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Do Website Builders Include Hosting?

4 min to read

Whether website builders include hosting in their plans depends on the provider. You’ll often see hosting included in subscription packages; these usually begin with a discount for the first few years, before the price increases thereafter.

You may see different hosting platforms included in subscription plans, such as Siteground, Bluehost, and GoDaddy. It often depends on which companies the hosting provider has a partnership with. In addition to the website builder, you should read reviews for any hosting service you consider – their services are independent from the builder.

The choice of hosting services will also depend on the website builder’s primary objectives. For example, those catered toward beginners often include hosting packages as part of a bundle. The aim is to bring everything in one place; decision fatigue can otherwise ensue.

On the other hand, some website builders focus on a more technical crowd. These often don’t include hosting so you have more flexibility to shop around; these may not be suitable for you if you’re a beginner.  

Pro Tips:
Builders with integrated hosting: Hocoos, Weebly, Squarespace, Wix, and Sitejet. Builders with integrated hosting often have low or no-code tools, and other features for beginners – but they aren't always great for advanced users.
Builders without integrated hosting: WordPress.org. You have more control over your host choice, but you must also possess more technical knowledge and be prepared for hiccups.
Key Takeaways:
  • Look At Your Builder’s Features
    • While some website builders include hosting, it isn’t a given. Assess each website builder you’re thinking about, and choose one that fits your tech skills and needs.
  • Know the Difference
    • Domains and hosting are two different things. The domain is your website’s address (e.g. hocoos.com). Hosting, on the other hand, is where your site files are stored.
  • Think About Hosting Aspects
    • Your website host should have reliable uptime, great customer support, and a good infrastructure; if it doesn't, you risk your site crashing often.
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Do Website Builders Include Hosting?

What if I want to switch web hosts later?

Switching web hosts later is possible, even if you use a website builder with integrated hosting – but the process is highly technical. The process normally goes something like this: 

  1. Unlocking your domain and assets for use with another hosting service.
  2. Signing up for the new hosting service and canceling your old subscription. 
  3. Transferring your domain (there are sometimes delays with this, depending on the provider and times that you change your assets). 

If your hosting provider offers a migration service, you should use this – you might sometimes need to pay an additional fee. Transfer times can take up to a week, and there are often limits on how many times you can migrate your domain and other materials, but preparing in advance will ensure that you enjoy a smooth transfer.

Pro Tips:
• Watch and read hosting providers’ tutorials if you want to switch, and use the resources dedicated to where you want to transfer your services. 
• Export a backup of your website content first when using a builder with integrated hosting.

How do domain and web hosting work together for building a website?

The domain name is what users type in or click on when they visit your website (e.g. hocoos.com, youtube.com, etc.). Meanwhile, web hosting is the server space that stores your site files and data (pages, domains, and so on). 

Domain and web hosting are different from one another, but they both work together. When a user clicks on your website, the domain directs them to the associated server (i.e. your web host). After that, the web host displays content in the visitor’s browser; this is why you sometimes see that a domain server stops responding if a site doesn’t load. 

Pro Tips:
• Domain name and hosting are often available from the same provider, but you should double-check that this is the case before purchasing. 
• Registering your domain name and directing it to the correct hosting server are the first things you should do, and you’ll normally do this in your hosting backend.

Can I host my website on my personal computer?

You can technically host your website on your personal computer, and doing so is more cost-effective – but you should still refrain from doing so. 

Professional web hosting services have significant resources and technical knowledge, along with accessible customer support, but home computers miss out on these. Moreover, professional web hosts have high-level security infrastructures and (mostly) excellent safety standards – but home computers are more susceptible to breaches.

Web hosting makes your site more scalable and reliable, but downtime and slow speeds are more likely on a home computer.

Pro Tips:
• Domain name and hosting are often available from the same provider, but you should double-check that this is the case before purchasing. 
• Invest in web hosting for all serious websites; look for services that meet your needs.

How much does it cost to host a website?

Website hosting varies depending on factors like: 

  • The company’s offerings 

  • The subscription package 

  • Your location 

Shared hosting, which is where you share a server with other websites, costs less money – but you may sometimes encounter slower processing times. Dedicated hosting gives you your own server, but it’s more expensive. 

Website hosting prices can vary depending on location for several reasons, such as currency and local sales taxes. These are normally calculated at workout; some providers have multiple currencies, while others have one or a few. 

Pro Tips:
• Shared hosting starts at $2-5 per month, and site builders with integrated hosting often range from $10-50+ per month.  
• Choose a website hosting subscription that matches your requirements; bigger websites might need a more expensive plan to handle the load.

Conclusion

Website builders and hosting might not seem as fun as running your business or blog, but they’re the foundational steps for building an online presence. Some website builders include hosting or have it as an add-on, but others do not. Generally speaking, site builders catered for beginners have hosting – while advanced options don’t. 

Knowing the differences between hosting services will let you build the right package while ignoring these will make everything else an uphill task. Shop around and look for plans that have what you’re looking for. 

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