For a new startup or a local small business, the temptation to cut costs is high. When you see hosting advertised for "£2.99 a month" by giants like GoDaddy or Bluehost, it seems like a no-brainer.
But in the world of hosting, you truly get what you pay for. That cheap plan usually means your website is crammed onto a server with thousands of other sites, fighting for resources. When their site gets busy, your site slows down.
At Custom Coded Websites, we provide a "Middle Ground" solution. We offer enterprise-grade Cloud Hosting (powered by AWS or DigitalOcean) that is optimized for performance, but priced accessibly for growing UK businesses. Here is why your hosting choice matters more than you think.
1. The "Shared Hosting" Trap Explained
Imagine living in a massive block of flats where everyone shares one water pipe. If your neighbor takes a long shower, your water pressure drops to a trickle.
This is Shared Hosting. If another site on your server gets hacked or goes viral, your website crashes. You have no control over this.
The Cloud Difference: We use Virtual Private Servers (VPS). This is like owning a detached house. Your resources (RAM, CPU) are reserved strictly for you. No matter what happens to other websites on the internet, your site remains fast and stable.
2. Scalability for Startups (The "Dragon's Den" Effect)
For startups, the goal is growth. But what happens if you succeed? If you get featured in the press or launch a viral marketing campaign, traffic can spike from 10 visitors to 10,000 in an hour.
Cheap hosting will crash immediately under this pressure (the "503 Service Unavailable" error), right when you are about to make money.
The Solution: Our hosting architecture is Elastic. We can vertically scale your server resources with the click of a button. We monitor your traffic, and if a spike occurs, we add more power instantly to keep you online.
3. Google Core Web Vitals (SEO)
Google has explicitly stated that Server Response Time (TTFB) is a ranking factor. If your server takes 2 seconds just to start sending data to the user, you have already failed the Core Web Vitals test.
SMEs often struggle to rank locally because their cheap hosting is physically located in data centers in the US or Asia. The Solution: We host your data in London-based Data Centers. This ensures the physical distance between your server and your UK customers is minimal, resulting in lightning-fast load times that boost your SEO.
4. No Hidden "Upsells"
Budget hosts are famous for the "Bait and Switch." The hosting is £3, but then you have to pay extra for:
- SSL Certificates (Security): £60/year
- Backups: £30/year
- Email Protection: £40/year
Suddenly, it's not so cheap. The Solution: Our hosting packages are All-Inclusive. SSL, daily backups, firewall protection, and DDoS mitigation are included in the standard price. We believe security should be a standard, not a luxury add-on.
5. Support from Developers, Not Call Centers
If your email stops working or your site throws an error, you don't want to speak to a generic support agent reading from a script.
With our managed hosting, you speak directly to the team who built your website. We know your code, we know your server, and we can fix issues immediately without putting you on hold.
Conclusion: Invest in Your Foundation
Your hosting is the foundation of your digital house. Don't build your business on shaky ground to save the price of a coffee.
View Hosting Packages. Get fast, secure, UK-based hosting that grows with your business.