Many small business owners are surprised to discover that launching a website is just the beginning of the costs. A website requires ongoing investment to stay secure, fast, visible, and effective. Understanding these costs upfront helps you budget accurately and avoid choosing a web partner based solely on build price while overlooking what comes after.
Hosting: $20–$150/Month
Every website needs to live on a server somewhere. The cost depends heavily on the quality and type of hosting:
- Shared hosting ($5–$20/month): Multiple websites share server resources. Performance is often poor, especially under traffic. Suitable only for very low-traffic sites.
- Managed WordPress hosting ($25–$75/month): Platforms like WP Engine, Kinsta, or Flywheel handle server management, security patching, and backups automatically. Fast, reliable, and the right choice for most small businesses on WordPress.
- VPS or dedicated hosting ($50–$200+/month): More control and resources, required for high-traffic sites or custom applications.
Domain Registration: $15–$25/Year
Your domain name (yourcompany.com) is renewed annually. Letting it lapse can take your website offline and create serious SEO damage. Set it to auto-renew.
SSL Certificate: $0–$150/Year
HTTPS (the padlock in the browser address bar) is now free through services like Let's Encrypt and is included with most managed hosting plans. Some older hosting configurations require a paid certificate. Without SSL, Google marks your site "Not Secure" and your rankings suffer.
Security and Backups: $0–$50/Month
A hacked or defaced website can cost thousands to recover and damage your reputation. Basic security measures — daily backups, malware scanning, firewall protection — are either included with managed hosting or available as add-ons. This is non-optional for any business website.
Software and Plugin Updates: Part of Maintenance
WordPress sites in particular require regular updates to the core, theme, and plugins. Neglecting updates creates security vulnerabilities. A maintenance plan from your web developer typically includes this along with backups and uptime monitoring for $50–$200/month.
SEO and Content: $300–$1,500+/Month
For businesses that want their website to actively drive leads, ongoing local SEO work — publishing new content, building links, managing citations, monitoring rankings — is a recurring investment. This is separate from technical maintenance and represents the most significant ongoing cost for growth-focused businesses.
Budget for Long-Term Success
Contact Linear Web Solutions to discuss a maintenance plan that keeps your website secure, fast, and ranking well — without surprises.
