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Is a Self Hosted WordPress site worth the hassle and cost?
Before we determine whether of not a self hosted WordPress site is worth the cost, let’s go over the average costs for each of the most popular types of self hosting plans offered today.
The average self hosted WordPress site per plan cost are the following:
- Shared Hosting:$5-$10 per month.
- Managed WordPress Hosting: $8-$30 per month.
- Cloud Hosting: $5-$20 per month.
- VPS Hosting: $30-$60 per month.
- Dedicated Server Hosting: $100-$500 per month.
These are all very rough estimates of what the “average” self hosted WordPress website would cost. There are definitely some that are below and well above the above prices.
These self hosting costs of course all depend on the Web Hosting Provider, what their particular plans include and don’t include as well as the equipment they use, the quality and quantity of their support staff, where they are located, etc.
We’ll go even further and break down the pros and cons of self hosting with each one.
Finally, we will summarize the benefits vs the costs of each so you can choose which self hosted WordPress plan is best for you.
Free Hosting.
As self-hosting is becoming more popular, free options are increasing in number.
The first one is definitely the easiest option to go with when self hosting your website for free. It’s called Blogger and it’s mainly for non tech people that just want to have a site or blog that they can manage without having to know too much.
The beauty of self hosted Blogger is that it’s actually hosting your site using Google servers so you don’t need to go about getting hosting or setting anything up for this to work. As far as Free Self Hosting a WordPress site.
There are no really good options. You can self host for example a WordPress site on Google Sites, but it only allows for static website hosting. WordPress.com offers a free WordPress Blog plan, but that’s a Managed WordPress and not self hosted WordPress.
You could always buy your own server and host your WordPress website that way, but that would be free, would it.
Shared Hosting.
The second option for self hosting a WordPress website is with a Shared Hosting plan. This is where you self host your WordPress site on a server that’s shared with other sites. Shared Hosting is typically the cheapest self hosted WordPress website plan available today from Web Hosting Providers.
A self hosted WordPress website can be really fast if it is self hosted on a good Shared Hosting plan, however, self hosting your WordPress site on a server that’s not well optimized or has terrible Shared Hosting plans will cause the opposite to happen and you’ll have a slow WordPress site.
Self hosting your self hosted WordPress site on a self hosted server also means that if the self Web Hosting Provider self hosts your self hosted WordPress site shuts down there’s every chance that you will lose your self hosted WordPress data.
However, Shared Hosting is much cheaper than other options so it is an option for self-hosters with lower budgets.
Cloud Hosting.
Cloud Hosting is self hosting your WordPress site on servers that are part of the “Cloud”. This means that although your self hosted WordPress site shares resources with other self hosted WordPress sites, not all resources are shared with third parties on the same server, but through many different servers usually located in Data Centers throughout the country or even the world.
Your site’s files are basically duplicated so they could easily be moved around to different servers for optimal performance, which makes it closer to a dedicated self hosting server.
However, if your WordPress Cloud Host servers shutdown, you can lose access to your self hosted WordPress data. Though this is extremely rare.
There are many Cloud Hosting companies that provide different paid plans depending on usage.
However, most of them require additional payments for things like disk space and WordPress bandwidth.
Virtual Private Server Hosting Hosting (VPS).
This is self hosting your WordPress site on a private server with its own IP address. A VPS plan basically allocated a specific amount on a physical server, so that even though that server is still shared, it’s limited to the amount of users on that machine.
This won’t be the cheapest option, however, it’s also not the most expensive either.
You can get VPS self hosting for $10-$50 per month depending on features you want such as high CPU limits and memory.
The Web Hosting Provider that self hosts your WordPress site on a VPS has dedicated resources and the Web Hosting Provider will be able to manage, optimize and maintain your self hosted WordPress site so it runs well.
This is very important when self hosting a WordPress website because if your WordPress site doesn’t have its own allocated server space and resources it can be slow.
Dedicated Server Hosting.
A Dedicated Server Hosting plan means that there’s a server just for your self hosted WordPress site or sites.
Dedicated Server Hosting means that the self hosted website has its own RAM, resources and disk space. Basically, the whole machine is just for you.
However a dedicated server costs much more than Shared Hosting. If you self host your website with a dedicated server, it will have an impact on the cost of website hosting services. In fact, Dedicated Server Hosting is typically the most expensive of all self hosted WordPress plans.
WordPress websites that are self hosted on a dedicated server have more resources, and with dedicated servers there is no fear of your website being affected by somebody else’s site hosted with the same web host or server.
In short, you can compare this to having a whole house just for you, instead of sharing with roommates.
In domestic or low traffic websites it may not be that important to have a self hosted WordPress website on a dedicated server. A self hosted WordPress website will work just fine on a Shared Hosting environment.
However, if having your self hosted WordPress website being hacked by another site is not an option, it may be more beneficial to self host on a dedicated server.
Self Hosted WordPress, the cost vs benefits of each plan summary.
A Shared Hosting account is a way of obtaining website hosting where more than one individual site resides on the same web server.
This allows you to save money on what can be expensive monthly fees for a single dedicated server, and it has the added benefit of being able to share resources such as bandwidth and RAM.
However, even though multiple sites reside on the same server, they are isolated from one another and can be administered independently.
Shared Hosting services usually include the use of a control panel tool which enables you to create email accounts as well as to install WordPress blogs and websites, ecommerce stores etc.
However, if you expect your website to go viral or get thousands of visitors per day then this option is not for you.
Shared Hosting servers are not designed to handle the load caused by too many concurrent connections and can become unstable when used in such a way.
Solutions in this case could be Cloud Hosting VPS Hosting or Dedicated Server Hosting.
Cloud Hosting is a model of networked computing, whereby resources are provided as a service to computers and other devices on demand. A Cloud Host requires no hardware at all, because your virtual space lives in one or more server farms which it connects to via the internet.
They are suitable for websites with high traffic or large amounts of data, as no one person’s usage is ever increased because another person is using the service, making it cost-efficient.
The Cloud Host takes care of any security risks and ensures that your website runs smoothly, even if some physical servers fail. They usually come with server-side scripting support.
A VPS (Virtual Private Server Hosting) is essentially a virtual version of your own dedicated server, which you can rent for short periods of time.
A VPS runs its own copy of an operating system, and you are given full control over the software configuration.
It operates just like a dedicated server, with the added ability to create an entire network of VPS’s.
You are able to choose between unmanaged or managed virtual servers – where the latter would include additional services such as server monitoring and guaranteed availability.
You can rent your VPS for anything from a few months up to several years at a time, and if you wish to terminate the contract then most service providers will allow you to do so with just a one-month notice period.
Renting a VPS is often seen as a good middle ground between Shared Hosting and dedicated server solutions.
Dedicated Server Hosting involves leasing an entire physical server while not sharing its resources with anyone else.
This means that you get full control over all available resources without any limitations but at the cost of increased complexity and responsibility for your own server’s uptime.
Dedicated servers are usually combined with a management solution to enable you to remotely install, reconfigure and monitor your dedicated server in case something goes wrong.
They are suitable for those who have a high-traffic website and can afford the cost.
A Dedicated Hosting solution is what you require if you want full control over your web space, allowing you to administer every single one of its settings independently.
You will also need high traffic levels or large amounts of data to justify this kind of investment, most importantly, the website’s layout needs to be scalable so it can accommodate future traffic increases.
A dedicated server is not scalable, so it should be used only when your current hosting package cannot handle the expected increase in visitors or data storage.
You will need to do everything yourself if you host a site on a dedicated server. This includes security updates, backups and software installations.
This may be advantageous for experienced webmasters, but it can prove to be a burden for those who are less confident with these matters.
A dedicated server is suitable if you know you need all of its resources and if your site’s layout is scalable.
Otherwise, a VPS or Cloud solution would be a better choice as they offer much more flexibility and scalability at a lower cost.
A dedicated server does not have a monthly fee, so you only pay for the hardware and software when your site is live.
You can terminate your hosting contract at any time without penalty. This makes a dedicated server an attractive option if you want to test the waters with your website before making a larger commitment.
If you just want to get your site up and running quickly, you might consider Shared Hosting. It is the cheapest option in terms of monthly costs, but it does require that you share server space with other websites.
This means that there are limits on what kind of sites will work well together in the same hosting plan. Generally, they should have similar traffic levels or be complementary in some way.
Traffic-heavy sites will struggle to work well alongside less popular websites, while very similar sites may experience downtime or performance issues resulting from their extreme proximity (too much competition over resources).
Shared Hosts also tend to be the worst option when it comes to security precautions because you are dealing with other clients’ data, unless you can completely trust your fellow website owners, you could be putting your own data at risk by choosing this option.
Shared Hosting is suitable for those who want to start small and don’t mind sharing resources with other websites, as well as those who value simplicity above all else. It is the cheapest option but may not suit everyone because of potential limitations and security concerns.
All four options offer a lot in terms of flexibility and efficiency, but you need to know what kind of website or business you run before choosing a hosting plan.
Shared is good for people who value simplicity and affordability over performance.
VPS is best for businesses with high traffic levels that need a high degree of control.
Cloud is the best option if you have very demanding requirements, require flexibility to deal with increases and decreases in traffic, but at a lower cost than a VPS due to its pricing not being fixed, but based on resources used.
Finally, Dedicated Hosting offers an almost “no limits” solution where you get the power of VPS hosting combined with full ownership.
In summary: For most, it will come down to these three with Shared Hosting offering convenience and the lowest pricing, but limited flexibility, VPS Hosting offering power and scalability alongside a high degree of control, and Cloud Hosting providing almost total freedom to create your ideal website without the higher fixed costs of a VPS.
