordPress and Bluehost, Bluehost wins ten out of ten times.
Bluehost is faster and has many better-priced plans than WordPress. Purchasing a WordPress plan over a Bluehost one would be similar to throwing money away. Moreover, if you want to deploy two or more sites at the same time, you may have no other choice than to choose Bluehost. That’s because WordPress plans do not allow multiple websites.
One thing is clear, though. Compared to WordPress, Bluehost is the king of web hosting. And yes, WordPress is that bad.
Alternative
if you have no need for multiple websites, you may want to check out WordPress. With great uptime, decent customer support and pre-installed SSL certificate on all plans, WordPress may be the right choice for you. All plans come with extra features like jetpack essentials that will help you boost your online profile quickly. A WordPress account is easy to set up and get running.
The peculiar thing about WordPress is that unlike Bluehost, they offer a free plan where you can own a subdomain at absolutely no cost. However, it isn’t all rosy. WordPress isn’t the fastest web host in the world, and although they have free plans, their paid plans are terribly overpriced and do not stand the test of price analysis.