How much does UK Web Hosting Cost in 2024?

Introduction to Web Hosting Costs UK

Are you looking for the best web hosting service in the UK but can’t seem to decide which option is right for your current website, budget, and user needs?

If so, then you’ve come to the right place! In this article, we’ll go over everything you need to know about how much web hosting cost in the UK and help you choose a type of host that will make sense for your users and your business.

We’ll compare different hosts’ offerings so that by the end of this post, you’ll be able to evaluate what’s available on the market and make an educated decision regarding choosing a web host suited specifically to your needs at an affordable price point.

If you are in a rush, check out: https://hostadvice.com/?server_location=gb&sort=popularity

Here are some of the most popular hosting provider companies with data centres in the UK, along with their starting pricing (which may vary overtime): 

1. Overview of different types of web hosting and their associated costs in the UK

Understanding the different types of web hosting available and the associated costs in the UK is essential when selecting the optimal solution for your business needs.

• Shared hosting – Typically the most cost-effective choice and is suited to small personal or non-profit websites, but its limited resource sharing may be inadequate for larger websites.
• VPS (Virtual Private Server) – VPS hosting is good for small to medium-sized sites as it offers more control and resources than a shared account, albeit at a higher cost.
• Dedicated server hosting  – Dedicated hosting would be the best option for larger organisations requiring more horsepower, however, it comes with the highest price tag.
• Cloud hosting – Cloud can provide scalability but security issues must be kept in mind, whereas managed hosting will ensure smoother operations with experienced support staff but at premium fees.

2. Factors that impact web hosting cost

When you are researching web hosting options in the UK, there are a few key factors that need to be taken into consideration.

Generally, location will have an impact on reliability, and budget should be weighed up based on the level of support provided. It is also important to remember that cost is not always reflective of the quality of service; web hosting can be highly cost-effective when selecting a provider that provides good location coverage, reliable server uptime and excellent customer support.

https://www.pingdom.com/blog/web-hosting-now-vs-10-years-ago/

Ultimately, selecting a web hosting option depends upon your business needs; if you need a solution that combines both value and quality, it’s essential you take these factors into account prior to choosing a provider.

3. The pros and cons of shared, VPS, dedicated, and cloud hosting

Shared hosting is the most cost-effective type of UK web hosting, making it a great option for businesses and individuals on a budget. However, as servers are shared with other websites, performance isn’t always at its best and resources can become limited. VPS hosting offers more control and protection than shared hosting and allows you to manage the resources that come with your specific account. Dedicated server hosting provides the highest levels of control, allowing you to configure solutions just how they need to be. Although it’s more expensive than shared or VPS hosting, dedicated server hosting may be required for certain scalability needs. Finally, cloud hosting can provide cost savings over dedicated solutions as well as greater flexibility, allowing you to spin up instances quickly and easily based on demand. Each type of UK web hosting presents unique advantages and disadvantages so you’ll need to consider your own needs before making a choice.

4. Tips for choosing the right web hosting for your needs

When it comes to choosing the right web hosting for your needs, it’s important to consider user needs, traffic level, and what you can afford. The UK market provides an abundance of options for various budgets and user needs. Before investing in a hosting package, review user requirements such as storage space and bandwidth along with user behavior analytics. It is essential for finding the cost-effective solution that optimizes performance. Analysing user traffic from extended periods of time helps determine if the current budget allows for upgraded hosting plans or not; taking future growth into consideration is a key factor when making this decision. Therefore, selecting the ideal web hosting solution requires research and diligence in order to address user needs while fitting into the allocated budget.

Global Market share

5. Considerations for budget-friendly web hosting in the UK and beyond

When searching for budget-friendly web hosting, there are several factors to consider. In the UK market, many hosting services offer varying levels of pricing plans depending on scale and customer needs. Depending on the website type, it is important to choose a hosting provider with the right technical capabilities and options that accommodate your budget as well as performance requirements. Additionally, features such as domain registration, SSL certification, and customer support are always important to consider when making a decision. It is wise to research the available options carefully before committing to one service provider’s plan. Long-term relationships can provide customers with benefits in terms of stability and value over time. Overall, careful consideration will result in successful selection of web hosting service that adheres to budgetary constraints while still delivering optimal performance.

6. How to use free web hosting options to save money

When it comes to web hosting costs, very careful consideration should be taken when exploring the option of using a free web hosting service. Depending on the specific needs of a website and its larger purpose, the limitations of a free hosting service may not make them best suited for production websites. Always check the vendor very closely as there can be differences in terms and conditions as well as security measures. Free options are often very limited when compared with paid services so it is suggested that they only be used if absolutely necessary and very carefully vetted prior to purchase.

7. Shared Web Hosting Cost

Shared web hosting is a popular and cost-effective solution for businesses to host their website. For example, a basic shared UK web hosting plan could cost as little as £2.99/month, making it an attractive option for budget-minded companies looking to set up their first website. However, the overall cost of web hosting will depend on the type of plan you choose to use and the features and options that come with it. It is therefore important to compare different service providers and their respective packages before making an informed decision about which one best suits your business’s unique needs.

8. VPS Hosting Cost

VPS hosting offers a range of cost options to match different monthly budgets. As an example, for a basic tier plan, you can expect monthly costs in the range of £4-£20 in the UK market. When considering VPS hosting, it is important that you also take into account the type of service the hosting provider will offer, such as uptime levels, technical support and available storage space. Different packages may include additional services at various costs so make sure you research your options thoroughly before choosing web hosting that best meets your needs.

9. Dedicated Server Hosting Cost

Dedicated server hosting is more expensive than a shared server solution, but it gives you unparalleled control and power over your website or application. If you are looking for higher performance, more bandwidth and more storage space then dedicated hosting may be the way to go. However, before going down this route it is important to understand exactly what you need – as the wrong choice could cost more than necessary – and you also need to know your stuff when it comes to setup and server maintenance. On average, UK businesses can expect to pay anything from £30-£150 (£180-£900 in extreme cases) each month for dedicated hosting solutions, so this should give you an indication of what kind of costs are involved.

10. Cloud Hosting Cost

One can assume that cloud hosting can be a bit intimidating and can be expensive to get started with, but it can be one of the best solutions for your web hosting needs in the UK. It offers a scalable hosting solution which allows you to add or subtract services as needed – making it an ideal choice for any business’ budgeting needs. Due to its inherent scalability, cloud hosting can also provide better performance and more secure resources when compared to other types of web hosting available in the UK market. Ultimately, while cloud hosting can appear costly at first, investing in this type of web hosting can result in a much lower overhead cost over time – without sacrificing quality.

11. Managed Hosting Cost

If you lack the technical knowhow to manage web hosting on your own, managed hosting might be the better option for you. This type of web hosting is managed by others and takes away most of the headaches associated with setting up and maintaining a website; however, it can be an expensive option that costs more than other types of hosting in the UK market, such as shared or VPS hosting. Evaluating managed hosting cost compared to other offerings can help you decide if this solution is right for your website.

12. Agency Hosting Cost

Agencies tend to resell hosting space and can be unnecessarily complex and premium compared to purchasing the services direct. This is because the cost will depend on individual providers, as well as features and usage levels and are completely dependent on agency experience, preference and vision. Consequently, the price of hosting service can vary greatly, so it is important that prospective buyers take the time to compare providers in order to ensure that they are getting the best deal for their business. With sound research into hosting prices and packages, businesses can find a package that works appropriate for their budget in the UK market and suggest that to the agency. Rather than other way around.

13. Freelancer Hosting Cost

It is important understand for freelancers are usually not server admins or cloud engineers, they often are unable to plan or predict traffic capacity or quality of service – thus are limited somewhat limited in their choice. When getting a freelancer to help with selecting web hosting service, do the additional research yourself. Try to understand and take into consideration things like long term storage requirements, target uptime percentages and tech support if your website is down (they could be DJing in Ibiza) so that you are able to select the best web hosting provider that works for your situation.

14. Actual Hosting Cost

Deciding on your web hosting package is not a decision to take lightly, but here’s a general tip. Whichever type or provider you choose, it’s important know the specification and check the prices direct with a variety of providers in the UK. Checking for hidden fees or extra charges. Generally speaking however, if you are buying hosting via proxy (agency, freelancer, managed, etc.), you shouldn’t expect to pay more than a 20% markup on the base provider monthly/yearly subscription fees.

15. Overly Complex Hosting

With web hosting cost and type comparison based on the UK market, some clients may be enticed by exaggerated specs or overly complex hosting plans simply because of being a known brand. However, it is important to at least consider not overspending your budget on completely unnecessary complex environments within the top three providers. In most cases, a simpler, scalable and reliable vendor, possibly in different country, can exceed your needs and save you a ton of money without compromising the quality of service in anyway. Then you can spend that 10K (or a lot, lot more) on promoting the brand or optimising your website.

16. Specialist Hosting Services

Specialist hosting services can be amazing and rather expensive, also a bit challenging to select. However, all that performance can be achieved with some upfront investment, it is possible to create an top performing, optimized stack for any platform, but they offer that out of the box. Choosing specialist hosting services is great if you are looking for specific features or capabilities that are either not included or are worth an additional expenditure when using other hosting solutions. With the right provider, it is possible to get amazing results, reliability, support and maintenance, but it comes at a very high and ongoing price.

17. Known Vendors Reselling Known Vendors

When it comes to choosing a web hosting service provider, there is no shortage of vendors. In many cases known tech brands are reselling underling cloud services at a rather high markup with almost zero benefit to the client. As in, known vendors who resell other known vendors. Problem being, cloud providers are expensive as they are, so a vendor will get a bulk discount and build some sort of service on top of the cloud. Then price their service at a competitive or higher level than cloud. Providing what looks like a better, more reliable and specialist service. When in reality it’s pretty much the same thing, but with a control panel and a logo, at much higher price. It’s important to do your research with any new provider to make sure everything checks out logically.

18. Hosting Evaluation

Evaluating the right web host for your website is essential to ensure smooth running and successful online presence. When making hosting decisions, pay attention to reviews around their support services, pricing, uptime reliability, SLA agreements as well as market share of each provider. Research carefully to determine which hosting solution will support the needs of your business and make sure that any chosen web hosts offer support services when needed. Compare options from existing providers in the UK market to identify the ideal hosting environment for your website.

19. Managing Hosting In-house

Managing a hosting solution in-house requires in-house specialists who are able to set up, maintain, and keep the server up to date; this requires both detailed technical knowledge and constant monitoring. Although managing hosting solutions internally can give ultimate control over the server, it requires a lot of experienced man power and can be overly complex. Furthermore, control measures need to be put in place to ensure malware threats and security flaws don’t take place as that could lead to costly consequences. If a company is looking for total control and customisation of its hosting then they should consider managing it in-house.

20. Hosting Service Level Agreements

When it comes to web hosting, good service is key, and that’s where SLAs (Service Level Agreements) come in. These legal documents provide transparency and detail how web hosting services should be provided. If a problem arises, good SLAs give you the assurance that it will be addressed promptly. That’s why for bigger corporate customers or those in the financial sector – particularly if a company is publicly traded – good service level agreements are an essential. Of course, many other companies benefit from these too and good SLAs make sound business sense by giving you peace of mind that the service you receive meets your expectations. Audits between providers and clients help maintain good relations, which keeps everyone on track when it comes to service requirements.

21. Sustainable Web Hosting

In recent years, we’ve seen a big shift of focus towards renewables. The trend also led to various hosting companies going greed. A sustainable web hosting company is one that takes measures to reduce its environmental impact. These measures may include using renewable energy to power their servers, carbon offsetting, energy-efficient hardware, or various other green practices. These companies aim to provide the same quality of service as traditional hosts while contributing less to global warming.

One such organisation advocating for green web hosting is The Green Web Foundation. The Green Web Foundation is an initiative committed to promoting a sustainable internet. Their mission is to help speed up the transition towards a completely green internet. They achieve this by developing tools and APIs for developers to help check and track the ‘greenness’ of hosting platforms. Furthermore, they maintain a directory of hosting companies that run on renewable energy, thus encouraging the adoption of green hosting services.

Here are a few known green hosting providers:

• GreenGeeks – 300% green energy match
• DreamHost – Carbon neutral
• Acorn Host – Green energy credits
• A2 Hosting – Carbon neutral
• Bluehost – Energy-efficient infrastructure
• Kualo – 100% renewable energy
• HostPapa – Green energy certificates
• Raidboxes – Climate-positive WordPress hosting
• Eco Web Hosting – Plants trees and invests in green initiatives
• Krystal – UK’s largest independent green hosting company

22. Which Are the Best Hosting Providers for the Top .NET and PHP CMS Platforms?

Choosing the right Content Management System (CMS) is a pivotal decision for your website or blog. Each CMS has its strengths and weaknesses, and the optimal choice heavily depends on your specific requirements. In this guide, we will introduce the top five most popular CMS platforms for both .NET and PHP.

.NET is a popular framework for building a variety of applications and is widely used in the corporate environment due to its robustness and scalability. PHP, on the other hand, is an open-source server-side scripting language widely used for web development. Its flexibility and simplicity make it a popular choice for web developers.

For each CMS, we provide a brief introduction, the hosting requirements, and recommendations for the best hosting providers that cater to these requirements. Remember, the right hosting provider not only ensures smooth operation but can also provide crucial support for the growth of your website or blog. Let’s dive in!

.NET CMS Platforms:

1. Umbraco: Umbraco is an open-source CMS platform for publishing content on the web and intranets. It is written in C#. The best hosting for Umbraco would be a provider that offers ASP.NET hosting, such as SmarterASP.NET.
Hosting requirements: Windows Server, IIS, SQL Server, ASP.NET

2. DNN (DotNetNuke): DNN is a web content management system and web application framework based on .NET. The DNN Platform Edition is open source. The best hosting for DNN would be a Windows-based hosting provider like Winhost.
Hosting requirements: Windows Server, IIS, SQL Server, ASP.NET

3. Sitefinity: Sitefinity is a content management system (CMS) designed by Telerik. The best hosting for Sitefinity would be a provider with strong support for ASP.NET, like Liquid Web.
Hosting requirements: Windows Server, IIS, SQL Server, ASP.NET

4. Kentico: Kentico is a CMS for ASP.NET. The best hosting for Kentico would be a Windows-based hosting provider, like DiscountASP.NET.
Hosting requirements: Windows Server, IIS, SQL Server or MySQL, ASP.NET

5. Sitecore: Sitecore is a customer experience management company that provides web content management, and multichannel marketing automation software. The best hosting for Sitecore would be a provider with strong support for ASP.NET and dedicated resources, like Microsoft Azure.
Hosting requirements: Windows Server, IIS, SQL Server, ASP.NET

PHP CMS Platforms:

1. WordPress: WordPress is a free and open-source CMS written in PHP. The best hosting for WordPress would be a provider with strong support for PHP and MySQL, like Bluehost or SiteGround.
Hosting requirements: Apache or NGINX, MySQL 5.6 or higher, PHP 7.4 or higher

2. Drupal: Drupal is a free and open-source web content management framework written in PHP. The best hosting for Drupal would be a provider with strong support for PHP and MySQL, like InMotion Hosting.
Hosting requirements: Apache, MySQL/MariaDB/SQLite, PHP

3. Joomla: Joomla is a free and open-source CMS for publishing web content. The best hosting for Joomla would be a provider with strong support for PHP and MySQL, like HostGator.
Hosting requirements: Apache or Microsoft IIS, MySQL, PHP

4. Magento: Magento is an open-source e-commerce platform written in PHP. The best hosting for Magento would be a provider with strong support for PHP, MySQL and good resources for an e-commerce platform, like Nexcess.
Hosting requirements: Apache or NGINX, MySQL, PHP

5. Craft CMS: Craft CMS is a flexible, user-friendly CMS. The best hosting for Craft CMS would be a provider with strong support for PHP and MySQL or PostgreSQL, like Cloudways.
Hosting requirements: Apache or NGINX, MySQL or PostgreSQL, PHP

Please remember that the above hosting requirements are the basic software requirements to run each CMS. Each CMS might have specific server requirements, and depending on the traffic and load on your website, you might need different server specifications. It’s always a good practice to discuss these details with your agency or the hosting provider sales team.

23. How Much Web Hosting Storage Do You Need?

The amount of storage you require for web hosting largely depends on the type of website you’re building and the content management system (CMS) you’re using. Websites can vary greatly in size, from simple landing pages that take up minimal space, to comprehensive e-commerce sites with thousands of product images, or sites that host videos which can be significantly larger.

Popular CMS and Their Typical Website Sizes:

1. WordPress
   • Typical Size: A basic WordPress installation requires around 30MB of disk space. However, after considering themes, plugins, and media uploads (e.g., images, videos), an average small to medium-sized business website might use between 500MB to 1.5GB.
   • Best Hosting for WordPress: Providers like SiteGround or Bluehost are renowned for their WordPress hosting services. They offer scalable solutions that accommodate growth.
2. Joomla
   • Typical Size: The core Joomla system requires around 50MB of space. With extensions and media, a general Joomla site may use anywhere from 100MB to over 1GB, depending on content volume.
   • Best Hosting for Joomla: Hostinger offers robust Joomla-specific hosting options that cater to various needs.
3. Drupal
   • Typical Size: A standard Drupal installation can be as compact as 15MB. Including modules and content, an average Drupal site’s size can range from 100MB to 1.5GB or more.
   • Best Hosting for Drupal: A2 Hosting is well-regarded in the Drupal community for its speed and reliability.
4. Umbraco (.NET)
   • Typical Size: A base install of Umbraco might take up about 100MB. Depending on customisations, plugins, and media, a medium-sized Umbraco site could be 1GB to 2.5GB.
   • Best Hosting for Umbraco: Companies like Microsoft Azure provide cloud hosting tailored for .NET platforms like Umbraco.
5. DNN (DotNetNuke, .NET)
   • Typical Size: A fresh DNN installation requires around 100MB to 150MB. When you account for skins, modules, and other content, a typical site might range from 500MB to several gigabytes.
   • Best Hosting for DNN: Providers like Managed.com specialise in DNN hosting, ensuring smooth performance.

Factors Influencing Web Hosting Storage Needs:

1. Media Files: If your website contains lots of images, videos, or audio files, you’ll need more storage.
2. Emails: If you’re using your hosting provider’s email service and you store emails on the server, they will occupy storage space.
3. Databases: Dynamic websites rely on databases, and these databases grow as your website gets more traffic and content.
4. Backups: Regular backups are essential for website security, but they also take up space.
5. Logs & Data: Over time, server logs and other data files can accumulate and occupy significant space.

It’s good to always anticipate your future needs and leave a lot of contingency. Basically, have a buffer, so you don’t quickly outgrow your plan. Monitoring your storage usage regularly and cleaning old backups, emails, or unnecessary files can also help manage your storage efficiently.

Summary

When it comes to web hosting for the UK market, there is a wide range of options ranging from shared plans up to much complex infrastructures.

The type of solution you need depends on your own needs and resources. Shared hosting is usually sufficient for small sites and businesses, whereas more complex hosting solutions such as dedicated server hosting, cloud hosting or managed hosting can provide a more robust solution for larger enterprises.

You also have to consider your budget when choosing a host, as the cost of web hosting can vary significantly.

Utilising free web hosting options can be a great way to save money and still get reliable coverage. Evaluating all these factors before making a decision on which host to go with is essential in order to ensure that you get the optimal service at the right price.

Get in touch today if you want help finding the right web hosting solution for you; whether that’s consolidating and scaling up or scaling out!