Where Should I Host My Website
If you’re a small – medium-sized business, Start here:
I’m going to walk you through the 3 steps needed behind the scenes to get your website live:
- Domain Name: The name of your website. The URL someone will type in to find your site.
- Website Hosting: The computer that’s on 24/7 & where the website files live
- Custom Branded Email Name: [email protected]
*Prices listed are current as of the date of writing this article and are subject to change. Please refer to the respective websites for the most up-to-date pricing.
Where Should You Register Your Domain
Domain Name: The name of your website. For a list of recommended domain registrars – read more about it here.
Where Should You Host Your Website
Shared Hosting Plan Quick Comparison
ChemiCloud
Initial Promo Price $3.95/month
Regular $15.95/month
*must sign up for 3 year term for lowest rate.
Website Hosting
Shared Hosting Plans
Green Geeks
For small to medium sized businesses just starting out, Green Geeks web hosting offers excellent Shared Hosting Plans at affordable prices.
Current prices (in USD):
The Eco-Lite Plan is for 1 website
*Special promo pricing applies to initial hosting term/invoice when signing up: $2.95/month
All subsequent renewals at regular price: $11.95/month
50 GB Web space
Unmetered Transfer
includes 50 email accounts
Free Website Security Certificate (SSL Certificate)
LiteSpeed Server (better able to optimize resources compared to Nginx or Apache servers in a shared environment)
The Eco-Pro Plan
*Special promo pricing applies to initial hosting term/invoice when signing up: $4.95/month
All subsequent renewals at regular price:$16.95/month
Includes everything the Lite plan has, in addition to
Unlimited websites
Unlimited email accounts and has more speed and resources.
Shared Hosting Plans
ChemiCloud
ChemiCloud web hosting also offers excellent Shared Hosting Plans. The closest match to Green Greeks price rate would be their Pro plan. However, to qualify for their lowest rate initial hosting term/invoice $3.95/month & regular pricing of $15.95/month, users must sign up for the 3 year term.
Current prices (in USD):
The Starter Plan is for 1 website
*Special promo pricing applies to initial hosting term/invoice when signing up: $2.95/month when signing up for 3 year term
All subsequent renewals at regular price: $9.95/month
20 GB NVME Disk Space
Unlimited Bandwidth
includes Unlimited email accounts
Free Website Security Certificate (SSL Certificate)
LiteSpeed Server (better able to optimize resources compared to Nginx or Apache servers in a shared environment)
Pro Plan
*Special promo pricing applies to initial hosting term/invoice when signing up for the 3 year term: $3.95/month
All subsequent renewals at regular price:$15.95/month
Includes everything the Starter Plan has, in addition to
30 GB NVME Disk Space
Unlimited Websites
Disadvantages of Shared Hosting
While Shared Hosting may be more affordable, there are some disadvantages.
May have several websites, on the same server sharing resources – CPU, disk space and memory. High traffic on one website will affect other sites on the same server and may slow down your site. Or if one site is compromised, other sites could potentially be affected too.
Overview: Managed VPS & Managed Dedicated Server Hosting
If it is within a client’s budget and/or the website is anticipating high traffic, the next levels up from Shared Hosting would either be Managed VPS (Virtual Private Server) or Managed Dedicated Server Hosting. Would highly recommend Managed versions of VPS or Dedicated Hosting so that the hosting company takes care of the system administration, security and updating of the servers.
These servers offer premium performance and control. It is also easier to scale resources as needed. However, this also comes at a premium price .
Managed WordPress Hosting
Kinsta
Kinsta is hosted on Google Cloud platform
Current prices (in USD):
The Starter Plan is for 1 WordPress website
$30/month billed annually
Monthly Visits: 25,000
(if bandwidth is exceeded there are overage fees, ensure alert notifications are enabled)
10 GB Storage
Email must be purchased from another provider
(recommend either Google Workspace or Microsoft 365)
Free Website Security Certificate (SSL Certificate)
Resources are not shared and dedicated to only your site.
Note: some WordPress plugins are not permitted
Who Should I Choose As My Email Provider
Overview: Custom Branded Email
For your custom branded domain email provider, even if there is an email package included with your hosting provider, I still recommend signing up for either Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 because they are more specialized to handle email deliverability, spam filtering, and 2FA security.
Also, if you decide to switch website hosts, it is much easier to just point the required website dns records over to the new host without having to change email dns already connected to the email service (Google Workspace or Microsoft 365). So there will be no interruptions in email.
If you prefer using Google apps (Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Drive etc.) in your work ecosystem, go with Google Workspace.
If you prefer using Microsoft apps (Word, Excel, OneDrive etc.) in your work ecosystem, go with Microsoft 365.
Google Workspace
Current prices (in CAD):
Business Starter
$7.80 per user/ month billed annually
30 GB pooled storage per user
Microsoft 365
Current prices (in CAD):
Business Basic
$8.10 per user/ month billed annually
1 TB cloud storage per user
Affiliate Disclaimer: Some links in this article are affiliate links. I may receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you, if you choose to use the provided links and make a purchase.
About Alvin Lee
Alvin, a web developer based in Vancouver, BC, excels in crafting WordPress websites for small businesses. When he’s not creating websites, you can find him enjoying a cup of coffee or listening to his favorite music.