Bluehost is a web hosting service that you can use to host your domain. Alongside the subscription, their company also includes additional add-ons which can help improve your website’s performance.
One of these extensions that you can use for an additional monthly subscription is called CodeGuard, but do you need CodeGuard Basic on Bluehost?
You do not need CodeGuard Basic on Bluehost, as it is an add-on tool that backs up your domain’s server to previous versions by monitoring and detecting any changes to your website.
However, because it will notify you of changes and restore a back-up with 99% accuracy, it is a good investment.
We want to ensure that you get the tools you need to host your website correctly. When it comes to extra extensions, it can be a bit confusing as to which ones you’d need.
Quick Navigation
- About Bluehost
- What Is CodeGuard
- How Does CodeGuard Work
- How Reliable Is CodeGuard
- How Much Does a Subscription Cost
- What CodeGuard Offers
- Conclusion
So, we’ll give you a breakdown of if Bluehost’s CodeGuard is necessary or not.
About Bluehost
Bluehost is a service that hosts web domains for a small subscription fee, either monthly or annually. At an additional cost, Bluehost also provides the option to add on specialty services.
These services include SEO optimization, marketing tools, and analytics. Some also range from web security to backups.
Check out our in-depth Bluehost Review to ge the details Insights.
What Is CodeGuard?
CodeGuard is an additional subscription that you can purchase alongside your Bluehost subscription. The package includes a whole host of web protection for your site.
This includes monitoring code changes, backing up and restoring data, along with protection from malware attacks.
Related Reading: Best WordPress Security Plugins
How Does CodeGuard Work?
Once you have a subscription to CodeGuard, you’ll be able to use its features. The program will run in the background and monitor any changes in your source code.
From there, if there are any changes, the app will immediately notify you. If selected, you’ll then be given the option to restore to your site’s latest backup.
Related Reading: Best WordPress Backup Plugins
How Reliable Is CodeGuard?
CodeGuard is a highly reliable system with over 99% accuracy when detecting changes to your website. However, the main issue is that CodeGuard has a privacy policy that states that they do not guarantee anything.
CodeGuard does have some of the best practices for backup and encryption. They can secure SFTP/SSH/SSL connections, and each year they conduct vulnerability.
This allows them to stay up to date with newer data breaches, enabling them to protect your site continuously.
How Much Does a Subscription Cost?
Pricing can change as there are constant sales and discounts through Bluehost. However, these are the current prices for subscriptions:
| CodeGuard Package | Monthly Price (per domain) | Annual Price (per domain) |
| Basic | $2.99 | $32.95 |
| Professional | $5.99 | $59.95 |
| Premium | $9.99 | $99.95 |
| Enterprise | $23.95 | $239.95 |
What CodeGuard Offers
Each package of CodeGuard provides a setlist of features. Making sure you select one that suits your website is key to getting the most out of your subscription.
Here is a quick rundown of what each CodeGuard package provides:
| Basic | Professional | Premium | Enterprise | |
| Storage (GB) | 1 | 5 | 10 | 25 |
| Sites per Account | 5 | 10 | 25 | 100 |
| Databases | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| # of Files | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Automatic Backups (daily) | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Priority Queuing | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Site-Change Monitoring (daily) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Benefits of CodeGuard
When it comes to a product, it’s best to weigh both the pros and cons before jumping to conclusions. We’ll give you a breakdown of why you should use CodeGuard and how it may help your website:
- Backups domain daily
- Auto-delete function
- Automatic 256-bit AES encryption of backup files
- Easy to use
- Free 3rd party cloud storage through Amazon AWS
- Redundancy
- Automatic site monitoring
- One-click restore
A few elements of the standard packages do stand out amongst the free alternatives.
First, daily auto backups copy your domain’s data at the start of each day, reassuring you that nothing will happen.
Additionally, the backups are stored in multiple secure locations, which help ensure that you’ll be able to restore to a previous version without any issues.
The other two benefits, such as automatic site monitoring, ensure that each code section is being checked each day.
If any code changes are made, the service will automatically notify you. If this happens, you can use the one-click restore option, which restores the site to a previous backup.
Drawbacks of CodeGuard
Aside from the pros, you’ll also want to consider the drawbacks. Here is a short list of some possible reasons why you wouldn’t want to use their services:
- High renew fees
- Little disk space
- No on-demand backups
- No guarantees
The high renewal fees generally aren’t worth the price when it comes to renewing. Overall, Bluehost has many discounts and sales, but the renewal price is often different.
It would be beneficial to check what the standard monthly and annual fees are.
Aside from that, CodeGuard only provides 1 GB for the basic package. However, you can get up to 25 GB for the Enterprise package.
If you’re using CodeGuard with multiple websites, you’ll have to split that between the 1 GB. This means that there will only be 200 MB of space per domain. In just a week, you’ll likely go over this limit.
Another limitation is that there are no on-demand backups. If you want to revert to a previous version, you’ll need to rely on the last day’s backups or wait until the website backs up again.
Plus, there are also no guarantees that your website will be fully restored. While Bluehost does advertise safety, their backup policy states there are no guarantees.
Conclusion: Do I Need CodeGuard Basic on Bluehost?
The bottom line is that CodeGuard is an excellent service that provides daily backups to your domains, but it’s not necessary. CodeGuard also has limitations like limited backup space, high monthly prices, and less on-demand control.
Choosing a CodeGuard package that corresponds with your website’s needs is key. The basic package is suitable for one to two websites. In contrast, more extensive packages are recommended for those juggling multiple sites.
Compared to other safety services, SafeGuard only provides the basics. We recommend comparing different free services like A2 Hosting Server Rewind Backups and InMotion Backup Manager.
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