Finding the winner of the hosting service provider battle: BlueHost vs. SiteGround

BlueHost vs. SiteGround

Deciding which web hosting service to pick is tricky. All the popular options on the internet allegedly offer the best services and lucrative packages. BlueHost and SiteGround are undoubtedly among the leaders of hosting services of 2018. Picking one among the two is challenging since their features and functions go neck in neck. So, how do you decide which one is suitable for your website? According to the experts, there are several aspects of hosting you need to compare to be able to determine which one is ideal for your purpose like vps server users experience more consistent performance, which translates to more responsive and faster websites.

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Today, we will compare the five defining aspects of any web hosting service to find the winner between BlueHost and SiteGround. We will compare Bluehost vs SiteGround regarding their beginner friendliness, WordPress services, uptime and response time, security features and customer support to see which offers the bigger slice of the cake.

BlueHost vs. SiteGround: the battle begins

Beginner friendliness

An excellent hosting service always thinks about the new users. Most of the new hosting customers are going to be first-time web hosting service users. Therefore, a reputable company will provide easy navigation and customization options for the beginners.

Both SiteGround and BlueHost offer 30 days money-back guarantee. However, the policy applies to shared hosting packages only. If you are using a credit card to pay for the services, the company will refund the full amount back to your card. The offer does not apply to add-ons and third-party services.

With BlueHost, you can enjoy free domain name for one year. While you a signing up for the service, you cannot pick the domain name, you can only choose it later to receive a free domain credit. With SiteGround, the domain name is a property that you can enjoy “free for life,” only if it is the primary domain of your hosting account.

SiteGround has profession website transfer services for the sites that currently reside with other hosts. The user needs to post a “support ticket” in the Website Transfer area to activate the free migration promotion. BlueHost allows free migration or site transfer for those, who can do it manually. Alternatively, you can utilize their site transfer package of $149.99 for migrating up to five websites and 20 email accounts from any other hosting company.

WordPress hosting

Today, while picking any website hosting service, you need to give their support for WordPress sites a deep thought. WordPress recommends SiteGroundsince it offers 1-click WP installation service, complete data backup options and caching options to speed up your site. The servers support PHP7 and HTTP2, as well as a free CDN service that can give your site wings.

Interestingly, WordPress also recommends BlueHost for beginner users since it offers free SSL certificates, custom design control panels and CloudFlare CDN. This hosting provider comes with pre-installation of ManageWP, along with advanced security features including Advanced CDN, SiteLockWAF, and SiteLock security. The premium BlueHost WordPress hosting plans leverage a VPS-powered platform that uses Nginx server. Apart from complete PHP7 support, the server also supports the dynamic upgrade of RAM, SAN storage, and CPU.

Uptime and response time

Almost all favorite hosting providers have similar claims of speed and uptime. Unless you are ready to get your hands dirty for some real-time testing, you will have a tough time finding out which one lives up to its claims.

SiteGround utilizes SSDs that increases the input/output operations by 1000x. BlueHost plans do not use SSDs, but their server infrastructure depends on enterprise-grade SSD storage. SiteGround claims an impressive 99.9% uptime; they may be a contribution of the proprietary Linux-based code. All BlueHost servers operate at Tier 3 certification. Their uptime is around 99.98%, with an average of 1.6 hours of downtime per year. BlueHost infrastructure includes quad-core processors, mirrored backup options, and uninterruptible power supply. While both of them offer SSL certifications, only SiteGround utilizes the HTTP/2 network protocol.

Security

Security is the biggest concern of website owners and their website visitors. While looking for website hosting services, people often start by looking at the level of protection. Apart from the latest backup services and malware scans, there is more to security that website owners can expect from their hosting providers.

SiteGround offers free SSL certifications for your website. It is mandatory for the authentication and encryption of your data. This service is free with every account and SiteGround provides three levels of SSL certification for every user. Additionally, this hosting provider also offers DDoS protections including a sophisticated IDS/IPS powered system that can block bot and malware attacks.

All BlueHost users can enjoy a “free” shared SSL certificate. For the Pro and Standard accounts, BlueHost offers only one dedicated IP and one SSL certificate. You can purchase multiple SSL certificates for your VPS, managed or reseller accounts. The SiteLock add-on covers DDoS attack protection for all users.

Customer support

The battle is not over unless the providers fight it out on the customer support front. Even the best of the best web hosting services can lose the favor of the market if their customer support is not up to the mark.

SiteGround pays notoriously high level of attention to all calls, emails and live chats that go through their website. Apart from the 24/7 customer service line, you can utilize chat services, phone services, and support tickets. They have a staggering 100% customer satisfaction rate that is almost impossible to compete.

BlueHost offers expert consultations on the topics of website hosting, website traffic, improvement of site speed and performance, and enhancement of security. They have toll-free numbers, tech support and WordPress support for all users across the globe. Nonetheless, they are still far away from SiteGround concerning customer satisfaction. Their chat and phone response times are instant, but the response times of their website tickets are unknown.

Who takes the crown?

There can be multiple contenders, but there can be only one king. Choosing between SiteGround and BlueHost can be difficult, but after comparing several aspects of their terms, plans, policies, infrastructures, and services, we have to say that SiteGround takes the crown by a fair margin.

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