Is a pay monthly website worth it?
If someone has offered you a website for a monthly fee, this page is for working out what you are actually buying. I sell fixed price sites, so I am not neutral, but every number here is one you can put your own figures into.
Work out what the fee covers
A monthly price can cover very different things. Find out which of these yours includes.
- The build
- Some deals spread the cost of building the site across the term instead of charging for it up front. If yours does, you are paying for the build every month for the whole term, including the months after it is finished.
- Hosting and the domain
- Often bundled in. Worth pricing separately, because for a normal small business site hosting can be free and a domain is around £10 a year.
- Changes and support
- Check whether changes are included, capped at a number per month, or charged on top. Then think about how many changes you actually make in a year.
- The term
- Find the minimum term and what happens at the end of it. A monthly figure is easy to say yes to. The same figure times thirty six is the number that matters.
Three things to check in the contract
Ask these before you sign, and get the answers in writing.
- How long is the term, and what happens at the end?
- Does it end, or does it roll on until you cancel? How much notice do you have to give? If it rolls on, work out the cost over five years, not three.
- Whose name is the domain registered in?
- This is the one that catches people. If the domain is registered to the agency rather than to you, moving away later means asking them to release it. Ask to be named as the registrant, and ask for a login you can use.
- What happens to the site if you stop paying?
- Does the site stay up, do you get the files, or does it come down? Some arrangements mean you have nothing at the end of the term. Ask directly and get the answer in writing.
None of this means a monthly deal is always the wrong choice. If it covers work you would otherwise have to do, and the answers above are ones you are happy with, it may suit you. The point is to know which you are signing.
What it costs over three years
The price on the tin is only part of it. This is what three years costs, and who owns the site at the end.
| Option | Three year cost | Who does the work | Who owns it |
|---|---|---|---|
| If you build it yourself on a £20 a month plan | About £720 | You, in your evenings | Nobody. Stop paying and it goes |
| If you have been quoted £144 a month on a 36 month term | £5,184 | Them | Check the contract. Often not you until the term ends |
| Viaduct Web, Business | £1,530 | Me | You. The domain from day one, and the site once it is paid for. |
Viaduct Web is £1,500 once, plus about £10 a year for the domain, which you pay directly. Starter works out at £530 over the same three years. The Stephen Therapy case study is what the bottom row looks like in practice, with running costs down to the price of a domain.
The first two rows are worked from figures you might be quoted, not from a survey of the market. Put your own monthly figure and your own term in and see what you get. The arithmetic is the monthly price times the number of months.
If you are already in one
Being part way through a term is not the end of it.
If you already have a site with someone else and you want out, the first thing to find out is who your domain is registered to and where your email runs. I can look at what you have and tell you what you are dealing with before you commit to anything.