The costs involved in building a website

If you’re new to the business world (or maybe you’re a bit of a technophobe) the process of building a website can be a scary thought. To make things a bit clearer, here are the costs involved in setting up and managing a website:

DOMAIN

A domain name is essentially your website’s address – for example, mine is www.sketchstudio.co.nz.

To set up your website you’ll need to purchase your domain, and to maintain that ownership, you’ll need to pay an annual fee. Think of the domain fees like rates for a block of land – you buy the land, but you have to take care of it by paying the fees. If you’re looking to secure your domain, I recommend GoDaddy, as it integrates seamlessly with Squarespace (my go-to website platform).

If you’re updating your current website, you’ll already own this domain.

DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT

If you didn’t already know, I use Squarespace to build our client’s websites (for more details on why I love Squarespace, click here).

To build your website, Sketch Studio will charge you a fee (our prices start at $4,500+GST, depending on the size, content and functionality of your website). This is a one-off cost, for the home to be built on the piece of land (domain) that you already own.

HOSTING

So you’ve got your block and your home, but you need the lights to work. Hosting is like paying your power bill, but you’re getting the platform, security and support. Hosting prices start at $16AUD per month and again, this cost depends on the functionality of your website. For more details, you can check out Squarespace pricing here (make sure you change the currency at the bottom of the page).

PS – As a Squarespace Circle member, I get a 20% discount off the first year of annual Business and Commerce Squarespace subscriptions.

Setting up your website can be pricey, but it’s money well-spent. If you’d like to get your business online, get in touch.