No teaser rates: why we show every line of our pricing
Most hosting is advertised at a price you will pay once. We decided not to do that, and it is worth explaining why — because the alternative is genuinely more profitable, and plenty of good companies do it.
How teaser pricing works
The mechanic is simple. A plan is advertised at a steep discount for the first term. You sign up, the site goes live, and twelve months later it renews at the standard rate. The discount was always described as introductory, usually in the fine print, and everything about it is legal and disclosed.
It works because of inertia. Moving a website is a hassle, and by renewal time you have email tied to it, DNS records you do not fully remember configuring, and no appetite for a weekend of migration. The renewal price is set knowing that most people will grumble and pay.
The gaps can be significant. It is not unusual to see an introductory rate renew at four or five times what was first advertised.
Why we do not do it
Three reasons, and only one of them is noble.
It makes the first conversation dishonest
If we quote you $45 and mean $45 for as long as you are with us, we can have a straightforward conversation about whether that is worth it. If we quote you a discounted number knowing the real one arrives later, every part of that conversation is slightly false — and we would have to remember which version we told you.
It attracts customers we are wrong for
Deep introductory discounts attract people shopping on price. We are not the cheapest option and we are not trying to be — we are more expensive than budget hosting because a human is doing work on your site every month. A customer who came for a teaser rate is the wrong fit for that, and they will leave at renewal feeling misled. Nobody wins.
It is a tax on loyalty
This is the part that bothers us most. Teaser pricing means your longest-standing customers pay the most, while new customers get the discount. That is backwards. The people who have been with you for five years should not be subsidising the acquisition of people who have been with you for five minutes.
What we do instead
- One price, itemised. Platform & Management, Resources, and Support are separate lines because they are separate things. You can see what each one costs and decide if it is worth it.
- The all-in total, always shown. Not a base rate with the real cost assembled at checkout.
- The same price at renewal. If our costs rise and we have to change pricing, we will tell you before it happens and explain why — not spring it on an invoice.
- No lock-in. If we are not worth it, you should be able to leave. A contract that keeps unhappy customers is a business propping itself up with paperwork.
- Add-ons priced before you say yes. Domains, email and premium SSL are quoted up front, not discovered later.
The trade-off, honestly
This costs us customers. Our entry price sits above plenty of plans that look cheaper on a comparison page, and some people will never click through to find out why. We have accepted that.
What we get in return is a customer base that knows what it is paying for and is not counting down to a renewal shock. That is a better business to run, and a much better one to be a customer of.
What to ask any host
Whether or not you end up with us, ask these before you sign anything:
- What does this renew at? The single most useful question in hosting.
- What currency is it billed in? A US-dollar price is not a fixed Australian cost.
- What is not included? Backups, SSL, migration and email are sometimes extra.
- What happens if I want to leave? The answer tells you how confident they are.
A host that answers all four plainly is probably worth dealing with, whatever they charge.
