How Much Does a Website Cost?
Websites are relatively cheap to set up and the single most expensive cost you may incur is likely to be its creation, but should be seen as an investment towards your business success.

When it comes to setting up a website there are a number of options open to you and the cost really depends on the type of website that you need and whether you want to build it yourself or have someone build it for you. In this post I will share with you how much it costs to set up a website. And the principal costs of operating a website are as follows:

Buying a Website Domain Name

This is your company website 'address' which you buy from a website registrar. Such as Domain Monster. The costs depend on the type of domain you choose for instance .co.uk .com, .uk, .biz, and on what other services are provided. Generally speaking domains are relatively cheap at around £8.99 for .co.uk and £12.99 for .com per year. More personal and targeted domains can go for £29.99 per a year.

Website Hosting

Your website files will be hosted on a server which is permanently connected to the internet. Hosting is also relatively cheap but can depend to some extent on how big and complex you website is but many small business websites can be hosted from as little as £60 a year but rarely ever any more than £100 a year.

Website Design & Development

This is the process of actually creating your website, and is likely to be the single most expensive element of having a website. The total cost will depend on variables such as:

• The number of pages
• The complexity of the design
• What content you provide, and what you have to buy in from subcontractors
• How much animation or streaming video is used
• What kind of interactive facilities you need - e.g. a shopping cart system
• Whether you have a content management system

To create a complex and dynamic site, you will probably use a full service website design company like AJSMEDIA™ You will benefit from their knowledge and technical expertise, and they will also have all the skills that you are unlikely to have in your business. Costs are higher: a good agency will charge hundreds of pounds a day, and for a very complex website the cost can run into the thousands. However, it's important to see this as an investment in the future of your business.

Website Maintenance

You'll need to keep your site up to date, to take account of changes to your business, to technology, and to design styles. If you have a very complex site, AJSMEDIA™ is probably best placed to handle maintenance, although there are many independent website maintenance specialists. The cost of maintenance contracts can often depend on how complicated your website is.