As of:
Translated from German. In case of discrepancies, the German version applies.
Choosing web hosting
Your task: You need web space for a new website or want to change hosting provider, and you would rather decide by what your website actually needs than by advertising promises.
At the Stammtisch this question came up at almost every meeting. The answer was rarely the name of a provider, and almost always a counter-question: What should the website do, and who looks after it?
What is web hosting?
Web hosting is the service of providing storage space and computing power on a permanently reachable server so that a website can be accessed on the internet. The scope varies widely: it ranges from storage space for a simple website to packages with scripting languages such as PHP, databases, backups and statistics. Providers often call the storage space itself web space.
The domain is separate from this: it is only the name under which the website can be reached. Many providers sell both together, but that is not necessary – for .de domains, DENIC expressly describes a way of managing a domain without any web space, email addresses or name service. The page What is a domain? explains the difference in detail.
Three steps to the right type of hosting
1. What runs on the website?
- Static pages (HTML, CSS, images, no database): hardly any requirements. Almost any web hosting will do.
- A CMS or online shop (for example with PHP and a database): what matters here are the PHP versions on offer, databases, memory and the question of who installs updates.
- Your own applications (your own services, special software, background processes): these usually need root access, i.e. a virtual or dedicated server.
2. Who looks after the technology?
This is the most important and most frequently underestimated question. A server with root access means that you (or your service provider) are responsible for operating system updates, security and backups. If you do not want to take that on, you are better served by shared hosting or managed hosting – there the provider runs the platform.
3. What must be secured in the contract?
Term, notice period, domains, backups, data protection. The hosting checklist asks about each of these points individually.
Types of hosting at a glance
| Type | Typical for | You take care of | The provider takes care of |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shared hosting | small websites, CMS, clubs and associations | your application (e.g. CMS updates) | server, operating system, web server, usually backups |
| Managed hosting | shops, important websites without an in-house tech team | depending on the contract, little up to your application | server, updates, monitoring – check the scope in the contract |
| Virtual server (VPS) | your own software, several projects | operating system, security, backups, application | hardware and virtualisation |
| Dedicated server | high load, special requirements | everything above the hardware | hardware, network, data centre |
| Cloud hosting | fluctuating load, distributed applications | varies greatly depending on the service | depending on the service |
Providers do not use these terms consistently. “Managed” can mean anything from complete operation to a one-off setup – get the scope of services in writing.
What matters with every type of hosting
- Current PHP versions, if your website uses PHP: according to php.net, the branches 8.2 to 8.5 currently (as of October 2026) still receive security updates, 8.2 only until 31 December 2026. Ask how long older versions will still be offered and how you switch.
- Automatic TLS certificates: the validity period of publicly trusted certificates is being shortened step by step. Following a decision of the CA/Browser Forum (Ballot SC-081, April 2025), the maximum validity falls to 47 days by March 2029. Renewing by hand becomes practically impossible; your hosting should issue and renew certificates automatically (e.g. via ACME).
- Backups outside your hosting provider: a backup with the same provider does not help if the account is blocked. See the backups section of the checklist.
- Two-factor sign-in for the customer account and the control panel: the BSI (Germany’s Federal Office for Information Security) recommends using it as soon as a service offers it.
- Data processing agreement, as soon as personal data is stored on the server (Art. 28 GDPR) – see Glossary: data processing agreement.
What the costs depend on
We deliberately do not answer the question of what web hosting costs per month with figures: prices change all the time, and a comparison of plans would soon be out of date. It is more reliable to know the factors that determine the price – then offers can be compared.
| Factor | Why it drives the price | What you should ask |
|---|---|---|
| Who runs the platform | With managed hosting you also pay for work (updates, monitoring); with your own server you pay only for hardware and network – the work is then done by you or your service provider. | Which tasks are included in the price, and which are charged separately according to effort? |
| Resources | Storage, memory, databases, mailboxes and processes are usually tiered by plan. | Where are the limits, and what happens if the website exceeds them? |
| Introductory and follow-on price | Many offers advertise a price for the first few months. | What does the same plan cost from the second contract year onwards? |
| Term | Some providers stagger the monthly price by contract term; a long commitment can make switching expensive. | Minimum term, renewal, notice period (see below) |
| Extra services | Domains, additional certificates, backups, restores, setup or migration are sometimes charged separately. | What is included, what is a one-off charge, what is monthly? |
| Your own time | A low-cost server with root access shifts updates, security and backups to you. | Who does that work, and what does that time cost? |
Term and cancellation if you book as a consumer (German law): Section 309 No. 9 of the German Civil Code (BGB) limits term clauses in standard terms and conditions for contracts covering the regular supply of goods or the regular provision of services or work: a term of more than two years is invalid; a tacit renewal is only permitted if the contract then runs for an indefinite period and can be cancelled at any time with no more than one month’s notice; and a notice period of more than one month before the end of the initially agreed term is also invalid. Whether a hosting contract falls under this cannot be said across the board: Germany’s Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof) sees service, rental and work-contract aspects in a web hosting contract; where the focus is on keeping the website accessible on the internet, in its view a contract for work is the obvious classification (judgment of 4 March 2010, III ZR 79/09). Section 309 No. 9 BGB, on the other hand, does not mention rental contracts. Whether the term limits apply to a particular hosting plan was not decided by the court in this judgment; that depends on the individual contract. Anyone who can conclude such a contract via a website must also be able to cancel it there via a cancellation button (“Verträge hier kündigen”, i.e. “cancel contracts here”) (Section 312k BGB). Section 309 BGB does not apply to businesses (Section 310(1) BGB); clauses are then measured against the general review of fairness under Section 307 BGB – so if you are booking for a company, read the term and renewal clauses particularly carefully. This is general information, not legal advice.
The matching questions to tick off are in the hosting checklist under “Contract and costs”.
Common misconceptions
- “Unlimited” means unlimited. Fair-use rules usually apply. Read the terms for storage, databases and processes.
- “More power makes the website fast.” Slow websites are often down to large images, lots of scripts or missing caching – not the hosting plan. Measure first (see Basic SEO check).
- “The host does backups anyway.” How often, for how long and whether you can restore them yourself is stated in the contract – not in the advertising.
Next
- Tool: Hosting checklist to tick off and print
- Taking your domain with you: Moving a domain
- Terms: Glossary: hosting · Glossary: web technology and security
Date of the facts: see the sources below. This page deliberately names no providers and contains no affiliate links.