Website hosting cost in India: what you pay for

“How much does website hosting cost in India?” does not have an answer that stays true. Providers change their plans and prices, introductory offers end, and renewals often cost more than the first year. I am not going to quote figures that will be wrong by the time you read them. This note explains what you are paying for, so you can compare real offers yourself.

My packages do not include hosting or the domain; both are separate costs, and both should be in your name. See who owns your website, domain and hosting.

What hosting is

A website is a set of files. Hosting is a computer that is always on and always connected, and that sends those files to anyone who asks. A domain name is the address people type to reach it. They are bought separately, even when one company sells both.

The main kinds

• Shared hosting. Many sites share one server. Cheap, and good enough for small sites, but your site’s speed can depend on its neighbours.
• Virtual private servers (VPS) and cloud servers. A slice of a server that is yours. More control and more responsibility: you or someone you pay must secure and update it.
• Managed hosting for a specific system, such as WordPress. The provider handles updates and some security, and charges for it.
• Static hosting. For sites made of ready-made pages, with nothing to run on each visit. It is often cheaper to run than a database-driven site, because there is less to compute and less to attack. The terms and limits differ by provider, so read them.
• A builder’s bundled hosting, included in a subscription. Convenient, but you rent it.

Which kind fits depends on what the site is. The static site or WordPress guide explains why that matters.

What makes the price move

1. The term. Longer commitments are usually cheaper per month.
2. The plan size: storage, bandwidth, number of sites, number of e-mail accounts.
3. Performance: processing power, memory, how many visitors it can handle.
4. Included extras: backups, a certificate for HTTPS, security scanning, a content delivery network.
5. Support: the hours, the channel and who answers.
6. Location, where the server is. A server nearer your customers can be faster for them.

Charges that surprise people

• The renewal price. The first term may be heavily discounted; ask what the second costs.
• Backups sold as an extra.
• E-mail hosting billed separately from web hosting.
• A certificate (the padlock) charged for when it could be free.
• Migration or setup fees.
• Limits on visitors or bandwidth that cost extra when exceeded.
• Currency and tax on the invoice.

Read questions to ask about a hosting offer before you buy.

The domain, which is separate

A domain is registered yearly. If you let it lapse, the address can be lost. The ICANN guide for registrants explains your rights as the registrant, including how to transfer a domain. Register it in your own name with your own account, and keep the renewal date in your calendar.

Whose name should it be in?

Yours. A developer or an agency can set it up for you, but the account and the logins should end up with you. If your only copy of the site and its address sits in someone else’s account, leaving them becomes difficult.

What this means for a budget

Add the first year of hosting and the domain to the build price, and add the renewals to your yearly cost. One-time or monthly: how websites are paid for lists the pattern. If you tell me what you need, I can say what kind of hosting suits the site I would build and what to check before you buy; the packages are on the pricing page, and you can message or call Harman.

Sources

• ICANN, FAQs for Registrants

Read next

• Domain, DNS and hosting: who does whatWhen a website disappears, the cause is usually one of three accounts. Knowing which does what turns a panic into a phone call to the right company.
• Hosting offers: questions to ask before you acceptHosting offers range from free to expensive, and the label tells you little. These are the questions that show what you are really getting and who is responsible for what.
• Who owns your website, domain and hosting?Owners usually discover who holds the domain only when something goes wrong. Here are the four things to settle in writing first, and how to check the one you can verify yourself.
• HTTPS, backups and updates, explainedNo hosting choice is safe against everything. Here is what the padlock covers, where real risks usually sit for each kind of site, and a short routine for backups and accounts.
• One-time or monthly: how websites are paid forA website can be paid for once, monthly or by yearly renewal, and the pattern changes who owns it. Here is how each works and what keeps costing money after launch.
• Static site or WordPress for a business websiteNeither is better in general. The real question is who will change the pages, how often, and who will keep the software up to date. This note sets out the trade-offs honestly.

Where this leads

• Packages and pricesThree one-time packages from ₹19,999 to ₹34,999 plus applicable taxes: what each includes, and which costs stay separate.
• Talk to HarmanCall or message on WhatsApp, or build a short brief that opens a WhatsApp message.