Many people find building a website to be an exciting prospect. However, finding the right hosting plan can be confusing and stressful, especially with a limited budget. You may come across different web hosts that offer seemingly identical plans with pricing differences in the double digits. Then there are the budget-friendly plans that also claim to offer blazing fast speed and top-notch security.
Fortunately, you don’t always have to break the bank in order to successfully launch a website. Some web hosts provide affordable plans with SSD storage and offer features such as SSL certificates, email accounts, and backups.
Relying on an initial low price for web hosting can lead to surprises down the road, such as a lack of adequate resources or poor performance.
The pricing of web hosting plans can be deceiving. Often, the prices displayed for web hosting plans are promotional, and the costs may dramatically increase after the introductory period.
This article will break down the different web hosting pricing structures and provide insight on the various features of web hosting plans. Finally, this article will give recommendations to help you find the right web hosting plan for your site.
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Cheap Web Hosting Price Plans with Reliable Performance
For example, if you build your business website with WordPress, you need web hosting to store your pages, images, plugins, and the database. Web hosting has a price based on the resources provided and services offered.
- Services such as
- Storage and bandwidth,
- Domain name,
- SSL certificate,
- Business email,
- Website backups, and
- Malware protection
can be offered for free or for a fee, depending on the web hosting provider. Some providers also offer 24/7 support and help migrate your website to their servers for free.
Web hosting has different prices because providers offer different levels of management and additional services.
What Factors Affect Website Hosting Fees?
Before purchasing a plan, understand what contributes to the total cost.
1. Server resources: CPU, RAM, storage, and bandwidth influence how much traffic and workload your website can handle.
2. Hosting type: Shared hosting is generally cheaper than VPS, cloud, or dedicated hosting because server resources are allocated differently.
3. Storage technology: SSD and NVMe storage can improve data access performance and may influence plan pricing.
4. Security features: Backups, malware scanning, firewalls, and advanced security services can affect the overall package cost.
5. Subscription duration: Some providers offer lower promotional rates when you purchase longer-term subscriptions.
6. Renewal charges: Introductory prices may increase when your first subscription period ends. Always check the standard renewal rate.
Different Types of Affordable Web Hosting Plans
Not every website needs the same hosting environment. Choosing the right hosting type can help you control costs without sacrificing essential performance.
The most inexpensive way of hosting a website is shared web hosting. Multiple websites reside on the same server, and all share the server resources.
Notable website types that can use shared web hosting are;
- Personal blogs
- Business websites
- Portfolio websites
- Informational websites
- WordPress websites
The biggest draw card for shared web hosting is the cost. However, website performance can take a hit due to shared resources. As such, check resource limits and acceptable use policies before purchasing.
WordPress hosting is solely for websites and applications developed using WordPress. Some providers include features such as WordPress installation and updates, as well as website caching, backups, and optimizations.
The array of features coupled with the ease of use of the WordPress CMS makes it ideal for bloggers, businesses, content publishers, and website owners.
Some WordPress hosting plans employ a shared infrastructure, while others use managed or cloud structures.
3. VPS Hosting
VPS hosting provides a virtual server within a dedicated environment. This makes it more flexible and controlled compared to shared web hosting. As such, it is ideal for websites with additional application and server resources requirements.
Compared to entry level shared web hosting, VPS hosting is more expensive, but it provides better resource isolation and customization.
4. Cloud Hosting
Cloud hosting uses a shared server infrastructure to provide hosting resources. Some services allow the resources to be scaled to meet website requirements.
This makes it ideal for websites, applications and businesses that are growing and may require additional resources.
Understand the billing model of a cloud hosting service before committing. Some services charge based on actual resource consumption, which can lead to unpredictable monthly costs.
5. Dedicated Server Hosting
Renting a physical server gives customers control over the entire server hardware and configuration.
This can benefit high-traffic websites, resource-intensive applications, and businesses with specialized requirements.
This can also benefit businesses that have outgrown shared hosting.
Popular Affordable Web Hosting Providers to Compare
If you are searching for inexpensive web hosting, consider these providers. Plans, prices and features can change, so check the provider’s website for the latest info.
1. Hostinger
Hostinger provides website management features with their affordable website hosting packages and is worth comparing.
Suitable for: Beginners, bloggers, and small businesses.
2. Bluehost
Bluehost offers NVMe SSDs, SSL, website migration, and support on some of their shared and WordPress plans.
Suitable for: Small businesses and beginners using WordPress.
3. DreamHost
DreamHost has different shared hosting plans with varying limitations on website, storage, and database allowances.
Suitable for: Blogs, content websites, businesses searching for hosting.
4. GoDaddy
GoDaddy is good for web and WordPress hosting as well as domain management. It’s a good option for comparing all these services from one provider.
Suitable for: Small businesses and first-time website creators.
Cheap Web Hosting Price Comparison: What Should You Expect?
The table below compares different types of web hosting and what you can expect to pay for each. These prices are estimates, and you should do your own research for up-to-date prices.
| Hosting type | Indicative monthly budget | Best suited for |
| Shared hosting | ₹100–₹500 | Blogs and small websites |
| WordPress hosting | ₹150–₹800 | WordPress websites |
| VPS hosting | ₹500–₹3,000+ | Growing websites and applications |
| Cloud hosting | ₹500–₹5,000+ | Scalable websites |
| Dedicated hosting | ₹5,000+ | High-resource workloads |
The actual prices depend on the provider you choose, the server location, the resources you need, the term you’re committing to, taxes, and optional add-ons.
As an example, for Bluehost, you can get shared hosting in India for ₹199 per month for a 36-month term, but after that, the price would increase to ₹349 per month. Taxes are added to the price.
DreamHost also has different shared hosting plans based on the resources allowed.
How to Choose an Affordable Hosting Plan with Reliable Performance
Performance is key. Don’t get so caught up in price that you overlook performance. Here’s what you need to look into before purchasing a plan.
1. Check Server Performance
A slow website can affect user experience and cause potential clients to bounce. Look for providers that have:
- Servers with SSD or NVMe storage
- Up to date server software
- Sufficient CPU and RAM
- Server-side caching
- CDN
- Reliable network connectivity
You have some control over performance with your theme, images, plugins, and code.
2. Look for Free SSL Certificates
An SSL certificate allows HTTPS encryption for your website. Protecting information exchanged through your website and building user trust is important. Before buying a certificate check if your provider offers a free SSL certificate with the plan and if it is automatically renewed.
3. Review Backup and Security Features
You should never skimp on website security, even if you are going with a budget option. Look for:
- Regular Automatic Backups
- Malware scans
- Firewall
- DDoS protection
- Protected account access
- Ability to restore backups
4. Check Uptime Commitments
Your website should remain accessible when potential customers want to visit it.
Review the provider’s uptime commitment, monitoring practices, and service-level agreement. A 99.9% uptime commitment is a useful benchmark, but you should also understand the exclusions and compensation terms.
5. Check Uptime Commitment
Your website should be available to users at all times. Look for a provider that has an uptime commitment, has monitoring services, and has a service level agreement. A 99.9% commitment is a good place to start. Also review the exclusions and what compensation is offered.
6. Check Customer Support
Review the hours, availability, and responsiveness of their customer support to help you during website errors, migration, and other issues.
- Ticket or live chat assistance.
- Knowledge base articles.
- Migrate your website for you.
- Troubleshoot WordPress issues.
How to Find the Cheapest Web Hosting
Want to buy web hosting without wasting your money? Here’s how.
1. Decide what your site needs.
For example, are you creating a blog, a business site, a portfolio, or an online store? What is your expected traffic? How much storage do you need?
2. Set your budget.
How much can you spend annually? Do you have funds set aside for your domain name’s renewal? What about SSLs? Email? Website backups?
3. Compare different web hosts.
Go to the official web host sites and evaluate the plans yourself.
4. Check renewal rates.
Look at the regular rates and see how long the lowest price is guaranteed.
5. Pick a plan that fits your needs.
There should be enough storage, processing power, and support to cover your needs.
6. Set up your domain and pay.
Choose a domain name and hosting plan, check out, and review your order.
7. Install your site and test speed.
Upload your site files and test your site using Google’s PageSpeed tool. Configure your site’s SSL and website caching.
Your site includes:
- A homepage
- An about page
- 5 service pages
- A blog section
- A contact form
You won’t need an expensive dedicated server for this type of site. An affordable shared hosting plan or WordPress hosting plan is sufficient for now.
You may add articles to the site, grow your traffic, and include customer facing features as your agency grows.
At some point, you may need to upgrade your shared hosting plan to VPS.
The most important thing here is to not spend money on resources you don’t need, and to pick a hosting provider that offers you room to grow.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Comparing Web Hosting Fees
When considering a cheap hosting plan, do not:
- Pick the cheapest plan. The cheapest option may give you poor performance and slow page loads.
- Neglect renewal costs. Your costs will increase after your introductory period.
- Ignore storage limitations. Some plans have limits on disk use and files.
- Neglect backup policies. Not all plans include backups.
- Purchase over-provisioning. Avoid paying for features you don’t need.
- Neglect scalability. You may not be able to upgrade when your site traffic increases.
Do some research to avoid these problems.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is a reasonable web hosting price for beginners?
Shared hosting is perhaps the most affordable type of hosting. In India, entry-level shared hosting may cost between ₹100-₹500 per month. Always research renewal pricing before making a purchase.
2. What is the best hosting for a small business website?
For a small business website, shared hosting or WordPress hosting would work best. Look for a host that offers SSL, backups, security, and responsive support.
3. Are cheap web hosting plans reliable?
A good hosting plan from a good web hosting company is reliably performant. Limits, configuration, and the type of server (e.g. VPS) affect performance.
4. What do website hosting fees cover?
Website hosting fees cover server resources, support, and security. Included features vary by hosting plan.
5. Is DreamHost hosting worth considering for an affordable website?
DreamHost is worth checking out when considering shared or WordPress hosting, or VPS, or dedicated server hosting. Research current plans, renewal costs, limits, support features, and email allotments before making a decision.
Conclusion: Find Cheap Web Hosting with Reliable Performance
It is a common misconception that purchasing the cheapest web hosting available means having to sacrifice all important features. Doing the right amount of research can help you find a web hosting package that includes all the essentials (i.e. adequate server resources and website security, and performance as well as technical support) for a reasonable price.
When web hosting packages say they are “affordable” or “cheap,” it does not mean you should overlook the web hosting renewal costs. Look closely at available storage, backups, support, and the uptime commitment.
For beginner entrepreneurs and businesses, the smartest web hosting decision is to start with the most affordable option (usually shared web hosting). As the business and website grow, you may need to move on to something more robust, such as cloud, VPS, or WordPress web hosting.
If you’re ready to get your site online without breaking the bank, look for an affordable hosting plan from a reputable provider and find the right price/feature balance for your site. Once you’re ready for business, a quality web host is also ready to grow with you!
