BaconBits

Introduction

When downloading torrents from a free torrent tracking website there is no way to guarantee the quality of the file. While torrent files usually work fine, there are times when you come across bad torrents that come with a security lock or just useless files crammed into a zipped folder.

To avoid such a situation, it is recommended that you download torrents from websites like BaconBits.

What is BaconBits?

BaconBits is an amazing general tracker that has a great free indie content library. The website has an easy to maintain ratio and there are many large freeleech uploads. The download speed of the website is impressive, and it also has an active Tracker IRC and a community forum.

Is BaconBits safe?

For a torrent site to be safe for browsing, it needs to have an SSL certificate, which BaconBits does have. By using tools such as SEOQuake and MOZ, you can easily check the credibility of a website by gauging Domain Score (DS) and Trust Score (TS). Based on my research, BaconBits has a domain score of 6 and a trust score of 31 which is slightly underwhelming. It’s not uncommon for torrent sites to have a DS less than 15 and a TS less than 40. But given that BaconBits started its journey back in 2003, it’s disappointing that BaconBits’ DS is not more than 6.

What should you expect from BaconBits?

BaconBits may seem like any other torrent tracking website that offers options for downloading your usual free indie content. However, the website comes with many eye-catching features that can provide you a great torrent downloading experience.

Large free indie content library – As mentioned above, the website has tons of torrents that can be downloaded by its members.

Latest Indie Content – With BaconBits you can be sure to receive the latest free indie content. The active community members find and upload the latest free indie stuff on the website which enables them to maintain their ratio and earn rewards. For each uploaded content, members can earn points and rewards which enhances their status within the community.

Forums – BaconBits has an active community that helps to keep the website up and running. The community members participate in forum discussions to share their experiences and views on the website. You can share your opinions on a particular topic and create a new topic in the forum. The forum can be used to ask questions regarding the functions and bugs related to the website.

Points and rewards – Torrent websites reward their community members with points when they complete a task or upload a torrent. Similarly, BaconBits has a comprehensive point and reward system for the benefit of its community members. The most basic reward on the website is given to the users who have uploaded 1GB of data on the website. They can get up to 2000 points for the same or purchase 1GB upload points to get their ratio up. Moreover, the members can also transfer their points to the other members who need it the most.

Contests – BaconBits has an amazing way to keep its community members involved and help the members earn more points. The website has different contests that can help you get points and avail other benefits. Anyone can participate in these contests and the winner is chosen by the sysops. The contests are announced anytime during the week and the duration of result declaration depends on the number of participants and entries received for the same.

BaconBits in numbers

BaconBits is a massive torrent site that attracts more than 401,000 unique visitors a month. As compared to most of the sites that I’ve reviewed recently, BaconBits attracts the most number of users per month. That’s fascinating given that BaconBits is a private torrent tracker website. However, the site was first launched in 2003 and thus it is amongst the oldest torrent sites on the internet.

As per the Alexa rankings, BaconBits is ranked at #103,700 which makes it among the top 110,000 websites on the internet. An average visit on the site lasts less than minutes and each user engages with about 2.31 pages before bouncing off the website. Regardless of the underwhelming onsite interaction stat, BaconBits has a decent bounce rate of 48.00%.

How to access BaconBits?

You can access BaconBits by searching for the term ‘BaconBits’ in your search engine. Alternatively, if you want to access the platform directly, you can use the following link: BaconBits.

Design

BaconBits follows a standard static layout that comprises fewer images and plenty of text. However, this comes with a twist as the homepage and inner pages often have funny GIFS and images that make the website more enjoyable. The functionality of the website includes links, buttons, icons, checkboxes, and dropdown menus. These functionalities make the website convenient for browsing and enable the members to easily find the torrent they are looking for.

Inner Pages -TThe inner pages of the website have a pretty basic layout too. Most of the inner pages have tables that keep the text and the links organized. And others have a page layout with text placed all over it.

For instance, the website has a browse torrents page that is divided into different parts- ‘Type of torrent’, ‘Name/year’, ‘Files’, ‘Added’, ‘Size’, ‘Comments’, ‘Reuploads’, ‘Seeders’, and ‘Leechers’. On the other hand, the websites ‘Rules’ page consists of content placed on the page with bullet formatting.

Free Indie Content – BaconBits has a lot of free indie content on its website. The website covers free indie content from numerous categories and genres. You can find free indie content in different resolutions such as HD, SD, BluRay, and others. You can even download these torrents from anywhere in the world on any device you prefer. However, do remember to consider the ratio balance while downloading.

If you are low on ratio and still looking for something to watch/play/read, you can download the freeleech torrents that are often uploaded on the website.

Desktop/Mobile experience

BaconBits is a desktop-friendly website and fits the screen conveniently. The tables, icons, and images look great too. Other functionalities like the search bar, drop-down menu, and checkboxes work smoothly. However, to get the best torrent website with BaconBits, you need to have a stable connection with speed up to 10 Mbps.

The website can be accessed from mobile phones too but since the website does not have a dedicated mobile layout, the users may face some inconvenience. The website automatically shrinks to fit the mobile’s aspect ratio which makes everything appear smaller. To use the website on cell phones, you might have to zoom in and out constantly.

Suggestions I have for BaconBits

BaconBits is an iconic torrent site, however, it still lacks the key ingredients that prevent it from becoming a household name. For instance, even though the site is nearly two decades old, it hasn’t established any ranking or hierarchy. The free indie content isn’t well-segregated and there are no header sections in the inner pages. Thus, it lacks the little details that are important to users. I hope that the developers fix these things to make the community appealing in every sense.

Conclusion

BaconBits is a great source for downloading free indie torrents for free. But getting an invite to access the website can be a different challenge altogether. Unless you have someone who has a reputable position within the community, being a BaconBits member is simply a dream.