Hosting in plain words
Think of your website as a shop.
- Your domain is the shop’s address. It is what people type to find you, like mybusiness.co.uk.
- Your hosting is the building the shop sits in. It is open day and night, so people can visit at any time.
The building is really a server. That is a computer that is always switched on and joined to the internet. It keeps your website’s files and shows them to visitors.
No hosting means no building. Your shop would exist, but nobody could get in.
Domain, hosting and email are different things
- Domain: the shop’s address. You buy it and keep it paid for. It is not part of my hosting.
- Hosting: the building. This is what my hosting covers.
- Email: mailboxes like [email protected]. They are separate too, and not part of my hosting. I can set up business email as an add-on. The price is in your quote.
What my £19.99 a month hosting includes
- I look after the hosting for you.
- A padlock on your site (called HTTPS). It shows visitors the connection is safe.
- Spare copies of your site (called backups), in case something goes wrong.
- An alert to me if your site stops working.
- Help if there is a hosting problem.
Monthly plans include your website and hosting together. You do not pay for hosting twice. Pay once for your website? You can add my hosting for £19.99 a month.
Not included
- Buying your domain, or paying for it again later
- Email mailboxes
- New pages and new features
If your site gets much busier than I planned for, I agree any extra cost with you first.
For 4 weeks after launch, small changes to your words, photos or layout are free. This is true with either hosting choice.
Host it yourself instead
If you pay once, you can use your own host instead. A host is a company that rents out space for websites. I give you your website files to hand to them.
Then you look after these things:
- Picking a host and paying them. Prices vary by host, and their charges are not part of my price.
- Keeping the account paid, so your site stays online.
- Keeping the account safe. If they offer a second check at login, such as a code sent to your phone, use it.
- Spare copies. Mine come with my hosting, so ask your host what they keep.
- Getting help from your host if something breaks.
Before you choose a host, I check what your website needs. That way it works where you put it.
The three choices side by side
| What you get | Monthly plan | Pay once + my hosting | Pay once + host it yourself |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who keeps it online | Me | Me | You or your host |
| Spare copies and padlock | Included | Included | Ask your host what they offer |
| Monthly cost | Included in your plan, from £29.99 a month | £19.99 a month | Your host’s charges |
| Your files and domain | Yours | Yours | Yours |
If you leave
Your domain and your website files are yours from day one. I never hold files back.
On a monthly plan
- After month 12, you can leave. Just give me 30 days’ notice.
- You pay nothing further.
- You take your site and content with you.
- Want to stay with my hosting? Keep it for £19.99 a month. Or move your site to a new host when you choose.
If you pay once and add my hosting
You can stop at any time. Hosting ends when the period you have already paid for ends. I give you your website files.