Web hosting for the cost of a cup of coffee, here we go...

If you haven’t heard the ‘Web hosting is available for the cost of a cup of coffee’ analogy, I’m envious. I hear it all the time. Worse still, I use it in conversation occasionally. But it’s a credible statement with merit.

One has to ask, however: Are we talking about gourmet coffee here? That’s where the price factor becomes somewhat murky. Everyone knows lattes, cappuccinos or Irish coffee can get pretty pricey. But when we’re dealing with a plain old cup of Joe, that’s the reasonable price point I can definitely make the argument for.

I recently found that iWeb is offering such a deal. So we're actually dealing with hosting for $1.67 (USD) a month. That's $20 a year or $200 for the ten year span you have to prepay for. If you're thinking wait a second, ten years, reread this: $200 for quality Web hosting for ten years. That's a great investment. It's less than the cost of a single Google share today. That's also a good investment, if you ask me; I'd probably do both and the money I make from that single Google share would pay for my hosting and I'd wager several cups of gourmet coffee in that time horizon.

Before I totally get derailed, let's get back to the hosting package. You get 600GB storage, unmetered bandwidth, 500 email accounts and free setup for the cost of, well, you know. I always encourage Web hosting shoppers to do the research and ask lots of questions and understand the limitations of the Web hosting package. This is, after all, shared hosting and affordability is played off against reliability because there are certain susceptibilities and disturbances at risk when you share a server with dozens (or more) of other users. On the customer support front, email, phone and chat line are included here.

Would I be exaggerating to say this is the best Web hosting deal ever? Probably. But there is a strong case. At the very least it's a full-bodied, robust argument - don't you think?

If you want to tell us more about great Web hosting deals from premiere hosting firms, please let us know at editor@tophosts.com or better still just comment here.