Cheap Web Hosting in the UK [Reliable plans as low as 1£/m]
- Written by Steve Kowal
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How to find a cheap web hosting in the UK that can be trusted?
This is one of the most common questions we got from our visitors. In the past, it was really hard to find a web hosting plan under 3£/m that will be reliable. With the growing competition and the advance of the technology, now it is much easier to find a budget web hosting company that can be trusted for as low as 0,69£/m.
When searching for a cheap web hosting, here are a few important tips.
- Check if they have a money back guarantee. This is very important since we will show you how to test your web hosting account and see if it is good.
- Check for what period is this price available, do not buy hosting plans for more than 24 months.
- Choose a local UK web host - content delivery is faster and dealing with customer support is usually much easier.
- Try to get your web hosting plan with a reputable company that has a name in the business and has been around for a while (at least 5 years).
Based on our research, here is the list with the most reliable budget UK website hosting plans.
It is arranged by price and we have more tips for you on choosing a budget web hosting on the bottom.
GoDaddy
- 1 website
- 100GB storage
- Unlimited transfer
1and1.co.uk
- 1 website
- 10GB storage
- Unlimited transfer
UK2.net
- 1 website
- 500MB storage
- 1GB transfer
One.com
- 1 website
- 15GB storage
- Unlimited transfer
TSOHOST
- 2 websites
- 500MB storage
- 5GB transfer
EUKHOST
- 1 website
- 2GB storage
- Unlimited transfer
Justhost
- Unlimited websites
- Unlimited storage
- Unlimited transfer
Hosting.co.uk
- 2 websites
- 10GB storage
- 100GB transfer
Bluehost
- 1 website
- 100GB storage
- Unlimited transfer
Webhosting.uk.com
- 1 website
- 500MB storage
- 5GB transfer
Easyspace
- 1 website
- 50GB storage
- Unlimited transfer
2,47£/m
the first year only, renewal at 3,69£/m
WebHostingBuzz
- 2 website
- 400GB storage
- 5000GB transfer
Siteground
- 1 website
- 10GB storage
- Unlimited transfer
HeartInternet
- 1 website
- 5GB storage
- 30GB transfer
As you see from this list, the big reliable brand names in the hosting industry have cheap website hosting plans. So make sure you stick to those and you will not have to worry about the most common problems of the cheap web hosting companies, such as data centre in third world country, no backups, old servers or no support. All the web host providers listed above have data centres near the UK, fast and efficient support and data backups.
Here is what to look for before you purchase a budget web hosting
Look for the renewal price. Most of the big companies have hosting plans that are very cheap for the first year but get expensive on the renewal. Even tho for one year you might already know how to monetize your online presence and you would not pay attention to the renewal cost or even buy a higher plan to host your increased traffic, it is good to set up the right expectations.
Check the web hosting company ToS. Use Ctr+F(on PC) Cmd+F(on Mac) and look for the refund policy or cancellation terms. Note how many days you have to check your hosting plan, typically it is 30 days and some companies go for up to 90. Do not buy cheap website hosting plan with no money back policy. Another thing to look for in the ToS is the Inodes. This means how many files your web host allows you to store. Even the emails are counted for inodes, so they can stack up pretty fast. You need at least 60 000 inodes.
How to check if your budget hosting plan is good enough
After you decide which web hosting is best for your needs, buy it and set it up. Upload your content and head over to our tools section where you will find everything that you need to evaluate your hosting service.
First, check the ping with check-host.net. The lower the better, but you need a ping from the UK server to be below 200ms. Then head over to Pingdom and Google Speed Insight and check the page speed load time. It depends on your content, but the server response time will be there as well.
Since on the cheap website hosting accounts usually there are many sites on the same IP, make sure your site is not hosted on the same IP with some spammer, which may harm your rankings and mark your emails as spam. You can use the MxToolBox supertool to see if the IP is blacklisted somewhere.
Do those checks before your money back period is over. If you find something suspicious, go with another host. If not, congratulations, you have found yourself the best cheap and reliable web hosting in the UK.
Important
DO NOT buy a hosting from an unknown company that started yesterday just to save a few pennies because you don't know if it will not shut for business tomorrow with all your content and hard work. Look for user and expert reviews and company history records.
Low price - compromise on quality?
Low price should never be a green signal for the deliverance of low-quality services. This should be your front statement, my friends, that you cannot accept any compromise in the name of low price. What demanded is that the customers are not looted in the name of best facilities. These web hosting firms should not exploit their customers.
You can keep yourself safe from such bluffs by making a thorough overview of the company’s services. It will be best if you start with investigating customer reviews, internet guides, and specialist recommendations. These steps are in fact must do.
You cannot make such a significant decision by only putting your trust in the words of the company itself. However, a reliable decision can be made by taking into consideration what the people think of these companies, those who had experienced working with them.
Low cost Web hosting checklist
While looking for a reliable web hosting firm, it is better that you first make a checklist of all the services you are looking for. It’s always better to plan before starting your search. It will make your hunt and decision easier.
The major things which have to be on the top of your list are:
- Scalable bandwidth
- Transparent fees and terms
- Great customer support
- Good security reputation
- Basic web stats support
- 99% uptime stats
- Free marketing tools
- 5+ MySQL Databases
- At least 30 days money back guarantee
The most common problems with budget hosting plans and how to solve them.
1. Getting tricked into additional charges:
These cheap web hosting companies might not seem that cheap sometimes. They trick their customers to take additional features and pay for them. Believe me, most of the times you do not even need these features.
Solution
Be clear about what specifications you are looking for in a web hosting plan. Do not go for any additional ones when you don’t even need them.
2. Inadequate uptime charges:
No matter how much the company promises to deliver, it might end up providing no good. You might not even receive proper uptime charges.
Solution
Always look for the customer reviews before going for any plan. This will make the picture very clear that where does the company stand in its repute.
3. Hacking issues:
Cheap web hosting plans mostly end up providing shared accounts. This means that there will be some customers using one server. This also means that you’ll have to share the memory as well as the storage of your files. Hence, chances are always there that your site will be hacked by any client using the shared account.
Solution
You can solve this problem easily by registering your complaint and asking your site to be shifted to another server.
4. Technical support might not be up to the mark:
If you are going for anything cheap, chances are always there that you end up being disappointed with the services delivered to you.
Solution
Well, this problem cannot be easily solved by simply registering a complaint. The only option you are left with is leaving that firm. However, the next time you choose, you’ll be more directed and experienced about all the frauds and tricks.
5. Hidden fees and conditions:
Some cheap hosting companies have tricked themselves in this business. They sign up the clients at very cheap rates, but when they plan to cancel, they are made to pay heavy cancellation fees. So, your cheap plan remains no cheaper.
Solution
Make sure you read the terms and conditions from any web host that you consider, and make sure that you are clear on how they handle cancellation before you go anywhere near the “buy” button.
6. Limited number of MySQL Databases:
If you long for maximum speed, then databases are the key to it. 100 MySQL Databases is the minimum acceptable number of cheap hosting offers. However, some companies might end up giving you a limited number of databases. This means that you compromised in the service quality at the cost of cheap service.
Solution
Like the previous one, this problem can also not be solved once you have joined a firm. So, this is always preferable that you first thoroughly go through the customer reviews about the company. Especially look for the TOS related to Databases. This will help you a lot by making the picture clearer. Because once you have gone to the firm, the only option left is leaving it.
7. Poor server-side security:
Most of the time, low-cost results in the deliverance of poor quality services. It is the service quality which you can’t compromise, no matter what. Especially, a poor side-server security is what you can never afford! Side-server security is what protects your website.
In case there is any flaw, your site might end up being hacked. In most of the cheap hosting plans, this is typically only reachable to the web host.
Solution
Before going for any firm, make sure that you first thoroughly go through the customer reviews. This will make the picture even clearer. If you suspect any flaw in server security and that the customers complain about having a hard time leave the option. Go for another one!
All the web hosting companies we have listed on our best web hosting review page have cheap shared plans, so make sure you check our reviews. If you are looking to host a WordPress site, we have the best WordPress hosting plans listed here.
Giving a thorough reading to the points mentioned above will surely give you a complete guidance and will help you make a wise decision.
Good luck!