A super satisfied DreamHost customer since 2015.
As what most savvy internet-users would do, I did my homework and research before committing myself to a web host. And like it or not, most of the time, word-of-mouth marketing dominates.
Sure. The reviews that we see on the internet, like this one you're reading right now, can vary from love (because they are loyal customers) to hate (because they are mistreated customers).
I'm NOT here to sell you DreamHost, but to share with you my personal experience with web hosting and of course DreamHost. And you decide for yourself.
It was definitely a steep learning curve for a complete newbie to dabble with cPanel, but I had lots of fun and frustrations messing up the backend of my website and causing it to fail so many times I lost count.
After hours and hours trying to figure out how to keep my website updated without crashing the server, I couldn't help but resign myself to the idea that such is web hosting. While there are fun times, it's complicated and a mess and I just have to suck it up and live with it.
So finally I reached the point where I messed up less and figured it's time to move out on my own.
Options, Options, Options
In this era of crazy internet explosion, we are never short on options.
There's just too many to choose from!
- Hostgator?
- GoDaddy?
- Inmotion Hosting?
- BlueHost?
- WPEngine?
- DreamHost?
The list just runs on when you key "web hosting" into search bar.
Word of Mouth #1: WPEngine
As I run my websites on WordPress, I needed a host that would support this CMS.
After much research about how many shared hosting sites do not really provide decent support for WordPress websites, I finally received a recommendation from someone about WPEngine.
Footing the bill for a year nearly killed my wallet -- it was $99 a month for dedicated WordPress hosting, which is what WPEngine is all about.
So what's my criteria & reasons for joining and leaving WPEngine?
Product [5/5] — Fitted the bill of what I was looking for
Webhosting Dashboard [3.5/5] — Sophisticated and can be daunting for newbies. It's not as intuitive and clear even after using it for a while. Just can't seem to get the hang of it.
Customer Service [3.5/5] — Generally responsive to my queries.
Price [1/5] — If you have money to bust, why not?
BOTTOMLINE: WPEngine is a reliable host for WordPress websites but it's like the LV of web hosting. I don't recommend it for bootstrap entrepreneurs or newbies on a tight budget.
Word of Mouth #2: DreamHost
So the funds are depleting after hosting with WPEngine for a starting out entrepreneur like myself, and I was again on the lookout for a web hosting that is affordable and reliable.
I wasn't even going for CHEAP. Then someone recommended me DreamHost and told me it's less than $10 a month! For me, from $99 down to $10 is a HUGE deal.
The cool thing was, when I signed up with my friend's affiliate link, I get a discount and he gets a small referral fee for getting a new customer.
