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Travelers can still score deals this fall, but they may have to work harder to find them as the traditional shoulder season gets squeezed.

Fall travel interest on Vrbo is up 17% from a year ago, while average nightly rates after summer are now just 5% below peak summer prices across the platform’s top destinations, according to new data from the vacation rental platform.

“Shoulder season is this magic time between Labor Day and the holiday travel season when, traditionally, prices have dropped pretty dramatically and crowds have thinned out,” Vrbo Travel Expert Melanie Fish told FOX Business. “Well, summer travel demand is now bleeding over into fall.”

Some of the best savings remain in beach destinations, overseas markets and trips booked for later in the fall.

WEALTHY AMERICANS LOOK TO NEW ZEALAND AS DEMAND FOR ‘GOLDEN VISAS’ BOOMS

Travelers are pictured at Los Angeles International Airport on June 29, 2023. Some of the best savings remain in beach destinations, overseas markets and trips booked for later in the fall. (Brittany Murray/MediaNews Group/Long Beach Press-Telegram via Getty Images)

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, tops Vrbo’s list, with vacation rental rates averaging 34% less than during summer. One property cited by the company drops from as much as $1,300 per night in August to about $600 in October.

Other beach markets also offer discounts. Orange Beach, Alabama, offers average savings of 31%, followed by Panama City Beach, Florida, at 24%, Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, at 16%, and Ocean City, Maryland, at 12%, according to Vrbo.

Fish said travelers chasing lower prices should consider swapping destinations or keeping an eye out for last-minute discounts.

BUDGET AIRLINE JETSTAR TO CHARGE PASSENGERS FOR STORING BAGS IN OVERHEAD COMPARTMENTS

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, tops Vrbo’s list, with vacation rental rates averaging 34% less than during summer. (Edwin Remsberg / VWPics/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Travelers heading overseas may also have better luck. European vacation rental prices fall an average of about 8% from summer highs during the fall, with larger discounts in destinations including Corfu, Crete, Girona, the Azores and Siena.

Major tourism hubs such as London, Paris, Madrid and Rome tend to hold onto higher prices, leaving fewer shoulder-season bargains.

The squeeze is also showing up in several major U.S. cities. Vrbo said fall rates are rising in Nashville, Boston, Chicago and Miami as demand stays strong beyond summer.

SEE IT: TRUMP ADMIN UNVEILS SWEEPING $22.5B DULLES AIRPORT OVERHAUL

Travelers walk on a concourse at Chicago O’Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois on January 15, 2026. Beach markets still offer some of the biggest savings.  (Daniel SLIM / AFP via Getty Images)

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Travelers willing to wait until after the holidays could find the biggest break.

From just after New Year’s through the period before spring break in early 2027, lodging prices are expected to run about 34% below summer peaks, with possible deals in San Diego, Los Angeles and Orlando.

NEW YORK — The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 87.36 points, or 0.16%, to 53,372.42 as of 9:44 a.m. EDT Tuesday, as rising oil prices tied to escalating tensions with Iran weighed on broader market sentiment even as a stronger-than-expected earnings report from Home Depot offered some support to blue-chip stocks.

Tuesday’s modest decline followed a sharper pullback across Wall Street on Monday, when all three major indexes closed lower amid rising crude prices and climbing long-term Treasury yields. The Dow fell 272.63 points, or 0.51%, to close at 53,459.78, while the S&P 500 slid 0.52% to 7,745.06 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.32% to 26,644.91. That pullback came as West Texas Intermediate crude climbed above $83 a barrel and Brent crude moved above $88, with crude prices gaining roughly 3% during Monday’s session alone following the expiration of a 60-day window for the U.S. and Iran to reach a deal aimed at ending their ongoing conflict.

By Tuesday, oil prices had pushed even higher, with crude trading above $90 a barrel as concerns over instability in the Middle East continued to dominate broader market sentiment. According to Yahoo Finance, Middle East conflict concerns combined with the elevated oil prices weighed on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq early Tuesday, with the Nasdaq Composite falling as much as 1.2% in premarket trading, leading declines among the major indexes, while the Dow traded closer to flat.

Home Depot emerged as one of the session’s key earnings stories. The home improvement retailer reported fiscal second-quarter sales of $47.86 billion, topping analyst expectations of roughly $47.27 billion, alongside adjusted earnings per share of $4.92, ahead of the $4.73 consensus estimate. The company reaffirmed its full-year guidance, continuing to project comparable sales of roughly flat to up 2% for fiscal 2026, along with adjusted earnings per share in a range of flat to up 4% from $14.69, compared with a consensus estimate of $14.96.

According to Investing.com, Home Depot shares rose as much as 2.1% in pre-market trading following the report, with demand from repair-focused customers proving more resilient than some investors had feared. However, by the time regular trading got underway, the stock’s gains had moderated considerably, with CNBC reporting the shares up only around 1% after the company left its full-year guidance unchanged despite the top-line beat. Oppenheimer analyst Brian Nagel offered commentary on the results in a CNBC interview, breaking down the retailer’s performance as investors weighed the company’s outlook against continuing softness in the broader housing market. Home Depot separately reaffirmed its guidance while citing what the company described as “frozen housing market conditions,” according to CNBC’s coverage of the report.

Notably, Home Depot’s earnings call was led by interim management, with Senior Executive Vice President Ann-Marie Campbell and Chief Financial Officer Richard McPhail steering the company after Chief Executive Ted Decker began a temporary medical leave on Aug. 12.

Home Depot’s results carried added significance given the broader context of this week’s retail earnings slate. Walmart, Target, Lowe’s and TJX are all scheduled to report results over the coming days, with Lowe’s set to report Wednesday and Walmart due Thursday. Those reports are being closely watched following Friday’s weaker-than-expected U.S. retail sales data, which showed sales unexpectedly fell 0.6% in July, the largest monthly decline in more than a year, raising questions about whether elevated interest rates, inflation and broader household financial pressure are beginning to weigh more heavily on consumer spending.

TheStreet Pro contributor James “Rev Shark” DePorre highlighted the outsized importance the market is placing on this week’s retail results given that backdrop. “The retailers are the real news,” DePorre said. “Walmart (WMT), Target (TGT), and Home Depot (HD) all report earnings, and after Friday’s weaker-than-expected retail sales those reports will carry more weight than they normally would.” DePorre also flagged Wednesday’s scheduled release of Federal Open Market Committee meeting minutes as a significant event to watch this week, given recent signs of division among Fed officials. “Given that three members dissented in favor of a hike at the last meeting and Kevin Warsh declined to signal anything about the path ahead, the minutes may be more informative than usual,” he said.

Beyond the retail and Home Depot storylines, Tuesday’s session also featured notable pressure across the memory chip sector. Micron Technology and SK Hynix each fell more than 4% in premarket trading, while shares of Sandisk also declined more than 4%, according to CNBC, as memory chipmakers broadly retreated as a group after a period of significant gains tied to artificial intelligence-driven demand.

Elsewhere in Tuesday’s earnings and market news, optical product manufacturer Fabrinet fell more than 9% despite fourth-quarter earnings and revenue that exceeded expectations, with the company citing anticipated seasonal expense pressure expected to weigh on margins during its fiscal first quarter of 2027. Buy-now-pay-later company Klarna’s stock plunged following a trimmed financial outlook, according to Yahoo Finance’s market coverage, while packaging company Amcor was downgraded to neutral from overweight by JPMorgan on Monday.

Individual premarket movers Tuesday included notable volatility beyond the major blue-chip names. Electric vehicle company Xos surged 114.6% on heavy trading volume, while medical technology company Profusa climbed 97.2%, according to market tracking. Super League Enterprise also jumped 64.5% amid unusually high trading activity, illustrating pockets of significant speculative interest even amid the broader market’s more cautious overall tone Tuesday morning.

With Wednesday’s Federal Reserve minutes and Lowe’s earnings report on deck, followed by Walmart’s results Thursday, investors are likely to continue closely monitoring how this week’s combination of retail earnings, Fed commentary and ongoing Middle East-driven oil price volatility shapes broader market direction through the remainder of the week, as Wall Street works to reconcile continued strength in areas like artificial intelligence-linked technology stocks against renewed uncertainty stemming from both geopolitical developments and signs of a softening U.S. consumer.

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Google Home and Nest devices experienced a widespread, server-side outage Monday into Tuesday, leaving users across multiple continents unable to control smart speakers, displays and connected home devices, according to outage-tracking services and reports from affected users worldwide.

Downdetector posted on its official account on the social platform X that “user reports indicate problems with Google Nest since 9:20 AM EDT,” tagging the post with the hashtag #GoogleNestDown and directing users to its outage-tracking page for further updates. The post had drawn nearly 1,900 views shortly after being published.

According to Android Authority, the disruption first became apparent much earlier, with Downdetector showing a massive spike in outage reports around 6 a.m. local time in the United Kingdom, corresponding to roughly 1 a.m. Eastern time and 10 p.m. Pacific time in the United States on Sunday night. Reports of the outage continued building throughout the overnight hours and into Monday and Tuesday, with more than 300 users reporting server problems on Downdetector when the issue was first identified, according to Sportskeeda’s coverage of the disruption. Users shared reports of the outage from locations across the United States, Canada, Europe and Australia.

The scope of reported symptoms has been broad, spanning multiple Google smart home products. Users have reported that the Google Home app has been unable to control connected devices or receive normal responses in some cases. Nest speakers, including the Google Nest Mini, have failed to respond to voice commands, while Nest Hub displays have become stuck on loading screens or otherwise failed to process user requests. Google Assistant itself has also been affected, with voice commands requesting information or attempting to control smart home devices returning errors rather than completing the requested action. Additionally, some users have reported that scheduled routines and manually triggered automations tied to their smart home setups have failed to execute properly during the outage.

Android Authority reported that standard troubleshooting steps commonly used to resolve smart home device issues, including rebooting affected devices or performing a full factory reset, have not resolved the problem for users experiencing the outage, indicating the disruption stems from Google’s server-side infrastructure rather than any fault with individual devices themselves. As a result, affected users have had little recourse beyond waiting for Google to implement a fix on its end.

The Sunday Guardian reported that users in the United Kingdom have been among those affected by the ongoing disruption, describing a range of complaints including unresponsive speakers, failed voice commands, and Nest Hub devices stuck on blank or loading screens. Users have also reported continued difficulty controlling connected devices and running previously configured automated routines as the outage has persisted.

According to reporting on the incident, the disruption appears to be affecting Google’s cloud-side services that support Nest and Google Home products, rather than the individual hardware devices themselves, though Google had not officially confirmed the precise technical cause of the outage as of the most recent available reporting. Some users have reported that their devices intermittently began working again during the outage window, suggesting the disruption may not be uniformly affecting all users or regions at all times, and that the situation has continued to evolve as Google works toward a resolution.

The outage arrives roughly two and a half weeks after Google rolled out a broader Google Home software update at the start of August that introduced new features for the company’s smart home ecosystem. That earlier update was not without its own complications; iOS users experienced a separate, unrelated bug at the time in which some smart lights were automatically and unexpectedly turned on, an issue Google addressed relatively quickly following user reports.

Nest, which Google acquired in 2014, has experienced periodic connectivity and service disruptions throughout its history as a cloud-connected smart home platform. According to outage-tracking service StatusGator, which has monitored Nest’s service status since September 2016, the platform has experienced more than 168 documented outages over roughly the past decade, reflecting the broader technical challenges inherent to maintaining reliable, always-connected smart home infrastructure at global scale. Historical outages affecting Nest devices have periodically drawn attention to broader concerns among users regarding the reliability of internet-dependent smart home products, particularly for use cases such as home security monitoring or, in some past instances, using connected cameras as baby monitors, where a service disruption can leave users temporarily unable to access functions they may consider essential.

Google has faced broader service disruptions affecting products well beyond its Nest and Home lineup in the past, including outages that have simultaneously affected services such as Google Search, Google Meet, Gmail and Google Cloud infrastructure more broadly. In at least one previous large-scale incident, a Google Cloud spokesperson confirmed to media outlets that the company was “currently investigating a service disruption to some Google Cloud services,” directing affected users and businesses to the company’s public status dashboard for ongoing updates, a communication pattern Google has generally followed during significant platform-wide technical incidents.

As of this report, Google had not issued a detailed public statement specifically addressing the scope, cause or expected resolution timeline for the current Nest and Google Home outage, though the company’s status dashboard for Google Workspace and related cloud services typically serves as the primary official channel through which the company communicates updates during confirmed service disruptions.

Given the global scope of the reported outage, spanning users across North America, Europe and Australia, and the consistency of symptoms described across multiple independent reports, the disruption appears to reflect a genuine, widespread technical failure within Google’s smart home infrastructure rather than a series of isolated, unrelated regional issues. Users experiencing continued problems with their Google Nest or Google Home devices were generally advised to continue monitoring official Google channels and outage-tracking services such as Downdetector for updates, since the underlying server-side nature of the disruption means individual troubleshooting steps are unlikely to resolve the issue until Google implements a fix on its end.

American Airlines passengers could soon notice some big changes when they settle into their seats, as the carrier rolls out a major overhaul of the onboard experience.

The company said Tuesday that more than 800 narrowbody aircraft will ultimately receive new entertainment systems featuring 4K displays, Bluetooth connectivity and USB-C charging.

“Big enhancements are taking flight,” American said in a post on X announcing the changes.

New aircraft equipped with the screens are expected to begin arriving in the second half of 2028, while retrofits of existing jets are scheduled to start later that year.

CHICK-FIL-A REIMAGINES SOUTHERN BREAKFAST CLASSIC AS AMERICANS PILE ON THE PROTEIN

American Airlines is planning a major cabin overhaul that will add seatback entertainment, faster connectivity and more premium seating across much of its narrowbody fleet. (Kevin Carter/Getty Images / Getty Images)

The retrofit program is expected to stretch into the early 2030s, according to American.

The move marks a notable shift for the Fort Worth, Texas-based carrier, which has for years relied heavily on passengers streaming entertainment to their own phones, tablets and laptops on many domestic flights.

The airline told Fox News Digital that changing passenger habits helped drive the decision.

“Customer preferences have evolved,” the airline shared with Fox News Digital, adding that the shift has become particularly apparent since the COVID-19 pandemic.

The carrier added that younger travelers, in particular, increasingly expect access to multiple devices and larger screens during their trips.

At the same time, improvements in satellite internet are changing what airlines can offer passengers in the cabin. American plans to begin installing high-speed Starlink Wi-Fi on its narrowbody aircraft in 2027.

AMERICAN AIRLINES REPORTEDLY PAUSES 6 DOMESTIC ROUTES AMID FUEL PRICE PRESSURE TIED TO IRAN CONFLICT

The changes, beginning in 2028 and continuing into the early 2030s, are aimed at attracting travelers willing to pay more for comfort and upgraded amenities. (Daniel Slim/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)

The airline said combining built-in screens, passengers’ personal devices and faster connectivity could create a more personalized in-flight experience, while also opening up “new opportunities for engagement and revenue growth.”

The upgrades will cover both new aircraft and planes already in American’s fleet. Newly delivered Airbus A321 and Boeing 737 MAX 10 aircraft will receive the entertainment systems, while existing narrowbody aircraft will be retrofitted.

American’s current Airbus A320 fleet is the exception and will not receive the new seatback entertainment systems, the carrier told Fox News Digital.

The cabin overhaul goes beyond screens.

American is also increasing the number of higher-priced seats across its narrowbody operation, as airlines increasingly compete for travelers willing to pay more for additional space and premium amenities.

Premium seating currently represents roughly 25% of seats on American’s narrowbody departures. The airline expects that figure to climb to approximately 40% in the coming years.

UNITED AIRLINES DROPS MERGER PURSUIT WITH AMERICAN, CEO KIRBY DETAILS WHY

American Airlines is betting on premium travelers by expanding first-class and extra-legroom seating across its narrowbody fleet, part of a broader push to make the onboard experience more upscale and competitive. (Courtesy Terri and Bobbie Barbour)

American is already modifying its Airbus A319 and A320 aircraft to add another row of first class. Its future Boeing 737 MAX 10 aircraft are expected to have 24 first-class seats, while the airline also plans to reconfigure its A321neo fleet with additional first-class seating.

The carrier is expanding Main Cabin Extra, its extra-legroom economy product, across most of the narrowbody fleet as well.

“We’re making one of the most significant investments in the onboard experience in our history,” American Chief Customer Officer Heather Garboden said.

The airline’s decision comes as carriers increasingly focus on premium travelers and cabin amenities as another way to differentiate themselves beyond ticket prices and schedules.

American’s new screens are expected to rank among the largest offered on narrowbody aircraft in North America, according to the carrier. The system will also offer personalized movie and television recommendations, interactive flight maps and destination information.

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The first newly delivered aircraft with the technology are still roughly two years away, meaning passengers will see the changes gradually rather than through an immediate fleetwide overhaul.

American Airlines expects the retrofit program to be completed in the early 2030s.

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. — Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream Inc. is voluntarily recalling a limited number of Outshine Fruit Bar flavors nationwide over concerns that the frozen treats could be contaminated with glass, according to a media release distributed via PR Newswire.

The recall, dated Aug. 16, affects Outshine Strawberry, Watermelon, Grape, Tangerine and Black Cherry fruit bars, which were distributed to retailers across the country in 6-count boxes. The company emphasized that only these five flavors, packaged as 6-count, 2.5-ounce paddle bars, are included in the recall, meaning other Outshine products and flavors not specifically listed are not affected.

According to the company, no illnesses or injuries connected to the recalled products have been reported to date. Dreyer’s said in its statement that it remains focused on ensuring consumer safety as the recall moves forward. “The safety, quality, and integrity of our products remain our highest priority. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this action may cause our consumers and retail customers,” the company said in its release. “We remain committed to maintaining the highest standards of food safety and quality and to earning the trust of our consumers and customers every day.”

Consumers who have purchased the affected products are being urged to check specific batch codes and best-before dates printed on the bottom of each package, along with the corresponding UPC codes, to determine whether their particular boxes fall within the recall.

For Outshine Strawberry 6-Count 2.5-ounce Fruit Bars, under UPC 041548610047, the affected batch codes include a lengthy list of codes beginning with the prefix “LLA,” with best-before dates ranging from Sept. 30, 2027, through Nov. 30, 2027. The affected codes span LLA616903 through LLA617603 with a Sept. 30, 2027, best-before date, followed by a separate group of codes from LLA620303 through LLA621603 carrying best-before dates spread across Oct. 31, 2027, and Nov. 30, 2027.

Outshine Grape 6-Count 2.5-ounce Fruit Bars are affected under two separate UPC codes. Under UPC 041548244044, affected batch codes include LLA616803, LLA616903, and a range from LLA619703 through LLA620303, with best-before dates of either Sept. 30, 2027, or Oct. 31, 2027, depending on the specific code. A separate set of Grape fruit bars, packaged under UPC 041548000121, carries affected batch codes ranging from LLA618503 through LLA619003, all with a July 31, 2027, best-before date.

Outshine Watermelon 6-Count 2.5-ounce Fruit Bars, listed under UPC 041548413624, have affected batch codes spanning LLA617603 through LLA619503, with best-before dates falling on either June 30, 2027, or July 31, 2027, depending on the specific batch.

Outshine Tangerine 6-Count 2.5-ounce Fruit Bars, under UPC 041548612041, have a more limited set of affected batch codes, specifically LLA619603 and LLA619703, both carrying an Oct. 31, 2027, best-before date.

The company has directed consumers with additional questions about the recall, including how to determine eligibility for a refund or how to properly dispose of affected products, to consult additional details available through the company’s official recall notice. Consumers who discover they have purchased any of the affected batch codes are generally advised in cases like this to avoid consuming the product and to either discard it or return it to the place of purchase for a refund, consistent with standard food safety recall guidance.

Glass contamination recalls, while relatively uncommon, are treated with particular seriousness by food safety regulators and manufacturers given the potential for serious injury if small glass fragments are inadvertently consumed. Such recalls typically originate from a manufacturing or packaging line issue, such as damage to glass components used somewhere in the production or filling process, though Dreyer’s release did not specify the exact source of the potential contamination risk identified in this case.

Outshine, a brand owned by Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream, has built a reputation in the frozen treats market for producing fruit-based frozen bars marketed as a lower-calorie, fruit-forward alternative to traditional ice cream novelties. The recalled flavors, including Strawberry, Watermelon, Grape, Tangerine and Black Cherry, represent some of the brand’s more widely distributed and popular product offerings, meaning the recall is likely to affect a substantial number of households that had purchased the products before the potential contamination issue was identified.

Given the wide distribution of the affected boxes to retailers nationwide, consumers across the country are being encouraged to check their freezers for any of the specific batch codes outlined in the recall notice, rather than assuming that simply purchasing one of the five listed flavors necessarily means their particular box is affected, since the recall applies specifically to certain identified batch codes and best-before date ranges rather than to the flavors as a whole indefinitely.

This recall adds to a broader pattern of food safety recalls that consumers have periodically had to navigate across various product categories throughout the year, underscoring the ongoing importance of manufacturers’ internal quality control processes in catching potential contamination risks before they result in consumer injury. In this instance, the company has stated that its internal processes identified the potential glass contamination risk before any injuries were reported, prompting the voluntary recall action.

Consumers seeking further information about the recall, including specific guidance on refunds or additional batch codes not explicitly detailed in initial reporting, are encouraged to consult the full recall notice provided by Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream directly, as the company’s official release contains the complete and authoritative listing of all affected product codes and consumer guidance associated with this voluntary recall action.

Most small business owners do not want to think about servers. They want a website that loads, professional-looking email, and a bill that does not triple in year two.

That is the gap one.com has aimed at for over twenty years, and why the Danish provider keeps making shortlists alongside far larger American brands. Here is what the bundle contains, what it costs after year one, and who it suits.

For many businesses, hosting is also a purchase made only once every few years. Once a website is live, email addresses are printed on business cards and customers know where to find you, moving providers becomes an inconvenience few owners want to deal with. That makes choosing the right platform at the outset more important than chasing the cheapest introductory offer. A provider that keeps domains, hosting, email and website management under one roof can remove a surprising amount of day-to-day administration, particularly for businesses without dedicated IT support.

What one.com is

one.com launched in Denmark in 2002 and is now one of Europe’s better known small business providers. The proposition: one account holding your domain, hosting, email and site builder, managed from one control panel rather than three renewal dates, three support queues and three places for something to break. one.com UK lists the current plans side by side.

Pricing and the renewal question

Entry level hosting starts from around £1 per month, with a standard domain at roughly £10 a year once promotional pricing ends — attractive numbers for a brochure site, a contact form and a few email addresses.

The caveat applies across this market: introductory pricing covers the first term, and renewals cost more. Compare providers on three years of costs, not one: the host that looks pricier on day one is sometimes cheaper by month eighteen. A 15 day money back guarantee covers new hosting orders, though domain registration fees sit outside it.

The domain, and what “free” means

Every hosting plan includes a free first year domain on eligible extensions, the single biggest reason the bundle undercuts buying the pieces separately; for a .co.uk buyer it removes a line item in year one. Read “free” precisely: it means twelve months, then the standard renewal rate applies. Unlike some registrars, one.com does not tie the domain up in ways that make leaving difficult. Our guide to where to buy a domain in the UK compares first year and renewal pricing across the main players.

Website Builder and WordPress

one.com runs two routes to a finished site. The Website Builder now leads with AI: describe the business and it generates a starting layout with drafted copy, refined in a drag and drop editor with an AI writing assistant, analytics, contact forms and a cookie banner. Independent reviewers find the templates narrower and customisation shallower than the specialists’, but for a plumber, consultancy or small shop needing five good pages, the ceiling is far above what you need. Our roundup of the best AI website builders puts it against the dedicated platforms. The alternative is WordPress, installed in one click, with managed plans covering updates, staging and security patching — better if you expect to grow into plugins, a blog or an online shop.

Email, security and support

Email is included rather than sold as an extra — several better known providers charge monthly per mailbox on top of hosting. SSL certificates are included, backups run daily, and support runs through chat, phone and email. One fair criticism: one.com does not publish an uptime guarantee, unlike some UK hosts.

Performance and the upgrade path

Shared hosting is sufficient for the traffic most small business sites see, and third party speed tests have been favourable for the price bracket. If a site outgrows it, one.com offers managed VPS and cloud servers with dedicated CPU, memory and NVMe storage. Few £1 per month customers will ever need one, but an upgrade path inside the same account beats migrating hosts under pressure.

Where it sits against the competition

The natural comparison is IONOS, the largest player across the UK and Europe, which offers deeper technical specification, Tier IV certified data centres and a named personal consultant. one.com offers fewer options and a simpler journey to a live site; our head to head on one.com vs IONOS works through which suits which business. Against the wider field, one.com competes on the bundle: not the fastest, not the most configurable, not the cheapest at renewal, but hard to assemble more cheaply elsewhere. The full ranking sits in our guide to the best web hosting UK businesses can buy this year.

Who should buy it

one.com is a strong fit for sole traders, small firms and first time site owners who value fewer decisions over more control. It is a weaker fit for developers who want granular server control, businesses that need a contractual uptime commitment, and design led brands that will fight the builder’s constraints.

It also makes sense for businesses replacing an ageing website or moving away from separate providers for domains, email and hosting. Consolidating those services into a single account reduces administration, simplifies renewals and makes it easier for non-technical owners to manage their online presence without relying on outside support for routine tasks.

Verdict

The bundle is the product. Judged component by component, one.com finishes mid table. Judged as the fastest way for a UK small business to get a professional website, a .co.uk domain and working email under one login and one renewal date, it remains one of the better value options — go in with clear eyes about year two pricing. If your priority is squeezing every last performance benchmark from a server or having complete technical control, there are stronger specialist providers. But if your goal is simply to get online quickly, manage everything in one place and avoid juggling multiple suppliers, one.com remains one of the strongest all-round packages in the market. As with any hosting purchase, compare the full cost over several years rather than the first invoice alone, and the value proposition becomes much easier to judge.

A wall of white granite towered above a small team of engineers gathered in a California quarry. The ancient, ultra-hard material before them was, to most things, completely impermeable.

Then the rock-melting tunnel-boring machine (TBR) roared to life.

“It’s kind of like igniting a rocket,” says Troy Helming, founder and chief executive of EarthGrid, as he describes the initially loud process of lighting up three plasma torches at the front of his company’s machine.

Those torches, set within a spinning head, soon quieten down as they produce a stream of super-heated plasma reaching 27,000C – significantly hotter than the surface of the Sun.

During the California test this January, EarthGrid’s cigar-shaped boring machine chewed through three metres of granite. “We create, basically, a tornado – a violent vortex inside the tunnel,” says Helming, as he explains how this helps the machine to suck away debris, which at times takes the form of lava.

“I actually got a little bit emotional watching it,” adds the entrepreneur. “I’ve been waiting for this moment for 10 years.”

Emerging technologies like this could make tunnel boring quicker and easier. Putting electricity or telecommunications cables, substations, data centres and other critical infrastructure underground, while good for securing such equipment, has long been a very expensive and difficult option.

Engineering firms told BBC News they are seeing rising demand for undergrounding, in part due to Russia’s war with Ukraine, which has revealed just how vulnerable above-ground facilities can be to drone attacks.

Helming says he has fielded interest from companies that want to use his tunnel boring machine for power and fibre optic cables, or pipelines that could transport water, natural gas, or ammonia, for example.

One project the company has eyed up would involve boring tunnels for an underground freight-distribution system around airports and warehouses. “To take more trucks off the road,” says Helming.

The January TBR test went well, though the machine “over-bored” slightly to the top and left of the tunnel, says Helming. His team plans to adjust the machine so that it will create a vortex that spins in alternate directions every five minutes or so, in order to correct this, and they hope the TBR could see commercial deployment as early as next year.