There have been free web hosts since the early days of the internet so a lot of people wonder why they should spend money to host a website.
Free hosts tend to be slow, offer limited storage and bandwidth, and usually force you to use a generic domain name. Paying for hosting is a much better option, whether it’s for a personal or business website.
How much does web hosting cost? Let’s take a look at the different options.
Types of Web Hosting Services
There are several types of hosting plans, each with its advantages. The primary types of hosting include:
- Shared hosting
- Virtual private server (VPS)
- Dedicated server
- Cloud hosting
Shared Hosting
With a shared hosting account, a single server hosts multiple websites. The users on the server share resources like RAM and processing power.
This helps keep the cost down but also limits your website’s performance. Shared hosting is the most affordable option with plans starting as low as $2 per month.
Virtual Private Servers
Virtual private servers are also shared between several websites but each one gets a fixed share of the resources so one site can’t affect the performance of the rest. There are usually only a small number of users sharing the VPS as well.
This is a good option for small business web hosting since you get better performance at a reasonable price. VPS hosting generally ranges from $10 to $100 per month.
Dedicated Servers
If your website generates a lot of traffic or you need to run resource-hungry applications, a dedicated server is the best choice. In this case, you’re the only user on the server so you get full use of resources like RAM and CPU cycles.
Dedicated hosting costs considerably more than the first two options, with servers starting around the $100 per month mark. You can spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars a month on high-end servers.
Cloud Hosting
Cloud hosting is a relatively new option, with services like Amazon’s AWS and Microsoft’s Azure offering many different options.
Cloud hosting lets you host your website on those companies’ servers. They charge based on the resources you need so you can start with a basic setup for as little as $10 per month and scale up from there.
Like dedicated servers, you can spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars a month on cloud hosting. The advantage over a dedicated server is that it’s elastic — you can scale it up or down as needed.
For example, if you’re running a promotion that’s going to cause a big traffic spike, add resources to your hosting plan. Once the traffic slows down again, you can go back to the original configuration.
How Much Does Web Hosting Cost?
Depending on the type of hosting account you choose, your web hosting cost can range from a few dollars to a few thousand dollars a month. While you don’t have to spend too much to get a good hosting plan, don’t pinch pennies. Having a reliable, good-performing site will make your visitors more likely to return.
Check out the Digital Marketing section of our site for more helpful articles about online business.
