Bluehost is among one the first few web hosting providers that youâll consider when you are planning to enter the online space. This is because of the excellent services provided consistently by the host. It is one of the 3 hosting service providers that gained official recommendations from WordPress because of its high-quality services.
But you canât rely on the claims made by other Bluehost users and must try the services offered by the host for your needs. This brings us to the Bluehost free trial option that would allow us to do the same. But unfortunately, Bluehost doesnât offer a free trial anymore. Wait, does that mean you canât try out the hostâs services for free? Not exactly!
Let us explore the alternative of âBluehost trial offerâ that isnât completely free though. But before discussing that option it is essential to clear all your confusion about the existence of Bluehostâs free trial offer.
BlueHost is the #1 Official Recommendation of WordPress.org
Itâs no secret that BlueHost is one of the most popular choices for any kind of business looking to start their online ventures for so many years now, and itâs still standing strong to this day!!
You can definitely rely on it, and you can be sure that youâll get the value for what you pay for.
Bluehost doesnât offer a Free Trial offer â Confirmation
Since thereâs so much confusion about the existence of Bluehostâs free trial offer, we had to confirm it with the host itself. So, we took a step forward to contact the customer care team of Bluehost via the âLive Chatâ feature. Here is what we found out:
To begin the chat session, we clicked on the âNew Accountâ option since we wanted to step into your shoes and find out if you will get a free trial period of Bluehostâs services as a new customer.
Though the customer care executive mentioned that the Bluehost trial offer is available, we wanted to ensure whether it is completely free or not. Normally, a âfree trialâ offer doesnât ask you for any money but might or might ask for our credit card details.
Still, we were not convinced by the executiveâs reply since there isnât an option on Bluehostâs website for trying out their services for free. We had to ask for any upfront payment involved.
As we suspected, the customer care executive wasnât talking about Bluehostâs 30-day free trial offer.
In a true sense, it was the 30-days moneyback guarantee offered by the host. We confirmed it immediately to clear out the air of confusion once and for all.
So, Bluehost doesnât offer any free trial now but you can still get a taste of Bluehostâs services for a month of free trial period, well partially. Letâs get deeper into this option available for a new Bluehost customer.
Alternative to Bluehost Trial offer
From our chat with Bluehostâs customer care executive, it is clear that we cannot benefit from the âfree trialâ offer anymore. But we also came to know about an alternative to this free trial period for a new customer. Bluehost offers a 30-day money-back guarantee to all its customers, whether new or old.
As a new customer, you can use this offer for trying out Bluehostâs services for a full month. In case you are not happy with the hosting services by the end of the month or earlier, you can claim a refund of your amount.
Technically, you will receive your money back and will be able to try Bluehostâs services for free. But thereâs a catch! The 30-day money-back guarantee has the following limitations:
- You wonât receive a refund on any add-on products like (Sitelock, CodeGuard, or SEO Tools) since only the hosting fee is refundable under this offer.
- If your web hosting plan included a free domain, an amount of $15.99 will be deducted from your total paid amount and the balance amount will be refunded. This allows you to keep your domain while covering the associated costs borne by Bluehost exclusively for you.
Eventually, as an alternative to Bluehost, there is âHostGatorâ that offers an actual Free trial of 45 days. You find out everything there is to know about this offer in this article.
Bluehost Free Trial vs Bluehost 30-day Money-back Guarantee
Since we are here talking about a realistic alternative to Bluehostâs free trial offer, we need to compare these options for a better understanding.
Normally, a free trial period allows you to try out the web hosting services offered by a hosting company. The 30-day money-back guarantee allows you to do the same but here are a few aspects that require a deeper understanding:
Aspect | Free Trial | Money-back guarantee |
HOSTING | You donât need to make any payment. | You will have to pay for it upfront but claim a full refund on dissatisfaction. |
DOMAIN | You cannot add a domain and will have to use a subdomain as in the case of HostGatorâs free trial offer. | You can add your domain but cannot claim a refund on any payment made for it. |
ADD-ON SERVICES | You cannot benefit from any add-on services in a free trial. | You can benefit from all the services you require for your website but cannot claim a refund for any amounts spent on them. |
From the above comparison, you must have noted that you can only try the hosting services of a company for free in both options. So, technically, you are getting the same value for your money in the case of a 30-day money-back guarantee as you would have received in the case of a free trial.
Additionally, you can try the hostâs services realistically with this Bluehostâs free trial alternative. You get to use a domain name in place of a subdomain and also check the compatibility of the add-on features with the hosting services. This will provide you with a better picture of your websiteâs functioning.
Why doesnât Bluehost offer a full refund policy under its 30-day money-back guarantee?
Bluehost is a hosting company and can only offer you a refund for the services it renders. For all the add-on services, it bears an upfront cost on your behalf and will be at a loss if it offers a refund.
That doesnât mean Bluehost isnât incurring any expenses to render its hosting services. It is just that the payments arenât upfront in such a case so the host bears it for you. Moreover, Bluehost is confident about its hosting services and knows that you will like them anyway.
How to get Bluehost for free under the 30-day money-back guarantee?
Let us discuss the step-by-step process of benefiting from the Bluehostâs free trial offer under its money-back guarantee scheme:
Step 1
Open up a chat session from Bluehostâs main page and enter your details.
Step 2
On the next screen, fill out the topic as âClose Your Accountâ and mention your hosting plan under the description option.
In the third option, mention your intention to close your hosting account and receive a refund. Proceed to the next screen.
Step 3
Bluehostâs website will try to find out the answer to your query from the existing help pages. So, the next page requires you to click on the âStart Chatâ option.
Step 4
The customer care executive will ask you for account verification.
Step 5
You will be required to confirm your decision to cancel your hosting account and receive a refund.
Step 6
The process is complete from your side, the customer care representative will do the rest of the work.
This 6-step process is the easiest refund process youâll ever experience and takes only 10 minutes of your time. You will receive the refund amount within 24 hours if the payment was made via PayPal and in up to 10 days if it was made via credit card.
These are the maximum time limits mentioned by the host. You will, however, receive your money much earlier, usually within 5 days.
Reasons to undertake Bluehostâs risk-free hosting trial
Bluehost is officially recommended by the WordPress organization because of its high-quality hosting services. Additionally, Bluehost offers the following benefits:
- It offers Excellent Uptime.
- Your website will load faster with Bluehost than the majority of other hosting service providers.
- It is extremely easy to understand the tools offered by the host. A User-Friendly interface saves a lot of your time and effort.
- Itâs Officialy recommended by WordPress.org.
- The host offers a cheap introductory price if you are planning to commit long term. This will save you a lot of money.
- All the popular third party applications are compatible with Bluehost allowing you to build any kind of website you desire.
- You can contact the customer support time at any time, 24/7.
- Multiple Servers locations.
The Bottom Line
Bluehost doesnât offer a free trial directly to its new customers but you can still try out its services for a month. Use the power of Bluehostâs 30-day money-back guarantee and try its hosting free of cost.
Who knows, you might just change your decision by the end of the first month, looking at the quality of services Bluehost offers. Still, if you donât like anything, you have the refund policy to fall on so you can get Bluehost for free.
So, what are you waiting for? Take advantage of the above mentioned alternative to Bluehostâs free trial to enter the online world.