Introduction to web hosting costs
Have you ever wondered how much web hosting costs?
Which provider to choose?
Why do some charge €2 per month and others €30 per month?
Sit back, breathe, we'll explain it all calmly...
In a world where online presence has become crucial, understanding the costs associated with web hosting is essential.
Let's delve into the fascinating world of web hosting costs and find out what influences these prices.
Table of contents
- What is web hosting?
- Why is web hosting necessary?
- Factors influencing the cost of accommodation
- Type of accommodation
- Shared accommodation
- VPS hosting
- Dedicated hosting
- Additional features
- How can I save on accommodation costs?
- Supplier comparison
- Comparison table
- Recommendation
- Take advantage of promotions
- Pitfalls to avoid
- Conclusion
- FAQ
What is web hosting?
Web hosting is a service that makes your website accessible on the Internet. It's like renting space on a server where your website "lives". In simple terms, without hosting, your site would just be a collection of files with no way of being seen by the world.
Think of your server as the land on which your house will be built.
You'll then understand more easily the importance of choosing the right web host from the outset, to avoid moving your house later on.
In this article we'll compare the different types of web servers, their costs and the functionalities of each.
Why is web hosting necessary?
Imagine your website as a house.
Without land (hosting), where are you going to build that house?
Web hosting provides the infrastructure needed to keep your site up and running, guaranteeing 24/7 availability for visitors from all over the world.
What factors influence the cost of accommodation?
The cost of web hosting can vary depending on a number of factors, from the type of hosting you choose to the additional features you require.
The 3 types of accommodation
There are different types of accommodation, each with its own cost and adapted to specific needs.
- Shared accommodation
It's like living in an apartment. You share resources with others, which makes it affordable, but sometimes less efficient if one of the sites consumes too many resources.
- VPS hosting
A bit like having your own condo. You have a dedicated portion of the resources, offering more stability and performance than shared hosting.
- Dedicated hosting
It's like having your own home. All the server resources are yours, offering maximum performance, but at a higher cost.
Additional features
Items such as SSL certificates for security, regular backups for data protection, and domains or professional e-mail addresses can add to the cost. It's essential to determine which features are crucial to your site.
How can I save on accommodation costs?
There are many ways to save money on web hosting, but it requires research and patience.
Comparison of 5 providers for your web hosting
Always compare before you buy. Some suppliers offer better deals than others, with discounts for long-term commitments.
Price list:
- Premium hosting: €2.89/month (normal price €11.99/month) for a 48-month order. Renewal price: €5.99/month.
- Business Hosting: €4.99/month (normal price €15.99/month) for a 48-month order. Renewal price: €7.99/month.
- Cloud Startup Hosting: €9.99/month (normal price €19.99/month) for a 48-month order. Renewal price: €16.99/month.
Performance:
- Premium Hosting: Standard performance, 100 websites, 100 GB NVMe storage, weekly backups, unlimited free SSL, unlimited bandwidth, free email, free CDN.
- Business Hosting: Increased performance (up to 5x), 100 websites, 200 GB NVMe storage, daily backups, unlimited free SSL, unlimited bandwidth, free email, free CDN.
- Startup Cloud Hosting: Maximum performance (up to 10x), 300 websites, 200 GB NVMe storage, daily backups, unlimited free SSL, unlimited bandwidth, free email, free CDN.
Reviews of Trustpilot:
- Hostinger has a rating of 4.8/5 based on 1,237 reviews.
Other information:
- Hostinger offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.
- They guarantee 99.9% availability.
- Hostinger focuses on security with features such as DDoS protection, web application firewall, Cloudflare-protected DNS, and free WHOIS privacy protection.
- They offer 24/7 assistance.
- Hostinger also offers managed WordPress hosting solutions, a no-code website builder, and various security features.
Price list:
- Beginner: €0/3 months (promotion), then €6.99/month.
- Explorateur: €0/3 months (promotion), then €12.99/month.
- Enthusiast: €0/3 months (promotion), then €17.99/month.
- Pro: €0/3 months (promotion), then €26.99/month.
Performance:
- Beginner: 1 website supported, 50 GB SSD storage, unlimited e-mail accounts, daily backup.
- Explorer: 1 website supported, 100 GB SSD storage, unlimited e-mail accounts, daily backup.
- Enthusiastic: 5 websites supported, 200 GB SSD storage, unlimited e-mail accounts, daily backup and restore.
- Pro: 10 websites supported, 750 GB SSD storage, unlimited e-mail accounts with premium features, daily backup and restore.
Other information:
- All plans include a 3-month free trial.
- Free SSL certificate included in all plans.
- 24/7 support.
- Free website creation tool.
- Free credit for Google ads.
- Web statistics to analyze visitor behavior.
Price list:
- The Unique Offer: The site doesn't explicitly mention the price of the unique offer, but it does say that they offer a single, all-inclusive, unlimited web hosting package.
Performance:
- Technology: O2switch uses NVMe SSD technology for its hosting.
- Performance: Thanks to NVMe technology and Varnish or LSCache caches, sites can be up to 20x faster.
- Connectivity: Hosting servers use a premium, redundant network, and are secured by Arbor Anti-DDoS to serve pages as close as possible to visitors.
- Technologies: O2switch provides the latest innovations for developers and beginners.
Other information:
- Migration: If your site is hosted elsewhere, O2switch offers up to 1 year's hosting to facilitate migration.
- Support: They offer ultra-reactive support, with technicians based in France.
- Guarantee: Satisfied or your money back for 30 days without explanation.
- Location: Data is hosted in France, and O2switch manages its own datacenter with no intermediaries.
Price list:
- Personal Hosting: From €2.99 excl. tax/month.
- Pro Hosting: From €5.99 excl. tax/month.
- Performance Hosting: From €9.99 excl. tax/month.
- Cloud Web Hosting: From €9.99 excl. tax/month.
Performance:
- Technology: OVH uses SSD disks for its hosting services.
- Performance: OVH offers a 99.9% uptime guarantee.
- Connectivity: OVH has 30 datacenters worldwide, including anti-DDoS protection.
- Technologies: OVH offers a multitude of technologies and software for developers.
Other information:
- Migration: OVH offers solutions to facilitate the migration of your site.
- Support: OVH offers 24/7 technical support.
- Guarantee: 30-day money-back guarantee.
- Location: OVH is a French company with datacenters all over the world.
Note: Although OVH is one of the market leaders, some users have reported problems with their customer service and unexpected downtime. It is therefore advisable to exercise caution before choosing OVH as your hosting provider.
General description: Combell is a hosting provider that seems to be well established, particularly in the Benelux region. They offer a variety of services, from website hosting to tailor-made IT solutions for large-scale projects.
Offers and prices:
- Web hosting :
- Normal price: € 15.99/month
- Promotional price: € 5.99/month
- WordPress hosting :
- WordPress is pre-installed.
- Choice between WordPress 4, 5 or 6.
- Normal price: € 15.99/month
- Promotional price: € 5.99/month
- Managed WordPress :
- With Site Assistant and test and backup environments.
- Normal price: € 15.99/month
- Promotional price: € 7.48/month
- Dedicated web hosting :
- For large-scale websites and applications.
- 99.999% uptime guarantee.
- Price: € 229.00/month
- Mailboxes :
- Mailboxes synchronized on all your devices.
- Promotional price: € 3.99/month
- Microsoft 365 :
- Professional mailbox with to-do lists and calendars.
- Normal price: € 5.53/month
- Promotional price: € 5.40/month
- E-mail marketing :
- Creation of e-mailing campaigns and newsletters.
- Normal price: € 25.00/month
- Promotional price: € 23.00/month
- RGPD compliance software :
- Normal price: € 3.99/month
- Promotional price: € 1.99/month
Support:
- Combell offers 24/7 support. You can contact them at any time, even on public holidays.
- Telephone number: 0800-8-5678
Other information:
- Combell focuses on RGPD compliance and even offers a tool to analyze your website's compliance.
- They offer a money-back guarantee, which shows their confidence in the quality of their products.
- They boast a fully redundant infrastructure that keeps your website online at all times.
Comparison of 5 providers (OVH, Combell, Hostinger, O2switch and Combell)
| Supplier | Basic offer | Description | Standard price | Promotional price |
| Hostinger | Simple Web Hosting | 1 site, 30 GB space, 100 GB bandwidth | €6.99/month | €1.99/month |
| One | Beginner Plan | 1 site, 50 GB of space, free SSL | €14.99/month | €1.99/month (1st year) |
| O2switch | Unique offer | Unlimited sites, unlimited space, free SSL certificate | €5/month | No promotion |
| OVH | Personal Hosting | 1 site, 100 GB of space, 10 e-mails of 5 GB each | €7.99/month | 1.04€ for the first year |
| Combell | Web hosting | 1 site, unlimited space and traffic, free SSL | €15.99/month | €5.99/month |
Factors influencing the cost of accommodation
When choosing hosting for your website, several factors will influence the final price. Understanding these elements will allow you to better predict costs and choose the option that best suits your needs:
- Hosting type: Options vary between shared hosting, VPS, dedicated server, and managed hosting. Shared hosting is often the most economical, while dedicated servers are the most expensive.
- Resource requirements: CPU, RAM, disk space and bandwidth are crucial to your site's performance. The more resources your site requires, the higher the cost.
- Security and support: Advanced security options such as SSL certificates, anti-DDoS protection and 24/7 technical support can also add to the price.
Hosting company reputation: A hosting company with a good reputation may charge a higher price, but this is often justified by better quality of service and fewer technical problems.
Choosing the right web host: a few tips
Choosing the right web host is crucial to ensuring the performance and security of your site. Here are a few tips to help you select the best provider:
- Evaluate your needs: Determine the resources required for your site (bandwidth, disk space, etc.) and check whether the host can provide them.
- Consider customer support: Good customer support is essential. Make sure the hosting provider offers fast, competent support.
- Compare prices: Don't just look at the cost, but also compare what's included in each offer. Sometimes, paying a little more for better-quality hosting can save you a lot of trouble in the long run.
- Read reviews: Reviews from other users often tell you a lot about a web host's quality. Research and read reviews to get an idea of their reputation.
These sections provide detailed, practical information to help users understand the various costs involved and make the best choice of hosting provider for their specific needs. By adopting a professional yet accessible tone, they will significantly enrich the content of your site.
Our recommendation
Of the above options, Hostinger stands out for its competitive rates and extensive features. It offers an excellent combination of price, performance and features, making it an excellent choice for those looking for affordable yet reliable web hosting.
Pitfalls to avoid
Beware of too-good-to-be-true offers and web hosts with hard-to-reach customer service.
Always read the fine print, and make sure you understand renewal costs, hidden fees, and service limitations (such as automatic backups of your website).
Conclusion
The cost of web hosting depends on many factors, but with careful research you can find an offer that offers good value for money. Do your research, compare offers, and choose the one that best suits your needs and budget.
Frequently asked questions
Shared hosting is generally the least expensive.
It's ideal for small sites with just a few pages.
Some hosts offer it for free, but not all.
Choose a host that includes it in its offer (most of them do in 2023), like Hostinger.
99% of them will offer you a .com domain free of charge for the first year.
However, if you want a .be or .fr domain, you'll have to pay between €8 and €25/year.
Yes, but it may require a bit of technical work.
So it's best to take the time to compare the different offers from the outset, so you can choose the one best suited to your needs.
It all depends on your needs.
For a professional site, it's generally preferable to choose paid hosting.
Shared hosting can lead to reduced performance, longer loading times and greater security risks, as you share space with other sites.
With a VPS, you have greater control and customization than with shared hosting, but less than with dedicated hosting, which offers total control over the server environment.
The bandwidth required depends on your site's traffic, file size and number of pages. Use online tools such as: https: //www.site24x7.com/fr/tools/website-bandwidth-calculator.html
Some providers may have hidden fees for additional services, such as site backups or professional emails. Always read the terms and conditions and ask questions before signing up.
SSL certificates secure the connection between the website and your visitors, improving trust and search engine rankings. Some web hosts offer free SSLs.
Launch your website without breaking the bank: our clever tips!
We've got some golden tips for you! Whether you're a whiz at coding or just starting out, these tips will help you save money on web hosting. Let's get started!
1. Start simple with shared hosting
There are a whole host of web hosting options, but we'd advise you to start with shared hosting. It's like sharing an apartment with friends: economical and fun to start with. And when your site starts to become popular, you can upgrade to an apartment just for you, with faster hosting to pamper your visitors.
2. Choose a reputable web host
There are thousands of web hosts, but not all of them are the same. Our tip? Choose a web host known for its quality and good reviews, like Hostinger or o2Switch. With them, you'll be sure of no unpleasant surprises, and you'll have someone at the end of the phone if you need help.
3. Top-notch customer service!
When choosing your hosting provider, think about customer service. Good support is like having great insurance: it's reassuring! Opt for a service that can be reached 24/7. That way, if your site goes down at the weekend, you won't be alone.
4. Avoid free hosting offers
Free hosting is tempting, but it's often full of pitfalls: unwanted ads, limitations of all kinds... In short, it can quickly become a headache and give your site a less-than-professional image. Better to invest a little to avoid trouble!
5. Think long-term for greater savings
Taking out a long-term hosting subscription is like buying in bulk: it's cheaper! Hosting providers often offer rock-bottom prices for long-term commitments. What's more, you won't have to worry about price rises.
6. Everything under one roof: domain name and hosting
Get your domain name from your hosting provider. It's often cheaper and saves you a lot of running around. Many hosting companies include the domain name and SSL certificate in their packages. It's simpler and saves you money!
Website design in Brussels
Are you at a loss and need help creating a website in Brussels?
Contact us for a free, no-obligation quote.
