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When planning and implementing a new website, make sure you budget for any ongoing costs. Most only think of the initial up
front cost that are associated with web development, however there are several ongoing costs that you may need to be aware off to keep your website running effectively.
Website hosting
Every business needs a needs a physical location to operate, wether it be a small warehouse or a massive network of retail outlets. The same rules apply in the digital space when setting up a website. When you build any website, wether it be a simple blog or a complex ecommerce environment, you need a digital location.
The reason for this is because a website is constructed from a series of files, images, and HTML code. These files take up space and need a place to be stored. With no online home, the files would just sit on a computer and no one would ever see them.
Hosting providers supply a place on a web server to store all of the files and are responsible for delivering the website content every time a browser makes a request to access your domain name.
You pay for hosting providers to rent storage space on the internet — just like renting a physical store for your business. Hosting companies will often charge one fixed fee on an annual or monthly basis per each website.
Email provider
Once you’ve chosen your domain name, you may want to have a company email address that includes you domain name.
Companies and brands often use a corporate email address becuase it may look unprofessional to operate from a personal email address.
Email providers create an email address and inbox for you to use and operate from. Email provide will often charge one fixed fee on an annual or monthly basis per each email address held with them.
Payment processing fees
Payment processing fees are the costs that business owners incur when authorising and processing payments either through debit and credit cards or online transfers. A lot of the marketplaces use third-party services such as PayPal, Sage Pay or Stripe to handle payments, and if you make your own store, you will use one of these too.
Fees charged on transactions generally range between 3% and 6% of the transaction value with payment service providers. It is important to know that each provider often arranges their fee slightly differently, which can make comparing them a little tricky.
Plugins
Plugins are a way to add more functionality to your website and it’s kind of like downloading apps to your phone or laptop.
There are loads of free plugins and loads of premium ones with free trial versions. For a simple website project like a blog, you can often get away with spending little or nothing in terms of plugins. It’s when you want something more complex, that‘s when the costs start to stack up.
Plugins can vary massively in costs depending on what they do and the developer behind their creation. When implementing it’s always wise to double check the features you require are not already covered under the free version. Always take the time to review and compare several plugin to ensure the plug-in is affordable and reliable.
Summary
Website costs can vary dramatically depending on the complexities and functionalities required. Not planning for these ongoing costs makes it difficult to capture a true reflection of the website‘s value and success. Underdog Creatives will always highlight all ongoing costs and work with you to fit these into a manageable budget.