Website Hosting Costs: What to Pay & How to Save Big

Written By Jennifer Simonson Finding the budget for website hosting can be a burden when budgets are tight. Whether you’re building your first business website or creating a personal blog, website hosting costs are a continuing expense that can stretch your wallet. Wondering what hosting really costs for you and how much is too much? I’ll walk you through how much website hosting costs by hosting type, the extra costs, how to get a great deal and even how to find free web hosting plans. What Is Website Hosting? Website hosting is the set of computer resources and storage that keep your website online. Keeping your website visible comes at a cost, ranging from free hosting options to basic shared hosting starting at around $2 a month (when on sale) and even dedicated hosting that can cost thousands of dollars monthly. Even with free hosting, you generally need a paid domain name at the very least, and some hosting comes with extra costs like SSL certificates. What Does Web Hosting Cost? Most entry-level shared website hosting costs start around $2 a month with introductory offers, but increase to at least $10 to $20 per month once special offers run out. Plus, many require paying a year or more in advance to get that pricing. Yes, you can get free web hosting, but it generally means slow load times, a subdomain and host advertising on your website. On the other hand, hosting with more server resources, better technical support and extra security features costs more. Website hosting costs vary widely, but shared hosting is generally cheapest with the simplest pricing schemes, and dedicated hosting is the most expensive. Which web hosting you choose depends on your specific needs, technical skills and budget. Factors That Affect Website Hosting Costs Admittedly, web hosting costs are all over the map. Plus, web hosts tend to make hosting packages just slightly different from the competition’s plans, so you can’t compare apples to apples easily either. The key to ensuring you aren’t paying too much is understanding what you are getting for the money and what influences those prices. Website Platform What you use to build your website impacts your hosting costs. For example, if you use a website builder from a host, there are likely specific hosting plans tailored for websites created with that builder. You are paying for access to the builder and the hosting. In many cases, the best website builders are the most economical solutions for SMBs. The most common platforms are:

• CMS (open source and proprietary)
• Visual website builders
• E-Commerce (often combines CMS and visual builders)

If you are using a content management system (CMS) like WordPress.org, Joomla or Drupal, you can choose your preferred hosting provider and only pay for the hosting. The costs associated with the CMS itself will be separate. The best CMS platforms tend to give you more freedom to choose what type of hosting you want, while builders are generally locked into shared hosting-only plans. It’s also important to remember that some website builders are more of a hybrid with some CMS functions included. For this type of platform, costs can be higher or lower. For example, WordPress-based builders tend to cost less, while proprietary e-commerce platforms that blend visual builders with specialized CMS functions tend to cost more. Host Branding While most common on free plans, some paid hosting plans also include host-controlled advertising or branding on your website. While this usually reduces your costs, it can reduce your credibility with website visitors. For example, almost all of the best free website builders include hosting in the header or footer of your website. Type of Hosting Like most things web hosting, there are plenty of exceptions to the general hosting categories, such as hybrid solutions and subtypes of hosting. Sound confusing? Don’t worry about it; even seasoned professionals sometimes argue about what type of hosting belongs in which category. The four main types of web hosting are shared, VPS, cloud and dedicated. However, the four main types of web hosting are:

• Shared hosting: Multiple customers share the same server and resources. Think of it as dining family-style. Others have the potential to take more than a fair share of the resources.
• VPS hosting: Multiple customers share a server and resources, but a software program called a hypervisor limits how many resources each customer can use. This is more like lining up in a cafeteria. Everyone gets a guaranteed portion from what is available.
• Cloud hosting: Cloud hosting is a bit more complex. It uses virtual servers like VPS, but the resources aren’t limited to a single server. Cloud hosting uses a group of networked virtual servers to spread the load. Think of it as kind of like eating in a food truck court and picking up items from different trucks depending on how busy each is.
• Dedicated hosting: With dedicated hosting, a single customer has an entire server to itself. Think of this as cooking a personal meal and not sharing with anyone.

Managed or Unmanaged Hosting Think of managed hosting as extra tech support. Managed hosting means your host handles a lot of the behind-the-scenes technical tasks. Depending on your plan and host, these can include updating software, backups, MySQL database optimization and even malware removal. Managed hosting is more expensive but a great option for SMBs without IT staff. Server Resources Server resources are the computing power driving your website. Much like your home computer has storage, RAM (memory) and a CPU (central processing unit—the computer’s “brain”), so do web servers. The difference is that most hosting types mean sharing those resources with other websites. Each website hosting plan should tell you the resource limits for your plan. The more resources you have access to, the higher the costs generally are. Hosting Plan Features Beyond server resources, there are hosting-specific features and resources, like bandwidth (how much traffic or how many file transfers you use) and how many websites you can use per plan. Common hosting plan features include:

• Bandwidth. In simple terms, bandwidth is how much upload and download traffic your plan includes.
• Number of allowed websites. Some plans enable hosting multiple websites on one plan, while others only work per website.
• Number of subdomains. Some hosting plans limit the number of subdomains you can set from your main domain name.
• Number of databases. For cPanel hosting, there may be limits on the MySQL or other databases allowed.
• Server response speed. Response speed is a measure of how quickly your website can load. However, depending on how you build your site, it could load more slowly.
• Security. Security features include a suite of tools to reduce the risks of hacks and other cybersecurity threats. These often include firewalls, malware scanning, automatic backups, off-site backups for disaster recovery, DDoS prevention tools, user permissions management and 2FA.

Standard and Add-On Features Just as different car trim packages include different features, web hosting packages include some standard features and charge extra for others. Unfortunately, many hosts lower the advertised cost of their plans by turning features that are typically considered standard into paid add-ons. Contract Length Similar to how signing a longer lease on your apartment can sometimes lock in a better deal, paying for hosting for one year or longer upfront can lower your overall monthly cost. The downside is that you are out a significant sum if the host doesn’t live up to their end of the bargain. Customer Service Customer service in hosting is nearly universally of lower quality than it was five years ago. Most hosts seem to be cutting corners with customer service before anything else. More and more are moving to paid support models, where only an AI chatbot is available for free, and support from humans costs extra. Hosting plans with more ways to reach customer service and better-trained staff tend to cost more upfront but save you money in the long run when dealing with unexpected downtime and glitches. How Top Website Hosting Providers Stack Up Looking at some of the best website hosting services‘ starting prices can give you a good idea of overall positioning in the marketplace. However, every provider approaches hosting packages and features a bit differently, so it’s always a good idea to check all plan features instead of deciding purely based on cost. Likewise, not all hosts offer all hosting types. Theme and Template Costs If you DIY build your website, chances are you’ll start with a theme or template. Whether you pick from one of our best website builders list, jump into the deep end with one of the best CMS platforms like WordPress.org or dig deep into an e-commerce platform, you’ll start with a predesigned layout. Most platforms include some free themes, with WordPress having the biggest selection from third-party designers. However, most also offer paid themes with prices ranging from $25 to over $1,000, with the average cost running between $250 and $500. Graphics and Content Costs Without imagery and text content, your website will be pretty boring, but graphics and content costs can also range from $25 for a single image to thousands for content packages. While some platforms include limited stock photography subscriptions or integrate with Canva and AI text tools, you’ll likely need to source extra images, video and text. Content, like most things creative, has wild pricing swings. You might pay a quarter a word with an indie freelancer just starting out, or you might pay thousands per article with an experienced SEO content agency. While DIY creation can cut costs and free licensed photos are available through sites like Pixabay and Unsplash, wading through the maze of licensing terms can be problematic. For example, nearly every SMB owner (outside of photographers) that I’ve ever worked with did not know the difference between copyright-free and royalty-free stock images, and a few thought that everything on the internet was fair game for copying. In fact, I’ve even seen C-Suite execs who didn’t understand the difference. Plugins, Apps, Integrations and Extensions Costs Extra software that connects to your website to power specific functions goes by many names. Regardless of what it is called for your platform, they can be free or cost hundreds or thousands. For example, WooCommerce, which works with WordPress, is free. However, the WooCommerce Subscriptions extension to enable subscription selling costs $279 annually. Costs vary based on how complex the app is, the platforms it works with and who makes it. Domain Name Costs Your domain name is your address online. Hosting stores and serves your files to viewers, but the domain name tells browsers how to find those files. While you can use a free domain name, such as a subdomain, most businesses will want a custom domain name. Average demand domain names run between $10 and $35 each year. However, popular high-demand and premium names could cost thousands or more. For example, cars.com sold for $872 million back in 2014. While first-year-free domain name deals from your host may sound like a good deal, renewal costs are often inflated. I usually recommend keeping hosting and domain registration separate to make migrations easier if you change hosts later on. Plus, the best domain registrars often offer extra security, CDNs or SSL certificates as part of the cost. SSL Certificate Costs Most hosts include a basic SSL as part of the hosting package, and some domain registrars do as well. However, if you need a higher-level certificate, you’ll need to purchase it from an SSL certificate service. Prices vary by provider, but you can generally expect to pay between $9 and $250 per year, depending on the SSL level. Each SSL level builds on the verifications from the previous certification. While SSL services may offer additional sub-versions of SSL certifications, SSL certificate classes include:

• Domain Validation (DV). The basic level of certification. Verifies domain names and WHOIS information.
• Organizational Validation (OV). Verifies the company exists through public databases.
• Extended Validation (EV). Verifies that the company named actually controls the website, along with checking location and other legal business data.

How To Get the Best Website Hosting Deal Getting the best hosting deal means looking beyond the low introductory rates many hosts offer. Comparing long-term pricing with features and service is the best way to get the most value for your money. That said, there are ways to reduce your overall hosting bill. My personal recommendations to reduce your hosting costs, developed over the years of working with SMBs to get them online, include considering:

• Longer-term contracts. Most hosts offer discounts for paying upfront for one or more years of service.
• Free plans. While free web hosting plans are limited and often come with restrictions, there are some available. If your website traffic is minimal, consider looking at a free website builder or a free hosting plan that can be used with WordPress.org.
• Keeping domain registration separate from hosting. Most hosts charge more for domain renewals than do stand-alone domain registrars. Keeping your domain registration separate from hosting will reduce long-term costs and often comes with added features that host-registered domain names don’t.
• Looking for generous refund policies. Especially when paying for a year or more upfront, finding a host with a strong refund policy reduces your risk. For example, while DreamHost offers a 97-day money-back guarantee on some plans, Hostwinds only offers a 72-hour prorated refund policy.
• Considering on-demand scaling. If you have the technical skills, pay-as-you-go cloud hosting, where you only pay for the resources you are using, might be a better deal in the long run.
• Matching services to needs. Match your plan to your needs. Buying the cheapest plan often results in extra bandwidth charges that cost more than just purchasing a slightly more powerful plan to start with. Likewise, picking unmanaged hosting costs more in the long run if you don’t have your own IT team.

Source: Forbes