I get this a lot from business owners after we finish building their site. They\'re excited, the website is live, and then they ask: "So... now what? Do I just leave it?"
Short answer: no. A website is like a car. You don\'t just buy it and forget about it. It needs fuel (hosting), occasional tune-ups (updates), and someone keeping an eye on it (maintenance). If you ignore it long enough, things break.
The good news is that ongoing maintenance doesn\'t have to be complicated or expensive. But you do need to know what\'s involved so there are no surprises down the road.
Hosting: Where Your Website Lives
Your website is a collection of files. Those files need to live on a server (a computer that\'s always on and always connected to the internet) so that when someone types your web address, those files load in their browser.
That\'s hosting. It\'s like renting the building your website lives in. And just like rent, it\'s an ongoing cost.
Hosting prices vary quite a bit depending on what you need. For a typical small business website (a few pages, a contact form, maybe a portfolio), you\'re looking at anywhere from $50 to $300 per year. The big website builders like Wix and Squarespace bundle hosting into their monthly plans, which usually run $15 to $45 per month ($180 to $540 per year).
I charge $200 per year for hosting and basic maintenance. That covers the server, the SSL certificate (the lock icon in your browser that tells visitors your site is secure), and routine upkeep. When I set up hosting for Nathan at Lemko Coating, that annual fee was included in the first year as part of the project. Going forward, it\'s $200 per year to keep everything running.
Domain Renewal: Your Web Address
Your domain name (the "yourbusiness.com" part) is registered through a domain registrar, and it needs to be renewed every year. This is separate from hosting.
Domain renewal typically costs $10 to $20 per year for a standard .com address. Some registrars offer the first year cheap (sometimes even free) and then charge more for renewals, so keep an eye on that.
The important thing is to not let your domain expire. If it does, someone else can buy it. I\'ve seen this happen to local businesses. Their domain expires, a domain squatter picks it up, and now the business owner has to either pay hundreds of dollars to buy it back or get a new web address entirely. Set it to auto-renew and you won\'t have this problem.
SSL Certificates: The Security Lock
That little padlock icon in the address bar? That\'s your SSL certificate. It encrypts the connection between your website and your visitors. Without it, browsers show a "Not Secure" warning that scares people away.
Most hosting providers include a free SSL certificate now (through a service called Let\'s Encrypt). If yours doesn\'t, it\'s usually $50 to $100 per year for a basic one. This is something your hosting provider or developer should handle for you. It\'s not something you need to think about day to day, but it does need to be active.
Content Updates: Keeping Things Current
This is the part most business owners forget about, and it\'s probably the most important.
Your business changes over time. You add services, you change your hours, your phone number changes, you move locations, you hire new people, you raise your prices. If your website doesn\'t reflect those changes, it\'s giving customers wrong information. And wrong information costs you business.
I maintain the website for Phillips Automotive here in Sedalia. I\'ve been doing it for years. When they need something updated, whether it\'s new hours, a new service, or just a photo swap, I handle it. It takes me a few minutes, and they don\'t have to think about it.
How content updates work depends on how your site was built:
- If you\'re on WordPress, Wix, or Squarespace, you can usually make simple text and photo changes yourself through the editor. The learning curve is manageable for basic stuff.
- If a developer built you a custom site, you\'ll typically contact them for changes. Some developers include a certain number of updates in their maintenance plan. Others charge per update.
In my maintenance plans, basic content updates (changing text, swapping photos, updating hours and contact info) are included. If you want a whole new page or a major redesign, that\'s a separate conversation. But the day-to-day stuff is covered.
Security: Keeping the Bad Guys Out
Websites get attacked. It\'s not personal, it\'s automated. Bots scan the internet constantly looking for vulnerable sites, especially WordPress sites with outdated plugins. When they find one, they inject spam, redirect your visitors to sketchy sites, or use your server to send spam emails.
What maintenance looks like on the security side:
- Software updates: if your site runs on WordPress or any CMS, the core software and plugins need regular updates. Skipping updates is the number one reason WordPress sites get hacked.
- Monitoring: keeping an eye on the site for anything unusual. Unexpected redirects, slow performance, or pages that shouldn\'t be there.
- Backups: regular backups of your site files and database so that if something does go wrong, we can restore it quickly instead of rebuilding from scratch.
This is one of the reasons I don\'t build sites on WordPress for most of my clients. The sites I build don\'t have a complex plugin ecosystem that needs constant updating. That said, whatever platform your site is on, security maintenance is not optional.
What Does All This Cost?
Here\'s an honest breakdown of what you can expect to pay annually to keep a small business website running:
- Hosting: $50 to $300/year (varies by provider and plan)
- Domain renewal: $10 to $20/year
- SSL certificate: usually free with hosting, or $50 to $100/year
- Maintenance (updates, security, backups): $0 if you do it yourself, $200 to $1,000+/year if you hire someone
My all-in price for hosting and maintenance is $200/year. That covers hosting, SSL, backups, security monitoring, and basic content updates. For most small businesses, that\'s all you need.
Compare that to the monthly cost of website builders: Squarespace runs $192 to $540/year. Wix is similar. And those still require you to do your own updates and troubleshooting. With a managed setup like what I offer, I handle everything.
The DIY Option
Can you handle all of this yourself? Sure. If you\'re comfortable with technology and willing to spend the time, you can manage your own hosting, run your own updates, and handle your own backups. Plenty of business owners do.
But most business owners I work with in Sedalia didn\'t start their business to manage a website. They started it to do the thing they\'re good at. Whether that\'s coating, construction, auto repair, or anything else. The website is a tool, and paying someone to maintain that tool so you can focus on your actual work usually makes sense.
The Bottom Line
Building the website is step one. Keeping it running, secure, and up to date is the ongoing commitment. It doesn\'t have to be expensive or complicated, but it does have to happen.
If you have questions about what your site needs, or if you want to talk about a maintenance plan, reach out. I\'ll tell you exactly what\'s involved and what it\'ll cost. No surprises.