How much does a website cost (including the hidden fees of a website)?

When it comes to building a website (either brand new or updating), one of the most asked questions is, “How much will my website cost.” 

Before we jump into cost, I want to address a little semantics shift. 

You should view your website as an investment, not a cost. Your website should be making you money. If you aren’t getting a return on your website investment, your website isn’t doing its job and should be “fired.” 

With that being said, there are some recurring and one-time costs that may apply to your website, and that’s what I want to discuss today.

Although how much you’ll pay for a new website is a difficult question to answer, I’ll do my best to give some basic guidelines as to what will impact it most. 

There are seemingly countless options so I’ll do my best to provide an appropriate range so you can have an idea of what you might pay. 

Recurring Website costs

Some recurring website costs will happen monthly, others yearly. It’s important to know which you have signed up for and what the total cost for the year might be. 

Website hosting cost

These are the fees you generally pay monthly. Just about every space on the internet is rented because all that information lives on some computer somewhere. You have to pay for the storage space of your website. 

Website hosts generally have multiple hosting options, unlocking and enabling more advanced features (e.g. additional analytics, tools, features, etc.) based on your subscription level. 

Website hosting costs can range from $10 per month to $36 per month. There can be more expensive packages, but these generally include more niche features.

Website hosts also often offer discounts if you pay yearly instead of monthly, so look for that to save some money! 

Website domain cost

Your domain is what people type into their web browser to access your website. 

Website domain cost will vary based on desirability. They can range from $12 to $40 each year. 

An important note on domains, you can sometimes get a slightly less expensive domain by using an alternate ending like .co or .me.

There are also many industry-specific domains like .cpa or .photography. To see a full list of available extensions visit this website.

Don’t be afraid to think a little outside the box when it comes to your domain!

Website plugin cost

Sometimes in order to highly customize your website you’ll need to add a plugin. Plugins can do simple things like adding easy-to-use forms to your website, or complex things, like completely changing the look and feel of your website. 

Website plugin monthly fees can range from $10 to $50, depending on what they do. Some e-commerce plugins may take a small percentage of sales as well. 

Just like website hosting, you may be able to get a better price if you pay for a year upfront.

A website plugin could actually go in either recurring or one-time website fees, but I’ve decided to include it in the monthly to ensure all bases are covered. 

One-time Website costs

This is where the largest percentage of your investment will come from. While there are websites where you can hire freelancers for incredibly cheap ($5 to $10 an hour) I want to remind you that building a website is like anything else in life: You get what you pay for. 

Sometimes you end up paying more in the end by going with the cheapest option because of work that needs to be redone by someone who can do it correctly. 

Will you be able to find someone who can do these for cheaper? Definitely. 
Would I recommend going with someone cheaper? Probably not.

Finding someone who can cover every aspect below will certainly be a cheaper option because you’ll most likely get something akin to “bundle pricing.” 

But if you want the best of the best, you’ll have to go with a person dedicated to each. (A professional tennis player doesn’t play ping just because they are similar.)

Website copywriting fees

Writing copy that sells is a unique talent not many people have. It’s a different kind of writing that compels readers to take action. Just because someone is a good author or journalist doesn’t mean they’ll be able to write copy that converts readers into customers. 

When you hire a copywriter be sure they write with the customer in mind, while also intending to make a sale. 

A quality website copywriter may charge anywhere from $75 to $150 per hour. A great option, if possible, is to pay by project.

In my opinion, hourly pricing leads to clients settling for good work because they don’t want to pay for the hours to make it great. Project-based enables you to get what you want without feeling like hours are getting unnecessarily racked up.

Assuming you’d start with three basic pages - home, about, services - your project pricing could be anywhere from $750 to $3,000 depending on the amount of content.

Website design fees

Website design, like copywriting, is a special skill. What’s most important for a website is that the visitor clearly understands how to navigate and interact with it. 

Your niece that designs t-shirts may not understand the mindset a website visitor takes, therefore she won’t understand buyer psychology, which means she won’t be able to intentionally create an effective website.

You can expect website design fees to be similar to copywriting: $75 to $150 per hour. $750 to $3,000

Website building fees

Just because someone knows how to use design software doesn’t mean they know how to bring your website to life. 

When implementing a design on a live website you can go with drag-and-drop builders, custom code writing, or implementations of both.

Drag-and-drop will generally be lower in cost, full custom code will be the highest cost. 

The pricing will also be highly affected by how intricate the design work is and the functionality needed based on the design.

Once again, someone who builds websites may charge hourly or by project. You can expect $80 to $200 hourly, or $1,000 to $5,000 per project. 

Website Cost Range

So how much does it cost to build a website? Let’s review our ranges…
For the sake of simplicity, we’ll calculate the first year’s cost and assume project-based pricing.

Website hosting cost: $120 - $432 ($10 - $36 / month)
Website domain cost: $144 - $480 ($12 - $40 / month)
Website plugin cost: $120 - $600 ($10 - $50 / month)
Website copywriting cost: $750 - $3,000
Website design cost: $750 - $3,000
Website building cost: $1,000 - $5,000

Total Website Cost Year 1 Range: $2,884 - $12,512

Is this a massive range? Yup.
Is it accurate based on my experience in and around the industry since 2013? Yup.

The best way to know what your website investment might be is to speak with someone who can help you define your exact needs. 

Always remember though, your website should make you money. The more you spend, the higher your ROI should be. 

Want a more accurate estimate of how much your website might cost? Schedule a meeting with me today and we’ll discuss your specific needs and what you might expect as you get quotes from reputable companies.