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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    DreamHost

    Score9.3 out of 10
    N/ADreamHost is a website hosting service with features such as managed VPS hosting, public cloud computing, and dedicated servers. Managed options include WordPress with the DreamPress upgraded service with staging and coaching, WooCommerce hosting, as well as dedicated server hosting.

    $3.95

    per month

    WordPress

    Score8.7 out of 10
    N/AWordpress is an open-source publishing platform popular with bloggers, and a content management system, known for its simplicity and modifiability. Websites may host their own blogging communities, controlling and moderating content from a single dashboard.

    $3

    per month 6 GB storage

    Pricing
    DreamHostWordPress
    Editions & Modules
    Shared
    $3.95
    per month
    DreamPress
    $16.95
    per month
    Personal
    $4
    per month 6 GB storage
    Premium
    $8
    per month 13 GB storage
    Business
    $25
    per month 50 GB storage
    Commerce
    $45
    per month 50 GB storage
    Enterprise
    Contact for pricing
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    DreamHostWordPress
    Free Trial
    NoNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details—Pricing for Business and Commerce plans vary on number of GB.
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    DreamHostWordPress
    Considered Both Products
    Dreamhost
    Chose DreamHost
    I have used many different hosting platforms over the years. My personal favorite hosting environment is cPanel on a dedicated server. The DreamHost feature set falls right in the middle of most managed hosting platforms for me. It provides all the basic needs, but lacks …
    Incentivized
    Chose DreamHost
    DreamHost is the perfect combination of price, performance, ease of use and ongoing support. We haven't been in the market for years so there may be better options in terms of price vs. performance, but migrating to new hosting providers is a pain and they haven't given us a …
    Incentivized
    Chose DreamHost
    I did not try many services before trying Dreamhost. I was looking for something simple and some friends mentioned it. After using it I found some alternatives but none of them were so simple as Dreamhost for one-click installers like this.
    Incentivized
    Chose DreamHost
    I have attempted to use GoDaddy in the past, I had a terrible experience. I actually have registered multiple domains with GoDaddy in the past and needed to shift them over to DreamHost because using GoDaddy to host the websites was too confusing. Comparing the two, it is easy …
    Incentivized
    Chose DreamHost
    Dreamhost had previously been a significant upgrade over our previous host, Arvixe. We switched after repeated technical issues and cutbacks of the Arvixe staff forced us to move quickly, and Dreamhost accommodated us tremendously. Performance-wise they compare well with GoDaddy…
    Incentivized
    Chose DreamHost
    We've tried a few other WordPress-specific hosts, as well as other shared hosting providers (Rackspace, WPEngine, and others). We have found that DreamHost gives the best balance of cost, performance, and features, for our needs. All vendors have their own pitfalls and …
    Incentivized
    Automattic
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    No answers on this topic
    95%
    Would buy again
    108 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    No answers on this topic
    98%
    Delivers good value for the price
    109 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    No answers on this topic
    96%
    Happy with the feature set
    109 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    No answers on this topic
    96%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    95 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    No answers on this topic
    95%
    Implementation went as expected
    100 Answers
    Features
    DreamHostWordPress
    Security
    Comparison of Security features of DreamHost and WordPress
    Feature
    DreamHost
    -
    Ratings
    WordPress
    8.1
    159 Ratings
    2% below category average
    Role-based user permissions00 Ratings8.1159 Ratings
    Platform & Infrastructure
    Comparison of Platform & Infrastructure features of DreamHost and WordPress
    Feature
    DreamHost
    -
    Ratings
    WordPress
    7.9
    134 Ratings
    1% above category average
    API00 Ratings7.9124 Ratings
    Internationalization / multi-language00 Ratings7.8103 Ratings
    Web Content Creation
    Comparison of Web Content Creation features of DreamHost and WordPress
    Feature
    DreamHost
    -
    Ratings
    WordPress
    8.1
    166 Ratings
    3% above category average
    WYSIWYG editor00 Ratings7.8151 Ratings
    Code quality / cleanliness00 Ratings7.3152 Ratings
    Admin section00 Ratings8.3164 Ratings
    Page templates00 Ratings8.7160 Ratings
    Library of website themes00 Ratings8.7162 Ratings
    Mobile optimization / responsive design00 Ratings8.5161 Ratings
    Publishing workflow00 Ratings8.1154 Ratings
    Form generator00 Ratings7.1131 Ratings
    Web Content Management
    Comparison of Web Content Management features of DreamHost and WordPress
    Feature
    DreamHost
    -
    Ratings
    WordPress
    8.2
    164 Ratings
    9% above category average
    Content taxonomy00 Ratings8.1142 Ratings
    SEO support00 Ratings7.9148 Ratings
    Bulk management00 Ratings7.5125 Ratings
    Availability / breadth of extensions00 Ratings9.2152 Ratings
    Community / comment management00 Ratings8.2152 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    DreamHostWordPress
    Small Businesses
    AccuWebHosting.Com
    Score9.9 out of 10
    Umbraco CMS
    Score7 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    No answers on this topic
    Square Online
    Score7.7 out of 10
    Enterprises
    AccuWebHosting.Com
    Score9.9 out of 10
    RWS Tridion Sites
    Score9 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    DreamHostWordPress
    Likelihood to Recommend
    7.0
    (10 ratings)
    8.6
    (203 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    8.2
    (1 ratings)
    3.7
    (38 ratings)
    Usability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.1
    (50 ratings)
    Availability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.5
    (3 ratings)
    Performance
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.6
    (2 ratings)
    Support Rating
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    10.0
    (11 ratings)
    In-Person Training
    -
    (0 ratings)
    7.0
    (1 ratings)
    Online Training
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (10 ratings)
    Configurability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    DreamHostWordPress
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Dreamhost
    Dreamhost was previously a great web host with reliable service and top-notch features, but I can no longer recommend them. If you're looking for web hosting on a Linux platform (such as running PHP or platforms like Wordpress, Jooma, or Drupal), with simple pricing services, then this is the great service for you. One big downside is lack of phone customer support. This is especially frustrating because of their many issues the last few weeks, which aren't easily resolved or addressed by their team.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Automattic
    Wordpress is a great solution for a website of nearly any type. It may not be as suitable if a fully custom solution or app is needed, and it does have some limitations when it comes to connecting it to external products (especially if the product doesn't have any support from a native system), and it does require a lot of testing. Multiple plugins in one install are common but also increase the risk of conflicts, and when those do occur, it can be exceptionally time-consuming and tedious to identify what is causing the issue. As third parties create many plugins, you're also at risk with each potential security breach, which needs to be kept in mind. I would be cautious to use WordPress to store any sort of sensitive PPI. That said, it's a wonderful, easily customizable solution for many, many different types of websites and can allow even inexperienced client users with low-tech knowledge to update basics.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Dreamhost
    • Customer service is industry-best. We've never had a problem that wasn't solved by them almost immediately.
    • Their dashboard is extremely easy to use and doesn't cause any confusion at all.
    • Their website speeds are good but not great. In an age when speed is important, they are good enough, especially for the price.
    • They have a great backup feature.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Automattic
    • Easy to use User Interface
    • Coding / Plugin Implementation is awesome
    • There's always a solution available for the platform
    • Security is easy to use and robust
    • Implementation with 3rd party platforms, such as Google's variety of tools
    • Can download and host on your own server or use their hosted servers
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Dreamhost
    • They could have better deploy solutions for not so experienced users
    • More integration with external services to automate some tasks
    • Better ways to track hosting performance
    • The user management could be easier to understand
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Automattic
    • WordPress breaks often so you need to have someone who understands how to troubleshoot, which can take time and money.
    • Some plugins are easier to customize than others, for example, some don't require any coding knowledge while others do. This can limit your project if you are not a coder.
    • WordPress can be easily hacked, so you also need someone who can ensure your sites are secure.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Dreamhost
    We have every intention of staying with Dreamhost, but we are a tad concerned with the company's recent involvement in high profile litigation and controversial topics. While we don't take a position one way or another on what type of content they should host, one concern we have is that repeated attacks on their infrastructure have caused significant downtime during business hours for us, and that's something we'll have to take into consideration going forward.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Automattic
    The complications we have and the lack of support. Every plugin has a differente team of support in charge and make one plugin work with the other one always affects the website performance. It's a thousand times better to have only one provider with all functionalities included unless you are an expert web developer or have a team dedicated to it
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    Dreamhost
    No answers on this topic
    Automattic
    Extremely easy to use and train users. It took very little time to get everyone trained and onboarded to start using WordPress. Anytime we had any issues, we were able to find an article or video to help out or we were able to contact support. The menu options are well laid out so it is easy to find what you are looking for.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    Dreamhost
    No answers on this topic
    Automattic
    Anyone can visit WordPress.org and download a fully functional copy of WordPress free of charge. Additionally, WordPress is offered to users as open-source software, which means that anyone can customize the code to create new applications and make these available to other WordPress users.
    Read full review
    Performance
    Dreamhost
    No answers on this topic
    Automattic
    Mostly, any performance issues have to do with using too many plugins and these can sometimes slow down the overall performance of your site. It is very tempting to start adding lots of plugins to your WordPress site, however, as there are thousands of great plugins to choose from and so many of them help you do amazing things on your site. If you begin to notice performance issues with your WordPress site (e.g. pages being slow to load), there are ways to optimize the performance of your site, but this requires learning the process. WordPress users can learn how to optimize their WordPress sites by downloading the WPTrainMe WordPress training plugin (WPTrainMe.com) and going through the detailed step-by-step WordPress optimization tutorials.
    Read full review
    Support Rating
    Dreamhost
    Whether we're calling in on the phone, live chatting or emailing, we get immediate high-quality, native English-speaking support. This cannot be overstated when it comes to hosting, because support tickets are usually time sensitive and high stress. I've always had great experiences with the limited times we've needed to use DreamHost support. We've dealt with support for many other providers and no one comes close to DreamHost.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Automattic
    I give this rating, which I believe to be a great rating for a community based support system that's surrounding it. Most platforms and products have their own, and as WordPress does have their own team that help here and there, a lot of it's handled by community involvement with dedicated users who are experts with the system who love to help people.
    Read full review
    In-Person Training
    Dreamhost
    No answers on this topic
    Automattic
    Varies by the person providing training. High marks as it's incredibly easy to find experienced individuals in your community to provide training on any aspect of WordPress from content marketing, SEO, plugin development, theme design, etc. Less than 10 though as the training is community based and expectations for a session you find may fall short.
    Read full review
    Online Training
    Dreamhost
    No answers on this topic
    Automattic
    It is very easy to find online resources to learn how to do just about anything with WordPress.
    Read full review
    Implementation Rating
    Dreamhost
    No answers on this topic
    Automattic
    WordPress is not a great solution if you have: 1) A larger site with performance / availability requirements. 2) Multiple types of content you want to share - each with its own underlying data structure. 3) Multiple sites you need to manage. For very small sites where these needs are not paramount, WordPress is a decent solution
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    Dreamhost
    We've tried a few other WordPress-specific hosts, as well as other shared hosting providers (Rackspace, WPEngine, and others). We have found that DreamHost gives the best balance of cost, performance, and features, for our needs. All vendors have their own pitfalls and shortcomings, and DreamHost isn't without its own, but it works for us.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Automattic
    WordPress isn't as pretty or easy to use as certain competitors like Jimdo, Squarespace or HubSpot, but it makes up for it with its affordability, familiarity and the ability to find quality outside help easily. The same can't be said for certain competitors, as you might need to find an expert and it could get costly.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Scalability
    Dreamhost
    No answers on this topic
    Automattic
    WordPress is completely scalable. You can get started immediately with a very simple "out-of-the box" WordPress installation and then add whatever functionality you need as and when you need it, and continue expanding. Often we will create various WordPress sites on the same domain to handle different aspects of our strategy (e.g. one site for the sales pages, product information and/or a marketing blog, another for delivering products securely through a private membership site, and another for running an affiliate program or other application), and then ties all of these sites together using a common theme and links on each of the site's menus. Additionally, WordPress offers a multisite function that allows organizations and institutions to manage networks of sites managed by separate individual site owners, but centrally administered by the parent organization. You can also expand WordPress into a social networking or community site, forums, etc. The same scalability applies to web design. You can start with a simple design and then scale things up to display sites with amazing visual features, including animations and video effects, sliding images and animated product image galleries, elements that appear and fade from visitor browsers, etc. The scaling possibilities of WordPress are truly endless.
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    Dreamhost
    • The service can really be a positive value with its very solid performance and lack of downtime issues found with other services.
    • For those with limited hosting or web development knowledge, the service can be a challenge to fully utilize. Sometimes this may mean additional training.
    • The service also provides a number of expansion opportunities for growing with greater functionalities.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Automattic
    • Allowed us to being all websites under a single umbrella, saving costs on similar products.
    • It's increased our website turn time and made us faster and more efficient at launching websites.
    • Edits and tweaks happen much faster as we have a customized environment.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots