Over 800 people attended the conference in Orem, Utah, where Bluehost team members gave more than 12 presentations, many of which were standing room only. Bluehost also supplied conference volunteers, turned out in force to support Perl, MySQL, OpenStack, Women in Technology WordPress and Learning Python for Kids events, and sponsored dinners for the Utah PHP Users Group and the Utah Perl Mongers.

Bluehost presenters included:

• The How and Why of Hash Switches and Back Mapping - Jason Van Patten
• Selenium for Automation and Testing - Daniel Fackrell
• Using Software Collections to Install Newer Perls on EL5/EL6 - Doran Barton
• An intro to API development with Mojolicious - Matt Monsen
• Practical Slow Query Log Analysis using Perl - Rob Van Dam
• Linux on ARM — the next big thing? - Jared Smith
• Using OpenStack In A Traditional Hosting Environment - Jun Park, Mike Wilson
• Getting Started with Drupal - Jared Smith
• Using Shorewall For Robust Linux Firewall - Doran Barton
• The Current State of Gaming In Linux - Timothy Longwell
• A Brief History of Open Source - Doran Barton
• Child themes and post format support - Mike Hanseng

Click here for local press coverage about the conference: http://bluho.st/kStmI 

Nobody likes a slow website. Poor website performance results in fewer visitors. For online merchants, slow-loading pages lead to shopping cart abandonment and loss of sales. Underlying the experiential problems, website performance has a huge impact on SEO and search rankings. When your page rank falls, the number of visits decrease, and your revenue stream will suffer. Unless you have optimized your site, it’s highly likely that some elements of your code are leaking page load time. Milliseconds add up, and the fixes may be simple. First, you need to identify the leaks.

What is Slowing Down Your Blog?

As you prepare to optimize your website, it is important to determine what is impacting page load times. To test the speed of your website, go to http://www.thewebhostinghero.com/speed/ and enter the URL of a web page you would like to analyze.

Once the speed test is completed, have a look at the Performance Grade and PageSpeed reports. Those reports will provide you with various tips to improve the performance of your website.

Don’t Spend Your Money… Yet!

As you analyze the results of the speed test, you will see that are many on-page factors that can contribute to increased load times. Before you start spending money on content delivery networks and other online optimization services, it is advisable to make all the on-page adjustments possible. If your code is resource-intensive, optimization services won’t make a significant difference, and your return on investment will fall flat.

On-Page Optimization Tips

For this tutorial, our example site is a vanilla WordPress installation on a Bluehost shared hosting account with only the Akismet plugin installed. We generated fictional content with the WP Example Content plugin and then removed the plugin.

Before we start optimizing our WordPress blog, let’s see how it actually performs. Here are the summary results from the speed test:

As we perform the optimization tasks described below, we will constantly monitor the website’s speed it to determine which changes have the most impact.

Let’s start optimizing our WordPress blog.

Optimization Tip #1: Reduce and Compress Images

For your images to load as quickly as possible, it is important to resize them before uploading them to your website. Don’t upload images larger than what you actually need to display. Scaling images in the HTML code might display them as desired, but it won’t reduce its original file size. For example, a JPG image that is 800×800 pixels with a 100kb file size will take just as long to load when coded to display at a 200×200 size as it would if you displayed it at full size. If you optimize the JPG to only 200×200 before you upload it, you might be able to get it down to 20kb and reduce the load time significantly.

The PNG image format is actually the best choice as it allows to store high quality images with a high level of compression. Unfortunately, PNG files are usually large due to the simple fact that they are not compressed.

To compress PNG images, you can use TinyPNG.org, a free online tool that allows you to compress PNG files without losing quality while preserving alpha transparency.

By compressing island.png, the only PNG file on our blog, we saved 324 KB, reducing our file size from 409 KB to 93 KB. Below you can see the difference in loading times for both versions of the image. Notice that the transferred image size is not the actual size of the image, since it is compressed using Gzip by the web server. The actual image size is much larger. There is still an improvement in load time; the compressed images loads about 27% faster than the original one:

Optimization Tip #2: Reduce the number of requests

When a browser retrieves all of the elements of a web page, it will not simultaneously download more than five (5) elements from the same host. Therefore, the more files that your web page has, the longer it will take to load it, no matter how small the files are.

If you have multiple CSS and Javascript documents, it is a good practice to combine them to reduce the number of requests made to the web server.

Optimization Tip #3: Minify HTML, Javascript and CSS

Remove extra spaces and line breaks from your source code to reduce the amount of data transferred and decrease the load time. The following plugins are some of the easiest ways to dynamically minimize the documents:

1. WordPress Compress HTML: This plugin will compress HTML content exclusively and requires no configuration. Simply install and active it.
2. Better WordPress Minify: This plugin will “minify” Javascript and CSS documents exclusively and is completely configurable. A “minify” process combines multiple CSS or Javascript files, removing unnecessary whitespace and comments, and then serves them with gzip encoding and optimized client-side cache headers. If you decide to activate Javascript compression, make sure to test your website thoroughly, as it could break your scripts. This plugin also gives you the possibility of excluding certain files from the compression process.
3. WP Minify: This plugin can minify HTML, Javascript and CSS documents.

If you would rather not use a plugin to compress CSS and Javascripts documents, it is also possible to minify them by using some online tools such as these:

• CSSMinifier.com
• Javascript-Minifier.com

If you use online tools to compress your files, make sure to keep a copy of the original sources files in case you need to edit them later.

Here’s how compressing HTML and CSS files translates into load time reductions:

Optimization Tip #4: Leverage Browser Caching

By specifying a longer caching period for your web page components (HTML, images, Javascripts, CSS documents, etc.), web browsers will cache these elements locally so that they don’t need to be downloaded from the server each time the page is accessed.

In order to leverage browser caching, create a file named .htaccess at the root of your blog (ie.: /public_html/path/to/blog). If an .htaccess file already exists, append this code to the end of it:

AddType image/x-icon .ico

<IfModule mod_headers.c>
# YEAR
<FilesMatch "\.(ico|gif|jpg|jpeg|png|flv|pdf)$">
 Header set Cache-Control "max-age=29030400"
</FilesMatch>
# WEEK
<FilesMatch "\.(js|css|swf)$">
 Header set Cache-Control "max-age=604800"
</FilesMatch>
# 24 HOURS
<FilesMatch "\.(html|htm|txt|php)$">
 Header set Cache-Control "max-age=86400"
</FilesMatch>
</IfModule>

Another option is to add an Expires header by appending this code to your .htaccess file:

AddType image/x-icon .ico

<IfModule mod_expires.c>
ExpiresActive On
ExpiresByType image/gif A29030400
ExpiresByType image/png A29030400
ExpiresByType image/jpeg A29030400
ExpiresByType image/x-icon A29030400
ExpiresByType application/pdf A29030400
ExpiresByType application/x-javascript A604800
ExpiresByType text/plain A86400
ExpiresByType text/css A604800
</IfModule>

Using the htaccess directives above will instruct web browsers to cache files for a period based on file type:

• Image files: 1 year
• Javascript, CSS and SWF files: 1 week
• HTML and PHP files: 24 hours

Optimization Tip #5: Enabling GZip Compression

By enabling GZip, the web server will compress files on the fly before sending them to the web browser. This significantly reduces the total size of a web page. In some cases, GZip is enabled by default by the web hosting provider. But if that’s not the case, you can add this code to your .htaccess file:

<ifmodule mod_deflate.c>

AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE image/gif image/png image/jpeg image/x-icon
application/pdf application/javascript application/x-javascript text/plain
text/html text/css text/x-component text/xml application/json
</ifmodule>

Optimization Tip #6: Add a Caching Plugin

Caching pages on your WordPress blog will significantly decrease processing time. When a web page is generated by WordPress, the caching plugin will store the output in a database. The next time the page is requested, it will be retrieved from the cache for faster rendering. Another benefit of caching pages is that it decreases server load, leaving more resources available for other processes.

There are various WordPress cache plugins that can accomplish this, but the best one, by far, is WP Super Cache. From my experience, it is the most efficient caching plugin and it plays well with other WordPress plugins. Here’s a quick and dirty step-by-step guide to installing and configuring WP Super Cache:

1. Download and install WP Super Cache from http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wp-super-cache/
2. Activate the plugin and go to Settings > WP Super Cache.
3. Under the Easy tab, select Caching On and click Update Status.
4. Click the Advanced tab and check the following parameters:
   • Cache hits to this website for quick access.
   • Use mod_rewrite to serve cache files.
   • Compress pages so they’re served more quickly to visitors.
   • 304 Not Modified browser caching. Indicate when a page has not been modified since last requested.
   • Don’t cache pages for known users.
   • Cache rebuild. Serve a supercache file to anonymous users while a new file is being generated.
5. Click on Update Status.
6. Scroll down the Advanced settings page and click the Update Mod_Rewrite Rules button below the Mod Rewrite Rules section.
7. Scroll down to Expiry Time & Garbage Collection and select Timer next to Scheduler. Click on Change Expiration.
8. Click the Preload tab set the preload cache process to be executed every 720 minutes (twice a day). You can decrease this value if you have a lot of activity on your blog.
9. Click the Update Settings button.
10. You can chose to preload the cache right away by clicking on Preload Cache Now but this is optional.

Caching pages will increase the first byte time of our speed test because there’s less processing involved.

Let’s see how that translates into performance improvements, compared to our initial results:

By simply applying these on-site optimization tips, the load time has improved by 89%.

Using a Content Delivery Network

If your website has a high level of traffic, you might want to take things a step further and use a Content Delivery Network (CDN). A CDN will replicate the content of your website on multiple servers that are located around the world. Visitors will download your website from the location that is geographically closest to them.

There are several CDN services out there that employ various technologies. Some CDN services will only cache CSS documents, Javascript, and media files (images files, videos, etc.), while others will cache the content of your pages, too.

For this tutorial, we’ll be using Cloudflare, a CDN that can cache all of the static resources of your website and decreases load time for your visitors, no matter where they are geographically located.

Here’s how to use CloudFlare with your WordPress blog:

1. Go to your Bluehost control panel and click the CloudFlare icon.
2. Enter your email address below “Enable CloudFlare” and click on Next.
3. Once your account is created, you’ll be prompted to enter your website’s domain name.
4. Cloudflare will be scanning your website for a while, so you can watch the video in the meantime. Click on Continue when the scan is complete.
5. Cloudflare will present you with the suggested DNS records for your domain. If you need to add any records manually, you may do so now.
6. Click on I’ve added all missing records, continue.
7. Select the plan that you wish to use. For this tutorial, we’ll be using the Pro Plan.
8. Choose the performance level that you wish to use. We’ll select CDN + Full Optimizations for this tutorial.
9. Set the security level to Medium and click on Continue.
10. On the Confirm SSL page, click Continue to the final step.
11. Go to your domain registrar’s control panel and change the nameservers for your domain name to those given by CloudFlare. If Bluehost is your domain registrar, then you don’t need to update your nameservers, as your Bluehost account will be linked to your CloudFlare account.  Once you’ve updated your nameservers, it can take up to 48 hours before the traffic is directed to CloudFlare’s network.
12. Click on I’ve updated my nameservers, continue.
13. One the page titled My Websites, click the gear icon next to your domain name and select CloudFlare settings.
14. Select the Performance settings tab and set the following parameters:
    • Caching level: Agressive
    • Autominify: Check JS, CSS and HTML
    • Rocket Loader: Automatic
    • Website preloader: On

Let’s see how our WordPress blog performs after implementing CloudFlare:

Notice that the number of requests and the total size of the web page has increased since implementing CloudFlare. This is because CloudFlare pushes three (3) additional files: cloudflare.min.js, rocket.js and oracle.js. Fortunately, there is still an improvement of about 25% in load time. The real gain in using a CDN will be much more apparent for high traffic websites.

There are many other things you can do to improve the load time of your website. We’d love to hear how you optimize your site and what works for you!

Stephane Brault is a veteran web developer and system administrator. He is the owner of TheWebHostingHero.com, a website dedicated to providing tutorials, reviews and news about the web hosting industry.

Bluehost’s official statement on CISPA is as follows:

“Bluehost appreciates and supports the need for cybersecurity.  However, Bluehost also believes that respect for privacy rights is critical to a free and open society.  As a provider of web solutions, our customers have entrusted Bluehost with their personal and business information.  Bluehost takes its responsibility for the security of this information seriously.  In its current form, CISPA would make it very difficult for Bluehost to establish clear guidelines as to when information must be shared with the government.  This is deeply troubling for both Internet companies like Bluehost and the customers they serve.  Legislation around cybersecurity and the Internet should be crafted through a multi-stakeholder process that more appropriately balances security with the right to privacy.  For these reasons, Bluehost opposes CISPA and urges Congressional leaders to include all stakeholders in the cybersecurity dialogue.”

We encourage our customers to do their own research on CISPA and participate in discussions at their discretion. If you have any questions about Bluehost’s stance on CISPA, feel free to email us.

Since the beginning, Bluehost has been built with open source technology. You could say it’s in our blood. So to expand our products and to support our customers with the best hosting services possible, we have been pioneering implementation of new, cutting edge OpenStack technology.

Recently, several members of our admin team attended the 2013 OpenStack Summit in Portland. While there, two of our senior systems architects, Jun Park (Ph.D) and Mike Wilson, presented on how we’ve been pioneering the use of OpenStack to power and revolutionize our hosting platform. The presentation was a hit so we’ve uploaded the slides here for anyone interested in reviewing the information. We’ll upload a video recording of the presentation soon. Enjoy!

**UPDATE: The video of the presentation is now available! Check it out:

 http://www.slideshare.net/junparkearth/blue-host-openstacksummit2013

As they announced in February, Posterous has been acquired by Twitter and as of April 30, 2013, the platform will shut down. To accommodate Posterous users that are looking for a new place for their content, Bluehost’s expert WordPress developers have created an import tool for Posterous users to transfer all of their content from Posterous to WordPress on Bluehost without a hitch. And to make the transition even smoother, Bluehost is offering all previous Posterous users a special hosting price of $3.95/month if they transfer to Bluehost before April 30.

Using the Bluehost import tool is easy. Follow these steps and you’ll be ready to go on WordPress in no time.

Instructions for using the Posterous-to-Bluehost importer: 

1. Request your backup from posterous.com.

   

    

   

    

2. Install WordPress on your Bluehost account using Simple Scripts with the following steps:

3. - First register for a Bluehost account here for a special price of $3.95/month. 
   - Then using the credentials emailed to you from Bluehost, log into your control panel.
   - Find the icon under site builders that shows WordPress and click.
   - You will then be taken to a SimpleScripts page.
   - Find WordPress and click the icon.
   - When you reach the next screen select “Install” not import(you will need the plugin mentioned later for that).
   - You will then reach a screen with some options, select any of the options you would like.
   - check the terms and conditions checkbox
   - click “Complete”
   - You can then use the login credentials to your WordPress admin to login and install the importer.

4. Download the Posterous importer here.
5. Install the plugin using the upload method.
6. Activate the plugin.
7. Goto Tools-> Import and select Posterous from the list.
8. Select a user to assign the posts to. (If you need to create a new user do so first)
9. Select the .zip file you got from Posterous
10. Click Start Import.

Note: if your export from Posterous is too large you will need to follow the Advance import instructions.

Advanced Import Instructions:

1. Request your backup from posterous.com.
2. Install WordPress on your Bluehost account using Simple Scripts.
3. Download the Posterous importer here.
4. Install the plugin using the upload method.
5. Activate the plugin.
6. Goto Tools-> Import and select Posterous from the list.
7. Click “Goto Advanced Form”
8. Upload your UNZIPPED export from Posterous to the posterous folder in the current month (ex: wp-content/2013/04/posterous) using your FTP program.
9. Select a user to assign the posts to
10. Click Start Import.

Note: the “Start Import” button will be disabled unless the folder is detected.

And if you have any trouble, just give our support team a call at (888) 401-4678 any time 24/7 and we’ll be there to help you.

How do I move my WordPress website to Bluehost?

At Bluehost, many of our customers use WordPress for their sites. So here is a step-by-step guide on how to move your WordPress site from another host to Bluehost with almost no downtime. There are a lot of steps in this process, but if you follow them one after the other, you should be able to transfer your website in no time.

1. To start, log into your current host and use a provided program (such as phpMyAdmin) to export your site’s database.
2. Use your preferred FTP program (such as Filezilla or Cyberduck) to download and save your wp-content folder (a.k.a. the files that make up your WordPress site.)
3. Log in to your Bluehost control panel.
4. Install WordPress using the SimpleScripts, one-click install tool.
5. Create an FTP account in your Bluehost control panel so you can upload your files to your new WordPress site folder. When creating your FTP account, keep in mind that you might want to change its designated directory to something easily identifiable.
6. Launch your preferred FTP program and open a new connection. Log in with your new FTP account info.
7. Overwrite the existing wp-content folder with the one you downloaded from your previous host.
8. Open phpMyAdmin in the Database section of your Bluehost cPanel.
9. Select the database to which you want to import your data. You may need to look up this information. (To do so, go to the File Manager in your control panel and open your public_html folder. Then scroll down to find the wp-config file, right click the icon, select “Code Edit”, and then “Edit.” In the code edit window, scroll down to identify the database you should use.
10. Back in your phpMyAdmin window, once you’ve selected the correct database, you will see a list of tables. Drop these tables before you import your new data by selecting the “Check All” option at the bottom of the list and then selecting “Drop.”
11. Now it’s time to import! Go to the “Import” tab in phpMyAdmin. Choose “Browse your computer” and find the SQL database file that you exported from your previous site. (It should be named something similar to “bluepm1_wor2.sql”.) Make sure the SQL format is selected and click “Go.”
12. Here is an important step after you import your database. After your database is imported, check to learn the new table names. If your table names begin with ‘wp_’ then you don’t need to make any changes. However, sometimes your tables will import with a name like ‘wrp-’ Go to your file manager and open the wp-config file in your public_html folder.
13. Right click on wp-config, select “Code Edit”, and then select “Edit.”
14. Scroll down until you find the line “Stable Prefix” line. Edit it to read ‘wp_’.
15. Now that you have your database and site files, it’s time to put everything on your temporary URL. This is how you move your site without any downtime.* First, in your phpMyAdmin site, select wp-options from the menu on the left of the screen. Then, select “Edit” on the “site url” line. (This will typically be line 1.) Paste in the temporary URL provided to you when you created your Bluehost account and click “Go.” (Tip: if you’re not sure what it is, it can be found in your Bluehost welcome e-mail.) *Note: all of these previous steps can help anyone move their WordPress site. The following steps are for those are want to move their WordPress site without any downtime. 
    
16.  Repeat step 11 for your “Home” line in wp-options. (This is typically line 36.)
17. Now it’s time to see if your work has paid off. Enter the temporary URL into your internet browser and check to see if your site is there. If so, you’re nearly done!
18. Log into your WordPress admin site to save your Permalinks. Go to “Permalinks” under the “Settings” tab of the dashboard and click “Save Changes.”
19. Before you can move from the temporary URL to your permanent one, you must change the nameservers associated with your domain to point to Bluehost. This can be done in the domain manager of your domain registrar, whether it be with Bluehost, or another registrar. Use the following: NS1.BLUEHOST.COM and NS2.BLUEHOST.COM. (This indicates that your site is hosted at Bluehost.com. The DNS change can take anywhere from a few hours to several days to propagate. Once it is finished you will be able to use your domain on your new site.)
20. Once the DNS change in complete, log into your WordPress admin site and go to “General” under the “Settings” tab. Then, enter your domain into the “WordPress Address” and “Site Address” fields, and click “Save Changes.”
21. The last step is to enter your domain URL into your internet browser to check to see if your site is live. If so, then congratulations! You have successfully moved your WordPress site to Bluehost.

We know this is a lot of steps, but if you follow these instructions you should be good to go. And of course, if you need help at any point in this process, you can always contact our support team for help by calling us 24/7 at 888.401.4678 or through 24/7 live chat.

Bluehost is excited to announce a BETA launch of our all-new Dedicated web hosting service! Starting now, BETA participants can sign up for a 30-day dedicated hosting trial for just $1!

We know you’ve been waiting for this for a while.  Our dedicated servers have been carefully designed and custom-built with only the best components and software. This allows us to offer several compelling features not found elsewhere, including:

• Instant Provisioning – Don’t wait hours or days for your server to come online. We’ve engineered our platform to be up and running in seconds.
• Root Access – Use the standard tools you know and love, or open the hood to CentOS and completely control your operating system and server itself.
• Single Sign-on – Manage your entire account, from server management tools to cPanel, all with one login.
• Dedicated Support – Call our exclusive line for Dedicated Server customers, getting you expedited help when you need it.

Learn more about our new Dedicated hosting services and participate in the BETA here. The limited-time BETA is invite-only. If you haven’t received your invite yet, simply call our sales team to get your exclusive access code.

While we can’t imagine every possible system out there, the actual steps are almost always the same. (You can also visit our Transfer Help Page for specific instructions on many of the most common domain registrars.) Transfer any .com, .net, .org, .info, .us, or .biz domain to Bluehost by following these simple instructions.

How do I transfer my domain name?

First, you’ll need to access the domain registrar where the domain is currently registered. From here you will prepare the domain name for transfer. Every registrar is a little different, but you should be able to follow these general steps:

1. Login and access the domain manager tools of your current registrar.
2. Update your contact info (particularly your e-mail address) so that Bluehost can reach you with important information both during and after the transfer process.
3. Ensure privacy options are disabled for the transfer process. Don’t worry, you can re-enable them when your domain is successfully transferred to Bluehost.
4. Update the nameservers to point to Bluehost. Use the following: NS1.BLUEHOST.COM and NS2.BLUEHOST.COM. (This indicates that your site is hosted at Bluehost.com. The DNS change can take anywhere from a few hours to several days to propagate. Once it is finished you will be able to complete the transfer process.)
5. Unlock your domain name.
6. Acquire your “transfer EPP code,” or authorization code. This should be provided to you. Copy this code down and login to your new registrar (Bluehost) to initiate the transfer.

Once you’ve prepared your domain for transfer, all that’s left is to initiate the transfer from the new registrar (Bluehost).

1. Visit the Domain Manager tab in your Bluehost control panel.
2. Select “Transfer a new domain to your account” from the Shortcuts menu on the top left-hand side.
3. Type in the domain you wish to transfer and click continue.
4. Enter the EPP code you received from your previous registrar and click continue.
5. Bluehost will e-mail a second verification code to the administrator e-mail associated with the domain. (Which is why it’s important to update your contact information before you start the transfer process.) Enter this verification code and click continue.

And that’s it! There’s a lot of behind the scenes work that goes on to make the transfer actually happen. It typically takes between 5 to 10 days to complete.

If you need extra help with a domain transfer, contact our support team at any time, 24/7 by calling us at 888.401.4678 or talking to us via live chat. Stay tuned for our next post to learn how to move your WordPress website to Bluehost with almost zero downtime!

In the meantime, here’s some of the things you can look forward to with your new and improved Bluehost account:

When you first log in to your redesigned Bluehost account, you’ll probably first notice a new menu. We’ve thrown out the old tabs and replaced them with a more simple navigation and a new submenu that links to all the tools you use most, such as email, FTP and databases. We think this makes a lot more sense and makes it easier to get to the tools you need. (P.S. We’ve kept your cPanel front and center.)

Domains are also easier to manage thanks to the new submenu. All the top navigation items are tied to a unique submenu of related tools and options.

You’ll also see that we’ve added some new features to your account section. “My Products” lets you see all your extra features at a glance. This makes it really easy to see what add-ons and products you’ve purchased, as well as when they are due to expire.

And we’ve also added a new feature that has been requested for a really long time. Now you have the option of creating several passwords for your account, each with different levels of access. So along with your master password, now make one just for billing and payment settings or one for cPanel access only. This comes in very handy for those wanting to give a web developer access to their account tools but not the billing information, or vice versa!

We hope you enjoy these new changes. We’re committed at Bluehost to not only giving our customers the best tools available, but also making those tools easier to use. These changes set the stage for many exciting new features we’re announcing in the coming months, so stay tuned. And enjoy your new and improved Bluehost account!

Primary Domain
This is the domain name assigned as your account’s “main” domain. It’s the domain you use to log into your account, as well as to identify your account to Bluehost representatives. There can only be one Primary domain name at a time on a given hosting account.

Parked Domain
Any domain set as a “parked” domain serves to point to the same content and website as your primary domain. This is helpful if you have one website but wish to have multiple domains point to it. For example, mycookiestore.com might be your primary domain, but you might also wish to register mycookiestore.net, mycookiestore.org, mycookiestore.biz, etc… and point them all to the same website.

Add-On Domain
This is any domain hosted and managed from your main hosting account, but that is linked to a separate website than your primary domain. Content and files for a separate website are stored in a unique folder within your public_html folder. Use domains as “add-ons” when you wish to create a completely separate website on your account with its own domain name, apart from the primary domain name.

Sub-domain
Subdomains are based on prefixes added before a given domain name. They are a great way to organize your site or create sub-websites that while different, still make sense to include under the same domain. For example, we’ve set our bluehost blog to be accessible via blog.bluehost.com. We also set our webmail to be accessible via mail.buehost.com. You can create as many sub-domains as you wish for any of your domain names.

As you can see, there are a lot of different ways to use your domain names with Bluehost. All of your domains on your account can always be managed from your domain manager. We work hard to make our domain manager super simple to use and completely full-featured. From there you can not only purchase or renew domains, but you can change how they are assigned to your account.

And if you’ve ever been curious how to transfer a domain, stay tuned. Our next post will go through this in detail!