How much does it cost to run a small business website?
The basics are a domain, hosting and, usually, business email: together typically somewhere between a few tens and a couple of hundred euros a year. A WordPress site adds licences, security and someone’s time for updates, which often costs more than the basics. A site without a CMS skips most of those.
The basics every site pays for
- Domain: your address, such as yourcompany.com. Typically around 10 to 30 euros a year, depending on the ending.
- Hosting: the server that delivers the site. For a small site, a few euros a month. A CMS needs more capable hosting than a site without one.
- Business email: an address on your own domain. Many hosting plans include basic email; Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 cost a few euros per user a month.
The costs that come with a CMS
A WordPress site usually adds some of these, every year:
- Premium theme and plugin licences, renewed yearly so they keep receiving updates.
- Security and backups, as plugins or as a service.
- Updates, by you, a developer or a maintenance plan. Every month, not just when something breaks.
- Fixes when an update breaks something, which on a site with many plugins is a matter of when, not if.
None of these are large on their own. Together they often cost more each year than the domain, hosting and email combined.
Two ways to run the same site
A comparison for a typical seven-page small business site, with what each line involves:
| Cost | WordPress site | Maintenance-free site |
|---|---|---|
| Domain | Yes | Yes |
| Hosting | Hosting that can run WordPress | Basic hosting |
| Business email | Yes | Yes |
| Theme and plugin licences | Often, yearly | None |
| Security and backups | Plugins or a service | Backups only |
| Monthly updates | Needed | None |
| Content changes | You, in the editor, or a developer | Sent to your provider |
Our own maintenance-free websites, for example, are built from 500€ at a fixed price. The optional care plan is 39€ a month: it includes setting up the domain, email and hosting in your name, backups and uptime monitoring, and 30 minutes of edits a month. You pay the hosting company directly, often just a few euros a month.
Where the money goes wrong
- Hosting bundled into a designer’s fee, so you can’t see what it costs or move it.
- A domain registered in someone else’s name.
- Unused licences for plugins that were installed once and never removed.
- Paying for updates that nobody runs, or running none at all until the site is hacked.
- Introductory prices that renew at several times the first year’s price. Check the renewal price before you buy.
A quick check of your current site
- List every bill connected to the site from the last 12 months: domain, hosting, email, licences, developer time.
- Check who owns the domain and the hosting account.
- Ask when the site and its plugins were last updated.
- Compare the total with what the site does for you. If it mostly shows your services and a contact form, it can probably cost less. See whether you need a CMS at all.
Questions we get
Should the domain be in my name?
Always. If the domain is registered to your web designer and you part ways, getting it back can be slow. We set up domains and hosting in the client’s name.
Is free hosting good enough?
Rarely for a business. Free plans tend to show ads, use the provider’s domain, or limit speed and support. Good hosting for a small site costs a few euros a month.
Do I need a maintenance plan?
For a WordPress site, someone has to run the updates, so yes, whether that’s you or a provider. For a site without a CMS, a plan is about getting changes made quickly, not about keeping the site safe.
Want help with this?
Our maintenance-free websites are five to ten pages, fixed price from 500€, live in two weeks, with nothing for you to update. See Maintenance-free websites, or tell us what you’re working on and we’ll reply within one business day.