Our customers keep asking me how server costs are calculated and where they can save money on their hosting?
Or what is Full-Service Managed WordPress Hosting?
This simple question is actually a very large subject.
Here is a brief summary and let's start with the past:
I still remember the times when a professionally managed website and server hosting for a company website cost USD 20 per month. For USD 0 per month, our customers could even put their private website online. Those were great offers. Great times. 1998.
For those interested: Here is a copy of our internet product and service offers from 1995-1999 (it is an automated translation from German into English, and it’s interesting to see what changed the last 20 years and what not)
(By the way, one of the sites from 1998 exists today still in its original form and is probably still maintained: http://reisige.de/ Who would have thought back then? Thanks to Helmut Schott, Martin Weger and Ralf Sauer, and all others from the “Chor der Reisigen, Landshut” )
Today, over 20 years later, a lot has happened in the Internet and hosting sector.
- Nowadays, websites have become more interactive, colorful and lively
- The CMS systems and backends can also be operated by anyone
- The websites run in parallel on mobile devices and computers
- In cellular networks and on cables with low to high bandwidths
- Today, websites produce a relevant share of sales / revenue
In order for all of this to work out, a massive ecosystem has developed around Internet technology over the past 20 years.
If I look at a site like reisige.de from 1998 and compare it with a site such as www.plataran.com that we created in 2020, then there are very clear differences:
HTML document size approx. 60kByte, JavaScript towards zero, if you disregard YouTube. Images approx. 1MByte.
HTML, fonts & CSS size approx. 2,000 kByte. JavaScript approx. 2,250 kByte. Images approx. 3 MByte.
Which browser is now busier? Or which server?
As you can see there is a vast difference in the amount of information current websites carry and the size of the files we load.
A short estimate for website browser rendering: Let’s say for the sake of simplicity that we are talking about a factor of 25 to 50, or up to 100.
And that’s just one aspect of the whole thing.
If I compare today and yesterday, the effort involved in maintaining a company website has increased significantly. I would estimate a factor of 10 here.
So what are you paying for and why?
The pure server costs haven’t changed much. However, today we have additional costs for premium plugins and management platforms and personnel costs for support that we did not have before.
Roughly calculated, a server for around 100 websites breaks down as follows:
- USD 400 per month per server with management for operations, backups, databases , firewall, load balancer and priority ip ranges, cloud based scaler
- USD 200 per month for CMS management, security, monitoring, updates and performance management
- USD 5,000 per year for various premium plugins made available to our customers, such as Crocoblock / JetEngine, Elementor Pro, Astra, WPML, WP Rocket, Country Pricing, multi-currency, multi inventory, and Instagram etc.
- USD 500 per month for various CDNs
- USD 600 per year for professional DNS management
- 1 FTE per month for platform, website, and update management
With this setup approx. 100 hotel websites or 10 e-commerce sites can be operated on one server.
According to Adam Ries, this comes out at around USD 45,000 per year. Spread across multiple clients, this works out at about USD 38 per month per website. If the server is fully booked. At half capacity, it’s around USD 76 per month.
And so far, we haven’t made any money nor SAC incorporated.
In 1998 we didn’t have any of these additional costs that are vital to performance and security (except for number 1 of the list above).
However, today it is not possible without these assets, if the corporate customer expects a high-quality managed service.
Where and how have technology, prices and performance developed further? It’s very simple: For USD 45,000 per year we would have previously managed one or two websites with all these features. Today there are up to a hundred. So in this way we are able to offer a 95% discount. I wouldn’t have thought so until I wrote this article and did the math.
The professionals among the readers will find out: How can Pak Kriss offer such low prices for a fully Managed WordPress Hosting? We have operating cost advantages in Bali that are not available in Europe, Singapore or the US, and we operate according to Western World standards.
For the non-professionals: In the western world, comparable offers tend to cost double or triple and more, for fully Managed WordPress Hosting packages.
I am asked again and again whether we can offer hosting at significantly better prices. We certainly could but that would mean eliminating all services except for point 1 of the list above.
Everyone can decide for themselves.
Customers continue to want the complete package, which means there will be monthly costs, which in reality are an investment.
Websites and e-commerce are ongoing investments. What do I need to pay attention for? What are the most common mistakes?
I will elaborate in one of my next post.
Any questions? Please let me know.
Best,
Pak Kriss
FAQ:
- Do you also offer email hosting?
- No, that is a completely different subject and has a completely different cost structure
- Does my website scale automatically if, for example, the traffic is 10 or 100 times more?
- Yes
- Which CMS your customers use?
- a full-blown WordPress and WooCommerce
- Can you connect a wide variety of currencies and payment methods to our online shop and booking engine?
- At the moment we process all Western world currencies such as USD, EUR, CHF, SGD or AUD and of course IDR
- How much CPU or RAM can my company website access?
- The first limit hits at 12x i7 Intel CPUs and almost 50GB RAM. If more is required, we can scale up to 96/144 Intel Xenon CPUs per website. However, we have never had this case.
- Can you also improve Google SEO & Page Speed for us?
- Of course.
- How can companies offer unmanaged hosting for 5 dollars per month?
- They simply run up to 1200 pages on a server setup as described above as a unmanaged service. It’s a different business and for a private blog page it’s good enough.
Our internet product and service portfolio from 1995-1999
automated translation from German into English
Internet dial-up access via modem or ISDN
Annual contract
DM 98.00 per year (annual contract) + one-time registration fee DM 98.00
This price includes the following services:
- including 2 email addresses
- no additional online costs
- no time accounting
- City tariff telephone costs depending on the provider
- no data volume billing
- unlimited web space for purely private use
- for use on a computer
If you can demonstrably switch from another Internet service provider to ICC when you register, you will save DM 18.- on the registration fee!
Monthly contract
DM 29.50 per month (monthly termination) + one-time registration fee of DM 29.50
This price includes the following services:
- All services like annual contract.
Internet dial-up access via ISDN, modem and other
various options.
Package 1: Internet dial-up access via modem or ISDN
DM 19.50 per month (annual contract) + one-time registration fee DM 25.00
The price includes the following services:
- Telephone business support
- Access via ISDN or MODEM at the local rate
- Analog V.90 and K56flex support
- No time limit
- Data transfer free **
- Use of proxy possible
- 3 email addresses of your choice
- Guaranteed 24 hour operation at a consistently high speed
- Business hotline
- Homepage with 50 Mbyte storage space
Package 2: Extended Internet access with an Internet presence
DM 55.00 per month (annual contract) + one-time registration fee DM 55.00
The price includes the following services:
- All services like package 1
- Your domain: www.firma.de (domain registration will be charged separately)
- Virtual server
- 50 Mbyte server space limit
- 4 email addresses of your choice
- Data transfer free **
- No special services possible
Package 2a: Small website
M 35.00 per month (annual contract) + one-time registration fee of DM 35.00
The price includes the following services:
- Package 2 minus package 1
- Your domain: www.firma.de (domain registration will be charged separately)
- Virtual server
- 50 Mbyte server space limit
- 4 email addresses of your choice
- Data transfer free **
- No special services possible
- external Internet access
Package 3: Standard solution with website
DM 100.00 per month (annual contract) + one-time registration fee DM 100.00
The price includes the following services:
- All services like package 2
- 100 Mbyte server space limit
- Special services active (see section: “Special services”)
Package 4: Professional solution with internet presence
DM 200, – per month (annual contract) + one-time registration fee DM 200, –
The price includes the following services:
- All services like package 3
- Connection of a leased line (costs will be charged separately)
- 5 email addresses of your choice
- Data transfer free **
- Virtual server
- Special services active (see section: “Special services”)
Package 5: Professional server housing (server housing)
DM 350.00 per month (annual contract) + installation / storage one-time DM 350.00
The price includes the following services:
- All services like package 4, without virtual server
- Server placement in the ICC data center
- 10/100 Mbit port
- 16 IP numbers
Package 6: Website – maintenance program for existing websites
DM 99.00 per month (annual contract)
In connection with all business access packages, you can also choose this package:
The price includes the following services:
- Website design according to your wishes
- Monthly maintenance and updates according to your needs
- Adaptation of the websites to the state of the art
- Registration of the pages in the major German search engines
- Simple graphic and animation programming
- Simple additional programs
- Simple database and database programming
- Email special services
Expansion options
In connection with all business access packages, you can also choose the following options:
Programming in Java, CGI , Perl, PHP3, HTML creation | DM 237.50 / hour |
Web design, Javascript , MM-Director, Flash | DM 187.50 / hour |
Client installation and maintenance | DM 187.50 / hour |
Installation and maintenance of the following operating systems: | DM 187.50 / hour |
Flat rate creation of a new website, package 6 only | DM 500.00 |
1 Gbyte data transfer in addition | DM 99.00 |
Special services
Activation of callback and routes of an IP address once | DM 100.00 |
Callback maintenance annually | DM 100.00 |
Database and SQL connection according to effort / on request |
|
** 2Gbyte data transfer / month included |
|
** for each additional Gbyte see: “Expansion options” |
|
Different options for business access
In connection with packages 2, 3 + 4, you can also choose the following
options:
Activation of callback and routing of an IP address (once) | DM 100 |
Each additional e-mail address (monthly) | DM 3, – |
Domain change : (once) | DM 100 |
Domain registration: | DM 60 |
Routing through Class C networks free of charge | DM 100 |
Routes from Class B and Class A networks on request |
|
As a local data center and internet service provider, we would like to introduce ourselves to you and tell you a little about what we actually do.
We will provide you with the right internet access for you, private or business , with all today’s standards. We advise you in detail and a problem is neither too small nor too big. Many satisfied customers confirm our reliable service.
What else we do:
- Professional website design
- Programming Perl / CGI / Java and Java Script applications
- PDF and Flash programming
- Provision of online shops
- Warehouse applications
- Internal and cross-company news, meeting and massage systems, job systems.
- Provision of audio and video technology via the Internet .
- Company and branch integration.
- Provision of DNS service
- SSL / TLS / SSH security connections for money, stock and bank transactions.
We also take care of the creation of Internet pages including programming for you. We work out the concept together with you under agency conditions. This ensures the highest possible efficiency of the website that appears later on the Internet. Please note the enclosed information sheets on the subject of the schedule – How to get on the Internet.
What’s still up
- Technical support and customer service for networks on site
- ATM, FDDI, 1 GBit Ethernet, 100 MBit Ethernet switch,
VG- AnyLAN , network structure support on site in LAN and WAN - RAID, server, UPS, 19 “technology, Intel, IBM, workstations
- All installation services for customers are carried out by on-site staff under
engineering management - 24 hours, 365 days an emergency call in the corporate customer area with a given response time of less than
1 hour on site - UNIX and derivatives, As 400, Netware Bindery + NDS, MS Windows NT, complete LINUX
support! - multi-DSL leased line (IDSL, SDSL, RADSL-CAP, RADSL) from DM 70 per month
- Radio connection technology and Internet from the cable in preparation (from approx. 2nd-3rd quarter 1999)
- WWW / FTP in up to 100 GByte space allocation per customer
- Special prices from 480 GByte data traffic
- SSL / TLS for WWW, mail, news
- Backup of data centers / server mirroring via copper wire or fiber optic
- direct Nacamar backbone node in Munich
- Munich location
- Landshut location
Schedule – How to get on the Internet
- Exploratory discussion
Here you sit at the same table with the ICC company and the partners commissioned by it for the conception / design and technical implementation. Please note: The agency already incurs a considerable amount of work for the planning / conception and the first sample pages up to their presentation, for which fee payments are incurred.
At this meeting it is very important to bring a budget plan or thoughts about placing an order with you so that the implementation and realization can proceed as quickly as possible.
- Briefing discussion with the agency
Here at the latest it is determined which main and secondary goals are to be pursued with your website. For example:
- increase customer loyalty,
- make information available to the sales force,
- Image building,
- Make services and / or product information available (as well as the sale of the same),
- create social interactions (employees are motivated, competition is frustrated),
- and much more
Furthermore, it will be considered who is the main and secondary target group of your
Internet presence and it is determined with which accompanying means they will be informed of your new presence.
Of course, you have already prepared all previously existing
printed matter that appears relevant (we have already done this: all advertisements, letterheads,
press releases, image brochures, etc.) for this day. You make this available to the agency so that you can get into your company, your products and services as quickly and precisely as possible.
Summary: In the briefing, the agency will receive all the
information it needs to implement the desired measures.
III. The re briefing
Now you get mail. The agency summarizes the conversation and
interprets the conversation. Any ambiguities that may exist will be resolved by asking (both parties). Now you can see if everything was understood correctly.
- The first sample pages
The agency’s work begins. You will receive 3 – 4 sample pages (color printouts), which roughly correspond to the later appearance on the screen.
Here you can see the main features of the screen design, an entry
page , a typical following page and the navigation system.
At the same time, you can estimate the overall scope of the implementation based on the submitted and coordinated drafts (text and images, graphics, etc.). You will therefore receive a binding offer for the complete implementation. The drafts of the master pages are approved. The presentation fee is to be paid here regardless of the implementation of the coordinated sample pages. The rights to the drafts are not settled.
- The basic structure
The entire page sequence and its links are shown schematically
( flow chart). All textual content and images are collected, assigned and distributed to the individual pages. It is graded from easy to difficult, from general to special. Important cross-connections become visible, missing ones are added. You will check all content for factual and technical correctness.
- The final phase
The basic design of the sample pages is combined with all the
details specified in the basic structure, and a final drawing is created.
At the end there is a color printout for each individual page on the table
(but mostly on the floor …). As in each of the previous stages,
there is a coordination process with you, which ends with an approval for the
technical page programming.
- The technical implementation
(…)
What was previously static as a color expression (and mostly difficult to imagine) is now coming to life. You will see your Internet
presentation in offline mode for the first time in demo mode. You can now see on the screen what will later be accessible to the whole world. Of course, you test everything carefully, but large and expensive corrections no longer have to be due to the careful coordination process. After a short nod, your pages will go online.
