Cloudways vs Bluehost Review – Which Hosting Wins?

Choosing the right web hosting solution for your website is crucial to its success, and with so many options available, it can be overwhelming to decide.

In this blog post, we’ll provide an in-depth comparison of two popular hosting services: Cloudways and Bluehost. We’ll weigh their features, performance, pricing, security measures, ease of use, customer support, and more to help you make an informed decision that best suits your needs.

Key Takeaways

• Cloudways offers managed cloud hosting services through partnerships with top-tier providers like GCP, AWS, DigitalOcean, Linode, and Vultr. They provide an array of features such as pay-as-you-go pricing models, vertical scaling options for resource allocation and guaranteed resources at affordable prices.
• Bluehost is a popular web hosting provider that caters to both beginners and experienced users alike. They offer shared, VPS, WordPress hosting plans along with dedicated servers in their infrastructure. Their solid-state storage (SSD), free SSL certificates from Let’s Encrypt & automatic backups are some of the standout features.
• Pricing – wise Cloudways has a transparent billing structure while Bluehost’s initial term pricing is lower for shared hosting but beware of their steep renewal fees once the term ends.
• In terms of performance and speed – Cloudways edges out Bluehost due to its server configurations optimized for high-performance WordPress sites combined with integrated caching tools – making it ideal for developers or businesses looking for security-oriented features. However, if you’re starting a simple blog or site on a budget then Bluehost may be more suited to your needs.

Overview Of Cloudways And Bluehost

Cloudways and Bluehost are both hosting providers, but Cloudways is a managed cloud service that partners with major cloud providers, while Bluehost has its own infrastructure and offers shared hosting plans.

Brief Description Of Cloudways

Cloudways stands as a leading managed cloud hosting service that offers an easy-to-use and powerful platform for businesses of all sizes. By partnering with top-notch cloud providers such as GCP, AWS, DigitalOcean, Linode, and Vultr, Cloudways ensures its users receive the full benefits of high-performance cloud infrastructure without the need to manage it themselves.

One of the standout features of Cloudways is its pay-as-you-go pricing model which eliminates upfront costs by allowing clients to only pay for resources they consume.

With guaranteed resource specifications on every plan, multiple PHP versions support, free migrations and Git integration options available across different plans make Cloudways truly unique from other competitors in the market.

Brief Description Of Bluehost

Bluehost is a leading web hosting provider that offers an array of services, including shared, VPS, managed WordPress, dedicated, and WooCommerce hosting plans.

Founded in 2003 and now powered by the Endurance International Group (EIG), Bluehost has grown to host over two million websites worldwide.

One key feature that sets Bluehost apart is its extensive infrastructure that includes solid-state storage (SSD) for faster transfer rates and better overall performance.

Additionally, Bluehost partners with established CDN provider Cloudflare to offer optimal site speed through content delivery networks.

Hosting Types And Features

Cloudways offers managed cloud hosting plans with multiple providers, including GCP and AWS, while Bluehost only has shared hosting plans. Discover the unique features of each plan in this section.

Cloudways Hosting Types And Features

Cloudways offers a unique hosting experience through its managed cloud services, catering to the diverse needs of users with an array of features. Some of the key hosting types and features provided by Cloudways include:

1. Managed cloud hosting services: Cloudways partners with top-tier cloud infrastructure providers like GCP (Google Cloud Platform), AWS (Amazon Web Services), DigitalOcean, Vultr, and Linode to offer managed cloud services.
2. Pay-as-you-go model: Users can enjoy flexible payment options as they only pay for what they use without any long-term contracts.
3. Server scalability: Vertical scaling allows users to upgrade or downgrade their server resources effortlessly on-demand.
4. Dedicated environments: Unlike shared hosting, each user gets specified RAM and CPU resources for better performance and reliability.
5. SSD storage and NVMe SSDs: All plans come with solid-state storage while Vultr High Frequency plans have faster NVMe SSDs for improved website speed and stability.
6. Global data centers: With more than 60 data centers across the globe, Cloudways ensures reduced latency and faster loading times for websites.
7. ThunderStack technology: A combination of Nginx, Apache, MySQL/MariaDB, PHP-FPM is used to optimize server software stack for high-performance WordPress hosting.
8. Advanced caching tools: To enhance site speed further, Cloudways offers integrated caching tools such as Varnish, Memcached, Redis, and support for CDN (Content Delivery Network).
9. Free SSL certificates and automatic backups: Users benefit from free Let’s Encrypt SSL certificates and regular site backups with easy restoration.
10. Staging environments & collaboration tools: Allows developers to test changes in isolated staging environments before pushing them live while providing collaboration tools to grant access to team members easily.
11. Git integration & unrestricted managed migrations: Developers can take advantage of Git integration for version control while experiencing seamless site migrations without restrictions.
12. Integrated email hosting: Cloudways offers Elastic Email addon for email hosting, ensuring smooth communication with clients and customers.

Overall, Cloudways provides its users with a comprehensive set of features tailored towards a seamless, high-performance managed cloud hosting experience.

Bluehost Hosting Types And Features

Bluehost offers different types of hosting services, including shared hosting, VPS hosting, dedicated hosting, and WordPress hosting. Here are some of the features of each type:

• Shared Hosting: Bluehost’s shared hosting plans offer unlimited disk space and bandwidth, a free domain name for the first year, and a free SSL certificate. Users can also host an unlimited number of websites in one account.
• VPS Hosting: Bluehost’s VPS hosting plans come with root access, which gives users more control over their server environment. They also include managed services like software updates and security patches.
• Dedicated Hosting: Bluehost’s dedicated hosting plans provide users with a complete server environment that is not shared with any other customers. This allows for greater control and customization options.
• WordPress Hosting: Bluehost’s WordPress hosting plans are tailored specifically to WordPress sites. They come with pre-installed WordPress software, automatic updates, and a range of plugins and themes to choose from.

Overall, Bluehost’s hosting plans provide reliable performance, solid security features like SSL encryption and advanced firewall systems, and excellent customer support. However, users should be aware that renewal fees can be steep once the initial term ends.

Pricing And Plans Comparison

Cloudways offers a pay-as-you-go model with monthly pricing starting at $10/month, while Bluehost’s shared hosting plans start at $2.95/month with steep renewal fees.

Cloudways Pricing And Plans

Cloudways offers a pay-as-you-go pricing model with various plans depending on the cloud provider and server resources required. Key features of their pricing plans include transparent billing, no lock-in period, and scalable resources to accommodate your website’s growth.

These plans provide resources for different website sizes and growth stages, allowing users to choose the most suitable option for their needs.

Bluehost Pricing And Plans

Bluehost offers a variety of hosting plans, catering to different user requirements and budgets. Their pricing structure includes shared hosting, VPS hosting, managed hosting, dedicated hosting, and WooCommerce hosting. Here’s an overview of their pricing plans in an HTML table format:

Keep in mind that these prices are for the initial term of the plan, and you may face higher renewal fees once the term ends.

Performance And Speed

Both Cloudways and Bluehost boast impressive performance and speed, but when it comes to delivering the best performance, Cloudways edges out Bluehost with its server configurations, integrated caching tools, automatic software patching, and security hardening.

Cloudways Performance And Speed

Cloudways offers superior performance and speed compared to Bluehost. With more data centers throughout the world, Cloudways ensures that websites load quickly regardless of a user’s location.

Additionally, Cloudways provides caching tools like Memcached, Varnish, and Redis to optimize website speeds further.

Furthermore, Cloudway’s ThunderStack technology incorporates Nginx and Apache servers with MySQL/MariaDB databases to optimize server response times significantly.

Their servers also have PHP-FPM pre-installed for faster execution of PHP scripts leading to speedier website loading time.

In conclusion, if you prioritize high website performance and fast page loading times for your enterprise or site visitors’ comfortability across the globe while comparing cloud hosting services between Cloudways and Bluehost – then opt for the former due to its advanced technologies that ensure faster web page rendering through multiple data centers worldwide backed up by various integrated caching layers like Memcached/Varnish/Redis!

Bluehost Performance And Speed

Bluehost’s performance and speed are decent but not as great as Cloudways. Bluehost uses a standard shared hosting infrastructure, which can lead to slower loading times due to the shared resources and limitations on CPU usage.

Users may experience slow site speed during high traffic periods or when running resource-intensive applications.

Additionally, Bluehost provides users with automatic backups of their websites daily for added protection in the event of any data loss or server failure. Still, users need to be mindful that over time these backup files accumulate and eat up storage space of user account.

Overall, while decently performing for small to medium-sized websites’ needs at an affordable price point; however if you’re looking for top-of-the-line performance and speed along with scalable growth opportunities without breaking the bank- then it is better to consider moving towards Cloudways solutions given its superior cloud-based architecture featuring managed WordPress hosting powered by GCP (Google Cloud Platform), AWS (Amazon Web Services) & DigitalOcean which offers better infrastructure control than what Bluehost has been known so far based on customer reviews available on trusted sources such as TrustPilot ratings & G2 reviews sites.

Security Measures

Cloudways offers a range of security features like two-factor authentication, regular security patching, and firewalls.

Cloudways Security Features

Cloudways offers advanced security features to ensure the highest level of protection for customer websites. Here are some of the security features they provide:

1. Firewall: Cloudways implements a robust firewall to block malicious traffic and prevent unauthorized access.
2. Free SSL Certificates: All hosting plans include a free SSL certificate that encrypts data transferred between the server and visitors’ browsers.
3. Malware Protection: Cloudways provides automated malware scanning and removal through free plugins to keep websites safe from cyber threats.
4. Isolated Hosting Environment: Each website is hosted in an isolated environment with dedicated resources to ensure maximum security and performance.
5. Two-Factor Authentication (2FA): Users can set up 2FA to keep their account login secure and prevent unauthorized access.
6. Auto-healing: Cloudways has auto-healing technology that automatically detects and fixes issues on servers, ensuring minimal downtime for websites.
7. Regular Backups: Cloudways offers automatic daily backups, keeping your website data safe in case of any unforeseen events.
8. Dedicated IP Address: Customers can opt for a dedicated IP address, which adds an extra layer of security by preventing shared IP address-related issues like blacklisting or low spam scores.
9. Application-level Security Patches: Cloudways applies updates regularly to software applications installed on servers, ensuring that customers’ websites remain secure against known vulnerabilities.

Overall, Cloudways takes website security seriously and provides numerous measures such as 24/7 monitoring, firewalls, backups, encryption, patches, self-healing servers that keep clients’ websites secure from all types of cyberattacks so businesses can focus on growth without worrying about vulnerabilities.

Bluehost Security Features

Bluehost offers robust security features to its clients, which include:

1. SSL encryption: Bluehost provides free SSL certificates to all of its clients to ensure secure connections between their website and visitors.
2. Advanced firewall system: Bluehost has implemented a web application firewall that filters out malicious traffic and protects against various types of cyber-attacks.
3. Spam protection: The hosting company uses advanced spam protection tools that filter out harmful emails and keep the client’s inbox clean.
4. SiteLock security add-on: For those who require additional security measures, Bluehost offers SiteLock, an add-on that provides daily malware scans, blacklist monitoring, and vulnerability identification to safeguard the website from threats.
5. Domain privacy protection: Bluehost also offers domain privacy protection to keep personal information such as name, address, and phone number hidden from public view.
6. Two-factor authentication (2FA): Clients can enable two-factor authentication for an extra layer of security when accessing their account by requiring a unique code in addition to their login credentials.
7. Automatic backups: To safeguard against data loss due to accidental deletion or hacking attempts, Bluehost provides automatic backups on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis depending on the plan chosen.
8. Server monitoring: Bluehost continuously monitors its servers for any potential threats or issues that could impact the performance or security of client websites.

By utilizing these security features, Bluehost aims to provide a secure hosting environment for its clients’ websites and protect them from potential cyber-attacks.

Ease Of Use And User Interface

Cloudways offers a user-friendly and intuitive platform for managing your website, with a clean and modern interface that makes it easy to navigate. Bluehost’s interface can be overwhelming for beginners, but their helpful customer support team is always available to assist.

Cloudways User Interface And Ease Of Use

Cloudways offers a user-friendly and intuitive interface that is easy to navigate. From the dashboard, users can access all their services and manage them efficiently. The platform allows for easy installation of apps such as WordPress, Magento, and Drupal with just one click through its one-stop application manager.

On the other hand, Bluehost provides a cPanel-powered dashboard which is familiar to most website owners or developers. The panel has numerous features like file manager, email management tools, web stats tool among others making it easier for users to customize their websites more robustly.

Overall, both platforms offer an intuitive interface that does not require any technical knowledge from users.

Bluehost User Interface And Ease Of Use

Bluehost has an intuitive and user-friendly control panel that makes website management easy for both beginners and experienced users alike. The cPanel is designed to help users complete tasks quickly, with a simple interface that offers one-click installations of popular software like WordPress and Joomla.

In terms of ease of use, Bluehost stands out with its optimized WordPress hosting services. They have pre-installed WordPress on all their plans, making it easier for beginners to get started without worrying about technical setup issues.

Moreover, when it comes to customer support, Bluehost provides 24/7 assistance through live chat or phone calls with knowledgeable agents who can solve any issue promptly while maintaining the utmost professionalism.

Customer Support

Cloudways offers 24/7 customer support via live chat, phone, and ticketing system with swift response times.

Cloudways Customer Support

Cloudways’ customer support is exceptional, and they offer 24/7 live chat support for all their hosting plans. Their support team is knowledgeable and responsive, providing swift resolution to any issues that arise.

Cloudways also offers extensive documentation on their website with easy-to-follow guides for troubleshooting common problems.

One of the key advantages of Cloudways’ customer support is their advanced tiers, which provide additional help with database conflicts as well as application optimization.

This level of service goes beyond what Bluehost can offer in terms of troubleshooting help.

Overall, if top-notch customer support is important to you, then you won’t be disappointed with Cloudways’ offering.

Bluehost Customer Support

Bluehost offers customer support through 24/7 live chat, phone, and email. However, many customers have reported long wait times and unhelpful responses from their support team.

Bluehost’s customer support is not as professional and helpful as Cloudways’. The lack of expertise in the people handling the queries adds to the frustration that clients face when trying to solve a problem or get help with an issue.

Furthermore, Bluehost’s knowledge base can be challenging for beginners to navigate because it lacks clear instructions and relevant articles on specific issues. This leads to more confusion than clarity when users attempt to fix problems themselves rather than contact customer support.

In contrast, Cloudways has a highly responsive and knowledgeable customer service team who consistently provide quality support experiences across all channels with quick turnarounds on requests.

They also have extensive documentation that covers everything from server setup to app installation which makes solving problems on your own much easier if desired.

Additional Perks And Services

Cloudways offers additional perks such as Jetpack Premium, free SSL certificates, automatic backups, staging environments, and collaboration tools with Git integration. Meanwhile, Bluehost’s additional services include Google Workspace email hosting and free domain registration for the first year.

Cloudways Additional Perks

Cloudways offers a range of additional perks that can enhance your website management experience. These include:

1. Free SSL certificates: All Cloudways plans come with Let’s Encrypt SSL certificates to secure your website.
2. Automatic backups: Daily offsite backups are taken automatically, and you can restore them with a click of a button.
3. Staging environments: Easily create a staging environment to test changes before publishing them on the live site.
4. Collaboration tools: You can share access to your servers with team members for easy collaboration.
5. Git integration: Deploy code directly from your repository with Git integration.
6. NVMe SSDs: Cloudways uses the latest and fastest NVMe SSDs for faster loading speeds.
7. Vultr High Frequency: This hosting option includes high-frequency CPU cores, making it ideal for resource-intensive websites.
8. Cloudflare Enterprise: Enjoy advanced DDoS protection with Cloudflare’s premium offering.
9. Caching layers: Choose from three caching layers – Varnish, Memcached, or Redis – to optimize performance.
10. CPU limits and throttling: You can set specific CPU limits for each application, reducing the risk of server overload and 503 errors.

Overall, Cloudways’ additional perks make managing and optimizing your website easier and more efficient.

Bluehost Additional Perks

Bluehost offers several additional perks to its customers, including:

1. Free domain name registration for the first year.
2. Unlimited website installations with certain hosting plans.
3. Automated backups and restoration options to protect against data loss.
4. Access to staging environments for testing and development purposes.
5. Integration with popular content management systems like WordPress and Joomla.
6. Free Google Workspace (formerly G Suite) email accounts for Business Pro plan subscribers.
7. Automatic malware scanning and removal services for enhanced security.
8. Marketing Center toolkit with SEO and ad integration tools to help businesses reach their target audience.

It is important to note that while Bluehost may offer attractive features like unlimited website installations and free domain name registration, its shared hosting plans may have steep renewal fees once the initial term ends. Additionally, Cloudways’ managed cloud hosting plans provide more scalability and performance than Bluehost’s shared hosting offerings.

Pros And Cons

Pros of Cloudways include its managed cloud infrastructure, various hosting types and features, affordable pricing plans, excellent performance and speed, advanced security measures, user-friendly interface and ease of use, top-notch customer support, additional perks like Jetpack Premium and free SSL certificates.

Pros of Bluehost include its wide range of shared hosting plans at affordable prices, beginner-friendly interface for ease of use and access to different site builders. Its cons are that it doesn’t offer any kind of cloud hosting which limits scalability options for users.

Pros Of Cloudways

Cloudways is a top-notch hosting provider that offers various advantages over its competitors. Here are some of the pros of using Cloudways:

1. Customizable plans: Cloudways offers customized plans to meet the specific needs of users, providing them with complete control over their resources and server configuration.
2. Top-tier performance: With multiple data centers and servers configured with Nginx, Apache, MySQL, MariaDB, PHP-FPM, Varnish, Memcached, Redis, and ThunderStack technologies guaranteeing fast page loads.
3. Inexpensive pricing: Compared to other managed hosting providers, Cloudways offers reasonable pricing options without compromising on quality.
4. Flexible billing options: Users only pay for the resources they use in Cloudways’ Pay-As-You-Go model.
5. Easy installation process: Installing WordPress on a Cloudways server is a breeze thanks to the one-click installer tool.
6. Free trial period: Users can test Cloudways’ services risk-free for up to three days before committing to a paid plan.
7. Automatic backups: With automatic backups and staging environments included in all hosting plans at no extra cost or hassle makes it an ideal solution for website testing purposes.
8. Collaborative tools that make teamwork and project management more accessible than ever before.
9. Excellent customer support: Cloudways provides 24/7 live chat support as well as ticket-based support providing reliable solutions any time problems arise.
10. Intuitive user interface – The platform’s user-friendly interface ensures accessibility for both beginners and experts alike making building websites easy and fun with its advanced features like integrated CDN (CloudFlare), Staging environments & Migrations tools available at your fingertips!

Cons Of Cloudways

Despite its advantages, Cloudways still has some drawbacks to consider:

1. Limited customer support channels: Unlike Bluehost, Cloudways does not offer phone support. Users can only contact customer support through live chat or email.
2. No domain registration service: Cloudways does not provide a domain registration service, so users will have to purchase this separately.
3. Migration fees for some plans: While Cloudways offers free migration services for some plans, it charges a fee for others.
4. Steeper pricing for higher-tiered plans: Cloudways’ pricing becomes more expensive as users move up to higher-tiered plans with more resources and features.
5. Complexity for beginners: The platform’s advanced features and customizable options may be overwhelming for those who are new to web hosting or website management.
6. Limited integration options: Compared to Bluehost, Cloudways has limited integration options with external tools and platforms.
7. Limited data center locations: Although Cloudways has multiple data centers across the globe, it still lacks the extensive reach of larger hosting providers like Bluehost and may not be the best choice if you need servers in very specific locations.

Despite these disadvantages, many users still prefer Cloudways due to its superior performance and flexibility when compared to traditional shared hosting providers like Bluehost.

Pros Of Bluehost

Bluehost is an affordable web hosting service with several benefits for users. Here are some of the pros of using Bluehost:

1. Inexpensive pricing: Bluehost offers shared hosting plans that are inexpensive, making it a budget-friendly option for users.
2. Easy to use: Bluehost has a user-friendly interface and a simple setup process, making it easy for beginners to get started.
3. Reliable uptime: Bluehost has a solid track record of uptime, ensuring that your website stays online and accessible to visitors.
4. Free domain name: When you sign up for any of Bluehost’s shared hosting plans, you get a free domain name for the first year.
5. Integration with WordPress: Bluehost is recommended by WordPress.org and comes with one-click installation, making it easy for users to set up their WordPress site quickly.
6. Good customer support: Bluehost offers 24/7 live chat and phone support, helping users with any issues they may encounter.
7. Security features: Bluehost provides security measures like SSL certificates, SSH access, and SiteLock security to protect user websites from malware attacks.
8. Scalability options: Although limited compared to Cloudways’ scalability options; Bluehost does provide some scalability options through its VPS and dedicated hosting plans.

Overall, while it may not be as versatile as Cloudways or more advanced hosting solutions in terms of customization options and performance speed; Bluehost still stands out as a good option for users looking for reliable shared hosting plans at an affordable price point with scalable upgrade options available as well as seamless integration with WordPress sites.

Cons Of Bluehost

Bluehost has some drawbacks that may not make it the ideal hosting solution for everyone. Here are some of the cons:

1. Bluehost only offers shared hosting plans, which can lead to slower website loading times during peak traffic hours.
2. Bluehost’s renewal fees can be steep, which means you’ll pay much more after your initial term ends.
3. Resources on Bluehost are shared among all clients on the same server, which can affect website performance and uptime in case of spikes in traffic or server issues.
4. Bluehost requires upfront payment for all plans, while Cloudways offers a pay-as-you-go model where you only pay for what you use.
5. Bluehost’s customer support is often criticized for being sales – oriented instead of providing technical support and troubleshooting help.
6. Compared to Cloudways, Bluehost lacks advanced features for developers like server scalability and integrated caching tools, making it less attractive to tech-savvy users.
7. Site migration services are not free on Bluehost; you have to pay additional fees if you need help moving an existing website from another provider.
8. While Bluehost offers a range of hosting types including VPS and dedicated hosting, these options may come at a higher cost compared to Cloudways’ flexible cloud infrastructure approach.
9. Some users have reported downtime issues with Bluehost, affecting their site availability and user experience.
10. Unlike Cloudways, Bluehost does not partner with big – name cloud network providers like Amazon Web Services or Google Cloud Platform.

Conclusion And Recommendation

After comparing and contrasting Cloudways and Bluehost, it is clear that both hosting providers have unique strengths and weaknesses. Cloudways’ managed cloud service offers excellent performance, security features like regular backups, staging environments, Git integration for developers with guaranteed resources at affordable prices.

If you prioritize security features, scalability in future requirements such as e-commerce growth or if you’re a developer who needs collaboration tools to build new websites for clients – Cloudways could be the perfect choice for your WordPress website.

Ultimately, it comes down to personal preference based on your budget and needs.

FAQs:

1. What is the difference between Cloudways and Bluehost?

Cloudways is a managed cloud hosting platform that offers greater scalability, flexibility and customization options while Bluehost offers shared hosting plans tailored towards beginners or smaller websites with limited traffic needs.

2. Which one is better for e-commerce sites – Cloudways or Bluehost?

Cloudways would be preferred over Bluehost for e-commerce sites as it provides more robust server resources to handle heavy traffic loads, faster page loading times and better security measures to protect sensitive customer information.

3. Does Cloudways offer better uptime than Bluehost?

Based on industry research and user reviews, CloudWays generally has a higher uptime rate compared to Bluehost due to its use of top-notch servers from leading providers like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Compute Engine (GCE) or Vultr among others

4. Is CloudWays significantly more expensive than BlueHost?

In general, CloudWays monthly pricing will be slightly higher than what you’d pay for comparable services from providers like HostGator or SiteGround however their value lies in offering customized solutions & flexible payment options depending upon usage requirements while also providing customers with access extensive support system as well as various other complementary tools & features usually absent from typical web hosts.