HostAdvice Research: How Much Storage Space Do You Need to Host Your Website?

Picking out a web hosting provider involves many steps. Namely, it is not just about finding a company that you like and sticking with that company.

There are a few more factors you need to consider before really taking the plunge and committing to one provider.

One of those factors is storage space. In general, most websites do not need more than 1GB of space.

However, you should gauge the amount of storage you need solely based on that fact. Namely, the amount of space you will need largely depends on you and what you want to do with your website.

So, before calculating how much storage you would need, you need to decide what you want your website to look like and the content you want it to have. The content of your website includes HTML files, the number of pictures you want to have, databases, videos (if any), but also email accounts, third-party programs, access logs, and scripts you may want to have installed.

If you have a website with hundreds or thousands of photos and other media files, you can calculate the total amount of storage space you need as the sum of the sizes of all those files.

That also includes the sizes of your HTML code, CSS, and everything else we mentioned above.

Usually, HTML and text content use the least storage space. On the other hand, photos and videos take the largest portion of storage space.

Tip: If you have or want to create a website with a lot of photos, plug-ins, add-ons, and other tools, then you should get a web hosting plan that has at least 10GB of storage space included.

What actually uses website storage?

Your storage allowance is not only used by the visible pages on your website. It can also be used by images, PDFs, videos, databases, email accounts, backups, cache files, access logs and scripts. A simple HTML website may use very little space, while a WordPress or WooCommerce site can grow quickly if it has lots of uploads and plugin data.

If speed is a concern as your website grows, it is also worth checking your site with our website speed test and keeping images compressed before uploading them.

Now you might be wondering, is storage really that important? Short answer – yes, it is. As your website is available on the Internet longer, new updates and trends will emerge.

If you want to stay relevant, you will need to follow those trends as closely as possible. That means that you will need to make changes to your website and add new things to it constantly.

To do that, you need storage. Also, ensuring that you have the right amount of storage included in your web hosting plan will allow you to make changes fast without needing to buy additional storage in the future or upgrade your plan just to get more storage.

So, it is better to calculate and determine the right amount of storage you need sooner rather than later.

Also, getting enough storage from the start will potentially save you money, as purchasing additional storage down the line may be more expensive than just getting a plan with a little bit more storage included at the beginning.

So, another question arises, where can you get the storage space you need? Well, as we mentioned, if you want a website full of images and media files, you need at least 10GB of storage.

And let’s be honest, nowadays, no one pays attention to websites or blogs that are purely text-rich with no animations or media files. Luckily, there are some providers out there that don’t even offer plans with less than 10GB of storage.

One of those providers is Website Hosts UK. Namely, with Website Hosts UK, you will get 10GB of NVMe storage even with their cheapest plans.

So, no matter which hosting plan you choose, you can rest assured that you will have more than enough space for your website. And, if you need more than that, Website Hosts UK offers plans that have up to 100GB of storage included.

Not only does the provider offer powerful plans, but it has also gotten fantastic reviews from our users at HostAdvice.

Namely, Website Hosts UK has gotten a perfect score of 5.0 from our users. That does not often happen, as our users are pretty unbiased and strict when leaving reviews.

If you want to read what our users have to say about Website Hosts UK, you can do so by clicking on this link.

Average storage space you need for your website

Let’s look at some examples that will show you how much space you would need for websites of different sizes (on average).

For a small blog or website that has the minimum content needed for a blog or a website, you will need a minimum of 1GB of storage on average.

For a medium-sized blog or website, you will need a plan with a minimum of 5GB of storage.

And for a large blog or website that is content-driven and has plenty of images and media files, you would need a minimum of 30GB of storage.

Of course, those are only average sizes and estimates, and they serve to give you a general guide.

Also, if you are not sure what kind of website you want just yet or think that you might experience large spikes in traffic in the future, you can always contact us and opt for a custom plan that includes unlimited storage space.

A Few Words About HostAdvice

HostAdvice was established in 2014 with the sole purpose of helping out those that want to take their business online and be successful.

Since 2014, hundreds of individuals and companies have reached out to us to learn about web hosting in general and find the right hosting provider with the best prices and reliability.

Also, many individuals and businesses worldwide have reached out to us to ask whether the provider of their choice is the right match for them.

In addition, we offer more than 4,000 expert reviews and 65,000 user reviews that you can check out if you want to learn more about the world of web hosting.

Conclusion

Knowing how much storage you need for your website is crucial while choosing the ideal plan for you. Even though you could always get a plan with unlimited storage, sometimes it might not be necessary, and you could end up wasting a lot of money.

If you're looking for web hosting with plenty of storage, check out our web hosting plans.

Website storage FAQs

Quick answers about hosting storage, WordPress space, email, backups and when to upgrade.

How much storage does a small website need?

A small static or brochure website may only need 100MB to 1GB of storage, especially if images are compressed and there are no large downloads or email mailboxes.

How much storage does a WordPress website need?

A small WordPress website often fits within 3GB to 10GB, but media-heavy sites, backups and plugins can increase storage usage over time.

Do emails use my hosting storage?

Yes, email mailboxes can use hosting storage if email is included on the same hosting package. Large attachments and old inboxes can grow quickly.

Do backups count towards storage?

Backups may count towards storage depending on how they are created and stored. Keeping too many local backups can use a lot of disk space.

What uses the most website storage?

Images, videos, PDFs, email mailboxes, backups, databases and uploaded media usually use the most storage.

Is unlimited storage always better?

Not always. Unlimited storage often has fair usage limits. It is better to choose a realistic plan with enough room for your website and normal growth.

How can I reduce website storage usage?

Compress images, remove unused files, clear old backups, delete unused themes or plugins and avoid uploading large videos directly to your hosting account.

When should I upgrade hosting storage?

Upgrade when you are regularly close to your storage limit, adding lots of media, running ecommerce, keeping large email inboxes or needing more server resources.