Benjamin Lieb, professional Engineering Manager, Software Engineer, with Startup experience, Graphic Design Chops, and years of professional experience honing skills in Communication, Collaboration, Mentorship, Team Process development, and Project Leadership.

Understanding the Costs of Starting Your Website

It can be a daunting process to start a web site from scratch. It can appear a complicated process with many foreign terms. This page gives you a break-down of the types of costs that should be planned for when getting your website off the ground. These include costs of domain name, hosting, design and development, and maintenance. Each is described below.

Domain Name Costs

Every site needs a name. It is your unique identifying address on the web, much like the address of the house you live in. You must register your domain name in year-long increments with a registry company.

Domain Registration is sometimes confused with Web Hosting by new web site owners. These services are completely different, and though some companies provide both services (registration and hosting), and might even attempt to obscure the distinction, one can equally well register a domain with one company and host with another.

Web Hosting Costs

To access your website through a web browser, it must reside on a machine (a server) that has an extremely reliable permanent connection to the internet. It should also have hefty security, and be configured well for internet traffic. Since most people can't do this at home, they purchase "space" on a server from someone who can. These people are called "Web Hosts". Hosting can be purchased in monthly or yearly increments, and depends on the company you choose.

Design and Development Costs

Who will design and develop your website? The costs associated with building web pages, scripting database interaction, and user interface design fall in the 'development' category.

Myth: Anyone can build a website. Truth: Anyone can build a bad website. Website development is a profession. Like dentistry or engineering, it requires training and a wide array of specialized skills to be effective. Serious organizations always use an experienced professional to develop and maintain their web sites. Their image, productivity and success depend on it. Current web development fees vary widely.

There are two main types of payment systems:

There are 6 main entities that organizations may use to have a website built:

Maintenance Costs

Once your site is complete, how will you make changes when the need arises? This essential question should be answered before the design process starts, as it affects EVERYTHING about how the site is designed. The more complex the web site, the less likely it will be that the average intern, secretary or company manager will be able to make changes to the site themselves. There are a few options:

  1. Maintenance agreement with the original developer/designer
  2. A third-party or in-company programmer
  3. Make changes yourself