There’s more to having a website than just paying a designer to design it and a developer to develop it. There are going to be outside costs that you have to pay for to get a website, as well as some optional costs that you may run into. It can be very confusing and feel like you’re hammered with outside expenses, so I thought I’d run down a list of things you will have to pay for and things you may have to be pay for, to give you some ideas of what to expect.
Must Have
Aside from paying a company to make your website, you will have at a minimum two other expenses, your domain and web hosting.
DOMAIN: This is your website URL, the www that identifies your web space. Unless you are using a free site like Google Sites or Weebly, you’ll need a domain. You can usually get one for around $10-$15, depending on where you buy it unless it’s something that’s a premium domain for sale at a high price.
WEB HOSTING: Your domain name is your website address, your unique online identifier, but the hosting is where your files and database are located. (We keep a list of recommended web hosts for anyone who needs help finding a host.) It’s the “online house” to your “online address.”
May Need
Sometimes, you may need additional items that you didn’t consider, and those may cost you out of pocket. Here are some examples…
STOCK PHOTOS: In our packages, we include a certain amount of stock photos. If you need more than that number, you may need to buy them. They can cost anywhere from $1 per photo to $100 or more per photo, depending on the photo you choose.
SOFTWARE: In some cases, your site may require special software that requires a one-time or annual fee. There are plenty of premium plugins that we use and you get lifetime access to as a part of your web design package, but if your site requires special functionality, it may cost more. Some examples are special e-commerce plugins, multi-lingual plugins, event plugins, etc.
SSL ENCRYPTION: Google wants all sites encrypted, and we recommend this for every single site we do. All the web hosts we recommend on our list include a free SSL with easy installation with their packages, but not all hosts do. If you use a host that doesn’t include SSL, you may have to buy one, which can cost up to $75 per year.
SECURITY: We do a thorough job of securing all sites when we finish, but it’s never a bad idea to go the extra mile and use a service like Sucuri that provides DDoS protection and malware scanning.
WEBSITE SUPPORT: It’s no longer a “set it and forget it” world when it comes to websites. You need to maintain it. WordPress websites need regular updates to keep the software up-to-date. If you can’t commit to running these updates yourself, then it’s a good idea to pay for a support plan to make sure these tasks are done for you. (Note: We offer support plans.)
MARKETING & SEO: If you want people to find your site, you might need to pay extra for marketing services to get your name out there.
Can you think of other extras? Share in the comments!
Amy Masson
Amy is the co-owner, developer, and website strategist for Sumy Designs. She's been making websites with WordPress since 2006 and is passionate about making sure websites are as functional as they are beautiful.