Even if you decide to build and manage your website in-house, there are a few yearly expenses you can’t avoid.
- “Parking” your domain name ~ Anywhere from $12 – 15 CAD a year for a custom URL
- Installing an SSL Certificate ~ Anywhere from completely FREE to $60 CAD a year
- Hosting your website ~ Anywhere from $3.98 to $500 CAD per month
Unfortunately, pricing can vary wildly, and it’s rarely a good indicator of whether you’re getting the best bang for your buck.
There are also thousands of hosting solutions, which can lead to severe analysis paralysis.
So, we are going to focus on only our top three recommendations along with some helpful tips on what to look for in a web host.
What is web hosting
While purchasing a domain name allows you to claim a custom URL like royal-lakill.ca, it doesn’t include a physical location to store your website files.
This is where hosting comes into play.
Web Developers maintain or rent server space to upload files and manage websites accessible to anyone using the internet.
However, the equipment itself is incredibly expensive.
Can I Save Money By Building My Own Server?
If you wanted to run your own server, it’d be at a minimum $1000 – $2500 in hardware.
Not including the man hours and knowledge required to maintain it. Or the energy needed to power and keep the servers cool 24/7.
So, for most people paying a hosting provider ends up being the cheapest and most reliable route to take.
Renting a Dedicated Server just for your website can be anywhere from $50 to $500 a month while sharing server space with other websites can be as cheap as $3.95 – $15 a month.
What Should I Look for?
Because we specialize in WordPress Websites, we believe a few key features are essential when choosing a hosting provider.
Shared WordPress Hosting ~
For most websites, Shared Hosting has more than enough space for anything you could possibly need and then some.
FREE SSL Certificates ~
Nowadays, there is no reason your host can’t enable Let’s Encrypt SSL/TSL certificates.
Domain Name Transfer ~
Claiming and paying for your domain name through a hosting provider can make keeping up with both subscriptions much easier.
Excellent Customer Support ~
Hosting provider can often help troubleshoot when things are missing or not loading correctly.
And they are able to add custom Cpanel features or update script versions as needed.
Our Top Three Web Hosts (2023)
And to make things even easier, here are the three BEST Shared WordPress Hosting Plans we’ve found and compared just for you.
- GreenGeeks – Best overall WordPress hosting (great value).
- Hostinger – Best for High Traffic/Growing Websites (premium-ish).
- Bluehost – Best for WordPress Integration.
Quick Comparison
x Features to Keep in Mind
Best For High Traffic/Growing Websites
The Hostinger WordPress Starter plan ensures you have all the basics and a few extra perks, like more email accounts and storage space than you can get from any other plan listed here.
Unfortunately, the renewal fees are significantly higher after your first year. So, we’d only recommend it if you’re looking to scale or want a taste of what a premium hosting plan is like.
Best For WordPress Integration
It’s not hard to understand why WordPress has officially recommended Bluehost in the past.
First of all, they offer a ton of one-click install plugins and tools that are made for WordPress sites.
And second of all, page loading speed and a few other factors that plague WordPress bounce rates are handled exceptionally well by Bluehost servers.
If you’re looking for a mix of speed optimization and a pre-selected set of reliable tools, Bluehost is a great option.
Best All-Around Hosting Provider
We are slightly biased about GreenGeeks being the best hosting provider for price and value, but it’s for a good reason.
This is the same hosting plan we’ve been using and recommending to all our WordPress clients for over four years!
The basic plan has everything we’ve come to expect, from fast ticket support to one-click installs and a ton of additional features we haven’t even covered.