Ask what a website costs and you usually get a single number: the build fee. But the line items that actually keep a site alive land on the invoice afterwards, and they repeat every year. Comparing quotes without knowing these four is misleading.
1. The domain name
An address like yoursite.com is rented annually: $10-20 a year for a .com is typical. The real trap is first-year discounts — a domain grabbed for $2 can renew at ten times that. Registering it in your own name matters just as much: if an agency puts it in their account, the address becomes a bargaining chip the day you part ways.
2. Hosting
The server where your files live. Shared plans run $40-200 a year; systems like WordPress push you toward bigger (and pricier) plans as the site grows. Cheap plans usually cost you speed instead — and a slow site loses both visitors and search rankings.
3. The SSL certificate
The padlock in the address bar. Browsers now stamp "Not secure" on sites without it. Let's Encrypt hands these out free, yet plenty of packages still sell it as a yearly line item. Asking "is SSL included?" is a small but real saving.
4. Maintenance and updates
The most invisible item. Plugin updates, backups, security patches, "can you swap the logo?" emails. Agency retainers typically sit in the $50-300 a month band. A site left unmaintained eventually either breaks or gets compromised.
Stacked up
- Build: $3,000-20,000 at an agency, or your own hours on a template builder
- Domain: around $15 a year
- Hosting: $40-200 a year
- SSL: should be $0, still billed in most packages
- Maintenance: $50+ a month, or your own evenings
Which of these can be zero?
Almost all of them. With İyziWeb, building, publishing, hosting and SSL are free — your site goes live on an encrypted address within minutes, and maintenance is our problem rather than yours. When you want a change you type it into the chat; there is no "maintenance package" line. Connecting your own domain is included in Pro at $15/month, with the first year of the domain covered — and the domain is registered in your name, so it moves with you.
All the numbers, plus the agency comparison, are on the pricing page. If you are still collecting quotes, read how much a website costs first.