If you’re looking for the easiest and quickest way to create a new WordPress website, I would recommend checking out the new Bluehost AI Website Builder. In this article, I’m going to go over why Bluehost is the best choice for WordPress beginners, and I’ll take you through the Bluehost website builder step by step as we create a WordPress site.
Bluehost is one of only three web hosts that is recommended by WordPress.org. So, they’ve already got an advantage on other hosting companies. However, what really sets Bluehost apart from the competition is the way they have simplified and streamlined WordPress for their customers over the years. Now with the release of their AI Website Builder, they’ve taken the WordPress website creation process to a new level of simplicity.
Looking at the Bluehost Website Builder plans, what’s really apparent is that even though they have simplified the site creation process, they haven’t skimped on features. In fact, I’m very impressed with all of the features they have included—everything you need to create and run a successful website, including Ecommerce.
To start off with, all of the Website Builder plans include web hosting for an multiple websites. You also get a free domain for one year along with free SSL. See below for a detailed list.
*Available with Pro and Online Store Plans
But most importantly of all, with the Bluehost Website Builder, you get all the power of WordPress behind your site. So, whether you’re creating a blog, online store, or other type of website, you’ll get the technology, innovation, and SEO benefits that WordPress provides.
Once you sign up for your Bluehost website hosting plan, you are immediately presented with options to create your new website. You can choose either the AI Site Creator, a guided setup wizard, or import an existing WordPress site.
After selecting the AI Site Creator method, you just need to enter a brief description of your website and a logo (if you have one). Next, choose your familiarity and experience with WordPress (Beginner to Expert).
The AI website creator will automatically generate three different designs for your website. You can preview them and choose to regenerate them if you want to tweak their appearance. Overall, I did like the designs, although the default images that are included don’t necessarily correlate to your type of business—which might be concerning to newbies just starting out. However, you can easily replace the default images with your own photos using the drag and drop editor.
Once you’ve previewed decided on which design to use, simply click the Save and Continue in the upper right corner. Your website is then quickly created and you are taken to your Bluehost WordPress dashboard.
Bluehost has again done an excellent job in creating an easy to use dashboard interface for your WordPress website. It’s great for both beginners and those already familiar with WordPress. From here, you can quickly and easily view and edit your website, plus access your other website functions. For beginners, Bluehost also includes a next steps checklist you can follow.
Editing your website is very easy with the drag and drop block editor. For online brochure or customer acquisition websites, you can simply replace the default photos with you own and edit or customize the existing text. Then, you’ve got a website that’s ready to go!
If you’re going to use an existing domain that you have, you’ll need to update the name servers at your domain host, and replace the temp URL in your WordPress settings to your own domain name. In my case, I did need to contact support to assist with adding SSL to my domain. They were able to help set it up without any issues. If you choose a new domain that comes with your Bluehost hosting plan, you shouldn’t have any issues.
Overall, the websites you create with the Bluehost AI website builder perform well. Out of the box, site speed is good though not outstanding—as you can see from some of our test results below.
As with all of the site builders these days, the designs use themes and templates that contain full length images and other elements. These items usually slow down your site loading times a bit, resulting in less impressive test results.
However, for most non-enterprise level websites, we find speed and performance very acceptable. And, if you’re really concerned and want faster test results, there are a number of actions you can take such as resizing or eliminated some images, as well as using a caching plugin such as WP Rocket.
Bluehost has improved their customer support in recent years. You can easily access both automated and live chat support from your Bluehost dashboard. Live chat response times are good, and generally I’ve found the support agents to be helpful, courteous and professional.
Bluehost is always one of the more affordable website hosting options. However, with our exclusive discount you can save even more—with prices as low as $1.99 mo. These WordPress hosting plans include their AI website builder.
So, how does Bluehost compare with other website builders? Actually, very well. I would definitely recommend the Bluehost website builder over Wix or SquareSpace for a number of reasons. It’s more affordable, it’s just as easy (if not easier) to use, and you get all of the benefits of WordPress with it.
I also found website performance and customer support to be better with Bluehost.
As for other WordPress website builders, I think the Bluehost site builder is the best option for beginners or first time website owners. The WordPress.com site builder produces faster websites, but at a higher cost and is not quite as easy to use. BoldGrid, which is offered by hosts such as InMotion Hosting and DreamHost, is also a bit more expensive and not quite as beginner-friendly as Bluehost.
While WordPress allows you to create just about any kind of website with tons of functionality, in my opinion the Bluehost AI Website Builder is best suited for those of you that need a basic but quality looking website to advertise and promote a business or to be used as a customer acquisition vehicle. In these cases, I would give Bluehost high marks.
If you need a more advanced WordPress site, you’d probably want to look at a managed WordPress or WooCommerce hosting option and perhaps custom development. However, as I mentioned above, for basic website functionality, the Bluehost website builder is definitely worth checking out.
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