Small business2 min read
What is web hosting, and what should you actually pay?
Hosting is renting space for your website to live. Here is what it should actually cost.
SSL is what puts the padlock in the browser and turns your address into https. It encrypts information travelling between your visitor and your website. Every site needs it — browsers now warn visitors on sites without it — and it should cost you nothing, because free certificates are standard.
When someone fills in your contact form, the information travels across the internet to your website. Without SSL that information is readable by anyone who intercepts it. With SSL it is scrambled so only your site can read it.
The visible signs are a padlock icon in the browser and an address starting https rather than http.
Because browsers now actively warn visitors about sites without it.
| Situation | Cost |
|---|---|
| Squarespace, Wix, Shopify | Included |
| Most modern hosts | Free, via Let's Encrypt |
| Cloudflare in front of your site | Free |
| Host charging $50–$150 a year | Overcharging — ask for the free option |
| Extended validation certificate | Only for large financial institutions |
Free certificates from Let's Encrypt are the standard across the industry and are technically identical for a small business site. If your host insists you must pay, that is a reason to consider moving.
Open your site and look at the address bar. A padlock and https means you have it. 'Not secure' means you do not.
No. It protects information in transit. It does nothing about weak passwords, outdated software or vulnerable plugins, which are how sites actually get compromised.
Certificates expire, usually every 90 days for free ones, but renewal is automatic on any properly configured host. If yours expires visibly, something is misconfigured.
Not if done properly, with all http addresses redirected to https. Done badly it can cause duplicate-content issues, so it is worth having someone check the redirects.
ROVQIX Engineering
Engineering team, ROVQIX
The ROVQIX engineering team builds and maintains web platforms, APIs and infrastructure for clients across SaaS, ecommerce and enterprise. These notes come out of real production work — deploys, incidents, migrations and audits.
ROVQIXdesigns and builds production web platforms — Next.js front ends, Node.js APIs and the infrastructure behind them. Tell us what you're building and we'll scope it with you.
Hosting is renting space for your website to live. Here is what it should actually cost.
Most people have backups. Far fewer have ever tested restoring one.
They do different jobs. The risk is building only on land you do not own.
No spam. Just the occasional case study and craft breakdown.