Do you have to pay monthly for a website?

Do I have to pay monthly for a website? This is a question that we get asked time and time again by potential clients and the answer usually depends on the client’s choices and their requirements. As we all know, a website is not an easy thing to manage, it has to be taken care of and maintained properly, and in order to do that, it costs money.

With that said, let’s look at the costs involved in a website and how they influence your payment process.

Website design and development cost.

First, there is the fixed cost of designing and developing the website that you pay to the web design company. This is a one-time fee therefore, there will be no monthly retainer payments here.

Domain name renewal cost.

Second, there is the renewal cost for the domain. This is a fixed yearly fee that you pay for the renewal of your domain name to keep it registered under your business. Domain renewal payments are only paid on a yearly basis, not on a monthly basis. Henceforth, no monthly payment there.

Hosting plan renewal cost.

Third, there is the fixed renewal cost of the hosting plan. This is where the client has the opportunity to choose if they want to renew their hosting plan on a monthly basis or on a yearly basis. This is where the answer to the question “Do you have to pay monthly for a website?” usually depends as it all comes down to the decision of the client.

Therefore, if you wish to make renewal payments on a monthly basis, you will have a monthly website payment to make and if you wish to make renewal payments on a yearly basis, you won’t have any monthly website payments.

Premium Plugin Cost.

Fourth, there will be plugin costs for certain functions on your website. This is a common cost involved on WordPress websites that has to use third-party plugins for certain functions. Some of these plugins can be identified as live chat plugins, website speed optimization plugins, page builders, etc. Usually, these third-party plugins have a free version with limited options, but if you require all the functions, you will have to go with their premium option where you will have to pay these plugin providers a subscription fee on a monthly or yearly basis.

If you have no technical knowledge, we advise you to have an effective conversation with your developer on what plugins you need and see if you can get away with using the free versions to keep your costs down.

Payment Gateway Costs

If you are planning to launch an e-commerce store (Online Store) that sell products or services online and receives payments through the website, then you need a payment gateway to accept those payments from your online customers. These payment gateways have certain costs involved such as a monthly or annual service fee that needs to be paid to the payment gateway provider along with an additional transaction fee as a percentage per each transaction. The fees that you need to pay varies from payment gateway provider to provider and there are transactional fees included as well.

Third Party Tools

Fifth, if you are running a business website, there is a chance that you will use performance enhance tools to make your website perform at its full potential. Although there are free tools, there are some tools that require you to pay a monthly or yearly subscription. With that said, the third party tools you choose to use will also influence the cost of your website. 

Other costs by a web design company.

Finally, there can be costs that are incurred by the web design company such as website maintenance costs on a yearly or monthly basis. This cost can also vary from the type of website you have. For example, if you have a basic informational site, the maintenance cost will be lower as there is little to maintain. On the other hand, if you have a more advance site such as a e-commerce store or a web app, your maintenance cost will be hire due to the complexity of the maintenance process. 

With that said, and as you may now be able to understand, there are definitely recurring costs involved in a website but it is your choice whether you pay it on a monthly basis or a yearly basis. 

What we recommend.

As a leading web design company, we are always encouraging our clients to purchase plugins subscriptions, third party tool subscriptions and web hosting on a yearly basis as web hosting companies as well as other plugin and third party tool companies offer discounts on bulk orders. Also, choose a web design company or a web designer that charges maintenance cost by the year and purchase the domain and hosting plans for you as well so that the costs are organized properly. This allows you to make a single yearly payment that gets them rid of the hassle to pay a monthly retainer hosting fee.  

If you need a web design and development company that does not overcharge, offers free web hosting and domain name for free , and charges you by the year, we are here for you. Give us a call and let’s talk!