One of the most common questions people have when choosing a web hosting provider is why the cost of hosting plans varies. Multiple factors like operating systems, type of hosting, bandwidth, storage, etc., affect web hosting costs. If these factors are said to be the same all across web hosting companies, why are they priced differently? Is it because of the brand or the experience of customers with the company? Or is it their target audience? 

We have listed down 10 different reasons that are likely to influence the hosting package you purchase. Read on to find more about the factors that could affect your hosting budget:

1.      Operating System

When searching for Webzworld hosting packages, you’ll have to choose an operating system (OS) you want your server to work on. Most web hosting service providers have separate hosting plans for Linux or Windows OS. Linux hosting is usually a more affordable option since it’s a free and open-source program. Window hosting is often more expensive than Linux hosting because it’s a commercial software.  Beyond the difference in rates, each operating system has its advantages and disadvantages. You will want to consider them before making your final decision.

2.      Customer Support

When deciding between affordable vs. feature-rich web hosting, customer support can make all the difference. An affordable plan, for example, may not offer dedicated support and could take a lot of time to revert to your emails and grievances. On the other hand, a competitively priced web hosting package, offering the same bandwidth and uptime, would provide dedicated, 24/7 telephone, email, and chat support to all the clients.

Resolving customer grievances is the main priority for hosting companies offering the same plans at a higher rate. They also provide technical assistance to troubleshoot issues that don’t affect your website’s speed and uptime when necessary. A cheap plan can lead to delays in customer support, resulting in a potential slow loading speed that will harm your website’s SEO, sales, and revenue. Most of the best web hosting services provide 24/7 support.

3.      Bandwidth

Bandwidth is one of the most expensive hosting components, and the more you need, the more you can expect to pay. Dedicated hosting plans have the highest costs, so you can expect to pay more for a similar plan that comes with unlimited or unmetered bandwidth. A reputable hosting company can also have expensive plans if they allow you to customize your bandwidth settings according to your changing needs and budgets.

4.       Data Center Location

The location where the server equipment of a company is hosted also affects the price you pay. Generally, data centers in large cities (such as New York or Los Angeles) will be more expensive than less populated areas. The idea is that servers located in a centralized location effectively reduce latency, have better uptime rates, and allow quick data delivery to your visitors. If you choose a plan with servers in hotspot locations, expect to pay more for your website and hosting packages.

5.      Type of Storage

There are two server storage types available: solid-state drives (SSDs) and hard disk drives (HDDs). HDD or hard disk drives offer better storage at a budget price, but it is also less reliable. It also has a slow speed because various moving parts require frequent maintenance and have a shorter life span. An SSD hosting plan, on the other hand, has no moving parts. As a result, it can read and write data more quickly, which reduces loading times. However, SSD hosting is relatively more expensive than HDD. It is often a better solution for enterprises that have to manage frequent queries.

6.      Uptime

One of the factors that determine the price of a hosting package is the guarantee of availability, i.e. uptime. This is by far an essential and critical aspect in keeping a website online because your current crop of customers want the website to work 24/7 to fulfill their needs. Most of the premium web hosting services have an uptime guarantee that will keep your website online 99.99% of the time with no downtime. Each company offers guaranteed availability, while others also compensate if you stay out of plan. Companies with better uptime guarantees may charge you more.

7.      Limits on Data

This is one of the most important factors when we talk about standard and expensive web hosting. Affordable web hosting plans allow multiple data transfers but require some limitations in the process. Also, these hosting plans have storage limitations which you should check with your hosting provider first. For example, they may not entertain unmetered data transmissions on a monthly basis to networks that are shared. Expensive web hosting gives you the freedom to research maximum data transfer and no specific storage limits to meet all your web hosting needs.

 8.      Page Performance

Commonly available hosting plans have shared hosting, which limits resource usage. More often than not, bandwidth sharing is a trick with shared hosting that can significantly reduce your server response time, ultimately impacting page performance. Slower page load times will have a big impact on your customers as visitors tend to bounce off slow websites. On the other hand, web hosting services that offer dedicated or VPS hosting are relatively expensive. However, they guarantee optimum page performance with minimal issues.

9.      Security

Protecting your data is another important consideration when choosing between cheap and expensive web hosting companies. Web hosts need to take appropriate steps to protect their business data online and protect the interests of their customers. Keep in mind that cheap hosting plans only provide basic security tests on your site to ensure that hackers cannot access your data. However, some expensive web hosting companies take more reliable and practical steps to protect their data with the required protocols. This typically includes SSL-protected network data with proper monitoring, detection, and removal of malware, including DDoS protection. Additional protocols increase the reliability of the host service and instill trust in the customer.

10. Shared vs. Managed Hosting

There is a big price difference between the shared host plan and the managed host plan. Shared hosting plans are an affordable hosting option for sharing bandwidth and resources with others. The downside of this is that you or your business have no control over the use of resources because others are on the same server. This splits traffic between the two sites, slows load times, and can cause performance issues during peak hours. Managed host plans, on the other hand, are expensive but provide dedicated resources. These include daily backups, fast and secure servers, critical updates, and excellent customer service. Small businesses and start-ups may start with shared hosting services but may want to consider switching to dedicated hosting as their business grows. 

Conclusion

We hope that you have now understood why web hosting companies have different prices and why they can’t be the same all across. If you have any further questions about the pricing of web hosting plans, please share your queries with us in the comments section below, we will get back to them and answer. 

For any information contact us.