In your search for a hosting offering that suits you best, you might bump into offers with huge discounts on signup fees. Beware that these are usually the companies that jack up the renewal costs most down the road.
Although we find no problem with companies increasing the renewal fees within the 100% mark (e.g. with signup at 5$/mo and renewal no more than $10/mo), it’s just important for you to be in the know with no freak-out the renewal bill arrives to your credit card.
Should I lock in for a very long period?
Generally, we wouldn’t advise you to lock yourself in for more than 2 years because nobody knows what’s going to happen within longer terms.
But even if you are signing up only for a 2-year contract, you’ll still be able to win a lot from a lucrative offer on the table that attracted you to this provider.
To quickly find out about the renewal sites, go to the Terms and Conditions at the provider’s site and Ctrl+F the keywords “renewal” or “renew”.