Getting the right web host for your website has become crucial for the sustainability of the business or blog you are running. The importance of online presence has become so important that if your website is a second slower than your competitors, there is a chance that you may lose up to 11% of traffic.
For WordPress-based websites, there are some additional features that the web host can do for better performance. DreamHost is one of the top web hosting companies that have been in the business for more than 2 decades.
Dreamhost Review 2024
Dreamhost was launched in 1997 and it is one of the most popular web hosting companies with immense popularity. The company hosts over 1.5 million websites on its servers across the globe with over 750,000 WordPress installations. DreamHost is one of the very few hosting companies that are officially recommended by WordPress.
Dreamhost has won PCMag’s Business Choice Awards for its services for three consecutive years in 2014-2016. It is a carbon-neutral company and is also a member of the US Green Chamber of Commerce.
Dreamhost Hosting Features, Plans, and Pricing
Dreamhost has divided the hosting plans into two main sections. One is exclusively for WordPress and the other section is meant for all customers who want VPS hosting, cloud hosting, woocommerce hosting, dedicated hosting, etc.
Shared Hosting
Features:
| 1-Click Instant WordPress Install Free Domain and Domain Privacy Free SSL Certificate Professional Email Addresses (not free with shared starter plan) Drag-and-Drop WP Website Builder 100% Uptime Guarantee Free Automated WordPress Migrations Automated Daily Backups 24/7 Support 97-Day Money-Back Guarantee |
Plans and Pricing:
| Starter $2.59 /mo | Unlimited $3.95 /mo |
| 1 Site 50 GB SSD Unmetered Visits/mo Unmetered Bandwidth | Unlimited Sites Unlimited SSD Unmetered Visits/mo Unmetered Bandwidth |
Managed WordPress Hosting (DreamPress)
Features:
| Free Domain and Domain Privacy Free SSL Certificate Unlimited Email Accounts Built-in Caching WP Website Builder Free Automated WordPress Migrations Automatic and On-Demand Backups 1-Click Restore 1-Click Staging SFTP, Shell Access, WP-CLI Unlimited CDN (Except Starter (DreamPress) Plan) 24/7 WordPress Support 30 Days Moneyback Guarantee |
Plans and Pricing:
| DreamPress $16.95/mo | DreamPress Plus $24.95/mo | DreamPress Pro $71.95/mo |
| 1 WordPress Site 30 GB SSD ~100k Monthly Visitors Unmetered Bandwidth | 1 WordPress Site 60 GB SSD ~300k Monthly Visitors Unmetered Bandwidth | 1 WordPress Site 120 GB SSD ~1M Monthly Visitors Unmetered Bandwidth |
VPS Hosting
Features:
| Unlimited Websites Unlimited Traffic Free SSL Certificate Unlimited Email Accounts Apache or Nginx Expandable RAM & Storage Managed Performance, Security, & Updates Custom Control Panel Secure Shell (SSH) Access Unique IPv4 and IPv6 One-Click Application Installer |
Plans and Pricing:
| Basic $10.00/mo | Business $20.00/mo | Professional $40.00/mo | Enterprise $80.00/mo |
| 1 GB RAM 30 GB SSD | 2 GB RAM 60 GB SSD | 4 GB RAM 120 GB SSD | 8 GB RAM 240 GB SSD |
Dreamhost Speed Test
The average load time for the websites hosted on Dreamhost servers is less than a second which makes it better than 95% of the web hosting services available in the market. On the YSlow test, the company scored 83 points which is among the top hosting companies. WordPress-based websites get special attention from the hosting company which ensures fast loading speed.
Dreamhost Uptime
Dreamhost promises 100% uptime for all its users. The automatic backups ensure that in case of any drive crash, your data remains saved which makes it easier for the host to recover it almost immediately. Also, the support staff is available 24/7 to rectify any issue that occurs with your website.
Dreamhost Security
Dreamhost has high-end firewalls installed on all servers to provide security from hackers and DDoS attacks. From time to time, the engineers at Dreamhost upgrade both the software and hardware of the servers to keep up with the advancements in the hosting sector.
Regular automatic backups provide an additional layer of security for the content. It also provides free SSL certification which ensures that the data transferred from your website is encrypted.
Dreamhost Refund Policy
The industry’s biggest money-back guarantee is provided by Dreamhost. They offer 97 days money-back guarantee. If you don’t like their services then you can cancel it within 97 days of purchase and you will get a full refund.
Dreamhost Data Centers
Dreamhost has two data centers as follows:
- Ashburn Virginia
- Hillsboro Oregon.
Dreamhost Customer Support
They offer 24/7 support through the award-winning experts’ team.
Dreamhost Pros and Cons
Pros
- No plugin restriction: A lot of WordPress web hosting companies do not allow some specific plugins to be installed on your website as they may slow down the website. However, with Dreamhost, there is no such restriction. You can install or test any plugin available with WordPress.
- Free domain name: The Company offers a free domain name with every package along with free privacy protection.
- No setup charges with monthly billing: In case you opt for monthly billing, you do not have to pay any additional charges for the setup.
- Recommended by WordPress: Dreamhost is one of the very few companies that are officially recommended by WordPress.
Cons
- No cPanel: Dreamhost has its admin panel and does not provide cPanel with the packages that allow you to manage your billing and hosting in one place. Those who are familiar with cPanel may find it hard to understand.
- Support may be slow: They provide chat-based support along with ticket support but many customers have reported that their bot-based chat support does not get redirected to the support team quickly. They do reply quickly on their social media handles but that may get a slow response too from time to time.
Dreamhost Alternatives
As an alternative to Dreamhost, you can choose Bluehost or A2 Hosting.
Final Words on Dreamhost Review
Dreamhost is one of the most reliable hosting solutions available in the market. As they are recommended officially by WordPress, you can rely on their expertise while choosing the right package.
As their support system is a little slower you can call it a DIY web hosting solution and should not panic in case you do not get an immediate response. The overall uptime, price, and features are better than the majority of the competitors.
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