THE REAL BILL

Why does website hosting get more expensive after the first year?

Many hosting offers lead with a promotional rate for the first billing period. The ongoing renewal price can be much higher, and domains, email, backups or plugins may renew separately.

The headline price may be temporary

Check how long the introductory price lasts and what the next invoice will be. A three-year prepaid promotion and a one-year promotion can look similar in advertising while creating very different renewal dates.

The domain may renew separately

A “free domain for the first year” can still have an annual renewal cost later. Check the normal registration price for the extension you use.

Email can become a separate subscription

Some hosts include mailboxes while others sell email separately. If the business depends on the domain email, include that in the long-term cost from day one.

Backups and security can be add-ons

Check whether automated backups, staging, malware scanning, restore assistance and SSL are actually included or are separate paid features.

Plugins and themes have renewal costs too

WordPress sites can accumulate annual licence renewals for forms, ecommerce, backups, page builders and other functionality. Hosting is only one line in the website budget.