Copy article

The Independent: SME web hosting options

Journalist: Marc Shoffman, Freelance

ended 07. April 2026

I am writing a few pieces for The Independent looking at web hosting and email domains.

I am keen for comments from business advisers, web experts, consultants etc on the below..

Wha is web hosting, ho wmuch does it cost, is vps hosting safe?

How do I create my own email domain, how much does it cost and what are the dos and don'ts to be aware of?

How to build a better business website, how much does it cost, can i do it for free, what do i need and who legally owns it?

Please note, this is for an SME webpage hosted by an AI Web App builder so I may be limited on the web hosting companies I can quote from, although I can mention them, which is why comments from business advisers/web experts will be more useful

1 responses from the Newspage community

Copy all

Copy

Colette Mason
AI Ethics Consultant at Clever Clogs AI
Web hosting is online storage that makes your website accessible on the internet. Your site's files live on a server maintained by a hosting company, which is why you pay monthly or annually for the service. UK costs for shared hosting, suitable for small simple "online brochure" sites, are around £2-5/month. These have little support and your site can get lumped with poor quality spam sites on the same web server.

The next tier is £10-25/month which has more support and fewer sites per server, so less chance of being blacklisted.

VPS offers more security than shared hosting because you have dedicated resources, isolation from other users, and control over server settings, but any server can be hacked given enough time and dedication. Safety depends on proper configuration, strong passwords, and regular updates.

Many SMEs choosing VPS without technical expertise create more security holes than shared hosting would have. Consider a managed VPS if you lack in-house IT capability.