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What is the main key to your business success? The obvious answer is website hosting. This enables you to ensure your website is accessible to visitors around the clock. The best part is that it is easier to create a small business website following some simple steps.
However, what type of web hosting plan suits your business? You must keep several considerations in mind. One of them concerns website hosting costs, including the associated domain prices.
Let’s assume you want to create and host your own website. However, with so many web hosting providers available on the Internet, you may be unable to decide on a budget instantly. The entire process can be overwhelming.
Hence, we will break down domain and hosting price plans for different platforms in this guide so you can decide which is right for you.
Types of Web Hosting
You will find different types of web hosting services on the internet. Yet, there are five important types that you need to know about:
- Shared Hosting: This type of hosting is best suited for beginners and is where most people start their hosting journey. It is also the cheapest of all services. In this type of hosting, the physical server resources are shared among different users, so during high peak traffic, your website performance ought to suffer.
- VPS Hosting: The “VPS” or “Virtual Private Server” offers greater control than shared hosting. Here, you get your own dedicated resources within a particular server space. You will share the physical server with others, but the web host will create a partition such that you will have a private virtual server with the allocated resources.
- WordPress Hosting: Similar to shared hosting, WordPress hosting is a bit more expensive because the service is specifically tailored towards WordPress users. Based on your business requirements, you can choose between unmanaged or managed WordPress hosting services.
- Dedicated Hosting: In this type of hosting, the server is entirely yours. It gives you the maximum amount of control and is usually the most expensive type of web hosting.
- Cloud Hosting: Most hosting providers use servers stored in physical data centers. Cloud hosting providers, on the other hand, use a hybrid approach with physical and virtual servers for greater flexibility.
How To Select a Web Hosting Provider?
Selecting a web hosting provider and domain name may sound simple. Yet, making the final decision and committing to a particular web host can be confusing for many individuals and businesses. You will need to consider several factors to ensure you work with a web hosting provider that meets your official website’s needs:
- Budget: Ensure the web host you choose fits within your pre-set budget. Choosing a provider that is outside of your price range will only set you up for failure over time.
- Hosting Type and Website Purpose: Think carefully about the type of web hosting you choose for your website. The platform must have everything you need to suit the purpose of your official website, especially in terms of scalability and growth.
- Plan Period: Several web hosting providers offer different term lengths on the internet. This will affect how much money you usually pay to the selected platform. A longer-term length means that you may have to spend less in the long run, but it will result in a higher initial outlay as most hosting plans are paid upfront.
- Renewal Prices: Hosting providers often offer a low introductory price as an incentive for customers. However, the price will increase to the standard rate after your initial term ends and it renews for another term.
- Additional Costs: Some web hosting plans come with hidden extra costs. Some providers have more hidden costs than others, depending on what is included in your basic plan. Make sure you know what is and is not included in your domain and hosting price plan.
- Domain Registration: Some web hosting providers offer domain registration services as well. So, carefully see whether the domain registration is free or not, for how long the domain is free, and how much you need to pay for its renewal. Sometimes, the renewal rates are expensive, so keep this thing in mind as well.
- Migration: Choose a web host that offers free migration and makes the entire process seamless.
- Be Realistic: It is important to be realistic about where you are now in terms of leveraging website hosting services. Shop for your current website status and scale your plan up when you need additional features and resources.
Website Hosting Costs and Prices Across Platforms
As mentioned earlier, several platforms on the Internet offer website hosting services. However, prices vary depending on the platform type and its specific features. Here is a list of the top providers that offer the most effective web hosting and domain services.
1. Neo
First of all, Neo is not a web hosting provider, but it is an all-in-one provider for small businesses. Small businesses have few requirements, but they require access to all digital channels to ensure their growth and boost their online visibility. Neo meets each of their requirements.
It is a business email platform that allows domain registration (free for one year with annual plans), email hosting (create email marketing campaigns and manage business email), and the deployment of a one-page website (collect lead information and establish an online presence).
The one-page website builder is highly intuitive, and there is a library of pre-designed templates for creating websites. Besides, it offers a free .co.site domain extension for creating your Neo email address, which will also be used for website hosting.
Neo aims to provide:
- An easy website setup
- Reliable hosting capabilities
- Affordable pricing for users with 99.9% uptime
- Featured SSL certificates
You can use Neo’s one-page website for free, which you get alongside your email plan. The first year will be free for you when you utilize the one-page website associated with your email address. Following that, your website hosting costs will be $0.60/month ($7.20/year) after renewal. If you choose the monthly plan, then you will get to host the website for a month, after which you must pay $1/month.
Neo offers three plans:
- Starter: $1.99/user/month
- Standard: $3.99/user/month
- Max: $7.99/user/month
2. Hostinger
Hostinger is an efficient platform that manages to provide many extra features as competition in the affordable web hosting industry continues to tighten. The platform still keeps its website hosting cost among the lowest. Hostinger offers several advanced features, such as:
- Limitless websites and databases
- FTP users
- Subdomains and parked domain names
Hostinger’s pricing plan starts from $2.99 per month, enabling you to create a website for free and offering efficient web hosting services. It has a website builder plan for you in the form of a premium website builder ($2.99 per month) and a business website builder ($3.99 per month).
3. InMotion Hosting
InMotion Hosting blends upgraded infrastructure with several attractive features and prices. The platform’s services are usually geared toward site owners who want quality in their respective web hosting provider.
The hosting company offers several free features:
- Drag-and-drop site builder
- Design templates
- Free domain registration
- SSL certificate
Here is a look at its domains and hosting price:
- Shared Hosting: $2.99/month
- VPS Hosting: $14.99/month
- Dedicated Hosting: $35/month
- cPanel WordPress: $3.49/month
- Platform InMotion: $14.00/month
4. IONOS
IONOS delivers stunning performance at a remarkable rate and is known for its excellent page load speed compared to other top providers in the industry. Here, you can enjoy unlimited storage with web hosting services and various freebies for just $4 per month. Its advanced features include:
- Domain Registration
- SSL certificate
- Daily backups and recovery
It also offers other premium plans. The website hosting costs are as follows:
- Essential (1 website): $4/month
- Starter (10 websites): $5/month
- Plus (unlimited websites for larger web projects): $6/month
- Ultimate (unlimited websites for multiple web projects): $9/month
5. Siteground
Siteground provides a world-class cloud hosting experience powered by Google Cloud Platform, which means you get access to:
- Fast performance
- Unmetered bandwidth
- Unrivaled uptime
Siteground’s website hosting costs $2.99 monthly for the startup plan, which provides one website per user. The GrowBig plan, which enables you to host multiple websites, is available for $4.99 monthly. Lastly, you can use the GoGeek plan for multiple websites, available for $7.99 per month.
6. Bluehost
When you think of Bluehost, the first thing that should come to mind is a larger value at a lower premium. The platform’s shared web hosting service is an excellent alternative to get the most out of your official website. Bluehost also allows for:
Bluehost also allows for
- Simple domain management
- Track, transfer, or update domains
- Use a centralized location
Bluehost includes unlimited email accounts with secure POP3, filters, and third-party client compatibility. Its website hosting costs $4.95 per month. Additionally, you can access the VPS hosting service for $31.99 per month, and dedicated hosting is available for $91.98 per month.
Comparison Table & Our Review
Now that we know about the different web hosting providers and their respective pricing plans let us compare them in the table below.
Conclusion
Calculating the cost of hosting a particular website is not as easy as it seems. The decision depends on the type of website hosting you opt for. Keep in mind that choosing a plan is only the initial phase in determining your website hosting costs. This process involves checking for hidden extra costs, such as domain registration, security add-ons, backups, and SSL certificates.
The good news is that there is a web hosting plan to suit your needs, no matter what website you want to build. Check out Neo’s website-building services, which are the most affordable. These services are part of the platform’s email plans and provide a free one-page website to establish your online presence instantly.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How much is the hosting fee for a particular website?
Website hosting costs vary depending on various factors and user requirements. Commonly, VPS hosting costs around $5-$200 a month. Dedicated hosting services range from $50-$750. Meanwhile, cloud hosting and WordPress hosting cost approximately $5-$3,500 and $2-$45, respectively.
2. What are the ways to compare website hosting services?
Most web hosts or platforms offer various hosting services. Be sure to do your research before selecting the right hosting plan for your website. Important factors to consider include price, storage, features, and bandwidth. Also, check if the platforms offer self-managed or managed hosting.
3. How do I estimate website hosting costs?
Calculating website hosting costs involves analyzing the amount of data you need to store on the servers, the amount of data each visitor will consume, and the expected traffic on your site per month.
4. Is website hosting expensive?
Website hosting can be expensive due to the competitive market. Most web hosts offer common features and resources, so the best way to stand out is to offer more features, often at an additional cost. Web hosts also need to cover their servers and infrastructure costs, including 24/7 customer support.
5. Is a free web hosting plan worth it?
Free web hosting plans may not be the best option if you run an eCommerce store or any website that stores sensitive information. For this reason, we have curated some of the best web hosting services on the market in this guide. Any of these platforms can be a good option if you are willing to spend a little on your website hosting services.