Looking to start a new blog, switch hosting providers, or transfer from WordPress.com? Let us make it easy for you. Our friends over at Bluehost has agreed to offer all WPBeginner users a limited time deal: 60% discount and a free domain name.
This super exclusive offer expires on July 26th, 2016 (11:59 PM MST) and is only being offered through WPBeginner.
You can start your blog for as low as $2.95 / month which is their lowest price ever → Claim this Offer ←
Why Bluehost? Because they are an official WordPress recommended hosting provider.
Bluehost is one of the oldest web hosting companies on the web (started in 1996 – older than Google). They are the largest brand name in WordPress hosting and host millions of websites including several of our own.
Full Disclosure: When you purchase using our referral link, at no additional cost to you, we will receive a small commission. We would get this referral fee for recommending just about any other company, but we only recommend products that we personally use and/or believe will add value to our readers.
Who is this offer great for?
Well everyone, but in particular: those starting a new blog or switching from WordPress.com to a self-hosted WordPress.org blog.
We have written a full article on WordPress.com vs WordPress.org, but here’s the summary of why you should use self-hosted WordPress:
- You get a free domain name (only if you go with Bluehost)
- You have access to more themes and design customization options.
- You can install plugins.
- You can run your own ads without any restrictions.
- You can create your own store.
- You own and control your content (whereas on WordPress.com you are restricted to their Terms of Service, and they often show ads to your users unless you pay them not to).
Not convinced yet?
Bonus offer: Our expert team will help you get started. Bluehost promised us that if you signup using our referral link, then they will compensate us to do the blog setup for you. We will even migrate your WordPress.com blog over to self-hosted WordPress. Here’s how to claim this offer:
1. Signup using our referral link
2. Fill out the form on this page and that’s it!
Who Shouldn’t Use this Offer?
This offer is not good for everyone. Our goal at WPBeginner is to guide the users to make the best decision regardless of whether we get paid or not.
The biggest catch here is the term “unlimited space and bandwidth”, and we want to explain that.
The way these shared hosting companies are able to offer such affordable prices is by allowing multiple users to share a large server. By having multiple sites on the same server, it allows them to reduce costs for everyone.
Think of the savings as riding a bus vs your own car.
Having that said, there is no such thing as unlimited. While it says unlimited, you still have usage restrictions. If your site starts to take up substantial server load, then they will politely force you to upgrade. If they don’t take this action, then it has negative effects on the overall performance of every other site sharing the same server.
As conventional wisdom goes, your overhead costs will grow with your business!
If your website is getting millions of pageviews per month, then this $2.95 hosting plan won’t work for you. You should look into getting a VPS or even managed WordPress hosting.
However if you are just starting out or have a small business website, then there is no reason for you to pay hundreds of dollars each month for resources you won’t use. You should absolutely definitely take advantage of this shared hosting offer.
→ Signup with Bluehost Now ← – Lowest prices ever + a free domain name.
Anne
Does this deal apply to me? I’m a WP.org user with a self-hosted website (10 published pages on the site)?
Dell Walston
Would this be a good place for me to start a garden blog? I have never used Wordpress, BlueHost, etc. All of this is new to me and although nervous, know that I have much to offer the gardening community. I see that the $2.95 offer expired July 1st. What is the current charge?
WPBeginner Support
You can use this Bluehost Coupon to signup with $3.95/month.
Admin
Jack
Can’t find the offer when I click through. I’m quite new to the WP thing so I’m not even sure if I need this? Seems like everyone everywhere wants money for something and I’m not sure what’s necessary and what I can live without.
Editorial Staff
This offer expired yesterday. You definitely need hosting for your blog. See the link we mentioned in this article about WordPress.com vs WordPress.org
Admin
Amanda
Didn’t realise it was US$ but that’s ok. Still an awesome offer. Signed up an idle domain name I’ve had sitting there for ages. Just the kick in the butt I needed to get action going! Thanks.
Editorial Staff
It’s always great to take advantage of an offer like this to get a kick start
Admin
Michele Verley
I started the login process with bluehost via your link but there was so mention of a free domain name. In fact as I’m going through the payment process it tells me the domain fee of $11.99. Is that part of the offer expired? Thanks.
WPBeginner Support
The offer is still valid, please retry.
Admin
Subrato
How to add ad on my word press site?
WPBeginner Support
Signup for an advertising program like Google Adsense. Then follow our guide how to add google adsense to your WordPress site.
Admin
Connie Sanders
How long is the domain name free? And what will be the cost to renew the domain name after the free period? As well as the cost to renew the hosting? I believe you said the $2.95 is good for one year.
If I am not happy with the hosting service, can I change hosts taking my domain name with me? I don’t want to have a hosts that keeps all my data, etc. or charges me an arm and a leg to release.
Thank you for sharing this offer. I am very new to this business of blogging and this seems a good/affordable way to start. Albeit, a little nervous!
Editorial Staff
Hey Connie,
The domain is registered for a year. They’ll renew it when you renew your plan. Hosting renewal price varies based on the deal that they have going on during that time.
If you’re not happy with their service, then you can absolutely switch and take your domain with you. You can follow the instructions on this article should you decide to switch later:
https://www.wpbeginner.com/beginners-guide/when-should-you-change-your-wordpress-web-hosting-top-7-key-indicators/
Admin
Sonya Hill
I am going to need email services too. Is this included? How do I get an email address that is compatible with the domain name etc?
Sandra Martin
Hello is this offer open to Canadians, or only Americans? Thanks
Charisse
Thank you for the offer, I’m glad that I researched and found your article and offer. I’d like to know if I can host two domains on one account, as I do on my current host, or do I have to have separate $2.95 per month accounts for each domain’s website. Thank you.
Editorial Staff
On the $2.95 plan, you can only host one website. They do offer another plan which is $4.95 which allows multiple websites.
Admin
jill
Sounds great.
I have a wordpress.com and it works fine for me but I always read I should be on the .org.
I have my domain already through godaddy and it is rerouted to my blog.
I’m nervous to switch b/c I’m not technical (which is why I like the .com)
Question: What other costs are associated with this? Is the $2.95 month paid in a year’s chunk or month to month?
Will you move everything over including comments, likes, etc..
Will the site look exactly the same?
What happens if I hate it? Can I just switch back to wordpress.com without any disruption?
Thanks! This looks like a great offer, I’m just not sure I’m ready to make the leap
Editorial Staff
Hi Jill,
1. You have to pay that $2.95 in a year’s chunk.
2. Yes, we will move over everything including comments, posts, etc. Likes cannot be moved unless you have a custom domain on WordPress.com.
3. The site will look exactly the same if that theme is available on WordPress.org (most are).
4. Yes you can switch back without disruption.
Admin
shaurya
hey
great offer. I would like to know if this offer is just for the first year or forever ?. secondly I want to purchase the PLUS plan, the one in the middle, is it also on discount ??
And lastly, what will be the grandtotal if I chose 1 yr PLUS plan without any additional services, they are not showing the GRAND total and are straight away asking for the CC info
thanks
Editorial Staff
This offer is for 1 year only. Most promotional offers are ran the same way.
Yes the middle plan is also on discount. I think it’s at $4.95 / month.
As long as you don’t select any other services during the checkout, the grand total is the plan you select (pre-paid annually).
Admin
A
What about switching hosts period?
Say you are at site5 or iPage? Would you help set up the transaction?
Rick
I have been planning to start a blog and go through BlueHost. I have a WP.com blog that I don’t use right now. I was planning to purchase a WP theme from outside of WP. In addition, I already own a domain (actually 3) through 1&1. Can I use this offer to migrate my WP.com to WP.org, then use my owned domain name on BlueHost? Can I use a purchased WP theme, like from ThemeGrill? I am just starting out.
WPBeginner Support
Yes, you can totally do that.
Admin
Lucy
This looks like a great offer, but I have already bought the domain name I wish to use via a different provider. Can this deal include mapping of an existing domain name?
Thanks
Editorial Staff
Yes you can definitely use a different domain and still use this offer.
Admin
Tammi L. Coles
I’ve been looking to switch to a WordPress optimized server for a while and have heard nothing but good things about BlueHost. Now’s my chance!
Thanks for the tip, the discount, and for all you folks do to improve my WordPress experience
.