Company Overview
DreamHost is one of the longest-tenured hosting companies out there, starting business all the way back in 1996 out of Los Angeles, California. They have grown a lot in the past 2+ decades, and now boast over 1.5 million websites hosted for customers all over the world. The reason they have outlasted a number of web hosts who have come and gone in the same time frame is their commitment to a quality product, particularly their dedication to the WordPress ecosystem.
While this review will primarily focus on their WordPress hosting services, DreamHost is one of a few hosts who can walk you all the way through your hosting lifetime, starting from fledgling Shared Hosting plans at $2.95/month, all the way up to enterprise level hosting with their Cloud Servers and Dedicated Server Hosting. So whether you have an existing site that needs improved performance, or are starting from the ground up, chances are DreamHost has a perfect hosting option for you.
WordPress Hosting Review
DreamHost is a WordPress.org recommended hosting provider, boasting WordPress-optimized servers, a team of WordPress experts, and a track record of over 1.5 million websites. They have a unique approach to their WordPress Hosting plans that not a lot of other hosts have, but this allows you to easily scale your web hosting depending on your needs, and covers just about every WordPress use case out there. In addition to the scalability, DreamHost offers a lot of powerful and helpful features, such as instant setup, automatic updates, free privacy protection and SSL certificate and automated backups, all on solid-state drive servers with 100% uptime.
The unique part of DreamHost’s WordPress Hosting is how they separate them into use cases, rather than resource stratifications. This includes WordPress Basic for new sites, DreamPress for Managed WordPress users, and VPS for WordPress for those looking to manage multiple larger WordPress sites simultaneously.
WordPress Basic
WordPress Basic is the budget option for users who are just getting started with their first website. Starting at an affordable $2.59/mo for the first 3 years when you lock in a long term plan, the WordPress Basic plan sells itself as just that. “The most affordable way to get all the basics for your WordPress website – perfect if you’re new to WordPress.”
Your options are the Starter package ($2.59/month intro price) and the WordPress Unlimited plan ($3.95/month intro price), with the main difference being the number of websites offered. If you only need one site, go with the Starter plan, if you need more than one website, go with the Unlimited plan. If you have an existing site on another web host, DreamHost has a free automatic migration plugin that requires no technical knowledge that will easily migrate your WordPress site over to their servers.
DreamPress
DreamPress is the next step up in your WordPress adventure with DreamHost, which is their premium Managed WordPress Hosting options. These plans offer an optimized server with built in caching and powerful development tools such as email, staging and automated backups. Their DreamPress product comes in three different tiers, targeted to various levels of monthly visitors and needed storage. These plans, DreamPress, DreamPress Plus, and DreamPress Pro, are perfect for the experienced user, with the Plus and Pro plans built for more monthly visitors and an unlimited CDN included. The 1-click staging feature is one of our favorites, letting you make sure updates to your site are exactly the way you want them before they go live.
DreamPress is a bit more pricey than the standard WordPress Hosting plans, but for businesses who do business online, it’s a small price to pay for the features and security you get in exchange. If your site starts to slow down due to too much content or too many concurrent visitors, moving up to a DreamPress plan might be a good option for you.
VPS for WordPress
DreamHost’s final managed WordPress Hosting option is VPS for WordPress, which offers the highest performance and flexibility for the power user or agency looking to host multiple sites. Complete with its own managed WordPress layer and dedicated support team, DreamHost WordPress for VPS is built on solid-state drives and also includes a straightforward control panel to manage multiple sites, 100% uptime guarantee, scalable RAM, unlimited bandwidth databases and email accounts and a free SSL certificate. While the most expensive WordPress option, you will also get your own dedicated resources, ensuring your site will not be slowed down during times of higher traffic.
This will typically be for bigger sites, eCommerce platforms or established businesses, but DreamHost’s scalable VPS for WordPress plans make it a perfect choice for those looking for a powerful option for their WordPress site that will not fail. If you are more experienced and want to pay a little less, DreamHost also offers unmanaged Cloud VPS Hosting powered by DreamCommute. This is the ultimate experience for power users, but shouldn’t be taken lightly if you don’t have much experience!
