I want to do this review of DreamHost because I think it is the perfect hosting for a new blogger. DreamHost’s shared hosting is fast, cheap, and easy to install.
The problem for someone who wants to start a blog is always choosing the perfect hosting.
This is because, at the beginning of the blogging journey, we don’t know how hosting will affect the performance of the blog.
I know that a cloud hosting service can be expensive at the beginning, though the payment of the hosting is monthly.
For this reason I was looking for an affordable hosting service that you can use at the beginning of your blogging journey.
After looking at several hosting services I found DreamHost. In this review of DreamHost I am going to test its cheapest plan to see if it is right for you.
Table of Contents
Review of DreamHost
I like this hosting company because they offer WordPress hosting for the price of $2.59 per month. For me, that is affordable.
But the price of a .com domain name is not cheap.
DreamHost Solutions
This company offers a variety of solutions that will be helpful for you, but, in this review of DreamHost, I am only going to write about WordPress hosting.
Customer Support
It’s my opinion that customer support must be good and be available 24/7. You never know when an accident may happen.
This hosting company says that they have 24/7 expert support, but it isn’t 24/7 human support.
This hosting company has 24/7 chatbot support, but real customer support is available if you are a client. At least, that’s my understanding.
DreamHost Prices
These are the monthly WordPress hosting plans. Like every other hosting company, if you want the cheapest, most basic plan ($2.95 per month) you have to pay three years upfront.
However, if you want to pay monthly and not be tied to it, then the most basic WordPress hosting plan is $4.95.
The basic WordPress hosting plans have two options:
In this review of DreamHost, I am going to open an account with the WordPress starter option.
The major differences between these two options are:
- The number of websites/blogs you can have
- Emails accounts
If you are just starting out in the blogging world, you can start with the WordPress starter plan.
In case you need emails, you can open an account in G Suite—for me this is the best solution.
This hosting company offers a free domain name, but only if you pay one year in advance.
STEP BY STEP, HOW TO START A BLOG WITH DREAMHOST
1) PICK A PLAN
For this review of DreamHost, I will choose the WordPress starter plan. For that, I will click on Sign Up Now and this window will appear.
2) CHOOSE A DOMAIN NAME
My recommendation for you, in this review of DreamHost, is to go to the best place to buy a cheap domain name—Namecheap—and buy your domain name there.
Here I am going to use my domain name for testing.
3) CHECKOUT
In the checkout section, uncheck DreamShield Protection and DreamHost Email; you won’t need those add-ons.
After that just click on Submit Order.
And you will now have your hosting in DreamHost.
4) LINKING YOUR DOMAIN NAME IN NAMECHEAP WITH DREAMHOST
Let me tell you in this review of DreamHost that the best part is that, when you are in your cPanel, the WordPress installation happens immediately. You don’t have to worry about it.
So now I will show you, in this review of DreamHost, how to link your domain name in Namecheap with DreamHost.
The hosting company will send an email with this data:
With that information, go to your domain name in Namecheap. You must do this configuration:
In NAMESERVERS, select Custom DNS and just copy and paste the information the hosting company sent you. That is all.
5) YOUR BLOG ON DREAMHOST IS READY
After just one hour of waiting, your blog on this hosting company will be ready.
That is how to start a blog with DreamHost.
Now I will show you, in this review of DreamHost, how to set up your blog.
THE SETUP OF YOUR BLOG IN THIS DREAMHOST REVIEW
ENTERING YOUR WORDPRESS BLOG
To enter your blog in DreamHost for the first time you must first log in to WordPress and click on Open WordPress Editor.
Then you will see Boldgrid Inspirations. This is a plugin that comes with your hosting.
There is a solution to avoid the plugin and have a clear installation. You can see that after Boldgrid Inspirations there is a warning. On the warning, click on Yes, take me to my profile page.
And you will see this:
You can generate a new password in Account Management.
DELETE UNNECESSARY PLUGINS
What I didn’t like about this hosting company is the unnecessary plugins you find.
My recommendation, in this review of DreamHost, is to delete all the unnecessary plugins and only keep WP Super Cache. This plugin will help you with the loading speed of your blog.
ACTIVATE THE SSL CERTIFICATE
This is an important step because your new blog needs to be secure for your readers.
First, click on Domain and find: SSL/TLS Certificates
And then you will see this window:
You just have to click Add to see this window:
Select the Free Certificate; you don’t need more than that.
Once you have selected the Free SSL Certificate, you will see this:
You won’t see your blog for almost 15 minutes—that is normal so don’t worry about it.
Once the SSL certificate is ready, you will see this:
Your blog in DreamHost is ready!
And that is all you need to know about how to start a blog with DreamHost.
NOW LET’S TEST THE DREAMHOST HOSTING
DreamHost is a popular shared hosting platform for new bloggers who are looking for affordable prices.
I am going to run a speed test in GTMetrix.
The first test is with no post on the blog, just the brand new blog:
The loading speed is good: less than one second.
Now let’s put some content on the blog to see if there is a change.
And here is the result:
Same loading time. That is good.
So for $4.95 per month, you can have a good loading speed and an optimized hosting.
DREAMHOST’S HOSTING PROS AND CONS
After opening an account in DreamHost and testing the hosting, let me tell you my pros and cons:
Pros
- Automatic WordPress installation
- Fast loading times
- A beautiful cPanel
- One-click SSL installation
- No need for customer support to install your WordPress blog
CONS
- You only get a discount if you pay one year in advance
- Unnecessary plugins on your blog
- No human 24/7 customer support
CONCLUSIONS
DreamHost’s basic shared hosting plan is an excellent solution for new bloggers. For $4.95 you get an optimized hosting that will get you a fast loading speed for your blog.
I like the automatic WordPress installation—that was a pleasant surprise.
One excellent feature is the one-click SSL installation. Trust me, this feature is not offered by all hosting companies.
But I don’t like that you can only get a discount if you pay one year in advance.
I also don’t understand why DreamHost installs unnecessary plugins on a brand new blog. For me, this was a bad user experience.
But all in all, opening an account in DreamHost was an enjoyable experience that I can recommend to you if you are looking for a good (and almost cheap) option to start your blogging journey.
DreamHost proved to be a good option for a beginner blogger.
That is all for this review of DreamHost.
If you want to know how to start a blog in the cloud, please read this post: How to start a blog: A great and practical beginner’s guide.
