how much does it cost to run a business website
Clear, practical cost breakdowns — hosting, design, SEO, maintenance — plus budgeting tips to keep expenses predictable.
Whether you’re launching a new site or re-evaluating an existing one, this guide walks through every typical cost you’ll face in 2025 and shows practical ways to manage and reduce them without sacrificing performance or SEO.
Typical one-time (upfront) website costs
One-time costs are usually where businesses are surprised. Some are optional, some are essential — here’s a clear breakdown so you can plan.
Design & Setup
Custom design and initial site build — ranges widely depending on complexity.
- Basic template setup: $0–$300 (you do minor edits or provider uses a template)
- Professional custom design: $800–$4,000 (one-off fee with agencies or freelancers)
- Complex e-commerce or custom integrations: $2,000–$20,000+
Domain & Initial SEO
Domain names and basic SEO setup are small but essential.
- Domain name: $0–20/year (many providers include first year free)
- Initial SEO setup: $0–$600 (basic title tags, meta, sitemap — often included in managed plans)
- Logo or brand assets: $0–$1,000 (DIY logo vs designer)
Images & Content
Good photos and copy convert visitors to customers.
- Stock photos: $0–$200 (per year, depending on license)
- Professional photography: $300–1,500 (one-off)
- Copywriting: $150–1,200 (per site depending on quality)
Special Integrations
Booking systems, payment gateways, property feeds and APIs.
- Simple booking plugin: $50–300 one-off
- Payment gateway setup: $0–500
- API integrations: $500–5,000 depending on complexity
Bottom line: A basic professional launch can be $0–$1,200. A polished custom site commonly costs $800–$4,000. Enterprise or heavily customised sites cost materially more.
Ongoing monthly costs — what to expect every month
Recurring costs are where small businesses can either keep expenses predictable or get surprised. Here are typical line items for 2025.
| Item | Typical monthly range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Managed website subscription | $30–$99 | Includes hosting, updates, domain (often first year), and support — example: Congero $49/mo |
| Self-hosting / shared hosting | $5–$30 | Lower cost but you handle updates and security |
| Premium hosting / VPS / Cloud | $30–$150+ | Higher performance & reliability; good for busy sites |
| Domain renewal | $1–$5 | After first-year promotions |
| SSL certificate | $0–$10 | Often included; paid certificates for advanced validation cost more |
| CDN (content delivery) | $0–$50+ | Free tiers exist; paid for high-traffic sites |
| Maintenance & updates (if outsourced) | $50–$300 | Monthly retainer for updates, security checks, backups |
| Content / marketing tools | $0–$200 | Email tools, booking widget subs, review apps |
| SEO / Local SEO ongoing | $0–$800 | Depends on scope; small monthly tweaks or full campaigns |
| Advertising (PPC, socials) | $100–$5,000+ | Optional but often essential for growth |
Low-cost DIY
Managed subscription
Agency + premium hosting
Tip: Subscription models bundle hosting, security, and unlimited updates into a single predictable line item — ideal if you value time over tinkering.
SEO & marketing: budget for being found
SEO costs vary by ambition. Basic setup is affordable; ongoing SEO and ads are an investment that drives traffic and leads.
Initial SEO setup
Essential tasks when launching: keyword research, title/meta tags, sitemap submission, speed optimisation.
- DIY or bundled: $0–$200
- Agency or specialist: $300–$1,200 (one-off)
Ongoing SEO & content
To maintain and grow rankings you need content and technical upkeep.
- Basic monthly SEO maintenance: $0–$300 (local updates, citations)
- Ongoing content production & link building: $500–$5,000+/mo
Practical approach: Start with proper on-page SEO and Google Business Profile. Add content and paid acquisition proportionally as you measure ROI.
Maintenance & support — keep your site healthy
Maintenance protects your investment: security updates, backups, uptime monitoring, and small content changes are regular needs.
Security & backups
$0–$30/mo (automatic backups and basic scanning often included in managed plans).
Technical support
$50–$150/hr for ad-hoc developer work; retainers available for predictable monthly pricing.
Content updates
If you can’t or don’t want to edit content yourself, budget for a service that handles unlimited edits (many managed plans include this).
Rule of thumb: If updates cost >$50/hr, consider a managed subscription — unlimited small updates bundled into predictable monthly fees usually save money and time.
Practical ways to manage and reduce website costs
Small changes to how you buy and manage services yield big savings.
Bundle services
- Choose a managed subscription that includes hosting, domain, SSL, and updates — predictable monthly price.
- Avoid piecemeal purchases; single-provider bundles reduce admin time and surprise bills.
Value your time
- At $50+/hour, outsourcing updates often saves money. If updates take you 3 hours/month, at $50/hr that’s $150 — compare to subscription cost.
- Use text-in update services (like Congero) to avoid admin overhead.
Choose scalable hosting
- Start with shared or managed hosting; upgrade only when traffic justifies it.
- Use CDNs and image optimisation to delay costly server upgrades.
Prioritise ROI-driven marketing
- Invest first in local SEO and conversion improvements (better contact forms, clearer service pages) before scaling paid ads.
- Track leads and attribute them — cut ad spend that doesn’t convert.
Checklist to control costs: Bundle services, automate backups, set a monthly cap on ad spend, document update requests to batch work, and re-evaluate hosting annually.
Example budgets — realistic scenarios for 2025
Starter (solo tradie)
- Design/setup: $0 (template)
- Hosting & domain: $10–25/mo
- SEO basics: $0–100 one-off
- Maintenance: DIY
- Monthly total: $10–25
Small business (managed)
- Design/setup: $0–800 (managed onboarding)
- Managed website: $30–$49/mo
- SEO & content: $100–$500/mo (optional)
- Maintenance: included
- Monthly total: $30–$549
Growth (e-commerce / busy local)
- Design/setup: $1,500–5,000
- Premium hosting & CDN: $80–$300/mo
- SEO & content: $500–$2,500/mo
- Ads & acquisition: $500–$5,000+/mo
- Monthly total: $1,580–$10,000+
Pick the scenario that matches your goals. Most small local businesses find managed subscriptions ($30–$99/month) hit the sweet spot for predictability and results.
Quick decision matrix — which path is right for you?
- You like DIY: Choose shared hosting + Wix/Squarespace. Expect low monthly fees but invest time (40+ hours).
- You value speed & no hassle: Managed subscription ($30–$99/mo) — fast launch, updates via text or support, predictable cost.
- You need high performance or custom features: Premium cloud hosting + agency support — higher cost but tailored performance and integrations.
How to set a sustainable website budget
Follow these steps to plan spending for the next 12 months.
- List essential items (hosting, domain, SSL, contact form) — estimate conservative monthly totals.
- Decide whether you want to DIY or buy a managed plan for predictable costs.
- Allocate a monthly SEO/marketing budget based on growth goals (start small, measure, scale).
- Keep an emergency fund of 1–3 months of hosting/maintenance in case of unexpected issues.
- Review costs quarterly and switch providers if ROI is low — avoid long lock-in contracts.
Ready to make costs predictable?
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Make website costs simple and predictable
If you’d rather spend your time running your business than managing hosting and plugins, a managed monthly plan makes costs predictable and delivers ongoing improvements.
Average managed plan: $49/month — includes hosting, domain options, SSL, local SEO, and unlimited updates. Cancel any time.
