Website Answers
How much does website hosting cost?
Website hosting in the UK usually costs a few pounds a month for a small business site. BuiltWeb hosting is free, forever, and you can host elsewhere if you prefer.
Short answer: Website hosting for a small business site in the UK usually costs a few pounds a month. With BuiltWeb it is free, forever — there is no monthly hosting fee — and because you own your site you are free to host it elsewhere instead.
What is hosting and why do I pay for it?
Hosting is the space on a server where your website lives so it is available online around the clock. Without it, the files that make up your site have nowhere to run and no one could visit. It is a genuine ongoing service — someone has to keep a machine online, secure, and connected — which is why it carries a small recurring cost. For the plain-English version see what is web hosting.
Think of the domain as your address and hosting as the plot the building sits on. You need both, but they are separate things bought separately.
How much should I expect to pay?
For a typical small business or trade site, hosting is inexpensive:
- Budget shared hosting: £3–£8 a month, fine for a simple site.
- Managed hosting: £9–£20 a month, with updates and support handled for you.
- Bigger or busier sites: more, but most local businesses never need this.
Unlike those market rates, our hosting is free, forever, and it is fully managed — we keep the site online, backed up, and running well, so you do not have to think about it. There is no monthly hosting fee at all, and it is entirely your choice, as covered in are there hidden costs to a website.
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Do I have to host with the person who built it?
No, and you should be wary of anyone who says otherwise. Because your BuiltWeb site is yours outright — see who owns my website — you can host it wherever you like and move it whenever you want. We offer hosting because many clients would rather one person handle it, not because you are tied in.
If you already have hosting or want to use a provider you trust, that is completely fine. We will build the site to run anywhere.
Is cheaper hosting worth it?
Sometimes, but not always. Very cheap shared hosting can make a site slow or occasionally drop offline, and a slow site loses customers and Google rankings — see how to make my website load faster. For a small site the difference between rock-bottom and decent hosting is only a few pounds a month, so it rarely pays to chase the cheapest option.
The sensible approach is reliable hosting you can trust, whether that is our free managed hosting or a reputable provider of your own. Either way it need not be something to lose sleep over.
Want your build and hosting laid out clearly? Get a clear price or see the packages.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to host with my web designer?
No. You own the site, so you can host it wherever you like. We host it for you free, forever, but moving it elsewhere is always your choice.
What is the difference between hosting and a domain?
Hosting is the space your site lives on so it stays online. A domain is your web address that points people to it. They are two separate small costs.
Is cheap hosting a false economy?
It can be if it makes your site slow or unreliable. For a small business site, decent hosting is inexpensive anyway, so there is little reason to chase the very cheapest option.
Gareth Julien
I'm the founder of BuiltWeb. I've been building websites for nearly twenty years and I'm on a mission to fix the broken way most businesses buy and maintain their online presence. I write about web development, subscriptions, and what actually works for real businesses.
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