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How much should I pay for web hosting?

18 November 2016

Siobhan Hancock

When it comes to web hosting there are many choices.  For someone not experienced with web hosting it’s easy to get hung up on price, especially when searching for the perfect plan. If that’s you then I’d like to help you learn a little more.

Firstly, think about what you want to achieve with your website. Will your website function as your businesses online presence? Will it be a personal website? Do you need to sell items online through an ecommerce setup? Will you be interacting with users through your website? Deciding what you need from your website is the starting point.

My website is the online presence for my business

That’s great! Time to really look for the attributes of your hosting plan and make a selection. As explained in a another recent blog I wrote 3 Golden rules – How will my web hosting help with SEO look for a hosting plan that…

  • is based in the UK (if you want UK based visitors)
  • is fast! Preferably SSD based and containerised
  • boasts great uptime!

Those are the key three features you should look for. Hint… free hosting and budget hosting probably won’t make the cut. If your site is for your business then it’s time to move price lower down the list of priorities and instead focus on the mechanics of your site, such as speed and reliability. I always recommend clients opt for VPS based hosting wherever possible, as you have so much more control over your website.

With budget hosting, 9 times out of 10 you won’t have control of the uptime and speed on your platform.  This is what we called ‘shared hosting’. If you are using shared hosting now or choosing hosting for the first time and your website plays a large role in your business, then there are much more suitable hosting plans out there for you.

At 34SP.com we currently offer 3 different types of VPS hosting with management included, our Business Hosting, managed WordPress Hosting and Reseller VPS Hosting, to make sure you get the best out of your website.

“But I know someone who only pays a fiver for their web hosting and…”

How much of a role does your website play in your business? Is it worth more to you than a fiver a month? Internet usage in the UK grows yearly with more and more people choosing to research online as their first port of call.  Take a look at this recent graph showing the growth of users and their age ranges in 2016, published by the Office for National Statistics :

 

Graph from the Office for national statistics

With so many purchasing decisions being made online, it’s important that your site gives the user a good first impression.  I’m not referring to the way it looks, I’m referring to how quickly it loads and how reliable it is.  By choosing shared/budget hosting you are putting yourself in a risky situation, what if your customer hits your website just as another user on the system is experiencing massive load, and your site goes suddenly slow?  Even worse, what if your customers hit a 404 page not found error?

With VPS hosting you can be comfortable in the knowledge that your online presence is solid: fast loading and ready and available, when your client stops by.   Finally, if your visitors are based in the UK the following chart should hit home just how much people in the UK are buying online in comparison with traditional high street shopping.

Chart showing growth of online sales in the UK versus Europe by retailresearch.org

http://www.retailresearch.org/onlineretailing.php

When can budget hosting be suitable for me?

This type of hosting is aimed towards more modest sites.  There are many instances where a shared hosting plan is a great choice: small personal sites, hobby sites, testing a new idea, community groups etc.  Indeed any site where the odd blip of downtime is not a deal breaker; we aim for 99.5% uptime and higher on our shared plans, but occasionally one customer can cause issues – and that can take time to resolve.

Budget hosting is also a superior choice to free hosting.    A lot of free hosting plans often come with minimal support, or might even force advertisements on your website in some cases – as providers look to recoup the cost of the hosting.  A paid service, such as the one offered by 34SP.com should not force any changes onto your site, such as ads;  and also come with top notch support as standard.

To conclude, the price of your hosting completely depends on  your desired outcome. Seeing those $1 hosting plans online may seem attractive at first, but really they should be a big red flag. Make sure your site has the best setup it can!   Make sure your host has your website speed covered and an also look for an SLA uptime to demonstrate the reliability of your hosting. Keep yourself covered with good support and know that you can get in touch with your hosting company when you need them the most. Then and only then should price play a role in your hosting.

Feel free to ask questions! When you have asked them all, find some more to ask! We’re always happy to help, get in touch with 34SP.com today!