DreamHost Review: The Good and the Bad

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Disclaimer: We are a DreamHost affiliate and could earn a small income should you sign up using our links. However, we used DreamHost for years, and this article is based on first hand information.

Have you been stressing over the best choice of web host for your business? Are you wondering whether or not DreamHost is for you? In this article, we are going to answer the following questions;

  1. What has been our own web hosting journey?
  2. Who is DreamHost for?
  3. Who is DreamHost not for?
  4. What are the DreamHost pros?
  5. What are the DreamHost cons
  6. Why do we recommend DreamHost

What has been our own web hosting journey?

Before talking much about DreamHost, we need to mention here that we have had an illustrative web hosting journey in the over a decade that Planet Marketing has been around. In all that time, we have used the following hosts;

  • We were with Bluehost for over 5 years
  • We were with DreamHost for over 4 years
  • The Planet Marketing website is now hosted by Kinsta

Why did we move?

So, why did we move between BlueHost, DreamHost and Kinsta? Well, it all had to do with the levels of web host that we talk about in this article. Generally speaking, the following are the tiers of web host that you can expect to find out there;

  • Bottom or entry level hosts such as Bluehost and HostGator
  • Mid level hosts such as DreamHost
  • Top tier web hosts such as Amazon Web Services and Kinsta

As you may have guessed, there is a point at which each level of host can only take you so far. After that, you may need to move, and this is what we did. Note that the tiers that we give above have nothing to do with performance. It’s more to do with your requirements; if you only need to have a basic website, you will actually be better off signing up with a company like Bluehost than with AWS.

Who is DreamHost for?

So, who is DreamHost for? The primary aim of this article is not to sell you anything. What we want to do is help you determine whether or not DreamHost is a suitable host for you as an individual or as a business. If the answer is yes, then, by any means, feel free to sign up using our links. Otherwise, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us and we will point you in the right direction as far as your hosting needs are concerned. Having said that, DreamHost is for;

  • Small and medium scale businesses.
  • Businesses with a few eCommerce operations.
  • Those that are looking for a relatively fast and stable hosting environment.
  • People who are concerned about privacy and security for their sites.
  • Those that are looking for performance at a relatively low cost.
  • Those that are concerned about marketing for their sites.

Who is DreamHost not for?

DreamHost is not for the following;

  • Large operations that require sophistication, speed and performance.
  • Those that require complete control over their hosting environments.
  • Large eCommerce operations.

What are the DreamHost pros?

DreamHost promises an uptime of 100%

Having used DreamHost for around 4 years, we feel well placed to give an impartial analysis of its services. The following are some of the benefits of having your site hosted by DreamHost:

  • Amazing uptimes and reliability: DreamHost promises a 100% uptime and, based on our experience, this is something on which the company delivers. Other DreamHost customers attest to this fact.
  • Security: Security is something about which every website owner should be concerned. DreamHost offers multi-level authentication and many other features to help protect your site.
  • Privacy: If you are concerned about privacy, then you will love DreamHost. The company offers all its customers free WHOIS privacy and antispam tools. Other web hosts charge you for these tools.
  • Fast Load Times: One of the things that you are likely to hear DreamHost customers bragging about is the speed with which the company’s servers load pages. In fact, sites that are hosted on DreamHost can be up to 32 times faster than those that are on competing web hosting service providers.
  • Support: DreamHost offers great support.

What are the DreamHost cons?

Dreamhost uses a custom dashboard, which can be a con for those used to cPanel

Despite being one of the best and biggest web hosting companies out there, DreamHost does have its disadvantages. The following are some of the major DreamHost cons;

  • Not good enough for sophisticated users: DreamHost often stands accused of not being good enough, particularly for expert users. Those with eCommerce websites, as an example, often report problems with DreamHost not accepting the installation of software via FTP. People who have sites that use databases have also long complained about difficulties in using them on DreamHost.
  • Limited Plans and Options: DreamHost has a limited number of options when compared to other hosting companies such as Bluehost, HostGator and other alternatives.
  • Custom Dashboard: Dreamhost uses a custom dashboard. This may be a disadvantage to those who are used to cPanel.

Why do we recommend DreamHost?

Okay, so we have already stated that we were a DreamHost customer for 4 years. So, why are we still recommending the company despite the fact that we are no longer with the company ourselves?

The truth of the matter is that we moved because our needs had grown beyond the services that are offered by DreamHost. In the time that were were with them, DreamHost offered us one of the best services that we have ever gotten from a web host.

That is why, if you fall within the categories that are mentioned at the top, we recommend that you sign up with DreamHost today! Indeed, for most individuals and businesses, DreamHost is one of the best web hosts that can be found out there. To sign up, simply click on the link below;

Get the DreamHost Deal Today!

Disclaimer: We could get paid should you decide to use the link above to sign up with DreamHost. However, as already mentioned, this article is objective since it is based on our own experience with the company.