Watch out for hidden set-up fees, especially on short-term contracts

Website hosting services are typically not that expensive. For less than $5 a month, you can host your website on a secure, reliable, feature-packed server. What few know, however, is the actual cost of getting your site up and running can be quite a bit higher. That’s because some web hosting companies will charge you setup fees. These typically range between $40 and $60, which is a decent amount of money to pay just to get your site live. You can avoid this fee, however, if you know which companies to choose.

Compare Web Hosting Plans with No Set-up Fees

Many web hosting companies are now dropping the setup fee if you sign up for a long enough contract. They do this to ensure your loyalty over a few years, encouraging you to go for the longer contract rather than the month to month option. If you find a host that has enough features to carry your website few a couple of years of growth, this is a great option for you, because it saves you a lot of money at the outset, which is typically when you need to save money the most since your website has not yet begun to earn any for you. Here are a couple of hosts that offer free setup fees.

HostMonster – Lots of Features for a Low Price

HostMonster is one of the most affordable options out there. It offers excellent features such as nearly unlimited disk space and bandwidth, unlimited email accounts, the possibility to have unlimited domain names pointing back to your site, and service that is based entirely in the United States. In addition, HostMonster has built in features that make it easy to set up your website for ecommerce functions. The security is excellent, protecting both your information and any information customers share with you via the website. It offers customizability through Fantastico and Front Page extensions, and MySQL databases allow you to track and store customer information.

HostMonster charges a $30 setup fee and $10 domain registration fee. However, if you sign up for a contract that is 12 months or longer, you do not have to pay these fees. This makes HostMonster a good choice for those looking to avoid these fees, because many other companies require a 24-month contract to drop these fees.

Read the full HostMonster Review

BlueHost – Dropping Fees on a Reliable, Established Host

BlueHost has been around for a while. They have been hosting websites for over 10 years, and through that time have earned the reputation as being one of the most reliable hosts in the industry. They may not be the most affordable, but when you learn how to eliminate setup fees, the price becomes more comparable to the competition.

BlueHost offers 2,500 email accounts, customizability through Fantastico and Front Page extensions, IDN support for international customers, United States support, MySQL databases, and the ease of the cPanel website management program. Like HostMonster, BlueHost charges $30 for setup and $10 for domain registration. Again, these fees are waived if you have a 12-month or longer contract.

Read the full BlueHost Review

The key to avoiding setup fees and domain registration costs is to purchase the right contract length with a company offering to waive these fees. With all of the companies that do offer to waive these fees, you should not have to pay them at all. Take the time to shop around for the best web hosting provider for your individual needs, and you will find one that waives setup fees.