Web hosting is an integral part of your online presence as it sets the base for your website. Hosting is the online space on which your website content is housed. In simple words, it is the storehouse of all your website data. The performance of your website depends largely on the quality of services rendered by your web host provider. This, in turn, will impact the success of your website. Therefore, it is extremely important to carefully choose your hosting service provider.
Monthly subscription vs Annual subscription
When selecting your web hosting subscription, you have two options to choose from:
- Monthly subscription – It allows you to pay a monthly rental for the online space you acquire for your website.
- Annual subscription – It allows you to pay a lump sum annual rental for your website’s space.
Both monthly and annual plans have their advantages and disadvantages. Therefore, choosing one of them depends on your needs. With time, you might even decide to shift from one plan to another with your changing needs. In the following part of this article, we’ll discuss the pros and cons of these plans so that you can make a better decision for your hosting requirements.
Pros of Monthly subscription plans
Requires no commitment
With a monthly hosting plan, you don’t have to make a long-term commitment with a web host. This allows you to transfer your website to another host in case you do not like the hosting services.
Helpful in case of financial constraints
When you are just starting, you might find it difficult to invest a large sum into your new website. A monthly subscription plan allows you to pay as your business grows. You can always shift to an annual plan later with an increase in your website’s income.
Offers flexibility
A monthly subscription plan provides flexibility to your website hosting. You can upgrade your web hosting plan after a month or so, as per your requirements. Also, you can change your web host altogether in case you find a better deal somewhere else.
Suitable for testing
If you are creating a website for testing purposes, there is no logic in paying for an annual hosting plan. You can choose the monthly subscription option for your test website and close the website once you are done with your testing.
Cons of Monthly subscription plans
Costlier
Monthly web hosting plans are normally costlier than annual subscription plans. When you calculate the yearly cost of a monthly subscription plan, you will find it to be a bit more expensive than the annual plan offered by the same web host. This makes long-term hosting plans more lucrative.
No freebies
Many hosting service providers offer freebies like a free domain name with their annual subscriptions. When you opt for a monthly subscription, you miss out on such freebies.
Pros of Annual subscription plans
Cost-effective
Annual subscription plans are a cost-effective solution for your website if you plan to stay in the business for long. When you calculate the monthly value of an annual hosting plan, you will find it to be cheaper than the monthly subscription plan offered by the same web host.
Freebies
Almost all the web hosts offer some freebies with their annual subscription plans. This can be in the form of a free domain name, enhanced security, etc. Monthly subscription plans do not come with such added benefits.
One-time payment
An annual plan calls for a single payment for the full year relieving you from your financial obligations for the whole year. You don’t have to worry about your next installment each month for a full year.
Cons of Annual subscription plans
Fixed commitment
An annual subscription for your website hosting requires you to make a long-term commitment. Even if you are not satisfied with the hosting services later, you are left with no other option than to stay with your current web host. In such a case, you will have to wait for the expiration of your website’s annual subscription before you shift to a new host.
Lump-sum amount
An annual hosting plan demands a lump-sum amount that might not be affordable for a new website owner. A monthly plan is the best in case of financial constraints.
Best monthly hosting plans
Many hosting service providers offer an annual plan as their smallest hosting option. This takes away your chance of trying out the hosting services you are committing to. Therefore, we are here listing the 5 best web hosts providing monthly subscription options for all your hosting requirements. The distinctive features of all these hosts are also included in helping you make an informed decision
A2 Hosting
A2 Hosting is known for its excellent speed that comes from its globally diversified data centers. It is an independently-owned company focusing on boosting your website’s performance with its personal touch. Their hosting plans are suitable for both newbies and professionals.
Features
Free site migration
The host offers free transfer of your website to its platform. This makes it affordable for you to shift your website to a new host.
Extremely fast servers
A2 Hosting houses a Turbo server that allows you to increase your website’s speed by 20 times. This greatly improves your site’s performance, reduces the bounce rate, and positively impacts the conversion rate.
99.9% uptime guarantee
A2 Hosting is extremely reliable as it offers a 99.9% uptime guarantee for all your websites. You can depend on the host for keeping your website up and running always.
24/7 customer support
The customer support team is knowledgeable and friendly to help you solve all your issues. It is available 24/7/365 for rendering support services.
Anytime money-back guarantee
A2 Hosting offers you to try out their services risk-free by providing an anytime money-back guarantee. This offer is available even on their monthly plans. So, if you don’t like their services after trying them out for a week, you won’t be at a loss.
Free SSL certificate
You will also receive a free SSL certificate for your website.
Perpetual security
The host also offers HackScan protection for your website and prevents your website from hackers. A variety of other security features like a dual firewall and brute force defense are also available.
HostGator
Founded in 2002, Hostgator has gathered a lot of experience in serving the hosting needs of website owners. Along with the provision of hosting services, Hostgator is also one of the largest domain registrars in the market. The experience of the host ensures you a secure and reliable hosting for your website.
Features
Easy migration
Hostgator has a dedicated team that helps you to migrate your website content to its platform. You can even choose to transfer your domain registration for managing your entire website from a single platform.
Excellent support
Hostgator offers 24/7/365 support services to help you with all your hosting-related queries. You can connect with the customer support team via telephone or live chat.
99.9% uptime guarantee
Like A2 Hosting, Hostgator also offers a 99.9% uptime guarantee for your website so you can rely on the company for keeping your website online.
Money-back guarantee
Hostgator offers a 45-day money-back guarantee that allows you to ask for a complete refund if you are not satisfied with the hosting services.
Easy set-up
Hostgator makes it super-easy to set-up your website with one-click WordPress installation and drag-and-drop Website Builder. In-built themes and pre-built sections will save a lot of your time in setting up and publishing your website.
Unlimited email addresses
Many web hosts charge an additional amount for email addresses, however, Hostgator offers unlimited email addresses for free in a few of its hosting plans. You must take advantage of this special deal.
Dreamhost
Dreamhost is one of the oldest web hosts with an experience of more than 20 years. With its long-built reputation and excellent services, it gained a position among the top three web hosts endorsed by WordPress. The in-built website-building tools and excellent user interface makes it a great choice for new website owners. While the advanced tools offered by the company makes it suitable for experienced website owners.
Features
100% uptime guarantee
Dreamhost offers a 100% uptime guarantee to keep your website running all the time. You can be sure of being online without any downtime.
Free SSL certificate
Encrypting your website’s connection is an important security aspect. Dreamhost offers you a free SSL certificate for your website’s authentication and security.
97-day money-back guarantee
Dreamhost is confident to render high-quality hosting services and, therefore, offers a 97-day money-back guarantee. If you are not happy with the company’s hosting services, you can always avail of this offer.
Customer support
The web host allows you to connect via email or live chat for receiving technical or non-technical support for your website.
Transparent and affordable plans
Dreamhost displays all the pricing options clearly on its website and doesn’t charge any hidden costs. The hosting plans are competitively priced and offer excellent value for your money.
Free SSD storage
Storing your website files on a server near to your website visitors results in faster page loading. Dreamhost offers free SSD storage for your website content to improve your website’s performance.
Quick start
The web host provides you a website with pre-installed WordPress to save your time. This allows you to quickly set up and publish your website.
Bluehost
Founded in 2003, Bluehost is among the biggest hosting companies in the world. It offers the best VPS hosting services in the industry. With Bluehost, you receive the flexibility to upgrade your hosting plan without any delay because of its efficient servers spread throughout the world.
Features
Reliable and efficient
WordPress recommends Bluehost for its excellent hosting services as one of the top hosting service providers. This makes the web host a reliable option for your WordPress website.
One-click installation
You can quickly build and publish your WordPress site with a single click WordPress installation. Also, it is extremely easy to change the looks of your website with a drag-and-drop Website Builder.
Customer support
Bluehost offers 24/7 support for all your technical and non-technical queries. The company has a team of trained customer care executives to serve your needs robustly. Additionally, it provides online guides and video tutorials for self-analyzing the website building issues.
Money-back guarantee
A money-back guarantee helps you try out hosting services without a loss. Bluehost offers a 30-day money-back guarantee to try out its services. In case you are not satisfied with the web host, you can avail of this offer.
Promotional tools
Bluehost ensures the success of your website by offering you a variety of marketing tools, add-on services, and paid ad credits. You can utilize these services for increasing your website’s reach.
99.99% uptime guarantee
The web host guarantees an uptime of 99.99% for all the websites it hosts.
InMotion Hosting
InMotion Hosting offers an array of hosting services to meet the needs of all the website owners. Whether you want shared hosting, dedicated hosting, or VPS hosting services, InMotion Hosting has it all
Features
99.999% uptime guarantee
InMotion Hosting offers a 99.999% uptime guarantee for your website because of its premium bandwidth providers. It has Smart Routing technology and advanced DDoS protection.
Improved website performance
InMotion Hosting ensures to reduce the loading time of your website with the use of PHP 7, solid-state drives, and custom server caching.
Enhanced security
You can be sure of your website’s security with Free SSL, DDoS protection, hack protection, and a custom firewall.
Free site migration
The web host offers free migration services to help you quickly set up your website on their platform. Its free drag-and-drop Website Builder and single-click app installer speed up the website building process.
Compatibility with open-source programs
InMotion Hosting offers hosting tools for several open-source programs including WordPress, PrestaShop, Joomla, and b2evolution.
Conclusion
A variety of reasons can stop you from committing long-term to a web host. Opting for a monthly hosting plan is the best alternative in such cases. It allows you to test the hosting services and pay as your website grows. We sincerely hope that our guide to the monthly subscription plans for web hosting will be useful for your website. If you are unsure, you can always choose a company that offers a money-back guarantee. Don’t forget to share your experience with us once you make a decision.