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The Advantages and Disadvantages of Cheap Hosts

Why do Cheap Hosts Exist?

The most popular way to try to compete in the hosting industry is to become one of the cheap hosts. This can be very dangerous for all involved because price is not always the best reason to choose a hosting company. Cheap hosts are all over the place and they are not hard to find. There are literally dozens of them.

Many new hosting companies become cheap hosts because they cannot offer the same features and the same service as a larger company that has been in business for a longer amount of time. They simply don't have the server space or the staff to support VPS and dedicated server accounts like larger companies do.

Does this mean all cheap hosts are bad? Of course not, but they have to be able to compete in some way, and that way is price. You may be able to get hosting for $1.99 a month from a company like WebHostingPad (our #5 overall hosting choice), but that does not mean it is better than the hosting from a company like HostGator (our #10 overall hosting choice and top reseller hosting choice) that has been around for many years.

HostGator may be a bit more expensive than WebHostingPad, but they have every right to charge more. They can offer you more options, better support, and they have proven time and time again why they are a top hosting choice in nearly every category out there. Look at the different best hosting lists we have and you will find HostGator is in many of the categories and is ranked very high.

The Advantages of Cheap Hosts

Of course, the main advantage of cheap hosts is the price. Many people would rather pay $1.99 for a shared hosting package that is similar to another one that cost twice or three times as much per month. This is a no brainer for most people, but they don't look at the big picture. There has to be more to your hosting decision than just price.

Another advantage you usually get with cheap hosts is the fact that you only have one package to choose from. This means you don't have to do the research to see if you are getting the right hosting or not because there is no other choice. This could also be viewed as a disadvantage, if you don't get the right hosting for your project.

The Disadvantages of Cheap Hosts

There are far more disadvantages associated with cheap hosts than advantages. This is simply because they are cheap and typically that means they are not as good as the better and more expensive hosting packages. The hosting industry is highly competitive and without cheap hosts, it would not be nearly as competitive or as lucrative.

After you have a bad experience with one of the cheap hosts, you will go looking for a better hosting company and price won't matter so much. Cheap hosts don't offer the choices you need and deserve, the upgrade options as you grow, and they usually don't support their clients nearly as well as the larger and more expensive hosting companies.

When you start looking for your hosting, really consider whether saving a few dollars a month is worth the gamble when it comes to the foundation of your websites and blogs. If you think it is worth the gamble, then find one of the cheap hosts and move forward. If not, do your research, figure out the type of hosting you need, and then find a top company to host your websites and blogs instead of one of the cheap hosts.


Hanson

Hanson is an internet professional with a strong focus in the hosting industry. Her experience includes everything from running her own hosting company to building websites. Connect with Hanson on Twitter and Google+.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, January 5th, 2012 at 4:44 pm and is filed under Cheap. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.

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