Hosting and domain goes hand in hand. If you are planning to launch your website, these two are the most integral part of your journey. If your website is a bicycle then domain and hosting are the two wheels of your cycle. This is so important that often we get confused about where we should get these services. For those who are less familiar with the term domain and hosting, let us clarify more on these two terms.
Domain is the address of your website. It is the name of your website that can be looked on the internet to find your website. For example facebook.com and youtube.com are the domain of these websites. The name of your website is regarded as the domain of your website. On the other hand, the hosting is like the storage where all your information, data, backup will be stored. How quickly your website will load, how many videos you can upload on your website etc. will depend on the features of your hosting.
In this article we will discuss two prominent hosting service providers. Namecheap and Bluehost are the two most popular and promising website hosting providers.
In the following, we will compare both of these service providers in the light of different variables. In the end, we would like to reach a conclusion and announce a winner of Namecheap vs Bluehost.
In the following we will compare the merits of these esteemed service providers in four different rounds.
- Round 1: Feature comparison of Namecheap and Bluehost
- Round 2: User experience (UX) of Namecheap and Bluehost
- Round 3: Namecheap and Bluhost’s customer support
- Round 4: Pricing and packages comparison of Namecheap and Bluehost
Let’s dig deeper to know more about these hosting providers and see who turns out to be the winner.
Namecheap vs Bluehost: Feature Comparison (Round 1)
Namecheap and Bluehost being among the market leaders, have developed their products quite well. Both of the service providers are offering feature rich products. When it comes to hosting, Bluehost has been in the market longer compared to Namecheap. Namecheap was originally focused on providing domains for websites.
However, very recently they have also added hosting service in their product line. With the existing popularity of Namecheap as a prominent domain registrar it was easy for them to include a new product and make a buzz in the market within very less time. In the following we will compare the features of Namecheap and Bluehost.
Bluehost’s Features
Bluehost has shared hosting as well as managed WordPress hosting. In general, the following features come with the hosting of Bluehost.
Free domain: If you purchase hosting from Bluehost,they will give you one domain free with the hosting for the first year. You will be charged for renewal fee after one year.
Unlimited Bandwidth: The hosting service of Bluehost comes with unlimited bandwidth that you can enjoy.
Free SSL Certificate: Bluehost gained quite popularity since they started giving away the SSL certificate for free with every purchase of their hosting.
WordPress Compatible: The hosting service of Bluehost gets a pat on the back for its amazing compatibility with WordPress. WordPress installs are done seamlessly. Along with that you can enjoy auto updates for specific WordPress features.
Along with the shared hosting packages, Bluehost offers managed WordPress hosting packages as well. These packages come with more advanced and detailed features that you can benefit from.
Namecheap’s Features
Namecheap comes with shared hosting as well as managed WordPress hosting service similar to Bluehost. Even though Namecheap is new in the market, however they are giving Bluehost quite a run with their feature rich packages. In the following we will discuss the features of Namecheap’s hosting.
Free Domain Name: Namecheap also gives you a free domain with the hosting. However, these domains has to be within specific extensions. The domain will be free for the first year and will be charged with renewal fee yearly.
Unlimited Website: The bottom tier Stellar plan offers three websites with the domain, however the other packages come with unlimited website options if you get the hosting from Namecheap.
Unlimited Bandwidth: Namecheap also comes with unlimited bandwidth similar to Bluehost. This feature is available with all the shared packages of Namecheap.
100% Uptime: Namecheap guarantees their hosting to have 100% uptime irrespective of the package you are using.
Backups: The bottom tier plan of Namecheap has the backup feature included. However, the top tier plans also come with the auto backup feature.
Website Migration for Free: Namecheap is different from Bluehost in this feature. They offer free migration with hosting which is not present among the features of Bluehost.
WordPress features: To access additional WordPress features, you have to integrate with the Namecheap’s managed WordPress service EasyWP.
These are the features that Bluehost and Namecheap have to offer with their hosting service. We can clearly see that both service providers are upgrading their game in order to ensure they are feature rich. None of the service providers is doing less than the other. They are going neck to neck when it comes to having adequate features for their customers. So the first round is not indicative of a clear winner. After the end of round 1, both Bluehost and Namecheap gave a good fight with quality features and options. So the first round ends in a draw.
The score so far is,
- Bluehost: 01
- Namecheap: 01
Namecheap vs Bluehost: User Experience (UX) (Round 2)
In the following we will discuss the user experience quality of Bluehost and Namecheap to get an idea which service provider has an advantage when it comes to ensuring quality user experience. In the following we will shed light on the different perspectives of the user experience of Bluehost and Namecheap.
User Experience of Bluehost
Bluehost comes with an easy to understand and navigate user experience. If you are a beginner, setting up a website using Bluehost will be a lot easier for you. Bluehost comes with a very clean and simple dashboard. You can easily navigate through the dashboard and go through what you need to do. You can manage your site, visit the marketplace to see different products within Bluehost, manage your domains and also get into advanced mode if you are good at it. Along with that, in the WordPress shared hosting plan Bluehost takes care of the WordPress installation automatically. Making it super easy for beginners to get started with their website with Bluehost. Along with that, inside the WordPress installation process, there is a built in Bluehost menu to help you easily navigate through the setup and design process. With the help of the Bluehost menu you can easily create posts, pages, manage different menus, and install WooCommerce and do other necessary setup. Bluehost tried to ensure a simple and easy to navigate user experience for its users.
User Experience (UX) of Namecheap
Once you have opened an account on Namecheap and purchased a hosting from them, you will gain access to their dashboard. The dashboard of Namecheap comes with the options to manage your accounts, hosting, domains etc. To set up a new website using Namecheap, you will have to take assistance from the Softaculous App installer from the cPanel. Unlike Bluehost, Namecheap will not take care of installing WordPress for you. You can use the Softaculous App to get the necessary set up done. This might not come handy to beginners who are trying to set up a website of their own. However, Namecheap has the website migration option and it is completely free. This is not present in the case of Bluehost. Thus it can be considered as an advantage for Namecheap.
If we compare the overall service of Bluehost and Namecheap we can say that in terms of user experience Bluehost gets an upper hand. Because of its clean and simple user experience, easy to navigate setup process and automatic installation. A beginner will feel at ease with Bluehost compared to Namecheap. Along with that, Namecheap has not updated their interface drastically for a long time. As a result it lacks the modern, upbeat and simple touch that Bluehost can offer. As a result, Namecheap gets a little push back for its not so wow user experience. So in terms of user experience, Bluehost is the winner.
After the finish of round two, the score card is –
- Bluehost: 02
- Namecheap: 01
Namecheap vs Bluehost: Customer Support (Round 3)
Namecheap and Bluehost both are on the ball when it comes to customer support. With speedy customer support, knowledge base and friendly approach both are ensuring top notch customer service. Customer support is an integral part of a decision making process because proper customer support is a blessing. Quality customer support can reduce the hassle and provide you a seamless experience.
Bluehost offers 24/7 phone and live chat service. From my personal experience, I have received prompt responses and adequate solutions from Bluehost many times. The advantage of Bluehost over Namecheap is that it provides customer support over the phone, which is not present in Namecheap. However, Namecheap also has 24/7 customer support through email and live chat. They have gathered adequate positive reviews due to their customer service as well.
So in terms of customer support both Bluehost and Namecheap get a point. Thus at the end of the round 3, the score is – Bluehost: 03, Namecheap: 02.
Bluehost vs Namecheap: Pricing (Round 4)
Pricing is one of the essential factors that motivates the decision of many individuals. At times, pricing is the only factor that finalizes the overall decision of the customer. In the following we discuss the different pricing and packages that the service providers have.
Pricing of Bluehost
The cheapest hosting plan for Bluehost starts with $3.95 per month. You can benefit the most from it if you purchase a 36 month long plan at one go. However, after three years, the monthly renewal fee will be back at $7.99. In the following find out the updated pricing comparison of different hosting packages of Bluehost.
Pricing of Namecheap
Namecheap comes with a different variation of hosting packages for you. The shared hosting package of Namecheap starts with $2.88 per month. You can get it at $1.44 per month if you purchase it for a year at one go. Namecheap gives you the flexibility to pay on a monthly basis. If you are a fan of making payments per month, Namecheap can be a good option for you.
In case of dedicated hosting, the lowest price in Namecheap starts with $48.88 per month.
Currently the starting price in Bluehost is higher than Namecheap. Along with that, Namecheap also offers flexible pricing opportunities for its customers and has comparatively lower renewal prices. However, both service providers have a 30 day money back guarantee.
From the overall comparison we can say that, Namecheap won this round by a little margin due to its less renewal fee and flexible payment option.
So at the end of round 4 the score is tied at
- Bluehost: 02
- Namecheap: 02
And the Winner is…
Considering all the factors that have been discussed above there is one final winner in the bout of Bluehost vs Namecheap. After the end of four nail-biting rounds and roller coaster ride, the winning hosting service provider is Bluehost.
With its easy to understand user experience, automatic set up, built in the market place and feature richness, Bluehost stands tall as the winner over Namecheap.
However, the pricing flexibility and lower renewal fee of Namecheap deserve honorable mention.
If you are a beginner and planning to get your website up and running using WordPress, the Bluehost undoubtedly will be the right choice for you.
On the other hand,
Namecheap also has good features that you might find interesting and you can pick Namecheap if you want flexibility in pricing. From the overall discussion we can reach a conclusion that, in spite of having individual merits, Bluehost gets to flex due its additional perks.
But if you are still not ready to choose one, you may have to look for another company or search for more comparisons like the Bluehost vs Hostinger to form your own opinion and choose the best option for you.
