How much does website hosting cost? For a standard business website you usually pay a few euros to a few tens of euros per month. What you pay exactly depends on the type of hosting, how many visitors you get and what is included as standard, such as backups, email and support. Larger or busy websites and web applications cost more.
The tricky part is that the price on a hosting provider's website often isn't the whole story. Introductory prices, paid extras and renewal rates make the difference. In this article you will learn what you pay for and how to avoid spending too much, or too little. How to choose a good provider is covered in choosing website hosting.
What do you pay for with hosting?
Hosting is the space on a server where your website lives, so visitors can always view it. The price is made up of a few parts:
- Processing power and memory: how many visitors and how much work the server can handle at once.
- Storage: space for your files, images and database.
- Data traffic: how much data goes out to visitors. Most packages include more than enough.
- Management: who keeps the server up to date and secure? You, or the hosting provider?
- Extras: backups, an SSL certificate for the padlock in the browser, email and support.
Website hosting costs by type: a rough guide
Below are the most common types of hosting, with a rough price indication. Check the current price with the provider, as rates change regularly.
- Shared hosting: you share a server with other websites. Indication: a few euros to about fifteen euros per month. Fine for a small business website with few visitors.
- Managed hosting for a CMS, such as WordPress: the provider handles server updates, speed and security. Indication: around ten to a few tens of euros per month.
- VPS, a virtual server of your own: more power and freedom, but someone has to manage it. Indication: from a few tens of euros per month, management not included.
- Cloud hosting and platforms for modern websites: you often pay for what you use. For small sites this can be very cheap or even free. With lots of traffic or heavy features, costs go up.
A standard website with information, a contact form and a blog usually doesn't need expensive hosting. If it runs an online shop or a web application with logins and a database, different requirements apply. For that, read hosting for a web application.
Hidden costs of web hosting
This is where it often goes wrong. Check these points before you order:
- Introductory price: the low amount often only applies to the first year, or only if you prepay for several years. Look at the renewal price.
- Backups: sometimes they are not included, or only for a fee. Or you have to restore them yourself.
- SSL certificate: often included for free these days, but not everywhere.
- Email: business mailboxes can cost extra per mailbox, or you arrange them separately.
- Domain name: often arranged separately, with its own yearly price. Read more in choosing a domain name.
- Setup or migration fees: some providers charge one-off costs at the start or when you switch.
- Support: fast help with problems may only come with more expensive packages.
Add everything up over three years and only then compare. That shows you which package is really the cheapest.
Here is an example with made-up numbers, just to show the method. Package A costs €3 per month in the first year, then €12. Package B costs €8 per month from the start. Over three years you pay €36 plus €288 for A, €324 in total. For B it is €288. So the package with the lowest promotional price turns out to be the most expensive.
Is cheap hosting a smart choice?
Cheap hosting can be fine for a small website. But the cheapest option sometimes has downsides that end up costing you more than you save:
- A slow website. Speed counts towards how findable you are and how many visitors stay. Google looks at the Core Web Vitals, among other things, such as an LCP under 2.5 seconds.
- More frequent outages, leaving your website unreachable for a while.
- Servers far away or outside the EU, which can raise questions about privacy and GDPR (AVG in Dutch).
- Little or slow help when something goes wrong.
It doesn't have to be expensive either. A small business website doesn't need a heavy server. Pay for what you use, with a little room to grow. Is your website slow despite good hosting? Then the problem is often in the website itself. You'll find tips in making your website faster.
Which hosting do you need? A quick check
Answer these questions to work out what suits you:
- How many visitors do you expect per month? Hundreds, thousands or many more?
- Is it an informational website, an online shop or a web application with logins?
- Who looks after the technology: you, your web developer or the hosting provider?
- Do you need business email in the same place, or do you arrange that separately?
- How bad is it if your website is unreachable for an hour?
For most small businesses it comes down to shared or managed hosting with a reliable provider that has servers in Europe, automatic backups and good support.
How to save on hosting costs
- Look at the renewal price, not the promotional price.
- Don't choose a bigger package than you need. Scaling up later is usually easy.
- Clean up old websites, test environments and unused mailboxes that are still running.
- Make sure your website is lightweight with optimised images. It then needs less powerful hosting.
- Don't bundle everything with one provider if that costs more. Domain, hosting and email can be separate.
Hosting and your website at Violexa
At Violexa we build websites and apps that are light and fast, so you don't need heavy hosting. A custom website starts from €1,799 excl. VAT (€2,177 incl. VAT), including design, development, SEO basics, Google Analytics, a CMS integration and training. We advise which hosting suits your website.
Want to hand over the technical side after launch? There are maintenance plans: Silver €179 (€217 incl. VAT), Gold €299 (€362 incl. VAT) and Platinum €699 (€846 incl. VAT) per month excl. VAT.
Not sure whether you are paying too much for your current hosting, or is your website slow? Book a free quickscan. In 30 minutes, online or in person, we take a look with you. Afterwards you get short written advice with a price indication, with no obligation.
Frequently asked questions
How much does hosting cost per month for a small website?
For a small business website, shared or managed hosting is usually enough. That costs a few euros to a few tens of euros per month, depending on what is included. This is an indication; always check the current price and the renewal price.
Is a domain name included in hosting costs?
Sometimes, but often not. With many providers you pay for the domain name separately each year, or it is only free for the first year. Check the terms carefully to see what happens after the first year.
Why did my hosting get more expensive after a year?
Many hosting providers use an introductory price that only applies to the first year. On renewal you pay the normal rate. So always compare the renewal price before you choose.
Do I need expensive hosting for a fast website?
Usually not. For a standard business website, speed is mainly in the website itself: lean code, small images and few heavy plugins. Good hosting helps, but expensive hosting won't automatically make a heavy website fast.
