Are you planning to start a website? In that case, the website maintenance cost is something you definitely need to keep in mind. In this post, we will discuss the eight crucial factors that directly influence the maintenance cost of your website. Let’s get started.

Here are the eight factors that affect website maintenance costs:

1. Domain Name ($0.08 TO $1 /Month)

A domain name is what appears on your website’s URL an is unique to your business. If you don’t have a domain name, nobody can visit your website. That is the most important reason why you should pay to renew your domain name each year. If you don’t renew your domain name, some other person or company could purchase it and force you to look for a new one. To renew your domain name, you can expect to pay $0.08 to $1 per month or $2 to $20 per year to renew their domain name.

2. SSL Certificate ($0 TO $125 /Month)

An SSL certificate, also known as a Secure Sockets Layer, protects your company and your site visitors. It allows the secure reception and transfer of sensitive data provided by users or your business.

Websites with active SSL certificates appear with a padlock next to the URL in the search bar. The URL also sports an “https” instead of the usual “http”. A padlock logo  In most cases, shoppers look for the padlock before making a purchase, which is why this site feature matters. While an SSL certificate is available for free, most companies invest in a paid license. A paid SSL certificate comes with great features such as high encryption rates and customer support.

For  SSL certificates, you can expect to pay anything from $0.80 to $125 per month or $10 to $1500 per year.

3. Website hosting ($2 TO $835 /Month)

Website hosting is as essential as your domain name. Without a hosting provider, people won’t be able to access their website. 

You can choose from the following options for website hosting:

  • Shared host: A shared host costs $24 to $120 per year. 
  • Website builder: A website builder hosting service, like from Wix or WordPress, costs $60 to $180 per year. 
  • Virtual private server (VPS): A VPS costs $240 to $600 per year. 
  • Dedicated server: A dedicated server costs $1200 to $24,000 per year. 

While buying a low cost option might be tempting, that shouldn’t be the only criteria while selecting a hosting option. 

A hosting option which isn’t up to the requirements of your current website traffic levels, results in a slow, sluggish site which can cause a loss of good leads.

Website hosting can cost $2 to $835 per month or $24 to $10,000 per year.

4. General Website Updates ($15 TO $105 /Month)

In most instances, general website upkeep from a professional provider includes updates to your:

  • Webpages
  • Content
  • Media
  • Navigation
  • Files
  • Links
  • Forms
  • Background images
  • Colors

Website upkeep usually costs between $15 to $105 per month.

A lot of companies can misinterpret what website updates include. Talk to your service provider to clear any confusion about your website maintenance pricing plans. 

5. CMS UPDATES ($0 TO $3500 /Month)

Content marketing can have a profound impact on conversion rates. As a result of that, content marketing strategy is very important for businesses to succeed.  A core part of a content marketing strategy, however, is a content management system (CMS).

A CMS allows you to upload, publish, and manage your website’s content.

Some famous CMS applications are:

  • WordPress
  • Joomla!
  • Magento
  • WooCommerce

In some cases, businesses will build a custom CMS. Whether you have chosen a standard or custom CMS, your company must maintain it with critical security patches and updates. Your CMS will remain secure and functional with constant maintenance. Depending on the type of CMS you have, your website maintenance cost might include a subscription/service fee. WordPress has several paid plans and you are going to be billed yearly but you will pay a monthly bill.

When it comes to CMS, companies tend to spend as little as $0 or as much as $3500 per month.

6. Tech Support ($1500 TO $3000 /Month)

Just like any technological tool, a website can also experience many issues. It can be anything ranging from broken contact forms to server errors. That’s why a chunk of website maintenance costs should go for the technical support provided by the hosting service provider. When you invest in this service, you and your team can contact the provider for fixing any issues associated with the site. Service agreements usually specify the turnaround times for issues. A basic website maintenance package might have a turnaround time of a week, while a premium plan can have a turnaround time of just two days. The faster your turnaround time is, the more you will have to pay. Always review your potential provider’s turnaround time and analyze if it meets your requirements. In case it doesn’t meet your requirement, look for a different provider or select a higher-priced plan. Tech support is very important and its value to your website can’t be overstated. If you don’t have dedicated professional tech support from your provider, you will have to create an in-house team to solve glitches on your websites like broken shopping carts.

You can expect to spend $1500 to $3000 per month on quality tech support.

7. Website Analytics Reports ($5 TO $15 /Month)

Quite a few website maintenance providers have the option of monthly analytics reports bundled along with their services. Such reports can provide great insight into your site’s performance and digital marketing strategies such as Search Engine Optimization (SEO). These are the factors covered by a website analytics report:

  • Number of unique website visitors
  • Average time on site
  • Average bounce rate

If you don’t have a pre-existing digital marketing strategy that generates website analytics reports, you should spend a portion of your website maintenance costs on it. 

Generally speaking, website analytics reports tend to cost anywhere in the range of $5 to $15 per month.

8. Ecommerce System Support ($15 TO $25 /Month)

If you run an eCommerce website, you will be aware of the critical role played by your payment system. Simply speaking, the absence of a payment system will make you incapable of accepting, processing and fulfilling orders. Consequently, that will have a drastic impact on your revenue. A good eCommerce system can add anywhere between $15 to $25 per month to your website maintenance costs.