Last updated October 2025.
Overview
Dreamhost provide web hosting, domain name registration, and a heck of a lot more (like one-click installs of popular software such as WordPress and Joomla). They’re perfect for bloggers, small online business owners, or anyone who needs a site that’s a step up from the “hobby” level.
Price
You can get hosting from $2.99/month if you pay for a year or more upfront, or $4.99/month if you pay monthly, for the “Web Hosting Launch” plan.
Note that the prices go up to the standard rate after your initial term (that’s after 3 months when paying monthly, or the end of 1, 2, 4 years if you chose one of those options). These rates are quite a bit higher, e.g. $10.99/month after your first year for the 1 year plan.
This is pretty normal for major web hosts, but it’s worth keeping in mind if you’re not expecting to make money from your website (e.g. from book sales).
What’s Included?
I’ll spare you all the techy details: for pretty much anyone reading this, you can do anything you want to (and lots of things you’ll never have considered) with your Dreamhost space, from running a blog to a forum to a shop.
On the Web Hosting Launch plan, Dreamhost gives you 50GB of storage, 40k monthly visits, and unlimited bandwidth. If you pay for an annual plan, you get a domain name for free. (For context, 40,000 monthly visits is quite a lot … the Aliventures site gets around 10,000-12,000 visits per month.)
The great thing about this low-price plan, compared to many other web hosts’ plans, is that you can have up to 25 (!) websites. Some providers limit you to just one site. This is really handy if you want, say, an author site plus a separate blog, or if you want to create different sites for different pen-names.
Good Stuff
I’ve used Dreamhost for my web hosting since I started out blogging in early 2008. I needed somewhere I could install the WordPress software, and they fitted the bill.
Seventeen (!) years later, I’m still an very happy customer! I’ve found the WordPress installation system absolutely brilliant: it makes it incredibly easy to set up WordPress on a new site, and you can upgrade in just the same way. Their auto-updating of WordPress installations is really handy too.
Dreamhost continues to add new features (e.g. you can now use an AI website builder, and they give you free SSL certificates too).
My Dreamhost control panel is very simple and straightforward to use: unlike other hosting/domain registration companies which I’ve used, Dreamhost’s interface is intuitive, clear and fast.
Dreamhost are also a green, carbon-neutral hosting company.
Tech Support
I want to give a special mention to the Dreamhost tech support team here: a very friendly and capable bunch. They’ve been fantastic every time I’ve had a problem, including those of my own making! They’re quick and responsive, and always polite too.
Bad Stuff
I have nothing negative to say about Dreamhost. Apart from a tiny bit of downtime in the very early years of Aliventures, I’ve had no issues at all with my site.
Verdict
I’d wholeheartedly recommend Dreamhost for any author or blogger needing to run a site forum or similar.
Their hosting is very good value for what you get, with a range of options to suit different people at different stages. The support team is friendly and helpful, there’s plenty of clear documentation, and the dashboard is simple and straightforward to use.