Upgrade to Bluehost Pro Package Review – Part One

Should I transfer my business website from Bluehost to Hostgator?

Or should I upgrade to Bluehost Pro Package instead?

I decided to go with Bluehost Pro Package which costs 3 times more than the current package and includes:

• 1 Free Domain Privacy Protection
• 1 Free Domain Name Registration
• 1 Free Dedicated IP
• 1 Free Site Backup Pro
• 1 Free PositiveSSL Certificate
• 10 Free Postini Email Filterings

All these features do not matter to me at all except maybe Dedicated IP, which means no more shared hosting, so that my website visitors and members can enjoy 100% uptime.

Why didn’t I transfer to Hostgator?  I just wanted to avoid all the hassle of data transfer and setting up scripts all over.

So here is the process I went through to get the upgrade…

1. Logged in to Bluehost cPanel.
2. Backed up complete site together with database and emails to my computer hard drive using “Site backup and restore” app in cPanel.  It took more than 8 hours to download 11 GB of data over regular broadband.
3. Purchased package from the “Upgrade” tab.
4. Invoice showed the price for 12 months and a deduction for the current package remaining months.
5. Made payment by Paypal.  There is an option for credit card payment.
6. After successful payment my website disappeared for 30 minutes.
   
7. A confirmation email arrived with a helpful message… “Pro Account Purchases do not automatically enable SSL and your Dedicated IP.   To enable these products, please visit the Dedicated IP and SSL Certificates tabs located at the top of your account.”

Am I happy with the upgrade?  Is downtime really gone for good?

Too soon to tell.  Let me monitor for 2 weeks before I post review Part  Two.

Adrian Lee
http://AdrianVideoImage.com