Transferring a domain name is one of our most commonly asked questions. Because every domain registrar is different, it can be confusing to know what to do. Thankfully at Bluehost, we make it as easy as possible to transfer your domain registration to your account so you can manage all your domains and files under one, well-maintained roof.
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.
As you may have already noticed, we recently made some changes to the look and feel of your Bluehost account. Don’t worry – all of your favorite tools are still there, we’ve just made them easier to find and use. We know change can be hard, so when you first log into your redesigned account, you’ll find a quick video that reviews some of the changes and walks you through where things are. Check that out the next time you log in!
In the meantime, here’s some of the things you can look forward to with your new and improved Bluehost account:
One great thing about Bluehost is that you can host as many domains on one account as you like. And along with these unlimited domain names, there are various ways to use these domains on your account: as add-ons, parked, or sub-domains. However, our support team receives a lot of calls seeking to understand the difference between these domain types. So, to set the record straight for anyone who’s curious, here’s a clean-cut breakdown.
Shared hosting is the world’s most popular type of web hosting. But for those wanting more power, resources, or control, there are other great solutions to consider. In 2013, Bluehost is launching revolutionary VPS and dedicated server hosting, all backed by Bluehost’s legendary support and technology. We’ve created this infographic to explain how each type of hosting is different and help you decide which option is best for you!
Click on the image to view the full infographic and visit us on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ to let us know what you think. Stay tuned to find out exactly when you can expect VPS and dedicated hosting by Bluehost!
Website performance is a crucial component to online success. A slow site adversely affects eCommerce transactions, drains server resources, depresses SEO ranking, and frustrates visitors. Often, when customers notice that their website appears to have slowed down or requires several seconds to load, they call into our support team asking why their server is performing poorly. While server issues can, in rare instances, contribute to a lagging website, they are almost never the cause. More often than not, poor website performance has much more to do with the website itself, and how it is configured. Fortunately, there are a range of things you can do to optimize a website for better performance!
How can I speed up my site?
It might help to imagine a website as if it were a car. To maximize a car’s performance, one must tune, clean, test, service, upgrade, and maintain it over time. The same goes for a website. Bluehost may maintain the best hardware in the industry, but the software underlying each and every website requires just as much attention and long-term care to ensure peak performance.
Here are some tips to keep your website lean and mean:
If you’re a Bluehost customer, chances are you’ve called our support staff at one time or another. After all, they’re there to help! But with tens of thousands of people now signing up for a Bluehost account every month, we wondered if there weren’t a few particular questions our support reps received more often than others. Sure enough, there are! So we’ve put together several posts to answer these “frequently asked questions.” We hope they help our new customers, and perhaps even you long-time Bluehost experts.
How do I backup my website?
One of the most important things you can do is make sure all of your data and content is regularly backed up. Websites take a lot of time, energy, and even money to develop, so you want to make sure your investment is protected. Most Bluehost customers seem to understand this, as they frequently call in asking how to best ensure a proper backup of their websites.
First, some good news: At Bluehost, we perform complimentary backups of your entire account data on a monthly, weekly, and even daily basis! So you can rest assured your data is protected against loss. Should you ever need or want a prior version of your files, here’s how to access and restore these automated backups.
Last night we experienced some issues in our data center that affected a portion of our clients. We wanted to take a moment to let you know what happened.
At approximately 6:22 PM MST our primary Data Center experienced an electrical transient. An Automatic Transfer Switch on one of our legs of power failed, causing some servers to lose power. Our systems are designed with multiple, redundant sources of power that automatically transfer as needed to ensure servers stay up and running. In this instance, however, the switch itself failed. It also sent a spike back to one of our transformers, causing additional problems. Our technical teams of Data Center Technicians, System Administrators, and power experts responded immediately and worked continuously to bring all our customers back online.
Our data center utilizes many redundant systems including backup generators and 4 different UPS legs of power. These are tested every two weeks and regular maintenance is performed on all systems in order to provide the most reliable service possible. However, tonight our services did not live up to your—or our own—expectations. We are evaluating every aspect of this particular failure to eliminate the possibility of recurrence.
We pride ourselves on delivering outstanding reliability and an unbeatable customer experience. Any feedback on how to improve our platform and services, as well as suggestions on how we can better communicate with you in the future, is welcome and appreciated. Thank you for your continued patience and support as we resolve this issue.
March 13, 2013
