Website hosting costs can be complicated to untangle if youve never tried to build a website before.

Ill also discuss extras and the hidden costs of hosting a website because the bottom line isnt always straightforward.

How much does web hosting cost?

Web hostingservices provide space on a web server, a specialized computer that makes websites accessible from the internet.

Some companies, likeSiteGround, charge as much as $45 per month for higher-tiered shared hosting plans.

Inshared hosting, many websites share one servers resources, such as processing power and bandwidth.

Shared hosting is best forblogs, for-fun hobby sites and small business websites.

Some hosts charge an extra $1 to $2 per month for the additional software support.

A few hosts offer WordPress hosting as virtual private server VPS hosting or cloud hosting for a higher fee.

These plans come with WordPress pre-installed on your server.

They may also offer automated software updates and other benefits.

Website builders are tools for creating a website without installing anything, managing software updates or learning code.

Website builder hosting comes with one of these builders pre-installed.

Cloud hosting is best formedium- to large-size businesses and small businesses expecting rapid growth.

However, these plans often have limited technical support.

Traditional hosting companies charge more for cloud hosting because they offer more robust support and features.

VPS hostinggives you access to a virtual server with dedicated resources like bandwidth and processing power.

Youll also get total control over your servers digital configuration.

Dedicated hosting is best forwebsites expecting millions of monthly visitors or storing massive amounts of data.

You may also want to choose dedicated hosting if you want complete control over your servers software and configs.

For example, our domain name is CNET.com.

Like web hosting, adomain name is essential to making your site available online.

Many web hosts offer a free domain for the first year.

Most domains with common extensions like .com and .net cost $10 to $20 per year.

SSL certification is essential even if your website wont be accepting sensitive data.

Googleprioritizes ranking sites with SSL certification.

Some browsers andVPNsalso look for SSL certification and wont allow users to visit sites without it.

Most web hosting companies include SSL certification in their plans now.

A handful of companies still charge separately for it, often charging $20 to $40 per year.

Extensions allow you to do things like:

Some of these may be free.

WordPress, in particular, has many free options,almost 60,000 of them.

Other extensions cost money, sometimes a lot of it.

you’re able to expect to find similar variations in the app or extension marketplaces for services likeSquarespaceandShopify.

Themes and templates

Themes or templates dictate your sites appearance.

E-commerce features

Website builders like Squarespace often limit e-commerce functionality to certain plans.

Marketing tools

Marketing is essential to a websites success.

These tools are often built into website builders, but they may be restricted to higher-tiered plans.

If youre using WordPress, youll need an SEO plugin.

These plugins can be free or paid, with paid options costing $100 or more each year.

These integrations are often built into website builders, but theyre not always available on all plans.

If youre using WordPress, youll need a plugin.

Email marketing tools help you build deeper connections with your audience through email campaigns.

These tools are usually paid extensions or third-party services.

Paid plans often start at $10 to $20 per month.

So what should you pay for web hosting?

Website hosting cost FAQs

What is the average cost for website hosting?

How much does it cost to host a website online?

How much does a server cost for a website?

Renting an entire web server typically costs $80-plus each month.

Why is it so expensive to host a website?

Can I host my website for free?

Yes, you’re free to host a website for free.

However, free web hosting plans often have strict limits on storage space, bandwidth and monetization.