One of the first costs you'll need to think about when starting a website in 2021 is the cost of web hosting. Here is how much web hosting will cost and how to decide how much you should spend.
How Much Does Web Hosting Cost?
Web hosting is one of the first expenses you'll have for your website and is likely among the most expensive aspects of managing a site for the average small website. How much your web hosting costs depends entirely on what kind of hosting you choose.
You may pay a couple of dollars for shared hosting, between $15 and $20 for VPS hosting, or hundreds of dollars for dedicated server hosting.
Cost for Shared Web Hosting Versus VPS Hosting
When you are considering quality web hosting packages to host your website, one of the first questions you'll encounter is whether you should choose shared hosting or VPS hosting. Most small websites are not in a position to consider dedicated server hosting at the beginning.
Dedicated server hosting is a lot more expensive and complicated and will likely give you considerably more real estate than you need initially. At first glance, the difference in cost may make you think that shared hosting is a no-brainer. However, shared hosting has significant disadvantages that may cause some people to go for a VPS host right away.
Advantages of Shared Hosting
Easy to set up
Inexpensive
Provides options for limited scaling
Disadvantages of Shared Hosting
Limited options for customizability
May be less secure than other options
Extensive traffic on any of the other sites shared on the server can result in slowdowns for your site
You may be forced to upgrade if your site gets too much traffic
There may only be limited help services available
Advantages of VPS Hosting
Generally easy to set up but offers considerable customizability
Great security for e-commerce (especially) and financial records
You won't have to share space for data, RAM, CPU Limits, or anything else
Plenty of options for scaling up as time goes on
Won't be affected by traffic that other users on the server experience
Often has better service to help you than shared hosting
Disadvantages of VPS Hosting
Costs more than shared hosting
May require a bit more know-how to customize
How to Decide How Much to Spend on Web Hosting in 2021
You may face challenges determining just how much you should be spending on web hosting, especially when you are first getting started. These questions can help you decide what investment to make:
How big is my website? Very small websites can generally do just fine on a shared hosting plan with only a couple of dollars a month investment.
How quickly do I expect my website to grow? Even if your site is very small now, if you intend to do a lot of promotions and quickly grow your site, you may want to go ahead and invest in a more expensive VPS plan now so that you won't have to switch a few weeks down the road.
How secure do I need my website to be? A casual blogging site may be a lot less concerned about security than international e-commerce that handles customer financial data. If you need a very secure website, it's better to invest more for a VPS.
Can I afford slowdowns? No website wants to experience slowdowns, but some websites will be more negatively affected by them than others. Can you take a risk with slowdowns during peak hours on shared hosting?
How much do I want to customize my website? Some website owners want as little customization as possible because they don't want to take the risk of messing something up or spend a lot of time fiddling with the site. Other website owners have particular needs in mind and would prefer the customizability of a VPS.
Do I expect to need to scale up down the road? VPS offers more options for scaling than does shared hosting, so if you expect your website to keep growing and need to scale up along the way, it may be better to go ahead and invest in VPS right away.
How committed am I to this website? If you are starting a fun hobby site that may or may not last, you may want to invest less than if you are attaching a website to your brick-and-mortar business.
Pay the Right Amount for Web Hosting in 2021
Web hosting will be one of the most important expenses of your new website, so you don't want to pay too much. However, paying too little can result in headaches or even security breaches.
By thinking carefully about what you want from your site, you can invest the right amount. Remember that switching from shared to VPS hosting down the road is always an option.