Blog / Small business
How Much Does a Small Business Website Cost After It Is Built?
· 4 minute read · Shane Barron
How much does a small business website cost? Most people ask about the build price. A better question comes next: what does it cost every month after it is built?
A business owner asked me that this week. She rents two vacation homes in Florida, and I built a sample direct booking site for her. She already pays for hosting with SiteGround. Her question was simple: "Besides your charge, would there be any other monthly or yearly charges?"
For her site, the honest answer was short. But for many sites it is not. This post explains where the monthly costs come from, so you can ask the right questions before you hire anyone.
The two costs every website has
Every website has two costs that never go away.
- Hosting. This is the computer that keeps your site online. Shared hosting from a big company often starts low and goes up at renewal. Managed hosting costs more, but someone else does the updates, backups and security.
- The domain name. This is your address, like yourbusiness.com. Most domains renew once a year. The price depends on the ending and the company you buy it from.
She already had hosting, so her site would add no new hosting cost. Her domain renews once a year with the company she bought it from. That was the full list.
The costs that surprise people
The surprises come from the build, not the hosting. Here is where they hide.
Paid plugins and themes
Many WordPress sites use a premium theme or paid plugins. A booking plugin, a form plugin, a page builder and a backup tool can each have a yearly license. Each license looks small. Together they can cost more than the hosting.
Her sample booking site has none of these. I built the booking calendar, the price rules and the booking form as one custom plugin. Nothing in it renews.
Booking and payment fees
Some booking tools take a fee for each reservation. Online payment companies take a small part of each payment. If your site takes payments, ask for the exact fee per transaction.
The sample site does not charge cards. A guest sends a booking request. She confirms it and collects payment her own way. So the site adds no fee per booking.
Outside services
Maps, chat tools, email marketing and analytics can each have a monthly plan. Some are free at a small size and charge when you grow.
I checked the site for outside services before I answered her. It uses none that charge.
A simple table of typical monthly costs
| Cost | Who usually pays it | How often |
|---|---|---|
| Hosting | You, to a host or to your developer | Monthly or yearly |
| Domain name | You, to the company you bought it from | Yearly |
| Premium theme or plugins | You, to each plugin company | Yearly, if any |
| Booking or payment fees | You, per booking or payment | Per transaction, if any |
| Outside services | You, to each service | Monthly, if any |
| Updates and fixes | You do them, or you pay someone | As needed |
Updates: the cost people forget
WordPress, themes and plugins get updates. Some updates fix security problems. If nobody does them, the site gets old, and attackers can break in.
You have three choices:
- Do the updates yourself, and test the site after each one.
- Pay a developer when something breaks.
- Pay for managed hosting that includes updates, backups and security.
I offer the third choice for $20 a month. My managed hosting page explains what it includes. She is thinking about her own hosting instead, which is a fine choice too. Then the updates are hers to do or to ask for.
Questions to ask before you hire a web designer
Ask these before the build starts, not after:
- Which paid plugins or themes will the site use, and what do they cost each year?
- Will the site charge a fee for each booking, order or payment?
- Which outside services does it need, and when do they start to charge?
- Who does the updates, and what does that cost?
- Can I move the site to another host later?
A good answer names every cost. A vague answer is a warning sign.
Questions people ask
How much does a small business website cost per month?
It can be as low as your hosting and your domain. It goes up with paid plugins, booking or payment fees and outside services. Ask for a written list of every recurring cost before the build.
Can I host my new website on my own hosting account?
Yes, if the host supports what the site needs. Most WordPress sites run on common hosts like SiteGround. Your developer can install the site on your account.
Do custom websites have fewer monthly costs?
Often, yes. A feature built into the site itself has no license to renew. A site made from many paid plugins has a license for each one.
What is the cheapest way to keep a website updated?
Do the updates yourself, if you test the site after each one. If you do not have time, managed hosting with updates included costs less than a repair after a hack.
If you want a site with no surprise costs, my start page explains how a project begins, and my work page shows sites I built.