Hosting offers: questions to ask before you accept

Hosting is where your website’s files live so that people can visit them. Offers such as “free lifetime hosting”, “unlimited space” or a very low price per month are common, and they are easy to misread. This note does not recommend a provider. It gives you the questions that make any offer comparable.

What hosting is, briefly

Your domain is the address. DNS connects that address to a server. Hosting is the server or service that holds and delivers your site. They are three separate jobs, often bought from one company, sometimes from three. See domain, DNS and hosting: who does what.

The kinds, in outline

Kind	What you get	Who looks after what
Shared hosting	A share of a server, often with a control panel	The provider runs the server; you or your developer run the site and its software
Managed hosting for a content system	Hosting tuned for one system, with some updates and backups	Split between provider and you, depending on the plan
A static hosting platform	A service that serves finished files, often with HTTPS included	The platform runs the servers and certificates; you keep the files and the settings in order
A virtual or dedicated server	A server you configure	You, or someone you hire, runs everything

Providers publish what they take care of and what they do not. Vercel’s documentation, for example, describes a shared responsibility model in which the platform secures its infrastructure and you secure your own code and settings. There is no single “safest” choice for every site: the right one depends on what you run, how it changes and who will manage it.

Questions to ask about any offer

Whose account is it? The hosting account should be in your name, with your email, so that you can move it. If it is in the provider’s name, who can you ask to transfer it?
What exactly is included? Storage, traffic, email, a certificate for HTTPS, backups and support. “Unlimited” usually has a fair-use rule written somewhere.
“Free” or “lifetime”: for what, and for how long? Whose lifetime: yours, the company’s or the plan’s? What happens if the company changes its terms or closes? What does it cost after the first year?
What does renewal cost? Introductory prices often rise at renewal.
Are there backups, how often, and have they been restored? A backup is only useful if you can get it back. Ask where it is kept and how long.
Is HTTPS included, and who renews the certificate?
Who updates the software? On a content system, the core software, themes and plugins need regular updates, as WordPress’s own guide explains.
How do I leave? Can I download my files and data in a usable form, and move them to another provider?
What happens if the site is hacked or goes down? Who responds, and how fast?
Where do I get help? In writing, with a named channel.

Reading “free hosting”

A free offer is not necessarily bad. It may mean that the provider earns from something else, such as a renewal, a paid add-on or the sale of a related service. Ask what the free offer depends on, and what you lose if the condition ends. A site with its domain in your name and its files in your hands can move; one tied to a provider’s account and format cannot.

A worked example

A seller offers a website with “free lifetime hosting”. Questions 1, 3 and 8 give the answers that matter: the account is in the seller’s name, lifetime means as long as the seller continues the plan, and there is no export. That is not hosting you control. The same price with the account in your name, a stated renewal cost and a way to take your files is a different offer.

What I do on projects

My sites go live on the domain and hosting that you provide, so the accounts stay under your control. The domain, hosting and paid tools are separate from the website fee. I will tell you what a site needs and what to ask for; I do not push a particular provider. For ongoing care, see what a maintenance plan should include. To talk through an offer you have received, message or call Harman.