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Web hosting is the service that keeps your website switched on. Your pages, photos and contact form live as files on a computer called a server, and that server sits in a data centre with a fast internet connection, running day and night. When someone types your address, the server sends them those files. A hosting company owns or rents those servers and sells you a share of one.
You could run a server from your back office, but you’d need it on all the time, with a backup power supply, a business internet line and someone to fix it at 3am. Hosting means paying a firm to do that part for you.
What does a web host actually do?
For a few pounds a month, a typical host will:
- store your website’s files and database on its servers
- keep those servers powered, cooled, updated and patched
- send your pages to visitors when they ask for them
- run your email if your plan includes it
- take copies of your site so you can roll back after a mistake
- give you a control panel to manage it all
What a host doesn’t usually do is build your website, write your content or fix a plugin you installed. Some firms offer that as a separate service. Most hosting is “you build it, we keep it running”.
How does web hosting work?
Three separate things have to line up before a customer sees your site. People often think they’re one product, which is why moving or cancelling can get confusing.
The domain name. This is your address, such as smithplumbing.co.uk. You rent it yearly from a registrar. Owning a domain doesn’t give you a website. It’s a name with nothing behind it yet. If you haven’t picked one, our domain name ideas tool can help, and how to register a domain covers the next step.
DNS. Computers find each other by number (an IP address), not by name. DNS is the system that turns smithplumbing.co.uk into the number of the server where the site lives. Your domain’s DNS settings say “the website is over there, the email goes over here”. When you change hosts, this is the bit you update. See how to point your domain at our hosting for what that looks like.
The server. This is the hosting itself: the machine holding the files.
So when a customer in Shrewsbury taps your address on their phone, their phone asks DNS where smithplumbing.co.uk lives, gets a number back, contacts that server and downloads your homepage. It all happens in well under a second when things are set up properly. If any one of the three is wrong, the site doesn’t load. Our DNS checker shows where a domain is currently pointing.
Types of web hosting
Shared hosting
Many websites share one powerful server, each in its own walled-off account. It’s the cheapest option and it’s what most small business sites run on. A café in Ludlow with a menu, opening hours and a booking form doesn’t need more. Good hosts set resource limits so one busy account can’t slow everyone else down.
WordPress hosting
Usually shared hosting tuned for WordPress, with tools for installing it, updating it and making test copies. If your site runs on WordPress, or you plan to build one, this is the natural pick. We compare it with a fully managed site in WordPress hosting or a managed website?
VPS (virtual private server)
One physical server split into several virtual ones, each with a guaranteed slice of memory and processing power. You get more control, but you or someone you pay has to look after the operating system and security. Useful for busy online shops or custom software. Overkill for a brochure site.
Dedicated server
A whole machine to yourself. Expensive, and only worth it for large, high-traffic sites or specialist needs. Very few small businesses need one.
Website builders
Wix, Squarespace and similar services bundle the design tool and the hosting together. You don’t choose a server at all. More on these below.
Which suits a small business?
For most sole traders and small firms, shared hosting or WordPress hosting is the right answer. Start there. A decent host will let you upgrade later if the site outgrows it, and most never do.
What to look for in a web host
- UK servers. If your customers are in the UK, a server in the UK is a short hop away. It also keeps your data under UK law, which is simpler to explain in a privacy policy.
- Backups. Ask how often they run and how you restore one. Daily is the minimum worth accepting. Check you can restore it yourself, without waiting days for a reply.
- Free SSL. This gives your site the padlock and https. It should be included and renew on its own. We explain it in what is an SSL certificate?
- Email. Some plans include email on your own domain (you@yourbusiness.co.uk), some charge extra and some don’t offer it. Know which before you buy.
- Support. Find out how you reach them, when and how fast. Read the help guides. If they’re thin or out of date, that tells you something.
- A control panel. cPanel is the most widely used. It lets you create email accounts, install WordPress, add domains and restore backups without phoning anyone. See how to log in to cPanel for a look at it.
- A money-back period. It lets you try the service and leave if it’s not right.
How much does web hosting cost in the UK?
Basic shared hosting for one small website costs a few pounds a month. WordPress hosting sits in the same range. A VPS costs noticeably more, and a dedicated server more again, before you add someone to manage it.
On top of hosting, budget for your domain each year. A .co.uk or .uk domain is usually a small yearly cost. You can see our current prices on the domain prices page.
Things that push the price up:
- more than one website on the same plan
- lots of storage, for example big photo galleries or video files
- many email mailboxes, or large ones
- an online shop with heavy traffic that needs more power (see what to check in our WooCommerce hosting guide)
- extras such as daily offsite backups, malware scanning or a paid certificate
- someone else maintaining the site for you
If you want the full picture of building and running a site, not just hosting it, read how much does a small business website cost in the UK?
Watch out for renewal price jumps
Plenty of hosts advertise a low first-year price that only applies if you pay one, two or three years up front. When the term ends, the plan renews at the normal rate, which can be several times higher. Domains sometimes work the same way.
Before you buy, look for the renewal price in the small print or the checkout page. Work out what you’ll pay in year two, not just month one. If the renewal figure isn’t shown anywhere, ask.
Do you need hosting if you use Wix or Squarespace?
No. Website builders host the site for you, and the hosting is part of what you pay them. You can’t move a Wix site to another host as it stands, because the design only works inside Wix.
You may still want separate services for:
- Your domain. You can register it elsewhere and connect it to the builder, which keeps it under your control. See how to connect your domain to Shopify, Squarespace or Wix.
- Your email. Builders don’t always include mailboxes on your own domain, and some sell them as an add-on from another provider.
The trade is simple. A builder is easier to start with. Your own hosting gives you more freedom to move, change designers or add things the builder doesn’t allow.
Can you move your website to a different host?
Yes, and it’s more routine than people expect. The usual steps are:
- Buy hosting with the new provider.
- Copy the website files, database and email across.
- Check the site works on the new server before anything goes live. See how to preview your website before changing DNS.
- Update the domain’s DNS or nameservers to point at the new server.
- Cancel the old hosting once everything has settled, not before.
Moving the hosting doesn’t mean moving the domain. They can stay with different companies. If you’re on WordPress, how to move a WordPress site to WebHostGB walks through it, and how to move your email covers the mailboxes.
Common questions
Is web hosting the same as a domain name?
No. The domain is the address. Hosting is where the website lives. You need both for a working site, but you can buy them from different companies.
Can I host a website on my own computer?
Technically, yes. In practice your computer would need to stay on all the time, your home broadband isn’t built for it, and any outage takes your site down. It isn’t worth it for a business.
What happens to my website if I stop paying for hosting?
The host will suspend the account and eventually delete it. Your domain may still be yours, but it will point at nothing. Download a backup before you cancel. Here’s how to download a full backup of your account.
Does hosting affect how fast my website loads?
Yes. A slow or overloaded server makes every page slower, and a server far from your visitors adds delay. Large images and too many plugins matter as well, often more.
Where we fit in
WebHostGB is a UK host for small businesses. You can read who we are and how we work. Our web hosting starts at £2.99 a month and WordPress hosting at £3.99, both with cPanel, servers in two Manchester data centres, free SSL, backups every six hours, free migration from your old host and a 60-day money-back guarantee. If you’d rather not deal with any of it, we also build and run fully managed websites.