# Guides

> Long guides on choosing, running and changing hosted software. No pitch. They cover cost, ownership and how to keep shipping.

Source: https://customhosted.com/guides/

№ 01 Field manual

Straight-talk guides, no fluff. How to choose between static and dedicated, what managed hosting actually removes from your plate, and how to keep a site moving after launch.

[Subscribe · RSS New guides land here — follow by feed, no email required.](https://customhosted.com/guides/rss.xml)

1. [01 Choosing Static site or dedicated server: which do you actually need? One question decides most of your hosting bill: does your site need a server? This guide gives you a checklist to answer it. 7 min read · Updated 11 July 2026](https://customhosted.com/guides/static-site-vs-dedicated-server)
2. [02 Operations What “managed” actually means — and the hours it gives back See the work managed hosting takes off your week: patching, backups, monitoring and a human who answers. Each task comes with the hours it saves. 6 min read · Updated 11 July 2026](https://customhosted.com/guides/what-managed-hosting-includes)
3. [03 Iteration How to keep shipping changes to a live site — without hiring a dev team Sites decay after launch. Learn how the Build, Iterate, Run loop keeps a live site changing when you have no developer on staff. 8 min read · Updated 11 July 2026](https://customhosted.com/guides/keep-shipping-without-a-dev-team)
4. [04 Launch From prototype to production — hosting an app you built fast A working build is not a hosted product. See what it takes to keep an app up, secure and improving, and who does each job. 7 min read · Updated 17 July 2026](https://customhosted.com/guides/from-prototype-to-production)
5. [05 Pricing Flat-rate vs. usage-based hosting: why your bill keeps surprising you Usage-based pricing turns every visitor into a cost. See why bills spike, what a flat rate changes, and when each model wins. 7 min read · Updated 18 July 2026](https://customhosted.com/guides/flat-rate-vs-usage-based-hosting)
6. [06 Choosing Should you host it yourself? The hidden cost of rolling your own Self-hosting looks almost free until you price the hours. See the build-versus-buy math, when doing it yourself wins, and when to hand it over. 7 min read · Updated 23 July 2026](https://customhosted.com/guides/should-you-self-host)
7. [07 Cost The real cost of a website: build it, run it, keep it moving Hosting is the small number. See the three-year cost of building, running and changing a site, and where the hours really go. 8 min read · Updated 25 July 2026](https://customhosted.com/guides/the-real-cost-of-a-website)

## Have a workload that doesn't fit either box?

Static and dedicated cover most sites — but if you're running something else, describe it and we'll design and quote it flat.

[Get a quote →](https://customhosted.com/contact)