The Bluehost Website Builder has multiple plans that focus on the features you get instead of usage limits. It has three plans and all of them come with hosting, a free domain for the first year, and an SSL certificate.
When considering everything together, Bluehost is competitive in the website builder market. The entry-level plans are fairly priced but the online store builder plan can get pricy in the second term when taking into consideration what it offers.
The entry-level plan is called Basic and is $2.95/month for the initial twelve-month term then it comes in at $10.99/month. The plan allows users to set up an unlimited number of websites, provides a few hundred templates to start the site-building process, hundreds of stock photos to design a site, access to custom CSS and HTML options, and a free SSL certificate. This is the ideal choice for smaller WordPress sites.
This plan is $9.95/month for the initial twelve-month term then increases to $14.99/month. It expands on the Basic plan by giving users access to domain privacy to hide their personal details from the public record, specialized templates for eCommerce storefronts, unlimited product upload options, and integrations with multiple payment processors.
The largest plan is $24.95 for the first twelve-month term then renews at $39.95/month. It’s geared towards making it possible to optimize an online storefront for conversions and revenue. It allows customers to set up a store and provide discounts (using a discount generator), offers recurring subscriptions for products, and even gets local tax for their products.
Think of the Bluehost website builder as the perfect companion to WordPress that’s designed to make it easier for website owners to build good-looking sites. The emphasis is on ease of use and it has done a good job of giving users the tools they need without adding complexity. The tradeoff is that it’s not as customizable as some website builders like Wix. As mentioned earlier, this isn’t a problem for most users.
The major features can be mastered in s single day, the page options have been laid out in a thoughtful manner, and there are many helpful resources users can take advantage of. Though the learning curve isn’t steep, you should still dedicate some time to learning how to use it.
Bluehost has been around for almost two decades and has been able to establish multiple channels for customer support during that time. There’s 24/7 support and the majority of support reps have a deep understanding of the product so they can solve most issues during the initial conversation.
The website builder has the core features you’d expect such as a drag-and-drop editor, site customization tools, call-to-action buttons, email capture forms, hundreds of stock photos, and SEO optimization options. It also goes beyond what you’d expect in a run-of-the-mill website builder.
It provides email marketing tools that are integrated seamlessly with the email collection forms. Acquire email addresses from any page, add them to the email marketing tool, and send out regular newsletters to keep subscribers engaged and coming back for more.
The Bluehost Website Builder was made from the ground up to work with WordPress. When editing or creating pages with it, you’re able to transition to your WordPress site with a single click. If you want to go back to the website builder, it’s also just a single click away.
The built-in appointment booking application allows you to set up a scheduling page on your website – or update another page with scheduling options. Visitors can come, book a session, and the application will take care of reminders and other aspects of logistics for your meetings.
There are hundreds of templates in the Bluehost collection but they’re not all laid out for selection. Instead, when setting up your site, you can type in the type of website you’re creating like restaurant, consulting, etc. and it’ll populate the page with options that are relevant to your needs. This helps save you time and makes the massive amount of choice manageable. After choosing a template, it cannot be changed but it can be customized to meet your needs. Additionally, there are specialized templates for eCommerce stores.
From a design perspective, you may not find anything that’ll win an award but you won’t be disappointed either. They will allow you to create a professional-looking website in a fraction of the time it would normally take. The editor has multiple options but there’s a limit to the amount of design flexibility possible. For example, it’s a drag-and-drop editor but you can’t place elements wherever you want – they snap into place. This won’t be an issue for most users.
Bluehost got its start nearly two decades ago as a hosting service for small and medium businesses. Today, it has a suite of products for many aspects of business operations. Its website builder is one of the new editions and is designed to make the most of WordPress while delivering an experience that’s easy for beginners to master. It has a large collection of templates, supports eCommerce stores, provides email collection forms and built-in email marketing, and even provides tools for appointment booking. It’s a complete website builder.
With that being said, it’s not perfect. The ease of use comes at the expense of design flexibility. If you need a pixel-perfect design then this may not be the best choice for you – though it will meet the needs of 99% of customers. The responsive customer support, fair pricing, and added marketing features make this a website builder worth checking out for small and medium businesses.
