How Much Website Storage Space Is Needed?
When looking for the perfect website hosting plan, you might come across a number of things that can be a bit confusing. One of those things is storage space. How much is needed? Is more storage space better? And what even takes up all that space?
For many small business owners, they’ve never had to consider hosting storage space before. Knowing how storage space works, and how much a site might need, can help avoid excessive hosting expenses and avoid performance issues.
What Is Website Storage Space
Storage space is the amount (often in gigabytes) of digital space for your website to take up on your hosting provider’s server. As a basic analogy, think of it like renting some office space. The more furniture, equipment, employees, and files you have, the more office space you will need.
Your website’s storage space will include things like:
- Text and page content
- Images and videos
- Plugins and themes
- Databases
- Email (if your hosting includes it)
- Site backups
Every time you add a photo or wording to a page or install a new plugin or theme, more and more of the available storage space is used up.
Common Factors That Use Up Storage Space
Not every website takes up storage space the same way. There are a few common things that can fill up your hosting account quickly.
Images & Videos: These are usually the biggest culprits of taking up large chunks of space. Large, high-resolution photos and background videos can take up space fast, especially if they’re not optimized properly.
Plugins & Themes: Most WordPress plugins are relatively small, however, some store large amounts of data—especially things like analytics, form entries, or e-commerce features.
Backups: Good hosting providers include regular backups. But depending on how frequently they’re created and where they’re stored, they can consume a surprising amount of space.
Email Storage: If your website hosting also manages your business email accounts, those inboxes (and their attachments) can add up over time.
E-Commerce Features: Online stores have product images, customer records, and order histories that steadily grow.
Why “Unlimited” Hosting Isn’t Always Honest
A lot of indexpensive or budget hosting companies like to advertise “unlimited storage.” While this might sound great, there’s usually a catch. There’s really no such thing as unlimited when it comes to physical servers. These plans usually come with limits hidden in the fine print—like how many individual files (called inodes) you’re allowed, or how much traffic your site can get before it’s throttled.
At Full Scope Creative, we prefer to be upfront about what you’re getting. Our hosting plans are designed around real-world small business needs—no gimmicks, just solid performance with the right amount of storage space.
How to Check and Manage Your Site’s Storage
If you’re curious about how much space your site is currently using, there are a few easy ways to check:
- cPanel (if available): Many hosting dashboards include a storage breakdown.
- WordPress plugins: Tools like WP-Optimize or Media Cleaner can show what’s taking up space.
- Ask your host: If you’re with us, just shoot us an email and we’ll gladly take a look.
To keep your space usage under control:
- Regularly delete unused images and media files
- Remove old backups you no longer need
- Deactivate or delete plugins and themes you’re not using
So, How Much Do You Really Need?
If your site is a standard small business site with a few pages, some images, and a contact form—you’ll likely use just 1–2GB. Even with regular updates and blogs, 5GB goes a long way. But if you’re running an online store, a podcast, or host a lot of videos, that number can climb. The key is finding a plan that fits—not one that sounds flashy or offers “unlimited” magic beans.
For the aspect of backups and peak performance, it’s ideal to only use 70% of your storage space at maximum. On your laptop or desktop computer, if you use up too much of the hard drive storage space, you’ll start to see the computer running much slower, same holds true for website hosting.
Hosting and storage space doesn’t have to be confusing
Website hosting doesn’t have to be confusing, and you don’t need to be a tech expert to make the right choice. Understanding the basics—like how storage space works—can help you feel more confident and in control of your website. At Full Scope Creative, we’re here to take the guesswork out of it and help you find the hosting solution that fits your site, your goals, and your peace of mind.
