Your Hosting Renewal Price Tripled. Now What?
The first-year hosting price was a teaser and the renewal bill just landed. What you are actually paying for, your three options, and the math on each.
In this article· 6 sections
The email says your hosting renews in 30 days. The price is not the price you remember. It is three times the price you remember, plus two add-ons you do not remember buying, and the discount only applies if you pay for three years today.
Short answer: The first-year price was a teaser; the renewal is the real rate, and it still only rents a server. Before you pay it, price the whole thing against care where the work is included. Managed Website Hosting & Care runs $99, $249 or $499 a month, hosting included. The hosting renewal price page walks the bill line by line.
What the renewal actually buys
A renewal buys server space for another term. It does not buy updates, tested backups, security, monitoring, or a person to email when the contact form dies. Those were never in the product, at any price.
Read the bill in three parts. The headline rate is the teaser expiring. The line items are where it grows: backup tools, security add-ons, “site care,” SSL extras. Some are worth having. The question is whether you are paying for them twice, once to the host and once to whoever actually touches your site. And the term discount is a lock-in offer: the cheap rate exists only if future-you cannot leave.
None of this makes the host a villain. It makes the renewal a purchase worth pricing like any other, instead of an autopay you approve while annoyed.
Option one: pay it, and know what you still owe yourself
Renewing is fine if the host is fast, support answers, and someone, you or a person you pay, is doing the updates, backups and small changes the renewal does not include.
Price that honestly. The renewal, plus your hours at your rate, plus the last emergency invoice, is your real yearly cost. The free hosting cost calculator does that arithmetic next to the plans, and it says so on the page when $99 a month costs more than your current cash spend.
Option two: keep the host, add the care
If the hosting itself is fine, keep it. The same plans run on the host you already have: updates, daily backups, monitoring and changes by email, same $99, $249 or $499, same price.
This is the option most renewal-shock owners miss because it is not on the host’s website. You are allowed to separate the server from the upkeep. If the host later becomes the problem, moving one standard site to hosting I look after is included in every plan.
Option three: move, and let the renewal lapse
Moving is a copy, a test, and a domain switch at a quiet time. Your visitors see no gap, and you keep your domain and your content, because both were always yours.
Timing is the only real constraint. Start while the old hosting is still live and the move is a calm afternoon job. Let it lapse first and you are negotiating with an expired account and, sometimes, a held domain. The website migration page describes the steps.
Which plan replaces a renewal?
Essentials at $99 a month replaces the renewal for most small business sites. Business at $249 a month adds staging-tested updates and malware cleanup. Priority at $499 a month adds 3 hours of changes and 24/7 outage response.
| Plan | Price | What you actually get |
|---|---|---|
| Essentials | $99 a month | Hosting, SSL, daily backups, updates, 30 minutes of changes, response within 2 business days. Malware cleanup is $125 an hour. A fix or backup restore is included. |
| Business (most popular) | $249 a month | Everything in Essentials, 1 hour of changes, updates tested on a staging copy before they go live, malware cleanup included. |
| Priority | $499 a month | Everything in Business, 3 hours of changes, a dedicated server, 24/7 response if the site goes down. |
All three are monthly, billed through Stripe, and you can cancel any time. No three-year prepay to get the quoted rate. See the plans.
What happens after you pick a plan?
Pick a plan and check out. I email you within 1 business day to start. Moving one standard site is included: I copy it, test it, and switch the domain at a quiet time. After that, send changes to michael@michaelheredia.com.
If your renewal date is close, send a question with the date on the bill. That date decides the order we do things in.
FAQ
Why did my hosting renewal price go up so much? +
The first term is usually a discounted teaser. The renewal bills at the standard rate, often with add-ons for backups, security or site care switched on along the way. The line items, not the headline price, are where the money goes.
Can I move my website before the renewal date? +
Yes, and it is easier before it lapses. I copy the site, test the copy while the old hosting is still live, then switch your domain at a quiet time. Moving one standard site is included in every Managed Website Hosting & Care plan, from $99 a month. You keep your domain and content throughout.
What does managed care cost instead of a renewal? +
Essentials is $99 a month, Business is $249 a month, and Priority is $499 a month, hosting included, no contract, cancel any time. The plans also include updates, daily backups, monitoring and monthly change time, which a renewal never includes.
What if I already renewed? +
Then the pressure is off. I can look after the site on your current host now, at the same plan prices, and plan a move for the next cycle if you want one. Nothing about the renewal forces a decision this week.
