Web Hosting and Static IP Addresses

Sometimes web hosting is not that easy. You want to add a SSL Certificate to your website and immediately you are in need of a static IP address for your website. Some web hosts hand those out for free, while others charge a premium price for it.

I am personally in the market for some high end web hosting right now for a website that needs an SSL certificate and decided to shop around before settling for either one of my existing web hosts or getting a new one. It’s amazing to see how differently web hosts handle this topic. The only thing persistent is that every host I talked will require justification for why a static IP address is needed.

In regards to pricing the range goes from free to outrageous expensive. One web host honestly wanted $5.50 per static IP address PER MONTH (rochenhost.com) !!!!!!! I was literally shocked when I received the quote and was not able to negotiate a better price. Even though the web host is more upscale and high end in its offerings, but still – the price for a static IP address is a rip-off in my opinion.

So, once the expensive host was sorted out, it was more a question of which web host and which control panel would I choose or better will I choose. I have not fully decided yet, but that is not the main purpose for this article. As a web hosting customer you have a choice when it comes to whom you go with for hosting your website. Little things, can turn out to be a major price factor if you do not pay attention. Paying for a static IP address is fine, but why pay $5.50 if you can either get your static IP address for free (IX Web Hosting) or for $6.00 per Year (httpme.com). The second option is a little more upscale and geared towards power users or small web hosting companies that use reseller accounts to spread out their hosting. There are many other options to choose from and I found prices for a static IP address ranging from $1.00 to $2.50.

Conclusion: Don’t settle for the first offer nor let a web host tell you stories. Do some research and do leave the door open to eventually switch to another web host. Moving a website between web hosts is not that difficult and you will be surprised how good other web hosts can be.