I turn 66 on 30th July 2024. I’m therefore considering retiring from at least some of the things I do.
In Planning for retirement I discussed domain registrations. My plan is to transfer domain registrations from myself to the actual owners. I haven’t done this yet, but will start doing so after my birthday.
In this post I’ve investigated a number of alternative plans for WordPress website hosting and compared the absolute basics; which is the price for a website with SSL certificates and email capability.
The table below shows 10 different hosting plan options. Some are cheaper than the current hosting, others more expensive, especially in the second and subsequent years.
| Host | Plan | 1st year | 2nd year | 2-year average | Free SSL | Email accounts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| redIT | Bravo | £32.64 | £32.64 | £32.64 | Yes | 30 |
| IONOS | Start | £48.00 | £60.00 | £54.00 | Yes | 1 |
| inmotionhosting.com | WP Core | £29.76 | £97.68 | £63.72 | Yes | 10 |
| bobbing wide | reseller | £60.00 | £80.00 | £70.00 | Yes | unlimited |
| dreamhost.com | WordPress unlimited | £46.08 | £120.96 | £83.52 | Yes | 1 |
| HostPresto | Personal WP1 | £84.00 | £84.00 | £84.00 | Yes | 10 |
| hostinger.com | Premium | £29.88 | £143.88 | £86.88 | Yes | 1 |
| IONOS | Grow | £66.00 | £120.00 | £93.00 | Yes | 5 |
| SiteGround | StartUp | £23.88 | £167.88 | £95.88 | Yes | unlimited |
| 34SP.com | WordPress Hosting | £143.40 | £143.40 | £143.40 | Yes | 1 |
Notes
- The yearly price is exclusive of VAT, where applicable.
- I don’t charge VAT.
- Everyone else does.
- Some prices are cheaper if you pay yearly. eg.
- redIT Bravo is £27.46/year
- HostPresto Personal WP1 is £70.00/year
- Several prices were converted from USD to GBP.
- At least some of the prices were correct on the original publication date.
What’s my plan then?
I’ve procrastinated for the last 6 months. Today, I did a few calculations and came to the conclusion that the easiest thing for me to do, is to increase my hosting prices to cover my hosting costs.
Therefore, I propose that for each website that I’m currently hosting in my SiteGround reseller account, I’m going to increase the price by one third.
It means hosting will be a monthly rate of £6.66 recurring. ie. £80 for the year.
This new price will be effective from 2025.
That’ll be the first increase in 14 years. If you’re not happy with the increase then you’re free to transfer to another hosting company.