Hosting plans range from a few pounds a month to hundreds — and price alone is a poor guide to quality. A practical breakdown of what to look for and what questions to ask.
The hosting market is saturated with plans at every price point, and providers are skilled at using technical jargon and inflated specifications to make basic plans look impressive and premium plans look essential. Cutting through this starts with a clear understanding of what your website actually requires.
For the majority of small business websites — up to around 20 pages, modest traffic, no e-commerce — the requirements are straightforward: reliable uptime, adequate storage for pages and images, email hosting, an SSL certificate, and competent support. Most standard shared hosting plans from reputable providers meet these requirements comfortably.
Where businesses overspend is in buying capacity or features they do not need, often because the upgrade was recommended by the provider or because a higher price felt like a quality signal. Where businesses underspend is in choosing the very cheapest option without considering reliability, support quality, or backup provision.
| Feature | Essential? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| SSL Certificate | ✓ | Must be included free. Every site needs HTTPS. |
| Daily Backups | ✓ | Confirm what is backed up, how often, and how far back. |
| Email Hosting | ✓ | Check how many mailboxes are included and storage limits. |
| Uptime Guarantee | ✓ | Look for 99.9% or higher. Check the SLA for compensation terms. |
| UK-Based Servers | Advisable | Better speeds for UK visitors. Helps with data compliance. |
| Phone / Live Chat Support | Advisable | Email-only support is slow when something goes wrong urgently. |
| Unlimited Bandwidth | ✗ | Most small sites use a fraction of allocated bandwidth. Not a key selling point. |
| Unlimited Storage | ✗ | "Unlimited" claims nearly always have fair use limits. A standard allocation is ample for most sites. |
Watch out for introductory pricing: A hosting plan advertised at £2.99 per month is often that price only for the first year — or only when paid three years in advance. Always check the renewal price, not just the headline rate, before committing.
For most small business websites, a mid-range shared hosting plan from a reputable UK provider — typically £8 to £15 per month — provides everything needed reliably. The priority is not the lowest price or the most impressive specification, but a provider with a strong uptime record, daily backups, and responsive support.
