When you decide to open an offline store for your business, you look for a place that is ready to host it. It could be someone who is ready to rent their land to you, or you can purchase your own land.
When opening an online business you do not need physical land, but you still need an area of space to upload your product designs and other site data. Who will provide that space? Well, that is where hosting providers come in handy.
Like you decide which location you want, how much space you want, the cost of land, and various other things before deciding on land for your business, you have to do the same while using a web hoster.
For this, you should know the types of hosting available, website hosting cost, providers of hosting services, and which one would be best for you.
Through this article, you will learn how much it costs to host a website and various factors that could affect that cost. Another significant thing you will learn is to set up a website quickly without going through all these complexities through some of the best website builders, such as Fynd Platform.
Understanding Web Hosting
Web hosting is a service that various hosting providers offer to their customers, usually a website owner. Consumers need some space on the server of their site, and that is what these hosting providers offer.
The websites you see on the internet are all present on the server. These servers store files, codes, images, and other elements of a website to make it visible on the internet.
1. The cost of web hosting a particular site widely depends on the space
allocated to that website on the server. However, space is a significant
factor, it is not the only one.
2. To view anything online, that material has to be on the server. So to
explain web hosting in simple words would be renting or purchasing space
on the server.
3. Now, what is a server? Well, a server is nothing but just a computer
with information about various sites, and it lets a web user connect to
those sites within seconds.
When a user will enter or click on your site link, that server will
transfer your website data present on it to the local computer that has
asked for that site.
4. While you can host your website yourself too, there are several
complications. It requires the technical skills of a professional. You
need to know the way to configure a server from scratch and should also
have the required resources.
5. Besides all these challenges, you will also be responsible for its
maintenance.
6. By hiring a hosting provider, you ensure that your website can better
security and protocols, and perform well. It also gives you an assurance
that if a technical glitch arises, there is someone to make things
correct.
7. Most people confuse a hosting provider and a domain name. Both are
different. Once you decide on your hosting provider, it is time to give
your site a unique address. This is the work of domain names.
8. To understand this clearly, take this example. You opened a store in
a big mall in the city but in that mall, there are other stores too. So,
to reach your store, you should have a unique name or address. In
digital media, a domain name is your unique address that helps users
reach your site.
9. There are several types of web hosting, each differing in the amount
of storage and other variables. You will learn about these in subsequent
paragraphs.
So, this is all you need to know about the basics of web hosting. Do not ignore the fact that you also have the option to avoid paying only for one service and go for website builders, such as Fynd Platform to get every service at one.
Want to Start Selling Online with Fynd Platform?
Fynd Platform is our top-rated ecommerce website builder, and for
good reason with 30 days free trial!
Here are different types of web hosting and their various pros and cons.
1. Shared Hosting
Shared hosting is when multiple website owners share the same server, particularly its resources, such as space, processing power, memory, etc. It is one of the most affordable hosting offered by any company.
Because of its economical rate and simplicity, it is the top choice for small business owners or people with websites for personal use, such as displaying portfolios. These types of sites do not require high bandwidth or complicated configuration.
Moreover, it is also tough for them to afford advanced hosting. Thus, sharing hosting is best for them. Here is a table that sums up the pros and cons of Shared hosting.
Economical, best for people with low investment capital
No need to have technical expertise
Offers pre-configuration server options
Do not require attention on administration and maintenance of server
Limited access to the configuration of the server
The bandwidth is low, so you cannot reach a large audience
If there is an increase in traffic on other shared websites of your
server, the speed of your website could reduce
2. Virtual Private Server Hosting
In this hosting provider too, your website will have to share a physical server with other websites. However, here the server makes a virtual partition for each website. This means that despite having shared hosting, you will be allocated a fixed resource of the server.
This web hosting service is best for people with comparatively bigger sites than small blogs and business owners. It is also good for sites that have begun encountering more visitors.
It also has some pros and cons. You can read them in the table below.
You get a server space for your site
Because of your own virtual space, an increase in traffic on other
websites will not affect the speed of your website
You will get basic access to the server
You can also customize things
You will need certain technical skills to manage it
Though it is an economical option for growing a business, your
overall cost might increase because you will need a developer to
manage and maintain the server.
3. Cloud Hosting
This web hosting service requires more than one virtual server that will host the site. This is to ensure that the site does not get influenced because of the increase in traffic of other shared sites.
Instead of depending on a single server, Cloud hosting depends on a cluster of servers to function, thus downtime is rare. Owners of big eCommerce websites with multiple websites and a large number of visitors could benefit from this web hosting.
The table below summarises the pros and cons of cloud hosting.
There is very little to zero chance of hardware failure or downtime
Easily manages high traffic on-site through load balancing
Protects your site from viruses or DDoS attacks
Helps the site to scale because of not depending on a single server
You might or might not get root access to the server.
It is quite expensive from the shared and Virtual private hosting
4. WordPress Hosting
This hosting is particularly for WordPress sites. It improves the security and performance of sites on WordPress, a popular content management system. While WordPress sites could also work on other hosting types, this hosting might make things easier for users.
This hosting type is different from other hosting options because of its various WordPress-specific features, such as security tools and a one-click installer. Some hosting providers might also provide you access to the support team of WordPress.
The various pros and cons of this hosting are:
It is beginner-friendly because of its economical price
It is best for WordPress sites as it optimizes their performance
Access to a customer support team, trained particularly for
WordPress issues
Get pre-installed themes and plugins of WordPress
If you do not have a site on WordPress, you might not get impressed
by this web hosting.
5. Dedicated Hosting
With dedicated hosting, you get a separate physical server for your website. This means you can manage the server as per your choice. You can choose the operating system, and software, configure the server and maintain all the other things in your hosting as per your specifications.
Opting for dedicated hosting is like having your own server. The complementary benefit is a trained team to guide you. If you are a large business owner with a full-fledged site, you should choose dedicated hosting only.
Here are the pros and cons of dedicated hosting.
Have full control over the configuration of your server
It offers high reliability
You get root access to the server
Super costly, not affordable or useful to small business owners
You need to have intermediate server and technical knowledge.
Now you know all types of hosting and their advantages and disadvantages. But besides that, you should also know the features that are a must-have in your web hosting.
Things To Look At In Your Web-Hosting Provider
There are infinite web hosting providers in the market. This means you have tons of options to select your provider. Now, this leads to confusion about which one is the best. Do not worry, here are the factors you need to analyse to choose the perfect web hosting provider for you.
Types of Hosting they Offer
Most website owners think that today they can only afford shared hosting, so they can go for a hosting provider that provides good shared hosting features. But this could be a huge mistake.
Today you might have a small website whose needs could be easily fulfilled by shared hosting but your website might grow. After some time, when your visitors will increase or you will need more space, shared hosting will fail to cater for its need.
You will have to switch to different hosting types which would be easier if you look for a hosting provider that offers all hosting types.
If you are not good at tech skills, look for a hosting provider that
offers a control panel. This lets you manage your hosting account and
user interface without logging in to the web server.
What if you visit a site and find that the server is down? If this
happens once, you might visit that site another time. But if this
becomes frequent, you will ultimately stop using that website.
Similarly, if your users will frequently face downtime or unstable web
servers, they will gradually stop visiting your site. Thus, make sure
that the web hosting provider you choose genuinely offers the uptime
they show in their advertisements.
There are several technical aspects you need to check with your hosting
provider to ensure that your website will run smoothly. Some of those
specifications include bandwidth, processing power, and disk space among
others.
Nowadays, it has become too easy to access reviews from consumers who
have already used a particular service. Most trustable and reputed
websites, such as the Fynd platform provide testimonials on their social
media pages or sites.
Make sure the web hosting provider you choose has good online reviews.
Also, if you cannot find the testimonials or reviews on their site, run
immediately, the side might be a terrible one.
Your primary aim is to protect your site and the users on it from any
virus or DDoS attacks. So, make sure the hosting provider you choose has
advanced security tools and mechanisms. This will not only keep your
site safe but also help you to attract users by offering them trust.
If you are a business owner, there is zero to the rare possibility that
you are a tech geek. You will absolutely have no knowledge about the
technical aspects of a server. This means that if something goes wrong,
you will need outside help.
If the customer support of your web hosting provider will not be
suitable, it could make your experience worse. Thus, make sure that the
hosting provider has a dedicated customer support team. Also, it is
better to choose providers with 24/7 customer support.
Besides these, a good hosting service also offers complementary
features, such as a business email account and SSL certificate. So,
check for them too.
So, these were some of the things to look for in your web hosting
provider. But is this enough??? Of Course not! A significant factor to
consider is website hosting cost. You will learn more about it in the
subsequent section.
Website Hosting Cost in India
The website hosting cost is different for each type of hosting. Through this section, you will learn about the range of prices available for each type of hosting in India. You will also learn about some top sites that offer economical pricing and good service.
1. Cost For Shared Hosting
Most people begin their web hosting journey with shared hosting only. As it is one of the most economical web hosting types with a target audience of small businesses, its prices vary from $2.20 to $22.99 monthly.
Here are some top shared hosting providers and their prices.
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Among these, HostGator is among the most popular website hosting that offers unlimited bandwidth with all its plans and also has a great support team. Bluehost is also a good option but comparatively has a lower rating than HostGator.
2. Cost For VPS Hosting
It is the next hosting type that small business owners prefer after shared hosting. The target audience of this hosting is also small website owners with comparatively more visitors than shared hosting sites. The price plan for this hosting varies from $2 to $110 monthly.
Here is a list of VPS web hosting providers and their plans.
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While Bluehost is comparatively expensive than other hosting providers, it is among the one that offers rich features. It includes rare unlimited domains and a free IP address that attracts website owners.
Moreover, it is also known for its support and help the team. It has a strong online reputation. After Bluehost, HostGator and InMotion are among the top choices of users.
3. Cost For Cloud Hosting
If your business is not ready to handle even a second of downtime, then cloud hosting would serve your purpose. The hosting providers with the best cloud hosting always have a backup server to ensure that your website’s information is available for your consumers.
In comparison to its features, it is inexpensive with prices ranging from $4.50 to $240 monthly. Here is a table that lists some cloud hosting providers and their prices.
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4. Cost For WordPress Hosting
This hosting type is not suitable for every website owner. It is particularly built to serve the needs of WordPress sites more comfortably. Therefore its pricing is comparatively low to serve a small segment of consumers. The price range varies between $2.95 to $16.99 monthly.
Here is a table that summarises WordPress hosting costs for various hosting providers.
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You might notice a great difference in pricing for WordPress hosting. This is because of the difference in offerings of these plans. Thus, it is vital to read the features of each hosting provider carefully before selecting anyone.
5. Cost For Dedicated Hosting
Being a plan with full control over the server and other management, it is the costliest plan. It could vary between $47 to $539.99. This means that you are sure of your plan to take dedicated hosting.
You should not commit to it until your visitors are growing rapidly and all the other lower plans will fail to cater for your needs. Also, the pricing of this hosting type differs to a great extent.
The following table summarises some top companies offering dedicated hosting and their price.
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So these were the website hosting costs you can expect in India. Now the question is why did the pricing vary this much? Well, this is because of the resources a particular plan offers to your site.
Another thing that might arise in your mind is, are these the only costs for website hosting? With this cost would you be able to make a site? Of Course not, a site has many other things for which you might have to pay. The subsequent section will explain this in detail.
Overall Website Hosting Cost
Hosting a website involves various different costs. Till now you have only learned about a small part of website hosting costs. Now you have chosen only a place for your site, constructing the site will require some other costs too.
Some of these costs are :-
You already know about domain names. It works as your unique address.
Without a domain name, a consumer has to enter an IP address which is
quite tough to remember. Instead, if you have an attractive domain name
that is also memorable, users will easily find your site and will visit
frequently.
To register your domain name, you have to look for a reputed and trusted
registrar. Many web hosting platforms already offer domain name
registration that could make the website making the process smoother for
you.
But if your web host does not provide this facility, you have to spend
$10 to 15 for the same. If you choose to take domain names outside of
your web hosting provider, go for affordable ones by cost-cutting.
For instance, pick new TLDs, such as .online or .store that are
comparatively cheaper than the expensive ones, such as .org, .com, and
.net.
Moreover, the name could also affect the domain purchasing price. Some
names are more expensive than others. For instance, the domain name
business.com was priced at $345 million!!!
Another thing to consider is whether your domain name registrar provides
domain privacy protection or not. This feature is to provide safety to
the personal information of domain name owners. Some might charge extra
for it while others offer it for free.
SSL certificate is a security tool that protects your website data (
through encrypting it) while transferring from a web server to any
browser. The primary function is to protect sensitive information from
any unauthorised user.
The price of getting an SSL certificate ranges from free to $450
annually. The average cost is $50. The price depends on various factors,
such as its capacity to cover subdomains and domains.
Also, there are three types of TLS or SSL certificates that vary on the
basis of their validation level. They are domain-validated certificates,
extended-validation certificates, and organisation-validated
certificates.
While all three have the same purpose, a more sensitive site might
require a higher validation level than others. After getting an SSL
certificate, your site will get a little green lock before the URL in
the URL bar of the site.
While an SSL certificate is significant for all websites, it is
particularly important for the ones that involve financial transactions.
Also, if your users have to enter their personal details to log in to
your site, you should definitely take an SSL certificate.
Another thing to note here is that google or other search engines prefer
sites with SSL certificates over sites without that. This means your
site ranking might get down just because you do not have an SSL
certificate.
Some web hosting plans include SSL certificates while some demand extra
cost for it. If you are not willing to pay for it, you can get a free
SSL certificate through Encrypt. However, you need to have good
technical knowledge for that.
A website without a theme will not look attractive or engaging. It gives
a unique look to your site. Although most CMS or website builders offer
pre-made themes that are free too, most of them are not satisfying.
A very few CMS, such as Fynd Platform offer free themes that are treat
to the eyes. So, if you want to make your website attractive, you might
need to purchase a premium theme that costs between $5 to $290.
Extensions are to make your site more functional or add more features to
it. For instance, if you want to offer a chat box to your consumers on
the site or want to improve the security of your site, you will have to
use extensions.
To get an extension without using a website builder or CMS, you have to
depend on a third-party marketplace. This will let you add the required
plugins to your site. However, the cost of plugins could be very high
depending on their purpose.
You can also avail of a backup service that will ensure that your data
is safe in case of worse situations. It copies the files to a different
location than your web host server for unfavourable situations.
Some plans include backup and do not charge extra for it. Some providers
do not charge for backup but will charge if you need to restore them.
Another thing to note here is that you can back up your site on your own
but that requires some technical knowledge.
Moreover, that will also need you to maintain the backup and know how to
restore it. If you are not a techy person, you cannot work on guesses
because this includes a lot of risks.
In order to grow your site, reach more audience and enhance conversion
rate, you will need several marketing tools on your website. Although
you can market your site without these tools also, you will need them
for SEO, email campaigns, social media campaigns and advertising.
The cost of marketing tools depends on their use, varying from $10 to
$150 a month for each tool. Using some most reputed SEO tools could cost
you between $99 to $999. On the other hand, some of the best email
marketing tools range between $34 to $50 monthly.
You should select your marketing tools carefully and according to your
needs. Initially, when you have no consumers, you can work on SEO tools
and after having a good database of consumers, you can go for email
marketing tools.
The difference between an eCommerce website and a general website is
that the former includes an online store where consumers purchase
products. They are often more expensive to build than regular websites.
These sites require various additional features to sell and manage
services or products. The cost of an eCommerce website will depend on
several factors, traffic and the number of products and services you
have been the most significant of all.
On average, the various features cost $15 monthly each. However, the
number of people your site attracts and the size of your site will
decide the overall cost.
Some of the most significant eCommerce features would include an
eCommerce platform with basic features ( ranges between $10-$15 for core
features only ), Payment gateways for transactions ( ranges between $15
- $25 monthly for small size websites), and inventory management (might
cost around $1000 monthly if you avail from a reputed site).
SiteLock is also a security measure for web application firewalls,
regular malware scans, and protection from DDoS attacks. Although most
website hosting costs include SiteLock, some might charge extra for it.
However, the cost is usually low, around $2 per month. The worth of
money for SiteLock is a controversial topic with some people believing
it to be of no use.
So, these were some other website hosting costs. Now the question is do you really need to get into all this mess? Do you have to look for all these things separately and pay for them? Of course not! There is a shortcut!
And mind you, not all shortcuts are bad! Some could save you a lot of time and effort. One such shortcut is choosing a website builder or CMS.
Yes, instead of researching for each component of a website rather than paying for them and managing everything from different places, you can have one destination for all. You will learn more about it through the subsequent section.
Want to Start Selling Online with Fynd Platform?
Fynd Platform is our top-rated ecommerce website builder, and for
good reason with 30 days free trial!
If you have no knowledge of tech and only have an idea to build an eCommerce platform, you need to choose a CMS or website builder. Your headache would only be to reach a reputed CMS. After that, all your problems will be solved in one place.
A website builder usually offers all the components of a website, mentioned above in their plans. This means that once you have committed to a CMS, it will handle everything, from SSL certificates to extensions.
Searching for a trusted website builder could be a challenge for you. Therefore here is a list of some good website builders that could help you.
Fynd Platform
WIX
Shopify
WooCommerce
GoDaddy
Duda
WordPress
Among all these platforms, Fynd Platform has successfully made a different place in the audience's heart because of its amazing features, all-in-one plans, and affordable prices. You deserve to learn more about this platform. The next section will help you with it.
How Is Fynd Platform Most Useful For Ecommerce Store?