Key facts
- Budget hosting usually means many websites share one server's CPU, memory and disk.
- Many cheap plans rise in price at renewal after an introductory term.
- Backups, restores, SSL and migration are often paid extras on budget plans.
- Support on budget plans is often ticket or chat only, rather than phone.
- A single lost day of sales or a hacked site can cost more than a year of better hosting.
- dijitul Complete Hosting includes daily backups kept for 14 days, 10 email accounts, free SSL and migration for £1 a day + VAT.
When cheap hosting is fine
Cheap hosting has its place. If you are learning to build websites, running a personal blog, or testing an idea that does not earn money yet, a low-cost plan is a sensible start. If it goes down for a few hours, nobody loses out.
The question changes once the website matters to your business. If it brings in enquiries, takes orders or represents your company to customers, the cost of problems matters more than the price of the plan.
Where cheap hosting usually cuts corners
- Crowded servers: many sites share the same resources, so one busy neighbour can slow everyone down.
- Backups: may be weekly, not guaranteed, or charged for when you need a restore.
- Support: often ticket or chat only, and may not look at your actual website.
- Old software policy: old PHP versions are removed on a fixed date, whether your site is ready or not.
- Extras: SSL, migration, malware clean-up and dedicated IPs may all cost more.
- Renewal pricing: the advertised price may only apply to the first term.
None of this is true of every budget host, but it is common enough to check before you buy.
The hidden costs of going cheap
The real cost of hosting is the price plus the cost of problems. Think about:
- Your time. Hours spent on support chats, fixing updates or moving hosts.
- Developer time. Paying someone to restore a site or clean up a hack.
- Lost business. Enquiries and orders that did not happen while the site was down or slow.
- Lost data. Content, orders or customer records with no recent backup.
- Search rankings. A slow or frequently broken site can lose visibility over time.
Our guide on why websites are slow covers the performance side.
A quick test for any hosting plan
Ask these five questions before you buy, cheap or not:
- What will I pay at renewal, including VAT?
- Are daily backups included, and is a restore free?
- Is SSL free and automatic?
- Will you move my website for me?
- Can I phone a real person who can look at my site?
If the answers are mostly "no" or "extra cost", the cheap plan is probably not as cheap as it looks.
Also check the small print on resources. Some plans advertise unlimited storage or bandwidth but limit CPU, memory or the number of files, and will suspend a site that goes over. Knowing these limits in advance avoids a nasty surprise on a busy day.
Cheap vs good value
The goal is not to spend more. It is to pay a fair price for what a business site needs, with no surprises. Good value hosting includes the basics, keeps your site secure and backed up, and has someone to help when things go wrong. See our dijitul vs budget hosts comparison for a side-by-side view of the two approaches.
The dijitul approach
dijitul Complete Hosting costs £1 a day + VAT (£365 a year + VAT). It is one simple plan for one website that includes managed hosting, your own Plesk login, 10 POP3/IMAP email accounts, Cloudflare DNS, daily backups kept for 14 days, free SSL, one domain registration or renewal a year, migration done for you and UK support from real people. dijitul has been trading since 2006 and older websites are welcome. Order online or call 01623 650333.
Frequently asked questions
Is cheap hosting OK for a small business website?
It can be, for a simple brochure site with few visitors, if you have your own backups and someone who can fix problems. For sites that generate enquiries or sales, the missing extras and limited support on cheap plans often end up costing more than a better managed plan.
Why is my cheap hosting so slow?
Budget plans often place many websites on one server, so they share CPU, memory and disk. If another site gets busy, yours can slow down. Old PHP versions, no caching and large images also slow sites. Moving to a less crowded managed server and using Cloudflare caching usually helps.
What is a good alternative to cheap web hosting in the UK?
Managed hosting that includes the essentials is a good middle ground. dijitul Complete Hosting costs £1 a day + VAT and includes managed servers, daily backups kept for 14 days, 10 email accounts, free SSL, Cloudflare DNS, one domain a year, migration and UK support, so there are no paid extras to add on.
Do cheap hosts include backups?
Some do, many do not, and the details vary. A plan might keep only a few days of backups, back up weekly, or charge a fee to restore. Always check how often backups run, how long they are kept, and whether restoring one costs extra, before you need it.
Can I move from cheap hosting to better hosting easily?
Yes. Your website files, database and email can be copied to a new host and tested before the domain is switched, so there is little or no downtime. Many managed hosts, including dijitul, include the migration in the price and handle the whole move for you.
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Set it up and forget about it
Managed hosting, Plesk, Cloudflare DNS, daily backups and your domain for £1 a day + VAT. We move your site for you.