What a Website Should Really Cost You

Why the quotes are all over the place

Ask three people what a small business website costs and you'll get three answers that are thousands of dollars apart, for what looks like the same five pages. Most of that gap comes down to how you pay and what's included after launch, not how the site looks.

Two ways to pay

There are two ways to pay for a site, and the one you pick matters more than the number.

Pay up front. A build from someone who actually learns your business usually runs about $1,500 to $5,000, then hosting and upkeep on top, and you pay again when something breaks. Below about $1,000 you're usually getting a template with your logo swapped in. That can be fine. Just know that's what it is.

Pay monthly. No build fee, one flat amount a month that covers the site, the hosting, and changes when you need them. It's what gets owners unstuck when they've been quoted thousands for years and never went ahead. The two things to check: that you own the domain, and what happens to the site if you stop paying.

Either way, ask the same question before you sign: "What do I own, and what does it cost to leave?"

The small costs underneath

Whichever way you pay, two costs sit underneath every site:

• The domain name, "yourbusiness.com," renewed once a year. A standard .com shouldn't cost much more than about $20 a year. Register it in your own name, on your own account, and turn on auto-renew.
• Upkeep. Someone has to apply updates, renew the security certificate, and fix things when they break. On a monthly plan it's usually included. On a site you paid for up front, it's either your job or a separate bill, and it's the cost people forget until something stops working.

What to watch for

• A low price with no answer about upkeep. Ask who applies updates after launch and what that costs.
• A domain registered in someone else's name. If the developer or agency owns it, you don't control your own address. See What Happens If Your Domain Name Expires.
• Long hosting contracts. Multi-year prepaid hosting mostly benefits the host. Month-to-month is worth a small premium.
• No way out. Ask how you'd get your content if you leave. What You Actually Own When You Build on a Platform covers what to look for.

If you already paid for a site and it does its job, you don't need a new one. The question is only whether you know what you own and who keeps it running.