What’s the true cost of having a website?

Hosting Services

Think of your hosting service as purchasing land to build upon.

You’re purchasing server space from a company that allows you to build your website on it however you’d like. Depending on your choices for building your site, this may come included in the cost or it may be an additional yearly fee. Common “all-in-one” tools like Wix or SquareSpace often include this in their monthly pricing. Other building tools like WordPress require you to purchase hosting space to build a site using its system.

There are A LOT of hosting companies out there… GoDaddy is the biggest based on both market share and brand awareness. It’s kind of like the Wal-Mart of web hosting – it’s cheap, it’s easily accessible, but don’t expect a great customer service experience or top-of-the-line product offerings. We recommend siteground.com as a hosting service for all of our clients. They provide stable and fast hosting speeds with great customer services and competitive prices.

Hosting services are typically set on a yearly billing cycle with discounts provided if you pay for multiple years on the front end of your contract. We recommend taking advantage of the discounted rates when possible by purchasing multi-year hosting when available. You’ll pay a little more up front but will pay much less over the life of the contract.

Average hosting costs: $5-20/month depending on site size and contract length

Domain Name Registration

If your hosting is an empty lot, your domain is the address for your new building.

It’s your website’s unique address on the internet (e.g., www.yourbusinessname.com). Registering a domain name is typically the first step in establishing your online identity, but can also be created or updated during the hosting purchase process. It’s important to choose a domain name that reflects your brand identity and is easy for users to remember. If possible, using your business name as a domain is usually the best option. If your desired domain name isn’t available, consider other terms or phrases that would be easily associated with your business. It can be helpful to use a tool like domain.com to check the availability of the domain address you’d like to use for your business. Additionally, it’s important to consider securing similar domain extensions – .com, .net, .org, etc… as needed. This ensures your competitors don’t encroach on your online space and also makes it easier for users to find you if your primary extension isn’t .com.

For management simplicity, we recommend using the same company when possible to both purchase hosting and register your domain. While you may be able to manage them separately to save a few bucks, the additional complexities created are not worth it unless you have significant experience managing domain name servers and redirecting URLs.

Average domain registration costs: $15-50/year depending on extension and registrar

Building Platform

You’ve got land, you’ve got an address. Now it’s time to find the right builder to construct your new building.

When choosing a website-building platform, it’s important to start with the end in mind. What functions, features, and processes do you need your website to handle? If you are launching an online retail shop, you need to make sure you find a building platform that can manage shopping cart functions, credit card processing, etc… If you’re building a simple information site, you might not need all of those bells and whistles. We recommend WordPress as a functional building platform that can tackle the vast majority of use cases for small and mid-sized organizations. As of June 2024, 43.4% of websites use WordPress as their building platform, which is about 474 million websites. This makes WordPress the most popular website-building system on the market, with a 62.7% share. More than 500 new WordPress sites are built every day.

Other building platforms such as Wix and SquareSpace charge for their building platform as part of their inclusive costs. They often offer simplistic user design tools but can also be limiting and hard to customize. 

Building platform costs: Free w/WordPress

Custom Design

Now that you’ve landed on a builder, it’s time to approve the blueprints and design details!

The cost of designing and developing your website can vary significantly depending on its complexity, functionality, and the expertise of the designer/developer. It’s essential to outline your website’s requirements clearly and obtain quotes from multiple designers/developers to ensure you stay within budget while achieving your desired functionality and design aesthetic. This is the largest variable for your website investment. It may be a one-time expense for the design and launch, or it may include ongoing content management services that would also include a retainer of some kind. As you think about your website’s requirements and your unique design, be sure to consider ongoing management and content updating within this process. Are you going to manage site upkeep once the site is launched, or will you be relying on someone to continue to support your site with an ongoing management agreement? This may directly influence some design decisions that add complexity or simplicity in the design process, so it’s helpful to think about it at the beginning.

Website design costs: $1500+ depending on complexity and size

Miscellaneous Costs – Plugins, Extensions, & Images

Look at that – you’ve got a new property built and it’s ready to be decorated!

Plugins and extensions add functionality to your website beyond its core features. For example, WordPress plugins can enhance Search Engine Optimization, improve security, integrate social media, and more. While many plugins are free, premium plugins with advanced features may require a one-time purchase or subscription. These costs should be included in the upfront estimates provided in addition to the custom design fees based on your needed functionality. Because WordPress is the largest website-building platform in the world, there is a vast library of plugins and extensions to tackle your unique needs and site functions.

Prices for premium plugins vary widely but generally range from $10 to $200 or more per year, depending on the complexity and developer support. It’s important to research and select plugins carefully to avoid compatibility issues or unnecessary expenses. We work hard to make sure that the tools we present to clients have been well-vetted to make sure they are the right fit for the project.

In addition to plugins and extensions, you’ll want to add some great graphics to your website to make it pop. Some clients choose to use their own catalog of images, and some choose to use stock photography for images and graphics. There are some free stock photography options available, and many paid services that offer per-image or subscription pricing. When possible, we provide access to our stock photography accounts to gather images for our clients. If you have a specific image or style that you want to use, it may require an additional purchase for a user license for each unique file.

Plugins and Extensions costs: $10-200/year depending on complexity 

Stock photography costs: $10+ per image

Security

Now that your house is built and decorated, you probably want to protect it, right?

Most modern hosting services provide a free SSL (secure sockets layer) certificate, but these may occasionally be an additional yearly cost. SSL certificates provide an added layer or protection for your site users, confirming that your website is safe and doesn’t contain any malware or suspicious coding that could harm site visitors. This certificate provides the small padlock in your web browser URL that confirms a site is safe to visit. Most modern browsers will now flag sites that do not have an active SSL certificate as suspicious, turning away potential site visitors.

Security certificate costs: $20+/year if not included in hosting

Conclusion

Budgeting for regular maintenance ensures your website remains secure, performs optimally, and delivers a positive user experience over time.

While the creative aspects of web design are undoubtedly exciting, understanding the financial implications is crucial for effective planning and budgeting. Considering costs such as domain name registration, web hosting, design and development, plugins, and ongoing maintenance, helps you make informed decisions that align with your budget and business goals.