Hosting sizer · Plan Fit

Size a site

Describe the website. HostNowOnline works out what it needs from a hosting plan today and as it grows, then checks the plans you are looking at, limit by limit. The form starts with a worked example (a small bakery's WordPress site); change any number.

Jump to the result

1 The site

Name for this sizing optional

Kind of site Static pagesplain HTML, a site builder export CMSWordPress, Joomla, Drupal and similar Web appcustom code, a portal, a booking system Online shopWooCommerce, Magento and similar

Traffic

Visits a month

visits

From your analytics; a visit is one person's session.

Pages per visit

pages

Pages a visitor opens in one visit.

Average page weight

Everything one page downloads. Browser dev tools show it at the bottom of the Network tab.

Browser-cache saving

Share of page bytes repeat views take from the browser cache instead of the server.

Downloads a month

files

PDFs, videos, installers served from the site itself.

Average download size

Busy times

Busiest hour's share of a day

Share of a day's views that land in the busiest hour.

Burst inside that hour

How much busier the busiest minutes are than that hour's average.

Server work

Views that run server code

The rest come from a page cache or are plain files.

Server time per such view

Time the server spends building one page (a slow page is 800 ms or more).

Memory per worker

Memory one PHP/app process uses while it builds a page.

Storage

Site files today

Code, themes and uploads already on the site.

Number of site files today

files

A WordPress install alone is several thousand files.

Media added each month

New photos, PDFs and uploads.

Database size today

0 if the site has no database.

Database growth each month

Mailboxes on the same plan

mailboxes

0 if email lives elsewhere (Microsoft 365, Google Workspace).

Average mailbox size today

Mail growth each month (all boxes)

Backup copies kept on the account

copies

Full copies of files and database stored inside the same plan.

Growth

Traffic growth each month

Negative if traffic is falling.

Look ahead

months

Free: up to 12 months. 36 months: Sizing Pass, free during preview ($1.95 a month or $19.50 a year).

2 Plans you are considering

Copy the limits from each plan's own spec sheet or terms. Leave a box empty when the plan does not say; type "unlimited" when it says so. HostNowOnline holds no host names or prices.

Plan A

Plan name

Disk space

Monthly transfer

Files (inodes)

files

PHP workers / entry processes

at once

Memory

Mailboxes

mailboxes

Database size

Plan B

Plan name

Disk space

Monthly transfer

Files (inodes)

files

PHP workers / entry processes

at once

Memory

Mailboxes

mailboxes

Database size

Plans 3-6: Sizing Pass, free during preview

3 What the site needs

Hosting Facts

Corner bakery (example) · CMS · 6,000 visits a month

What this site needs from a hosting plan, today and in month 12
Need	Today	Month 12
Monthly transfer	20.5 GB	29.2 GB
Disk space	9.4 GB	22.8 GB
Site files	1.0 GB	1.0 GB
Media added	0.00 GB	2.4 GB
Database	150 MB	210 MB
Email	6.0 GB	12.0 GB
Backups kept	2.3 GB	7.2 GB
Files (inodes, rough)	77,917	145,747
Busiest-minute page views / s	0.041	0.059
PHP workers at once	1	1
Memory	224 MB	224 MB

Load band in month 12 Medium

Estimates from the numbers typed, growing 3% a month. Workers = busiest-minute views that run code × server time × 1.5 headroom. The band is HostNowOnline's own rule of thumb, not a host's. How it is worked out

4 Plan Fit

Starter (example)

Outgrown in month 1

Disk space 10.0 GB 94% today · 228% in month 12 · runs out in month 1 Past limit
Monthly transfer says unlimited need 29.2 GB by month 12 Unlimited?
Files (inodes) 100,000 files 78% today · 146% in month 12 · runs out in month 4 Past limit
PHP workers / entry processes 1 at once 100% today · 100% in month 12 Near ceiling
Memory 512 MB 44% today · 44% in month 12 Headroom
Mailboxes 5 mailboxes 60% today · 60% in month 12 Headroom
Database size not stated need 210 MB by month 12 Not stated

Ask the host (2)

It says "unlimited": Is there a monthly transfer (bandwidth) limit or a fair-use rule, and what happens when a site goes over it?
Is there a maximum size for one database?

Plus (example)

Headroom on what is stated (2 limits not stated)

Disk space 50.0 GB 19% today · 46% in month 12 Headroom
Monthly transfer says unlimited need 29.2 GB by month 12 Unlimited?
Files (inodes) 250,000 files 31% today · 58% in month 12 Headroom
PHP workers / entry processes 2 at once 50% today · 50% in month 12 Headroom
Memory 1,024 MB 22% today · 22% in month 12 Headroom
Mailboxes 10 mailboxes 30% today · 30% in month 12 Headroom
Database size not stated need 210 MB by month 12 Not stated

Ask the host (2)

It says "unlimited": Is there a monthly transfer (bandwidth) limit or a fair-use rule, and what happens when a site goes over it?
Is there a maximum size for one database?

Headroom the need stays at or under 70% of the limit · Near ceiling 70-100% · Past limit the need passes the limit by month 12. The bar shows month 12; the dark part is today.