Web hosting is a major monthly investment that every blogger must make to run their self-hosted WordPress blog . Typically, cheap WordPress hosting costs between $3/month to $15/month, depending on your requirements. The cost skyrockets when you move to managed WordPress hosting, VPS, or dedicated hosting servers.
When new bloggers or entrepreneurs set out to build a self-hosted blog, they often don’t know the cost of web hosting. New bloggers often pay unnecessarily high prices (without discounts) for web hosting.
Even if you manage to get discounted hosting, the cost of hosting renewal will be prohibitive when it comes time to renew.
In today’s article, I’m going to share with you some top tips that will help you save money on your web hosting renewals. Some of these ideas might be useful from day one when you first purchase hosting.
When your hosting time is about to expire and you have to pay for renewal, other services are available.
How to save on hosting renewal fees:
Some of you are considering buying hosting for the first time, while others are considering renewing their current hosting accounts. Therefore, I will be careful to point out various methods that fit both situations and help you save money whether you are just starting out or renewing your service.
Please note that this guide only applies to shared hosting , but it also applies to any other hosting plan you might be looking for, such as managed WordPress hosting, VPS, or dedicated hosting.
For new console purchases:
If you are about to buy a hosting package for your blog, then now is a great time to save money in the long run. Usually, you can easily find discount coupons when you buy hosting services from any hosting company. We also have a dedicated section where we share discounts from popular hosting companies .
A mistake most beginners make is that they buy hosting for only one year and then the following year they have to pay the full hosting renewal fee.
There are rarely discount coupons for hosting renewals, so opting to purchase more than a year’s worth of service at the time of your initial purchase can save you money in the long run.
So when you make your first purchase, you have the option to purchase more than one year of hosting.
It’s a good idea to buy your hosting from a reliable company and purchase a two to three year plan. I bought three years of hosting from Bluehost for $3.95 per month, which saved me a lot of money in the long run.
Bluehost Hosting Renewal Prices and How to Save –
Let’s understand this concept by taking the example of Bluehost, one of the top hosting companies currently in the market.
Let me do a quick calculation here for Bluehost hosting :
Scenario 1 – One-year rental at a discount
Buy Bluehost hosting for 1 year with discount link (Choice plus package) = $59.40 (save 77%)
Plan 2 – 3 Years Hosting Discount
Buy Bluehost hosting for 3 years with discount link (Choice plus package) = $268.2 (save 62%)
You need to pay extra attention to this now because it will help you save a lot of money in the long run.
From the above two scenarios, the first one seems to be more profitable because you only need to pay $59.40 and you can enjoy a 77% discount.
However, many beginners make this mistake. The first scenario is perfect for when you are just starting out and are unsure if your online business will make it to year two, or when you are short on funds and want to keep initial costs low.
However, if you are certain about the outlook for the next few years (which we usually are), then the second scenario is the ideal one. To explain this, let me share another scenario.
Plan 3 – 1 year hosting + 2 years Bluehost hosting renewal (at actual cost)
In this case, you will pay $59.40 (first year) + 21.99 * 24 = $587.16 (3 years of hosting)
This is more than double the cost of Scenario 2, so you will end up paying more in the long run.
If you understand this, it will be clearer that in most cases, it is much better to buy 2-3 years of hosting upfront than to buy the first year and then pay the full renewal fee every year.
HostArmada Hosting Renewal–
Now let’s take a look at HostArmada hosting, specifically their “Web Warp Plan*.” Using this special link , HostArmada is offering up to 80% off your first bill, and it’s also undiscounted on renewals.
Scenario 1 – Purchasing hosting services three years in advance
Three years of hosting is only $118.40 and comes with a free domain name.
Plan 2 – Prepay for one year of HostArmada hosting + manual renewal for the next two years
Now, in this case, you will pay
$44.75 (80% off first year) + $16.45*24 = $439.55
That's a huge difference of over $300, and if you don't purchase hosting 3 years upfront, you'll end up paying extra.
Conclusion – If you want to save a lot of money in the long run, buy a hosting service for 24-36 months.
Note: This is ideal for users who are more or less certain that they will be operating their site for the next few years.
So, one way to save money is to buy long-term web hosting and thus get better hosting discounts. One problem with this method is that you will be stuck with the same hosting for a long time. I usually use this method for my niche websites.
Transfer hosting to save money on web hosting:
This is the second method that you can use every time you renew. This method will allow you to save money on your hosting renewal. Based on my experience, HostArmada and Bluehost offer almost the same quality, so it doesn’t make much of a difference which company you choose for your hosting.
When your hosting term is about to expire, you can sign up for a hosting plan from another hosting company and then migrate your website. One good thing about this transition is that some companies (like Hostinger or HostArmada ) offer free migration services, so you don’t even have to worry about the technicalities.
Moving a WordPress site doesn’t have to be difficult, you can refer to this guide on how to move a WordPress site to a new host .
This way, you can save $20-40 per year. This method is suitable for those who are tech-savvy and don’t mind changing hosting companies, but I would recommend the former method for less tech-savvy users.
Ask your hosting company for a discount:
This method works for almost all hosting companies. Retaining customers is the top priority of any hosting company, and when your hosting term is about to expire, you can ask the hosting sales team for a renewal discount.
You can simply say:
“I got a nice discount on (name of competing hosting service) and I want to save some money. Renewing with you will cost me $120, but if I move my site to X hosting, I will save at least $50. I would like to get a discount at renewal because I am happy to continue working with you and I also want to save my hard-earned money.”
This may or may not work, depending on the hosting company's policies. However, if you ask in the right way, you may end up getting a nice discount. Otherwise, you can always go with method 2!
Most people ignore such small savings for the sake of their own comfort, but remember, “ money saved is money earned .”
Do you have any other tips to share for saving money on web hosting?
If you found the information in this article useful, please share it with your friends and colleagues on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Further reading:
- Which is the top WordPress hosting for high traffic websites?
- 5 Best Managed WordPress Hosting Providers
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