When I first started my venture on the Internet, I stuck in not one, but two, ridiculous hosting deals. I was spending senseless money on a reseller hosting account that I do not need and on a web host that has literally less than 10 features. The first one was Network Eleven (I am not even sure if they are still around or not) – they still owe me about a hundred bucks as they refused to process my cancellations for months; and the second one was Gate.com. Both companies were the classic examples of businesses running on “charge as much as we can; deliver as little as possible” motto.
Those experiences suck, but I only have myself to blame on. That is the price of being naïve.
I do not want it to happen on you. Hence, I wrote this article. This is not about me, it’s about you. I am here to show you the truth, teach you how to be a good cheap-host-hunter, and help you save some money on hosting.
So, ready? Let’s rock and roll.
TL; DR: What’s In This Guide
This cheap hosting guide consists of the following subjects –
Basic understanding on current budget hosting business.
Cheap hosting services I recommend
Common problems (and solutions) with cheap web host.
List of some of the cheapest hosting services in market (below $5/mo, see chart on right).
How Cheap Is Cheap?
First, let’s define the term “cheap”.
In order to fall into the ‘cheap web hosting’ category, how cheap a hosting plan needs to be?
Being in this line for more than a decade, I see hosting prices drop drastically for the past 10 years – first, we called $8.95/mo cheap, then $7.95/mo, $6.95/mo, $4.95/mo, and it goes as low as $1.95/mo in certain occasions these days.
So how cheap is cheap (by today’s standard)?
Quick answer: Below $5/mo, with adequate features.
By adequate features, I mean hosting services that come with features that match current market standard. The standards may change from time to time (for example years ago a $5/mo hosting deal can get you only 6 addon domains, 5GB storage, and 10GB data transfer; now everything goes unlimited).
At this time of writing, a standard cheap hosting deal should at least cover sufficient power to host at least 50 – 100 not-so-active domains with basic web statistics support, email and web mail services, auto script installations, updated PHP and MySQL, basic after-sale technical support, and at least 99.8% server uptime. It would be a plus if the host can provide regular server backup, periodic malware scanning, and additional dedicated IP as well as private SSL certifications; but honestly you really can’t ask for too much with a host cheaper than your coffee.
Cheap Web Hosts I Recommend
A2 Hosting: http://svsrev.net/a2hosting
Altushost: https://www.altushost.com/
Arvisehost: http://www.arvixe.com/
Common Problems With Cheap Web Hosting Services (And How To Deal With It)
I know. Good things often do not come with the word ‘cheap’. Before you draw conclusion that all cheap hosting suck, you need to understand that these hosting companies are in business for money as well. There will be drawbacks and pitfalls when you go cheap – No doubt about it.
But hey, that’s the norm in every industry around the globe. Are you going to just sit back, rant all day, and do nothing?
No. We are better than that.
Given below are some of the common catch-22 behind the low price tags and my tips on how to counter the problems.
Problem #1: Unnecessary Software Charges
Budget hosting companies make money by recommending additional add-ons and software to their customers.
Some will even force their customers to subscribe on free software trials upon signup.
Solution –
Make a quick check with your host upon signup, make sure that the hosting company did not sign you up on any software or web service trial. Be skeptical with every emails and suggestions you receive from your hosting company. Avoid clicking blindly and do your research before signing up for any add-ons in your account. In short, be a smart Internet shopper, problem fixed.
Problem #2: Rushed Servers / Low Uptime Scores
Solution –
No one wants to host their website with a faulty web host. Go search for uptime record and experts’ comment on your short-listed web hosts before you subscribe to a web host. At WHSR, we track dozens of hosting services and post regular updates.
If a hosting company keeps getting complains on server outages and slow network speeds, high chances are that web host is running on some rushed servers. The best way to fight this issues is to simply avoid these web hosts and go somewhere else.
Uptime samples published in WHSR
What is hosting uptime?
Uptime refers to the amount of time that your website is up and running, available to visitors and potential clients; anything that isn’t uptime is downtime – and to oversimplify it, downtime is bad.
Downtime means that people can’t reach your site which can be frustrating to potential visitors while also costing you traffic and revenue. Additionally, if people aren’t able to reach your site the first time, they may not try again. That said, hosting providers provide minimum uptime guarantees which is a guarantee that they’ll have your site up and running that percent of the total hours in a day. As a general rule, don’t work with providers who give anything less than a 99.9% uptime guarantee.
Free (and paid) tools you can use
There are literally dozens, if not more, of server monitoring tools available online – some are free and some costs upwards of thousands of dollars annually. Some run simple HTTP checks to confirm whether your site is running, while others perform very complex back-end jobs to monitor more than 50 checkpoints simultaneously.
The various tools run every end of the spectrum, which can be a bit overwhelming to shoppers, but also ensures that there is a tool out there to fit your needs and budget. For example, free and easy tools include Uptime Robot, Monitor Us, Pingdom, and WHSR’s Uptime monitor, among others. More powerful (and in most cases, costly) tools include Nagios Uptime, Cacti, and so on.
Problem #3: Host With Bad Neighbors
Solution –
Back in old days, cheap web hosts are often exploited by spammers and hackers. I believe this does not happen that often these days as hosting companies (budget or premium) normally will have very strict policy against spammers and hackers. If your account was hacked from the inside, request for a relocation and ask the host can shift you to another server block.
Problem #4: Black-Holed IP
Solution –
It’s recommended to check your web host IP on SpamHaus Block List as soon as you got your account (or better, ask them for a list of IPs to check before signing up).
If unfortunately your server IP is on the list, there are two things you can do: 1. Push the web host to white-list the IP; and 2. request for relocation or a change of IP address.
Problem #5: Poor Technical Support
Solution –
Not much we can do to a host with poor after sales support besides leaving them. For newbies, the best thing to do is to avoid hosting companies with bad service. Talk with the support department before you place your order, ask related technical questions (such as inodes limits, CPU cycles, Ruby on Rails, etc) and judge their quality based on the responses. For the experienced one, well, you can always make use of WebmasterWorld.com and WebHostingTalk.com for technical issues – Why bother too much, right?
Problem #6: Hidden Cancellation Fees
Solution –
Avoid, I repeat, avoid any cheap web host that charges unreasonable cancellation fees. Read TOS (quick tip: go to the host’s TOS page, press Ctrl + F, search for keyword like ‘cancellation’ and ‘refund’) clearly and make sure how cancellation is done. The web host may charge for the domain registration (which may goes up to a one-time $25 fee) and SSL certificate fees; but anything more than that is a no-go.
Do not go with those with fishy cancellation policy no matter how cheap they are.
Problem #7: Limited MySQL Databases
Solution –
To save cost on CPU power, some web hosts will limit the usages of MySQL databases. Before you order, make sure that the web hosts support sufficient number of databases. Skip those with too little (100 is the minimum acceptable number) as there are plenty of cheap hosts come with unlimited MySQL.
Problem #8: Expensive Renewal Fees
Solution #1: Host Hoping –
Renewal price for cheap hosting plans are normally higher than signup price. For example, iPage promotion price is $1.99/mo during signup and when it comes to renewal, it will go up to $6.95/mo (at time of writing). The same policy runs on most budget hosting companies including WebHostingHub, A2 Hosting, GreenGeeks, FatCow, Hostgator, Bluehost, and so on. The ultra-low price tag is how hosting companies lure customers to switch host. For renewals, the only way to keep prices low is to do ‘web host hoping’ (meaning, keep switching host every time when the contract expires). And, for budget hosts that provide ‘Anytime Money Back Guarantee’, I would recommend to sign up for a longer subscription period as it allows you to enjoy the low price a little longer (and take back money if you do not like your host any more).
Solution #2: Stick with web hosts that offer acceptable renewal rates –
Some budget hosting companies now allow customers to lock in at low renewal price upon signup.
For example, HostMetro offers “Renewal Price Locked Guarantee” to all customers. In other words, HostMetro willl never raise the renewal rate for your web hosting. The price you sign up for is the price you renew your hosting subscription in future. If a HostMetro customer signs up for 3 years of hosting at $2.45/month, but uses the 25% off coupon found on your website, the renewal rate would be $2.45/month. Learn more about the long term price difference in my latest HostMetro review.
Read more: http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.net/ultimate-cheap-web-hosting-guide/?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Social+Adv&utm_campaign=Cheap+Hosting+%2801-2016%29
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