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Purchasing a website hosting plan is necessary to launch your website. And the costs of different hosting types are a major deciding factor on which one to choose.
If you are trying to determine how much you should be spending on a website hosting plan, this article aims to answer your question. Let us find out the elements that impact your budget while also looking at some major types of hosting's available in the market.
Web hosting types
Here are the five most common web hosting types with their price ranges:
Shared hosting
Shared hosting is the cheapest hosting type to enter the web world. You can choose a low-cost plan with limited features or a higher-tier plan with additional server resources based on your needs. You do not receive any dedicated server resources since websites on a shared server share all the resources.
The introductory prices of shared hosting plans can range between $1.99 to $12.95 per month. On the other hand, the renewal charges can cost you anywhere from $3.99 to $23.99 per month.
WordPress hosting
WordPress hosting plans are optimized for the most commonly used Content Management System (CMS) in the world, WordPress. If you are planning to create a WordPress website, investing in WordPress hosting would be a better choice.
A WordPress hosting plan can be purchased for $1.99 to $699.30 per month initially. However, their renewal prices can vary between $3.99 to $999 per month.
For instance, Liquid Web offers a WordPress hosting plan with a huge price tag and the following important features:
Cloud hosting
Cloud hosting helps you to host your website via cloud resources that offer extreme flexibility. Most cloud hosts allow you to create your custom cloud hosting plan by choosing the features you need and leaving the ones you do not. So, you will be paying only for what you truly require.
Cloud hosting bears introductory prices of $4 to $504 per month, depending on your hosting requirements. Some hosts, like Kamatera, also offer hourly billing that might be suitable for testing websites and applications or other such unique projects.
The renewal prices of cloud hosting plans usually remain the same.
VPS hosting
Virtual Private Server (VPS) hosting is the one in which your website is hosted on a virtual server with an isolated, secured environment. Your virtual server is allotted some dedicated resources that cannot be used by your server neighbors.
The introductory prices of VPS hosting range from $4.99 to $190 per month, while its renewal prices can cost from $8.99 to $318 per month.
Dedicated hosting
Dedicated hosting comes with a complete physical server to meet your hosting needs. It comes with great flexibility, immense power, and superb security. Such plans are suitable for big enterprises requiring plenty of server resources.
Dedicated hosting plans can be purchased for $79.99 to $505.99 per month. The renewal costs can vary from $119.99 to $749.99 per month.
For instance, here is the pricing of different dedicated hosting plans offered by Bluehost:
Extra web hosting costs to consider
Apart from purchasing a hosting plan for your website, you will also need to invest in some other website-related aspects. You must consider all these factors when building your budget.
Domain Name Registration
A domain name is the web address of your website that ends with .com, .us, .uk, or other similar extensions. It is the name for which your website will be known forever. You can choose any domain extension that you desire.
Usual domain names cost between $0.01 to $67.98 per year. There are some premium domain names as well that can have a higher price tag in thousands or millions of dollars too! The renewal prices of domains generally range between $19.99 to $79.98 per year.
It is mandatory for domain registrars to publicly record the details of all domain owners. So you might have to pay for WHOIS privacy to protect this public display of your private information. Some registrars offer it free for the first term and charge a small amount of about $3 per year from the second year onwards.
Design and Development
You might also need to consider website design and development costs if you are planning to hire an expert for the job. However, with the availability of website builders and so many professional templates, you can follow the DIY route even if you are a beginner.
But if you have some specific requirements and need an expert to design and develop your website, expect an additional cost of $200 to $15000 upfront plus $50 to $100 per month maintenance cost.
Marketing
Unless you are building a website for yourself and your friends, you must focus on marketing as much as you focus on creating content for your website. Marketing involves Search Engine Optimization (SEO), content marketing, Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising, email marketing, and social media marketing.
Investing in different aspects of marketing depends on your niche and the competition present in that niche. It can cost you anywhere between $20 to $10,000 per month, and you can always set aside a budget for marketing which can be adjusted depending on the results received.
Email / G Suite
Productivity tools like Email and G Suite are helpful for businesses or website owners working with team members located around the globe. Only a handful of web hosting providers offer such tools for your business.
You can grab a productivity suite for about $6 to $60 per month, depending on the number of user accounts and resources you need. Here is the G Suite pricing structure from Bluehost for your reference:
SSL Certificates
Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate ensures the protection of data transfer via your website. It gets you a green lock in front of your domain name in the URL bar of a browser. Such websites are favored by Google since they are secure.
SSL certificates are essential for websites and online stores carrying out financial transactions. Many web hosting providers offer a free SSL certificate with their hosting plans. But in some cases, you might have to pay $49.99 to $699 annually, depending on the type of SSL you choose for your site.
Automated Site Backup
Automated site backups are important to protect your website data in case of a server or other technical failure. Hosts maintain a copy of your data files at a location other than the one where the main server is located.
Some web hosting providers offer free automated site backups, while others may charge a nominal fee of up to $5 per month. You might also have to pay a lump sum restoration fee for data restoration if the need arises.
Note: You can always save these costs by creating and managing your data backup on your own if you have a little bit of technical knowledge.
Website migration cost
Though we never think about website migration when we start our online journey, you might have to shift your hosting provider if you are not satisfied with its services. So considering website migration costs in advance is a wiser choice.
You might find a few web hosts offering free website transfers for a single site, but if you want to migrate multiple websites or have a lot of data on your website, you might have to pay a one-time fee ranging between $99 to $400 for the migration.
Package Extras (upsells)
When shopping for a web hosting plan, you will come across a variety of upsells. All web hosts offer package extras with their hosting services and want you to buy most of their upsells since they want to make more money.
But I want you to save your hard-earned money and invest only in the necessary ones. So consider skipping the majority of upsells, especially the ones not directly attached to website hosting.
SiteLock
SiteLock is a security tool offered by many web hosts as an add-on to their hosting services. It provides features like Web Application Firewall (WAF), DDoS attack protection, malware scanning, and malware removal for your website.
This upsell usually costs about $35.88 to $299.88 per year initially. The renewal cost can lie between $71.88 to $359.88 annually. Bluehost explains the pricing of different SiteLock plans here:
You might also find a host offering a free version of SiteLock with its web hosting plans. Even Bluehost offers a free version of SiteLock, as it explains in its knowledge base:
CodeGuard
CodeGuard is a website backup tool that saves your files on a third-party platform and restores it quickly as and when required. The security tool ensures zero to minimal downtime.
The cost of CodeGuard plans ranges between $32.95 to $239.95 per year. HostGator shares the cost of different CodeGuard plans here:
You can select a CodeGuard plan depending on the amount of storage you need and the number of websites you want to secure.
Office 365
With businesses turning online, Office 365 might be a useful tool for website owners collaborating with their teams online. It also comes with a custom professional email to build your brand.
This upsell can cost you anywhere between $2.99 to $11.74 per user per month when you book a long-term Office 365 plan with a hosting provider. Here is the pricing of Office 365 plans offered by GoDaddy:
SEO tools
Some web hosting providers offer SEO tools as an upsell with their plans. These Search Engine Optimization (SEO) tools help you improve your website ranking on Google and other search engine results.
You might find a free SEO plan with a host or will have to pay $10 to $50 per month, depending on the features you desire in your SEO plan. Here is a free SEO plan offered by Monster Host:
Tips to reduce Website Hosting costs today
Since launching a website might become a costly affair, I’m sharing a few useful tips here to help you reduce website hosting costs:
Receive a discount with long-term plans
Most web hosting providers offer great discounts when you purchase their hosting plans for the long term since they want to retain you as a customer for years to come. Thus, consider signing up with your desired host for at least a year. However, paying for 2 or 3 years in advance will result in greater savings!
Bundle Domain Registration with your hosting plan
Some hosting providers offer free domains with their yearly hosting plans. So if you choose a longer-term plan for your hosting, you can save the upfront cost of domain registration.
However, you will still have to bear the renewal cost after the end of the initial domain registration period, which is usually one year.
Look for Freebies and Avoid Upsells
Web hosting providers will try to sell you hosting extras, but you must not purchase all of them. Look for the free alternatives to the upsells you think are important for the success of your website.
Additionally, accept the freebies offered with your plan to fully utilize the worth of money you spend on website hosting.
Start with shared hosting
Shared hosting plans are the cheapest and provide enough features for a beginner. You must always consider starting with shared hosting and gradually moving to other hosting types when you need more server resources.
Monetize your website to offset hosting costs
Hosting costs and additional expenditure on running a website can become a burden if you do not recover it from that website itself. So it is important to monetize your website to offset hosting costs and continue your online journey for years to come.
Choose a free CMS
Choosing a free Content Management System (CMS) like WordPress instead of going for a proprietary or Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) will save you a huge sum.
If you feel the need to use a paid CMS hosting, you can consider shifting your website later to it when your website starts giving you enough earnings.
Conclusion
How much you should invest in a website hosting plan depends completely on the server resource requirements for your website.
If you are just starting and do not require more than standard storage, choosing the cheapest hosting plan with only the necessary features will be justified. Look for a hosting plan with lots of freebies and utilize open-source applications to save money.
Always remember that all big businesses were once small. So start with a limited budget and scale as your website grows! Needs any help? Feel free to contact us. Our development experts will help you to achieve the goals.
