Are you having a hard time choosing a website hosting service? A hugely popular solution, DreamHost, brings 10+ years of reliable hosting to the table. They’re affordable and straightforward, with some robust features. And DreamHost gets two thumbs up from a vast majority of its customers. But are they the optimal hosting solution for your specific website needs?
Article Overview
DreamHost
Pros
- Users report excellent tech support assistance
- Solid state drivers (SSDs) added to shared hosting plans to increase loading time
- Offers users a well-documented wiki that provides detailed instructions on how to perform most functions
- Comes with many pre-installed languages
- Impressive 97-day money back guarantee
Cons
- Doesn’t offer phone support, and live chat has limited hours
- Many users feel that Dream Host is not a good fit for those running heavy scripts such as osCommerce
- Does not utilize cPanel, which can make it confusing to navigate for newcomers to web hosting
6 Key Features
- Twelve-year history hosting more than 1.5 million websites and blogs
- Offers shared, VPS, cloud and dedicated hosting
- Affordable shared plan includes unlimited storage, bandwidth, domain hosting, email accounts and MySQL databases
- One-click app installs
- PCI-compliant for ecommerce websites
- Green Certificate of Carbon Neutralization for eco-friendly use of resources
Pricing
All DreamHost plans offer a 97-day money back guarantee — much longer than most services.
DreamHost Shared Plans
Starter (1 Website)
- $4.95 per month monthly
- $3.95 per month for 1 year
- $2.59 per month for 3 years
Unlimited Websites
- $10.95 per month monthly
- $6.95 per month for 1 year
- $5.95 per month for 3 years
DreamHost VPS Plans
- $15 per month for 1GB Ram and 30GB storage ($13.75/mth for 1 year; $10/mth for 3 years)
- $30 per month for 2GB Ram and 60GB storage ($27.50/mth for 1 year; $20/mth for 3 years)
- $60 per month for 4GB Ram and 120GB storage ($55/mth for 1 year; $40/mth for 3 years)
- $120 per month for 8GB Ram and 240GB storage ($110/mth for 1 year; 80/mth for 3 years)
Cloud Plans
- Cloud Computing starts at $4.50 per month
- Object Storage starts at $0.025/GB of storage per month and $0.05/GB of downloads per month
Dedicated Plans
- Ranging from $169 to $399 per month
- Save $20 per month with 1-year signup
Customer Reviews
Read below for a balanced sampling of positive and negative DreamHost reviews we found online from current and former customers.
Positive Reviews
Not new to the internet and web site hosting. Been at it since 1998 and hand coding all the html and php stuff.. Have had many different hosting services over the years but needed to make a change recently for security, and financial reasons of a client and found Dreamhost. Best experience yet as far as helping an old guy get going with a lot of new technology.. but the responses are quick and to the point and easy to understand. Glad I made the change.- John C., Trustpilot 6/9/2019
We love using Dreamhost for all of our website and app hosting needs due to the performance of their servers, their customer support and the quality of their admin management system. We have used and loved DreamHost for many years now and have no plans of moving to any other platform. – Nathan B., G2 Crowd 5/21/2019
Negative Reviews
Worst customer service! Almost impossible to get a human being and when you do they are rude and not helpful at all. Do not use DREAMHOST, it’s just not worth it. – Kim T., Trustpilot 3/27/2019
If you are somewhat new to websites then it can be a hinderance, when I try to get other people to modify the site on my behalf there is a lot of confusion as opposed to other hosting sites like Blue Host where is it super user friendly. And my main issue with them is you can’t reach customer service by phone. They have chat but only during limited hours and email. If you get disconnected mid chat you’ll have to explain what happened sometimes all over again. – John A P., G2 Crowd 7/19/2018
How Can A Domain Help My Business?
If you own your own business, you know the importance of your brand identity. Wondering how to start a website? Look no further! In the first chapter of our how to make your own website series we cover naming your business, securing a domain name, legal aspects such as incorporating and financial structuring, and branding elements such as logo design. Once you’ve completed chapter one, you’ll be ready to set up hosting, choose your website platform, and work on your design/layout. But first, we’ll help you choose and secure a domain name for your business.
How Does DreamHost Compare?
One of DreamHost’s biggest selling points is its generous shared hosting package, with unlimited bandwidth, storage, and unlimited domains and subdomains all in one affordable account. It’s not surprising this package is their most popular service — you get a lot of bang for your buck.
The drawbacks for some users? If you’re a cPanel die-hard, you’ll be disappointed they don’t offer it. But their control panel offers much of the same functionality, so may be worth giving a try. And if you’re a heavy web host user, DreamHost has limited script running capabilities, so take advantage of your 97-day money back guarantee to do some script stress testing before diving all-in. Read our web hosting comparison to learn more about DreamHost’s competitors.
Think you’ll try Dreamhost? Let us know in the comments!
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