Web hosting prices favor the customer
If you have been shopping around for web hosting, you probably have noticed the number of web hosting providers that offer very low discounted prices. Many of which are under $10 a month and even lower than that. There are definitely no shortages of web hosting providers.

There are so many in fact, that the competition between web hosting providers has created a market advantageous to the consumer. They are all marketing to get your business and web hosting providers are coming up with incredible deals and discounts to do it. There is no better time than right now for people to purchase web hosting.

The pricing position
Whenever we discuss the criteria in choosing a web hosting provider, our first recommendation is to never base the decision on price. We believe in this because the money that you might potentially save does not outweigh the minute difference in service and product. Also, just because a web hosting plan is cheaper doesn't necessarily mean that it is better. The old saying "you get what you pay for" does apply when it comes to web hosting.

The price is right
There is a price strategy that many web hosting providers are implementing to try and get more people to purchase their web hosting packages. They are now offering reduced rates for longer term contracts. The longer, the contract the better the discount. So, while many web hosts are advertising their best prices, you have to look at the whole picture and find out what the term length is to get that price.

Let's look at a popular web hosting provider like HostMonster (we chose HostMonster because, based purely on price, they have the lowest around). They have contract lengths of 3, 6, 12, and 24 months. With respective pricing at $7.95, $7.95, $5.95, and $3.95. As you can see, signing up with HostMonster at 24 months gives you the best deal. HostMonster will give almost a full 50% discount a month for signing up for 24 months over 3 months. But one thing to be aware of is that you must pay for the hosting in advance so even though the price is on a per month basis, you still have to pay for the full 24 months when you sign up.

So, you may be wondering why we are discussing price when we believe that price should never be the main reason in a hosting purchase? Because of the competitive nature of the web hosting industry, there are few differences in hosting plans. So when you have narrowed down the hosting providers, and they are equal, this would be a good time to consider the lower priced package. But it is important to understand exactly what the pricing will be because it is not always the same price that the web hosting provider is advertising.