What Is Web Hosting and How Do I Choose It?

Hosting is the computer your website lives on, rented by the month. Most of what's written about it is a feature list. Three things actually matter.

The short answer

• It's separate from your domain. The domain is your address; hosting is the building. They're often bought together, which is why people confuse them.
• The account should be in your name, not your developer's. This is the single most important thing on this page.
• Speed and support matter more than price. The difference between good and cheap hosting is a few dollars a month and a great deal of aggravation.

What you're actually renting

Your website is a pile of files and, usually, a database. Those need to sit on a computer that's connected to the internet permanently, so that when someone types your address, something answers. That computer is the host. That's genuinely it — the rest is variations on how much of that computer is yours and who looks after it.

The four types, briefly

Shared hosting — your site sits on a machine with many others. The cheapest tier, sitting at or below the floor of the band below. Fine for a small brochure site. The downside is neighbours: a busy site on the same machine can slow yours.

Managed hosting — shared or dedicated resources, but the host handles updates, security and backups. Usually the right answer for a small business that doesn't want to think about it.

VPS or cloud — a defined slice of a machine, yours alone. More control, more responsibility, and a price that scales with the resources you reserve rather than sitting in a fixed band. Right when the site outgrows shared hosting or needs specific configuration.

Platform hosting — Shopify, Squarespace and Wix include hosting in the subscription. Simplest, and you don't choose it separately; it comes with the platform.

On price: NZ providers publishing 2026 figures put hosting in the $20–$100 per month band, sourced in annual website maintenance costs in NZ. Shared plans sit at or under the floor of that band, VPS and cloud above its ceiling. NZD, excluding GST.

What actually matters when choosing

Speed. Where the server physically sits affects load time. For an NZ audience, hosting in New Zealand or Australia is usually faster than the US or Europe. A CDN reduces the difference but doesn't eliminate it.

Support. The thing you're really buying. When the site is down at 9am on a Monday, “24/7 support” means nothing if it's a ticket queue. Ask how you reach a human and how fast they answer.

Backups. Included? How often? How far back? Stored where? How often a website should be backed up covers what good looks like.

Whose name it's in. Covered next, and it's the one people get wrong.

The ownership trap

Plenty of developers host client sites under their own account and bill it on. It's convenient, and it's fine — until you want to leave, they stop responding, or they close the business. Then your site lives somewhere you can't reach.

Register the hosting account yourself, in your name, with your card, and give your developer access. That's the whole fix. It takes ten minutes at the start versus weeks of recovery later — taking over a website from another developer is what the recovery looks like.

When you don't need to choose at all

If you're on Shopify, Squarespace or Wix, hosting is bundled — there's nothing to pick and no benefit to overthinking it. And if your developer recommends a specific host for good technical reasons, that's often worth following, as long as the account is in your name.

Frequently asked questions

What's the difference between a domain and hosting?

The domain is your address; hosting is the building it points at. They're separate services, often sold together, and can be moved independently.

How much should hosting cost for a small business website?

NZ providers publishing 2026 pricing put hosting in the $20–$100 per month band, NZD excluding GST. Well under that usually means oversold shared hosting, where you pay in speed instead.

Can I change hosting later?

Yes. Moving a site between hosts is routine work. It's easier when the accounts are already in your name.

Should my web developer host my website?

They can manage it, but the account should be yours. Convenience now versus being locked out later is the trade-off, and the recovery is far more expensive than the setup.

Does hosting affect SEO?

Indirectly. Slow hosting means slow pages, and page speed affects both rankings and whether people stay. Server location matters for your target audience. It isn't a ranking factor by itself, but it feeds one that is.

Where to start

Log in to your hosting account today. If you can't, or it isn't in your name, fix that before you worry about which tier you're on — it's the difference between a bad month and a lost website. Get in touch if you want a second opinion on the setup you've got.