What are the ongoing costs of a website?

If you’re considering engaging website developers to build a new website for your business, one key consideration is the associated ongoing costs.

As a leading website developer in Logan, we like to make sure that all prospective clients are fully informed of these ongoing costs, and below is a summary of these.

Website hosting account

Your website will need to be stored (hosted) on a server that connects your website to the internet. At GO Creative, we offer affordable website hosting in Australia for all of our clients, and our support staff are based here as well.

Domain name

This is the address of your website. You’ll need a unique domain name that will need to renewed each year. We can help you to decide on the best domain name for your website, as well as purchase and register it on your behalf.

Email services

These may or may not be included with your hosting package, but you will need at least one dedicated email address for you website. We recommend Office 365 as the best productivity suite, and G Suite is also very good. There are licence costs involved with both of those options.

Support

Engaging us to maintain your website on an ongoing basis leaves you free to focus on your business. This is especially vital if you need urgent support, as you have someone to turn to.

Software upgrades

If your website isn’t being upgraded over time, you’re running the risk of being hacked, as well as having the website “break” for one reason or another. While website support/maintenance plans often cover upgrading software, there are times when you’ll need to spend a little extra to resolve issues.

Plugins

Many websites have extra software (plugins) which have recurring fees (usually annually) that allow access to the latest updates or to receive plugin support. Some even have mandatory renewals to enable continued use of the software, and this is the case for many plugins provided via WooCommerce.com (the biggest online store software provider for WordPress websites). These costs can run into the hundreds of dollars per year.

While some of these ongoing costs may seem excessive, there are serious issues with the alternative, which is to use ‘free’ or ‘cheap’ website builders, as they have significant limitations. If you want a quality website for your business that is well maintained with access to friendly support staff, your best option is to contact our local team of website developers here at GO Creative.