Why WordPress Recommends BlueHost for WordPress Web Hosting
Some of you have come to me saying WordPress recommends BlueHost and so why it isn't working well for them, their implicit expectation being that because WordPress recommends BlueHost, it must be the best for WordPress. That is far from truth.
The real reason WordPress recommends BlueHost is because WordPress and BlueHost have worked out a good deal (best deal WordPress could get). You don't believe me? Go to their hosting page and check out the link to BlueHost. It is an affiliate link: www.bluehost.com/track/wp/one
It's all about business. For each sale they make a significant sum of money, probably much more than any normal affiliate because they are a super affiliate that sends many customers regularly from WordPress sites. Why do you think they have so many recommendations there? Have they used them all?
What do you think WordPress.com uses for web hosting? Is it BlueHost or any of the the other affiliate links on their web hosting pages? Think again. It uses LayeredTech, an unmanaged dedicated server provider, the same provider I use to host my blogs. You want proof?
Server: 172.16.0.50
Address: 172.16.0.50#53
Non-authoritative answer:
Name: wordpress.com
Address: 72.232.101.43
Name: wordpress.com
Address: 72.232.101.41
[angsuman@jaguar ~]$ nslookup 72.232.101.41
Server: 4.2.2.1
Address: 4.2.2.1#53
Non-authoritative answer:
41.101.232.72.in-addr.arpa name = 41.101.232.72.static.reverse.layeredtech.com.
All the links in their hosting page are affiliate links. If you are looking for shared web hosting, I would suggest that you go one step higher and use VPN hosting. I would highly recommend WestHost. I have used them for several years without problems.
Filed under Headline News, Open Source Software, Pro Blogging, Web, Web 2.0, Web Hosting, Web Services, WordPress | Tags: Truth, Why | 
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July 17th, 2007 at 3:40 am
So what who pays for the huge amount of bandwidth and web hosting costs for Wordpress.org ?
for wordpress.com I think they have there own dedicated machines from Datacenters like The Planet etc. it would be silly to be hosting wordpress.com with Bluehost.
July 17th, 2007 at 1:14 pm
It could be that they get a huge fee, but it could also be because Bluehost is a good host. I use them for my site, and have had nothing but good experiences with them. I originally signed on for one of the smaller plans (10GB, I think). When Bluehost changed its pricing structure offering 30GB for the price of what 10GB used to be, they gave me the upgrade without me even having to ask. Also, they have been exceptionally good about sending out emails letting their customers know when, and what, changes are going to be made. I don’t make any affiliate funds from them, but I would recommend them for someone hosting a small to medium Wordpress site.
July 18th, 2007 at 12:20 pm
I’m a bit curious about the Bluehost situation as well since, like Fonzo, I use them and have been generally happy with their service with some minor nits here and there. Granted, I’m not running a huge site and this is my first experience with a hosted environment (having moved over from Blogger). What sorts of concerns have your readers expressed about Bluehost?
July 19th, 2007 at 11:42 am
For me it is pretty obvious that wordpress is an affiliate of BlueHost.
But the fact that they are, says to me bluehost is a company you can trust.
I mean wordpress wouldn’t recommend them if they weren’t sure about their service.
For me wordpress is a good reference.
November 27th, 2007 at 8:45 pm
As a newbie, I have started with GeoCities, Tripod and Google Pages. Now I want to consider either GoDaddy or Host Gator. Can you suggest which one would be more reliable for my small home business purposes? I would be very grateful for your advice.
November 27th, 2007 at 10:11 pm
Use WestHost. I used them for severally years and highly recommend them.
January 8th, 2008 at 7:22 pm
Love the plug/affiliate link for WestHost
(http://affiliates.westhost.com/z/9/CD291/) So do you REALLY like WestHost because they are a good provider, or because they give affiliate $ for saying that are a good host?
This is a serious question, because I’m looking to switch hosts from Bluehost. Bluehost is giving me problems with CPU quota when one visitor visits my Gallery 2 website. I am willing to pay as much as 2-3x as much for hosting, as long as I can avoid the same CPU problems as Bluehost. If I end up paying double just for the same problems and fewer features, that’s going to just annoy me :p.
January 8th, 2008 at 8:57 pm
I have had very good experience with WestHost, much better than my current provider LFCHosting. I switched only because I needed a dedicated server moving forward. Believe it or not their vps is a steal for the price.
As for support they tend to be succint but mostly accurate.
With vps you get full control over your system unlike a shared hosting solution like bluehost or dreamhost.
Having said that even a vps is shared with other users. However the quota tends to be much higher than shared hosting.
October 7th, 2008 at 6:00 pm
Isn’t word press from California or something? I’m pretty sure Bluehost is a Utah company and I don’t think they are the same but it makes sense that wordpress would use someone like bluehost as their primary hosting site as the costs to do so are quite big. Anyhow, I just saw the wordpress conference (wordcamp) in Utah about a week ago and it was pretty awesome. There’s some sweet stuff coming up for the new version. Check: http://www.bestofthewebhosts.com/blog/?p=61
They also have a deal running on bluehost hosting right now on that blog which appears to be working when I clicked through it: http://www.bestofthewebhosts.com/blog/?p=52
November 2nd, 2008 at 2:31 pm
alguien que me pueda ayudar con la configuración de wordpress en bluehost????
Me salen duplicados los videos de youtube y tengo problemas al postear ya que se me bloquea la página.
En fin, no sé que pasa y no me saben solucionar nada de nada allí.
Llevo 1 mes y no me imagino funcionar así 11 meses más…
November 14th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
i dont know much about this blue press thing or whatever but i know that i like wordpress better than other ones
November 22nd, 2008 at 6:43 pm
i use bluehost and dreamhost together for hosting my blog wordpress,
i’m very satisfaid !
Attention for Dreamhost if you have al at off visitor and seriouse mysql usage, dreamhost suggest to buy a vps service (it’s not expensif)
bluehost or dreamhost , i’m very satisfaid
have a nice day
December 12th, 2008 at 7:14 pm
i’m using bluehost to host my personal, and my 12 clients wordpress blogs / websites… if you wanna promote your affiliate hoster, don’t do it on the account of other great web hosting services.
bluehost is exactly what you pay for , and for me , and more than satisfied. if you want somethin higher , go to media temple.
December 18th, 2008 at 10:00 pm
If I were to recommend a hosting company it would have to either Bluehost or Hostmonster. When working with Wordpress installations (or other Fantastico installs) they’ve made it simple and the support they offer makes the hosting worry free.
December 26th, 2008 at 12:08 pm
yeah…. i cant live with out cpanel and fantastico.. in fact it make it simple and easy to use and install everything you want..
jan
January 20th, 2009 at 4:10 pm
I am very satisfied with my hosting on Bluehost. I have three Wordpress blogs up so far and haven’t had any issues. It was very simple getting everything set up and and unlike GoDaddy everything works as it should on Bluehost.
January 22nd, 2009 at 6:21 pm
nice post man! very informative.
January 22nd, 2009 at 6:28 pm
Nice to see good posts like this one, Great Info thanks.
January 22nd, 2009 at 8:29 pm
Good reading, thanks.
February 10th, 2009 at 4:45 am
I dunno if bluehost is the best for wordpress but they do have simplescripts which does one click installs of wordpress. Made my day after I picked up the hosting for only 5 bucks a month (http://www.bestofthewebhosts.com/blog/?p=52 - took me forever to find that link again so hopefully someone finds it useful). Simplescripts is pretty sweet. It basically allows you to install things like wordpress (or blogger if you like that more) and about 40 other common web apps with one click. I haven’t seen it anywhere else though which is why I stick with bluehost so far.
March 9th, 2009 at 1:41 pm
Dude. Your link to Westhost is an affiliate link. What makes you any different than Wordpress?
March 11th, 2009 at 4:01 am
There’s a reason I started up my website, Bluehostsucks.com . They might pay a lot of money to Wordpress to be listed as a hosting provider, but they’re far from the best.
March 28th, 2009 at 12:41 pm
Hola everyone. Well, I want to start my own website. I know, I need web hosting but no clue what I should be looking for in a service provider. Lately all i’ve been doing is reading reviews on web page hosting but wondering if you guys can recommend any service provider from your own experience. I found two service providers but they have some stupid rule about paying for 2 years in advance and I don’t feel comfortable paying that much money. thanks in advance.
March 29th, 2009 at 6:06 am
Hola everyone. I have decided to start my own personal website. I know, I need web hosting but no clue what I should be looking for in a hosting service. I’ve been busy reading reviews on web page hosting but wondering if you guys can suggest any provider from your own experience. I found two web hosts but they require 1 year advance payment and I don’t feel comfortable paying that much money. thanks in advance.
May 23rd, 2009 at 9:33 am
i know that i like word-press better than other ones but i dont know much about this blue press thing or whatever.
July 12th, 2009 at 8:10 am
BlueHost is one of the largest “shared” hosting provider. They offer only one hosting plan. Unlike other hosting providers like HostGator and WestHost (that you mentioned), they don’t provide dedicated servers and managed hosting. So they are actually targeting a different group of customers. If you are looking to build the next YouTube or an opensource software that comes head to head with WordPress, BlueHost is definitely not for you!
September 28th, 2009 at 8:54 am
So, who’s the best host for Wordpress if not Godaddy or Bluehost?
October 7th, 2009 at 10:37 am
There is nothing special about using Wordpress with Bluehost. You can use Wordpress with any web hosting provider that supports it.
You are right about cutting a deal and getting paid for every referral… and this is probably why wordpress recommends Bluehost