5 Things You Should Know About BlueHost

An interesting collection of facts even if you are not currently BlueHosting

What if I told you there was a company out there that registered 2% of the Internet’s domains, was run by a guy who has done missionary work in Taiwan, and even played a role in the 2008 Presidential campaign?  You’d be interested to know which company it was, right?

Sometimes, some of the most interesting companies aren’t the ones with the Googleplex’s – they can be found everywhere.  That is, if you know where to look – like if you’re looking at BlueHost, for example.

If you’re an avid fan and reader of Clickfire – and who isn’t? – you’ve already come across our BlueHost Review:  you’ve read about the functionality, the pricing structure, and the glory of its “top-of-the-line control panel.”  You’re already aware of the features, but what about the behind-the-scenes action that seems to be driving this company and its founder, Intern-entrepreneur Matt Heaton?

Let’s dig a little deeper into this Web hosting provider known as BlueHost and see what else we can dig up.

Big fat BlueHost ad banner in case you didn’t notice

#1:  BlueHost Does Not Host Porn

I know I’ve already lost the pervs with this one, which is actually a great reason to start with the BlueHost dirt – or lack thereof.  This is in direct contrast to HostGator which, as we noted previously  (for more comparisons between the two, check out the post, BlueHost vs HostGator).

What’s the relevance of not hosting porn?  Well, if you’re like the Clickfire reader known as Jon (you can see his comment at the top of the “BlueHost vs HostGator” comments section), you’ve lost international contacts in China because China blocks domain hosting companies that host pornography like HostGator.  Not good if you’re doing a lot of business in China – but good if you’re interested in BlueHost.

BlueHost is actually strict enough about this rule that it might suspend your site for a little while if a little porn finds its way onto your forum or blog comments – so be careful about what you let seep through.

Said BlueHost President Matt Heaton on his blog:

Bluehost does not and will not tolerate adult material of any kind on our servers. Sometimes profit comes second and personal responsibility and ethics come first. I am not telling other hosts to not provide adult hosting services, but I wish that they would come to that conclusion on their own.

Well said.

#2: BlueHost is Not Matt Heaton’s First Success

The aforementioned man in charge of BlueHost, founder and President Matt Heaton, is no stranger to cyberspace.  The thirty-something businessman describes himself as a “serial entrepreneur” and the claim stands up to the toughest of scrutiny.  Heaton opened Computer Warehouse when he was 21, which became a bit of a computer chain, added “Free50″ later on, founded HostMonster, and then, in 2003, added BlueHost to his resume – though I’m guessing he doesn’t exactly need to use it often.

By the way, he also speaks Mandarin, has five children, and has been a nationally-ranked ping pong player.  Maybe he’s preparing for a run for Dos Equis’ next “Most Interesting Man in the World” campaign.

Hey, speaking of running for things…

#3: BlueHost Played a Part in the 2008 Presidential Campaigns

Heaton donated $500 to the Mitt Romney 2008 Presidential campaign, which in and of itself isn’t a controversial thing.  The move, however, raised a few eyebrows when an anti-Fred Thompson Web site known as “phoneyfred.org” showed up – and had been registered with BlueHost.

Said Politico:

The owner of the web-host provider used to launch an anti-Fred Thompson website is a donor to Mitt Romney’s campaign.

Matt Heaton, President and CEO of Utah-based bluehost.com, gave $500 to Romney in June.

Until earlier today, his company hosted the domain “phoneyfred.org” that included a trove of personal and political opposition research on Thompson.   But after I disclosed the anti-Thompson site just after Noon, the site came down.

Heaton declined to reveal who purchased the domain name.

“I can’t give out any information about site ownership,” he wrote in an e-mail.  “I don’t know why it was taken down either. That isn’t something I deal with and is also information we wouldn’t be providing to anyone but the site owner.”

Maybe this didn’t have a big impact on the campaign, but you have to admit it was interesting to see a Web hosting company walk into the fray.

#4: BlueHost is Hosting Over 1.5 Million Domains

…at least, according to Matt Heaton’s blog.

Congratulations to us!  Our organization is now hosting more than 1.5 million domain names and nearly 2% of all domain names in use on the whole internet.  I think that is amazing.  Thanks to everyone that uses and recommends our services.  Hope to post when we reach 2 million real soon!

2% of a market might sound like a small number, but how would you like to handle 2% of the domains registered on the internet?

According to Heaton, the initial goals of BlueHost were actually to reach only approximately 20,000 domains.  You don’t need a calculator to tell you they’ve already well surpassed that goal, now getting something in the neighborhood of 850 signups per day – perhaps much more.

#5: BlueHost Is Built on a Foundation of Success

As already noted, BlueHost is not the first successful brain-child of founder Matt Heaton – in fact, it’s only the more recent in what appears to be a very successful timeline of events in the young business leader’s life.

Some of the other ventures Heaton has pursued include Computer Warehouse, Free50, HostMonster, and even other non-business pursuits like missionary work in Taiwan.

But that’s not all.  Heaton has also written software to track Web traffic stats (“freestats.com”), improved it (“sitetracker.com”), started FreeServers.com, and started 50Megs.com.  How’s that for real-world experience?

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