What is hosting?
What is website hosting?
Hosting is the service that stores your website and makes it available whenever somebody visits your domain.
| Domain | Your business address |
|---|---|
| Website | Your building |
| Hosting | The land and utilities that keep the building open |
Do I need it?
Does every website need hosting?
Yes, every website needs hosting somewhere. A website builder may include hosting in its subscription, while a designer may include it in a managed service.
A domain without working hosting may show an error, an empty holding page or nothing useful. Buying a domain does not mean a website has been built or hosted.
What is included?
What should a hosting plan explain?
Basic hosting may provide only the infrastructure needed to deliver the site. Managed plans may add monitoring, maintenance, support and recovery help. Check the actual scope rather than relying on the word hosting.
Keeps the site online
Hosting, storage and an encrypted connection deliver the website to visitors.
Helps protect it
Platform security, backups and monitoring reduce risk but do not guarantee perfection.
Provides help
Support, agreed maintenance and a recovery route matter when something goes wrong.
Hosting does not automatically include
- Your domain or its renewal
- Business email accounts
- Unlimited website changes
- Guaranteed rankings or enquiries
- A promise that the website can never go offline
Who looks after it?
Who takes responsibility for the hosting?
Sprint Start Managed is intended for businesses that do not want another technical job. A customer-managed route can suit somebody who understands the responsibilities or has trusted technical help.
A fully paid customer-specific website belongs to the customer. Sprint Start retains its reusable templates, components, methods and tooling. The practical difference is who handles the hosting account, billing, warnings, maintenance and recovery.
Changing designer
What happens if I change web designer?
A fully paid Sprint Start website can move to suitable replacement hosting. Keep the domain in the account you control, prepare and test the replacement, then connect the familiar address.
Do not cancel the old hosting until the replacement is working. Business email can remain with its existing provider when the domain settings are handled correctly.
What does it cost?
How much does Sprint Start Managed cost?
The current price is £49 per month or £480 per year. Paying annually works out at £40 per month. The price and applicable terms are confirmed before payment.
The service includes hosting, SSL, availability monitoring, agreed technical and security maintenance, recovery oversight, reasonable support and 30 minutes of non-rolling small edits each month. It is not a 24-hour monitoring or guaranteed-resolution service.
If you manage hosting yourself, you pay the approved provider directly and take responsibility for account access, billing, warnings, usage and technical arrangements.
Compare routes
Managed hosting or managing it yourself?
| Question | Managed | Manage it yourself |
|---|---|---|
| Who pays the platform? | Included in the managed price | You pay directly |
| Who watches the website? | Sprint Start, within scope | You or somebody you appoint |
| Who handles maintenance? | Sprint Start where included | You arrange it |
| Who owns the fully paid website? | You | You |
Choose according to the responsibility you genuinely want, not simply the smallest headline price.
Sources
Official sources used in this guide.
These sources were checked on 23 July 2026. The next scheduled review is 23 January 2027. Platform prices, features and technical guidance may change sooner.
FAQs
Frequently asked questions.
Do I need hosting if I own a domain?
Yes, if you want a website at that address. The domain tells browsers where to go; hosting stores and delivers what they find there. Read the Domain Name guide for registration and control.
Does hosting include business email?
Not automatically. Website hosting and email hosting do different jobs and can remain with different providers.
Can I manage hosting myself?
Yes, using the approved provider route. You take responsibility for billing, access, warnings, usage and ongoing technical arrangements.
Will changing host affect Google?
Not automatically, but visibility may be affected if addresses, redirects, speed or availability change unexpectedly. Plan and test the move.
Are backups included with every host?
No. Check what is protected, how often, how long it is kept and who can perform a successful recovery.
Can Sprint Start Managed be cancelled?
Monthly Managed requires 30 days' notice. Annual and spread-cost arrangements follow the terms confirmed before payment. Replacement hosting must be working before the existing service ends.
Planning a Sprint Start website?
Choose how your website will be looked after.
Use the Price Builder to compare Sprint Start Managed with managing hosting yourself.