Hosting Strategy Recommendation for Adam
Date: February 2026 Current Setup: Bluehost WordPress Choice Plus (contracted through Jan 2028), domains on Namecheap Goal: Host basic static websites + email/aliases on custom domains — no WordPress needed
TL;DR Recommendation
Ditch Bluehost (let it expire), move to Cloudflare Pages (free) for static sites + MXroute (59–79/year instead of whatever Bluehost is charging.
1. Bluehost: Keep or Drop?
What You’re Paying For
WordPress Choice Plus typically runs 13.99/mo (depending on when you locked in) and includes:
- WordPress hosting (you don’t need this)
- Free domain for 1 year (you already use Namecheap)
- Free SSL (Cloudflare gives this free too)
- 50GB–unlimited storage (overkill for static sites)
- Spam protection, domain privacy, etc.
Can You Cancel Early?
Bluehost’s refund policy is generally:
- Full refund within 30 days of initial purchase
- Pro-rated refund sometimes available within first year
- After first year: no refund — you’re locked into what you paid
Since you’re contracted through Jan 2028, you’re almost certainly past the refund window. Options:
- Let it ride and don’t renew — simplest option, no money back but no hassle
- Contact Bluehost support and ask — some people report getting partial credits, especially if you’re polite. Worth a 15-minute chat. Worst they say is no.
- Use it as a staging/throwaway server until it expires — you’ve paid for it
Verdict: Don’t renew. Migrate away now. Try asking for a refund, but don’t count on it.
2. MXroute for Email âś… Strongly Recommended
What It Is
MXroute is an independent email hosting provider focused on doing one thing well: reliable email. Very popular in the self-hosting and LowEndTalk communities. Run by Jarland Donnell (well-known in the space).
Pricing (Annual)
| Plan | Storage | Domains | Accounts | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small | 10 GB | Unlimited | Unlimited | $59/year |
| Medium | 25 GB | Unlimited | Unlimited | $69/year |
| Large | 50 GB | Unlimited | Unlimited | $79/year |
đź’ˇ They also run periodic Black Friday/holiday sales where lifetime or multi-year deals show up at significant discounts. Worth watching for.
Features
- Protocols: SMTP, IMAP, POP3
- Webmail: Crossbox and Roundcube
- Aliases/forwarding: Full support
- Plus addressing: supported (user+tag@domain.com)
- Unlimited domains and accounts on all plans
- IP reputation: They maintain a dedicated IP pool (AS398810) with strong reputation — if one IP gets blocked, they automatically retry through clean IPs. This is a big deal for deliverability.
- Spam filtering: Custom SpamAssassin rules, internal RBL
- DNS: You manage your own DNS (MX, SPF, DKIM, DMARC records) — pairs perfectly with Namecheap or Cloudflare DNS
Reputation
- Pros: Extremely well-regarded in the budget hosting community. Reliable, excellent deliverability, owner is transparent and responsive. Best price-to-value for multi-domain email.
- Cons: Support is expected to be somewhat self-service — they expect you to know how to configure DNS records. Not a hand-holding provider. Not ideal if you need enterprise SLAs. Occasional maintenance windows (rare). No calendar/contacts sync (it’s email only, not a groupware suite).
Who It’s For
Perfect match for Adam’s use case: multiple domains, need aliases and basic email, don’t need Google Workspace/Microsoft 365 overhead.
vs. Alternatives
| Provider | Price/yr | Domains | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| MXroute | $59–79 | Unlimited | Best value for multi-domain |
| Google Workspace | $72/user | Per-account | Overkill, per-user pricing adds up |
| Zoho Mail | Free (5 users) or $12+/yr | 1 domain (free) | Free tier is very limited |
| Namecheap Private Email | ~$12–45/yr | 1 domain each | Gets expensive with multiple domains |
| Cloudflare Email Routing | Free | Unlimited | Receive-only (forwarding), no sending |
| Bluehost (current) | Bundled | Limited | Tied to hosting you don’t need |
đź’ˇ Bonus: Cloudflare Email Routing (Free)
If some domains only need to receive email (forward to a real inbox), Cloudflare Email Routing is free and works great as a complement to MXroute. You could:
- Use MXroute for domains where you need to send and receive
- Use Cloudflare Email Routing for domains that just need forwarding/aliases
3. Cloudflare Pages + GitHub âś… Perfect for Static Sites
How It Works
- Store your site code in a GitHub repository (public or private)
- Connect repo to Cloudflare Pages
- Every
git pushtriggers an automatic build and deploy - Site is served from Cloudflare’s global edge network (300+ cities)
- Point your custom domain to the Pages project
Free Tier (Plenty for Static Sites)
| Feature | Free Plan |
|---|---|
| Sites | Unlimited |
| Bandwidth | Unlimited |
| Static requests | Unlimited |
| Builds | 500/month (1 concurrent) |
| Custom domains | 100 per project |
| Max files | 20,000 per site |
| Max file size | 25 MB |
| Build timeout | 20 minutes |
| SSL | Automatic, free |
| Collaborators | Unlimited |
| Preview deployments | Unlimited |
| Analytics | Free, built-in |
For basic static sites, you will never hit these limits. This is genuinely free, not a bait-and-switch.
Custom Domain Setup
- If using Cloudflare as nameserver (recommended): automatic CNAME setup
- If keeping Namecheap as nameserver: add a CNAME record pointing to
yourproject.pages.dev - Best option: Move DNS to Cloudflare (free), keep domain registration on Namecheap
vs. GitHub Pages
| Feature | Cloudflare Pages | GitHub Pages |
|---|---|---|
| Bandwidth | Unlimited | 100 GB/month |
| Build limits | 500/month | 10/hour |
| Site size | 20K files | 1 GB total |
| Custom domains | 100/project | 1 per repo |
| CDN | Global edge (300+ cities) | GitHub’s CDN |
| Build frameworks | Many presets | Jekyll (native) |
| Private repos | Free | Needs paid GitHub |
| SSL | Auto | Auto |
| Price | Free | Free |
Cloudflare Pages wins on every metric that matters. GitHub Pages is fine but has more limitations and isn’t as fast globally.
Workflow
Edit code locally → git push → Cloudflare auto-builds → Live in seconds
Supports static site generators: Hugo, 11ty, Astro, plain HTML, React, Vue, etc. Or just push raw HTML/CSS/JS.
4. DNS Strategy: Where to Point Nameservers
Recommended: Move DNS to Cloudflare (Keep Domains on Namecheap)
Why:
- Cloudflare DNS is free, fast, and has a great dashboard
- Required for Cloudflare Pages custom domain auto-setup on apex domains
- Required for Cloudflare Email Routing (if using it)
- Doesn’t affect domain ownership — Namecheap still owns the registration
- You just change nameservers at Namecheap to point to Cloudflare’s
How:
- Add each domain to Cloudflare (free plan)
- Cloudflare gives you two nameservers (e.g.,
ada.ns.cloudflare.com) - Go to Namecheap → Domain List → change nameservers to Cloudflare’s
- Set up DNS records in Cloudflare dashboard:
- CNAME for Pages sites
- MX + TXT records for MXroute email
- SPF, DKIM, DMARC for email authentication
5. Recommended Overall Strategy
Phase 1: Set Up New Infrastructure (Do Now)
- Sign up for MXroute — Small plan ($59/yr) is likely plenty
- Sign up for Cloudflare (free) — add your domains
- Change nameservers at Namecheap to point to Cloudflare
- Set up MXroute DNS records in Cloudflare (MX, SPF, DKIM, DMARC)
- Create email accounts/aliases in MXroute
Phase 2: Migrate Sites (This Week/Month)
- Put static sites in GitHub repos (one repo per site, or a monorepo)
- Connect repos to Cloudflare Pages
- Add custom domains in Cloudflare Pages dashboard
- Test everything — sites load, email sends/receives, aliases work
Phase 3: Decommission Bluehost (Once Everything Works)
- Verify all sites work on Cloudflare Pages
- Verify all email works on MXroute
- Back up anything on Bluehost you want to keep
- Contact Bluehost — ask nicely about partial refund for remaining term
- If no refund: just let it expire in Jan 2028. Don’t renew.
Annual Costs (New Setup)
| Service | Cost |
|---|---|
| Cloudflare (DNS + Pages) | $0 |
| GitHub (public or free private repos) | $0 |
| MXroute (Small plan) | $59/year |
| Namecheap (domain renewals) | Varies per domain |
| Total (excluding domains) | ~$59/year |
Compare to Bluehost Choice Plus at ~$100–168/year for hosting you don’t need.
Quick FAQ
Q: What if I need a contact form or dynamic feature? A: Cloudflare Pages supports Functions (serverless) on the free tier. Or use a third-party form service (Formspree, Netlify Forms, etc.).
Q: Can I still use Namecheap for DNS instead of Cloudflare? A: Yes, but you lose Cloudflare Email Routing and auto-domain setup. You’ll need to manually add CNAME records at Namecheap. It works fine, just less convenient.
Q: What about Cloudflare Registrar? Should I transfer domains? A: Cloudflare Registrar charges at-cost (no markup). Could save a few bucks per domain vs Namecheap. Not urgent — can do later if you want.
Q: Is MXroute reliable enough for important email? A: Yes, for personal/small business use. It’s not Google, but deliverability is excellent and the community trusts it. For mission-critical business email at scale, Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 would be safer. For your use case, MXroute is ideal.
Q: What about ImprovMX or ForwardEmail as alternatives? A: Both are solid for forwarding-only. MXroute is better if you need to actually send from your custom domains (which you probably do).
Bottom line: Cloudflare Pages + MXroute + Namecheap domains is the lean, modern stack for someone who needs static sites and email without the WordPress bloat. Total cost: ~$59/year + domain renewals.