Web Hosting Cost: Staying within your Budget
Building a personal or business website is a wise decision. In numerous cases, it implies you are beginning a new business or expanding an already existing one. However, for your personal or business website to live and thrive on the internet, you need to make sure you have chosen robust website hosting providers and categories. As you may be aware, hosting will incur you some costs; But how much? Well, let’s find out in this article.
How much does website hosting cost?
The amount of cash you will incur for using the services of web hosting providers primarily depends on the type you pick. There are up to 5 sorts of hosting. The best choice for you depends on several factors:
- The size of your website
- Size of the targeted traffic and
- The type of the website (business or personal)
Below are the 5 types of web hosting that you can choose from;
- Shared Hosting
- Cloud Hosting
- WordPress Hosting
- VPS Hosting
- Dedicated Hosting
To answer your question “How much does web hosting costs” we will take a deeper look into each of these sorts of web hosting and see how much each will cost you and if they are worth it.
1. Shared Hosting plan ($ 2.0 to $15)
Shared hosting is by far the most popular sort of web hosting especially among newbies looking to save on web hosting costs. It involves multiple sites sharing resources of a single physical server – something that makes it the least expensive choice you can go for.
- Shared Hosting Security and performance
Since you are sharing single server resources with other different accounts, the performance may be somewhat spotty in most cases. However, if you are sharing the server with many dormant/inactive accounts that don’t consume too many resources, your case will be a bit different.
- Shared Hosting Service Levels
Since they offer the cheapest hosting, web services are limited. For instance, you will notice things such as limited access to customer care desk, lower guarantee on uptime and load speeds, etc. With a shared web host, cheap features are inevitable. You may be compelled to upgrade to more expensive plans if you are looking to access more features.
- Shared Hosting Pricing
Normally, website hosting plans in this category will cost you anywhere between $2.0 and $15. The industry standard pricing stands at $5 per month and this is not too much to bear.
- How to Save
If you are looking to save more with this plan per month, consider purchasing a long-lasting subscription upfront. A 3 to 5 years subscription will incur you fewer costs per month than a single year subscription.
2. Cloud Hosting ($5 to $50)
Cloud hosting is the dearest option among websites that want flexibility. It lets users pay for what they have used – something that will potentially spare your pocket in comparison to other options. Most people see it as an ideal option to consider for an eCommerce website, and this is justifiable considering that you can always scale up the size of your visitors, power as well as storage space whenever you want. You can do so during certain seasons such as holidays when the traffic is high and save costs for the rest of the year. The subscription fee falls anywhere between $5 and $50.
Be sure to check out our cloud web hosting definitive guide.
3. WordPress Hosting ($4 to $45)
This is a platform where people can build and manage websites without the need to possess prior coding knowledge. Unlike some other types on this list, WordPress enables you to build your first website for free! Your website will, however, bear their signature. I.e. usernamewordpress.com. At some point, you will want to add personality to your website. This will cost you between $4 to $45.
4. VPS Hosting
($20 to $100)
Virtual Private Server (VPS) hosting is yet another popular type that allows multiple sites to run from a single server. However, unlike the shared ones, VPS gives every website it’s virtually portioned space. In this case, you will have a website that runs more optimally and is more secure at affordable pricing.
- VPS Hosting Performance and Security
Better loading pages, as well as less downtime, are some of the things you should expect if you pick this category. As we have already stated, every website occupies its own space and as such, security issues to/from other websites will most probably have nothing to do with yours.
- VPS Service Levels
The services you can access with this type depends on whether you opt for managed or unmanaged plans. With the former, you can access extra features such as customer support desk, excellent site performance as well as a security guarantee. The latter would necessitate more hand-on attention.
- VPS Web Hosting Costs
The industry average costs are at around $30 monthly; however, in various instances, you will realize that managed plans may be a bit costly due to extra features and services.
5. Dedicated Hosting ($80 to $1000)
This is considered as the best option meant for well-established businesses or famous media websites. With this option, you will have the entire server reserved specifically for your needs. In other words, it means you have almost full control of whatever that’s installed on the reserved server and you also dictate how it’s configured. Whereas a dedicated server will cost you more than other options, it worth the money if at all your website is well established.
- Dedicated Hosting Performance and Security
With dedicated hosting plans, users can expect websites that have increased security, stability, flexibility, speed as well as large storage space. Since you are the only person using a given server, there are no security threats from other sites and this gives you peace of mind.
- Dedicated Hosting Service Levels
Managed dedicated plans offer almost everything that you’d need to manage a large as well as a more robust site. For instance, it comes with unique IP addresses, plenty of support, and dedicated backups among other goodies.
- Dedicated Web Hosting Cost
On average, a dedicated plan will cost you around $100 monthly although fully managed packages may cost higher than this amount. The cost will vary depending on various factors such as speed, security, memory, and services needed.
Other Factors Influencing Web Hosting Cost
Source: Digirak.com
Other than the type of web hosting services you will pick, some other critical factors greatly contribute to the total amount you spend per month. Some of them include:
•Domain Registration – Registering your domain name (website name or URL) won’t happen without a cost. You need to set some few dollars aside to cater to this before you can even proceed further. The amount you will incur will be primarily relying on your registrar. Normally, all registrars have different packages, pricing, renewal charges, accessorial charges, etc.
•Number of Domains– The number of domain names you will register will add to your cost. Generally, expect to pay more if you are registering more than one domain name
• cPanel Access – cPanel prices are rising now and then. In some cases, they will add to your web hosting cost but depending on the number of accounts you have.
• Automated site backups & restore services – This is an extra feature that safeguards your data from loss. It will cost you additional amounts to have it fully functioning on your website.
• Security Options – You are making a costly investment and as such, you should take the security of your website seriously. The type of web hosting plans you will prefer will determine the security features included plus their costs. If you are following this post keenly, you as of now know that a dedicated server is more secure than shared hosting – consequently, it costs higher amounts.
• Storage Space – If you have a website for a well-established business, you will supposedly need more storage space for your files – acquiring the same may add to your web hosting cost per month/year.
• SSL Certificates – Secure Sockets Layer is a necessity for all eCommerce sites looking to have a more secure website. It ensures that your sensitive information (or that of your client) does not fall in unsafe hand
• Sitelocks – You should deep scan your site regularly for malware and other vulnerabilities using Sitelocks. Unfortunately, there are no free Sitelocks – you will spend an average of $10 monthly to afford these security tools
• Dedicated IP – Dedicated Internet Protocols are offered by web hosting companies but at a fee. They are good as they help users access their websites even when the DNS is not set, they boost the website speed as well as traffic loads.
• eCommerce Feature – If you are building an eCommerce website, you will see the need to add some various critical features which may end up adding to your costs. Things like Payment method integration will incur you some significant amount.
• Website Builders - You don’t have enough money to hire a professional or you simply want to DIY? Website builders will come handy even if you’ve never built a website before, however, expect to incur anywhere between $5 to $10 or even more than $100 depending on the size of your website and type of hosting.
• Email – You will realize that most accounts come with free email accounts. However, you may have to pay some few amounts per month, year or so should you need a large storage limit.
What is the Cheapest Hosting Way?
Are you looking for an extremely affordable web hosting provider? Then consider the following options.
1. Hostinger ( cost $2.95)
For as low as $2.95 per month, Hostinger web host will give you a website that has almost everything unlimited: talk of free Sitebuilders, free backups (daily/weekly), and access to cPanel as well as auto-installation scripts, etc.
2. iPage ( Cost $1.99)
Founded in 1998, iPage is a reliable web hosting provider that offers you free Sitebuilder, unlimited disk size, emails, bandwidth, free domain, etc. You get all these plus many others at a hosting plan of $1.99 per month and this is extremely affordable
3. Bluehost $2.95
Get a professionally built website that’s will wow you for as low as $2.95 per month. Bluehost is great for performance and pricing. It’s endorsed by WordPress.com as the official web hosting.
4. HostGator ($2.64)
With this web host, you will enjoy unmetered disk space, quick-click WordPress install as well as free blog tools. All these plus many other goods just for $2.64 per month only!
Also, Take a look at best reseller web hosting providers in 2020
How can I get free hosting?
When getting started, you will allegedly be looking for a quick, easy, and free web hosting plan. Here are the surefire free web hosting options to choose from:
- Wix
- GoDaddy
- Webflow
- Squarespace etc.
Having read and understood this post, you as of now know how to break down the cost of web hosting. You need to make sure the hosting plan you have chosen suits your needs in web hosting. Cheap plans may backfire if your project is demanding. Make viable decisions that will contribute to your online success.
