It is found that most website owners don’t consider important factors like website maintenance costs when deciding the budget. Not many people are aware of the fact that there are expenses associated with website maintenance and keeping them up and running. Similar to a bike or a washing machine, one needs to put in the effort and casual expenses to keep websites working smoothly, or else, similar to real-world equivalents, they’ll degrade over a period of time.
To prevent this, we’ll be sharing a comprehensive guide on website maintenance costs, where we’ll be discussing-
Roll up your sleeves!
Discover the essence of website maintenance and get insights into the average cost
The cost of maintaining a website will differ based on the type of website you’ve. Following is the breakdown of essential monthly costs for all types of websites:
Well; this leads you to understand that it is imperative to consider good web maintenance services and the average cost to maintain a website. Believe us or not, these facts do the talking:
If these compelling reasons have motivated you enougha to know more about the cost of maintaining a website and how you should maintain it - hire professional web maintenance services or do it yourself. Now if you want to know more about how often website maintenance is required, or how much to maintain a website then keep scrolling!
Let’s look at each element in detail that adds up to website maintenance cost and how you may manage it.
Do you know what elements comprise the cost of maintaining a website? Or Are you wondering how much to maintain a website, and why the cost of maintaining a website is so high? Well, a clear breakdown of website maintenance services costs can help you have better insight. Let us look at this website maintenance cost:
All of you know why websites are so important for your organizations, and for that, your business or start-up needs a domain for a professional website. You can surely go for free domains and subdomains for your business website. However, here, the options are limited, and you might not be able to get something to match your business goals or make you look as professional as you want it to. This could be a good idea when looking for a hobby or a small personal blogging website.
The price for a Domain name annually can be dependent on many factors. These factors could be the domain registrar you choose for your domain for a business website. The range is generally $10- $20 per year. However, as stated here, it varies depending on some factors, and when you choose special domain names, you might pay more.
Selecting a reliable domain name registrar is also important to avoid scams and hidden costs.
Depending on your needs, there are various types and volumes of websites that you can have for your business. You can choose from different features and performances and make your website personalized as per your requirements. Some of these types of websites for which you pay hosting charges are listed here.
Also, research more about hosting types and charges in case you want to do it on your own. Then, you can compare it with what is being offered to you. Shared hosting or dedicated hosting plans are also options to consider depending on your budget for website maintenance costs.
You can also ask your website maintenance service provider to create an email address(es) for your domain free of cost. Otherwise, if you do not get it for free, you might have to spend the same while you get it done from some other service provider. If you are willing to spend your time and effort, you can do this alone.
When you talk about conversion, marketing comes into play. And your marketing is incomplete without the “King.” Yes, you guessed it right: Content!
Up-to-date content speaks so much about your brand. Such as, it shows your expertise, helps you gain visitors, and ranks you better on the search engines. This is all included in the website maintenance cost; when you pay for it, you can be sure of getting some results.
Creating content and marketing it correctly is equally important, and these services can be outsourced. Hence, you need some strategy to help you create better content and market it even better.
The software you are using for your professional website is one of the factors that impacts the website maintenance cost and how much it costs to maintain a website. The charges to update the software for the website vary for different types.
For instance, in the top CMS platforms like WordPress or Joomla, costs are almost negligible as you can have the plugins or themes on your own.
In case you are using paid themes, plugins, or templates, you will have to pay for the license, which becomes yet another cost to be considered.
The cost of maintaining a website includes SSL certification costs as well. This certification encrypts the data passing through your professional/ personal website and helps it be safe for visitors by keeping their information safe. Irrespective of the website type, security is something that can not be denied. And keeping it trustworthy for your visitors is also important. When the visitors don't feel secure on your website, they might choose not to visit you. And hence it is important to have SSL Certification.
According to a survey, when people don't find your website secure, then 75% of them abandon online transactions. In case your website is not eCommerce, and you do not deal in transactions, then SSL certifications add to the security of the website & Google also values such websites. Hence it is an important point to consider when discussing the cost of maintaining a website.
Some SSL certificates are free of the cost offered by web hosting providers. However, you might have to pay some price for stronger and more secure SSL Certifications. You can refer to the guide to SSL certificate.
Did you know? In 2023, 82.9% of websites possess a valid SSL certificate, showing a significant increase from the 18.5% recorded five years ago. According to the report from W3Techs, which outlines the evolution of HTTPS adoption, this growth is notable. Despite the substantial percentage increase, the 17.8% of websites lacking encryption still represent a considerable number, posing a potential security risk to users.
Users love versatility; you cannot remain the same around the year. Festive or some special season needs a design update, and doing so will make you ponder how much it costs for web maintenance services.
The website's overall design might have some glitches from the Users’ point of view or even technical issues. Apart from that, even SEO optimization needs some website redesign strategies. All this comes under Website Maintenance costs. The average cost to maintain a website including web design services will also depend on this factor.
Apart from this, designing also includes images for blog posts, infographic designs, sales banners, banners for headers and footers of web pages, and many more.
When you wish to cut on this part for the cost of website maintenance or website support and maintenance services, you can surely learn to design and do it on your own; you can hire a designer/ freelancer or even outsource the website design services.
Technical issues might occur without any prior notice, and hence, you need someone who can handle these on the go so that it doesn't impact your business core processes.
Some of the technical issues need immediate resolutions, while some can wait; nonetheless, it is better to have these services, and they are covered under the average cost of maintaining a website. Some common technical issues can be broken contact forms or issues with payment gateway for eCommerce websites.
Well, you can get an easy-to-go solution for this! In order to get the monthly summary of your website’s performance, you can use software (free and paid) to get analytics. You will get to know the performance based on various parameters such as search engine optimization, the number of website visitors, the average time users spend on your website, the average bounce rate, and many more to improve website performance.
You can even understand the Users' Selling Point (USP) for your business in case you have not thought it over yet. This needs to be considered in the cost of maintaining a website or while looking for website support and maintenance services.
Marketing and SEO are ongoing efforts; you may need new tools at times, new elements, fresh content, and new campaigns, which will require your website to deliver and add up to the website maintenance cost.
Your profitability depends on how well you market your website or how good your marketing strategy is. These do not work on a one-time basis; you need to spend time and effort forever on your plans. Also, the plans you make need to be updated per the market trends of that time. Hence, you need professionals who can work on it in a determined way to bring timely changes or updates.
With a marketing strategy, you must build an audience base, generate website traffic, increase sales, and more. Besides that, SEO, email marketing, Facebook ads management, Google ads cost, social media marketing, and many more.
In case you have an eCommerce website, the payment system plays an important role in your website. Accept payment, fulfill orders, and many more tasks are coordinated using additional plugins and tools. Your system remains secure, live, and updated with such systems, and you need to ensure it is included in your website maintenance plan.
We haven’t added website builders to our checklist of important website maintenance costs, as their approach toward website maintenance is different. If you’re using a website builder, you won’t need to evaluate your website maintenance cost separately. Instead, you’ll get a unified solution that will be affordable and easy on the budget.
So, are there any hidden costs? As you know, website builders are simple and affordable to use. Still, they provide little less power and flexibility than well-designed websites, where you will have to pay for website hosting as an individual service.
Website builders might not be the ideal solution for developing large websites. The avg. cost for website builders is $10 to $30 per month, which includes no. of website maintenance elements you would have to find out yourself.
Sometimes, you must pay for a domain name renewal after 1st year. Have a look at the monthly costs and features offered by top website builder platforms:
Hiring a professional website maintenance service provider or web design services and doing website maintenance yourself has benefits and drawbacks of its own. Also, the cost of website maintenance varies in both of them.
1. Hiring a Professional website maintenance service
Average cost: $400-60,000/ year
As a website owner, you can save a lot of money, time, and effort by hiring a professional website maintenance service provider. They can help you maintain more complicated and technical facets of your website. They will also look after regular software updates, security audits, and performance optimization. They generally have fixed charges for website maintenance.
The average cost of website maintenance services is often higher because they assign a team to help you with your website maintenance.
2. Self-Maintaining a Website
Average cost: under $100/month
A DIY approach is a more affordable option for website maintenance charges since it's best for budget-conscious site owners or those who want to go hands-on with website maintenance.
Self-maintaining your website helps in learning new skills and provides you with complete control over your website configuration. But having said that, managing the technical aspects of your website can sometimes be difficult since it requires time to learn new things and implement them accurately.
In that instance, using a website builder can be an excellent option for freshers. Since it’s responsible for taking care of all its back-end, also, remember that the total cost of maintaining your website depends on the no. of elements or features you utilize and how complicated they are.
3. How frequently is website maintenance required?
There aren’t any specific rules regarding how often website maintenance is required. Furthermore, every maintenance process might require a different timeline. For instance, domain name and web hosting need annual maintenance, whereas SEO and marketing normally need quarterly maintenance.
One of the best solutions is to follow a monthly website maintenance routine to make sure that everything is working properly and is updated. Such type of routing website maintenance helps avoid errors and security breaches. For instance, updating the WordPress website regularly allows you to fix bugs at earlier stages, thus preventing negative impacts on the performance of your website.
But if you can afford to hire a professional website maintenance agency that’ll help you with everything starting from backups, firewalls, updates to troubleshooting.
4. Website Maintenance Checklist
Another checklist that we’ve mentioned here is for website maintenance. This will help you if you decide to check the SLA for your service provider or if you want to do it yourself for your website.
Another checklist that we have mentioned here is for website maintenance. This will help you, in case you decide to check the SLA for your service provider, or in case you want to do it yourself for your website.
How big or small your business is, impacts the complication or features of your website, which in turn decides how much does it cost to maintain a website. Let us help you with some approximate data to help you understand your requirement for website maintenance costs based on the size of your business:
By now, you know website maintenance is not a cost but an investment because if your users don’t find value, inventiveness, novelty, originality, and vigor in your website, they will never return. But that means you keep investing in website maintenance without considering how to get the best output at minimum cost.
Well, in that case, let us suggest you some ways so that you can reduce the cost of maintaining a website.
Website maintenance is crucial for various reasons. It ensures the security of your site, improves brand visibility through updated content, eliminates bugs for a seamless user experience, and enhances website efficiency and optimization.
The costs vary based on the type of website. Key components include domain registration, hosting charges, content updates, general software updates, SSL certification, website design, technical support, and analytics/tracking costs.
The annual cost of a domain name ranges from $10 to $20, depending on factors such as the chosen domain registrar and specific domain names. Choosing a reliable registrar is essential to avoid scams and hidden costs.
SSL certification encrypts data on your website, ensuring visitor safety. It is crucial for online trust and security. Some SSL certificates are free, while stronger ones may have associated costs, contributing to the overall website maintenance expenses.
To reduce costs, prioritize expenses based on business needs, explore free or cheaper alternatives for non-vital services, consider cost-effective web hosting options, and work with a comprehensive website maintenance provider for consolidated services.
Website builders offer a unified solution that is generally affordable. However, they may have limitations in power and flexibility compared to individually designed websites. The average cost for website builders is typically $10 to $30 per month.
Hiring professional website maintenance services can cost between $400 and $60,000 per year, depending on the complexity of the services. Self-maintenance is a more budget-friendly option, typically costing under $100 per month.
There are no strict rules, but following a monthly routine is recommended. Maintenance includes tasks like updating software, ensuring security, and addressing issues promptly. Hiring a professional agency can provide comprehensive maintenance, covering backups, firewalls, and troubleshooting.
The cost of maintaining a website depends on various factors such as the complexity of services, the size of the website, and the frequency of updates. If you choose to hire a professional website maintenance service, the average cost typically ranges from $400 to $60,000 per year. On the other hand, if you opt for self-maintenance, the cost can be more budget-friendly, often falling below $100 per month. Consider your business needs, the level of expertise required, and your budget when determining the appropriate charge for website maintenance.
As an entrepreneur, you have great business acumen and very well understand the nitty grits of website maintenance costs. But, at the same time, you have certain priorities. So we strongly recommend getting your proposal from a professional website maintenance company. This might help you channel your efforts in the needed direction, adding to the profitability of your business.
On the other hand, if you are someone who offers website maintenance services and is keen to know how much I should charge to maintain a website, then these charges should be considered while you quote. Also, ensure you do not miss out on the hidden website maintenance costs. You can also get some value added to your work by following the trends in website maintenance.
Do you think your website maintenance costs include certain other factors that we haven’t mentioned? If yes, please help us know more about it in the comments.
Also, can you give an estimate of the website maintenance cost for your domain so that others have an idea and can compare what they need to pay, or are they paying the right amount in case they already have a website maintenance service?
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H
I am a small business owner, and I contacted a digital agency for my business website. They are charging extra fees for website maintenance, I thought they should provide maintenance service at least for a few initial months.
C
Is it necessary to hire an SEO team for website maintenance?
K
My older business website is getting too slow, I want to redesign the same website. What will be the approx? expenditure to get it renewed.
S
Thanks for delivering such an exciting post. I hope to see more great posts like this in the future and keep the good work going on.
E
Nice written blog, highlighted a few very good points for website maintenance. Must read!