What a business website really costs in South Africa

Ask five web designers in South Africa what a business website costs and you will get five very different numbers. Some of that is genuine difference in scope. A lot of it is that quotes are not measuring the same thing.

The useful question is not “what does a website cost?” but “what will this website cost me over the next three years, and what do I get for it?”

The build is a once-off cost. Everything else is not

A website has two kinds of cost, and most surprises come from mixing them up.

Once-off costs are paid to get the site live: planning the pages, design, building, writing or placing content, connecting the domain and setting up the contact form.

Running costs continue for as long as the site is online:

• Domain renewal. Your .co.za or .com name renews every year. Make sure it is registered in your name, not the designer’s.
• Hosting. Where the site lives. This can be anything from free to several hundred rand a month, depending on how the site is built.
• Email. Business email is usually a separate service with its own monthly cost per mailbox.
• Maintenance. Some sites need regular updates to stay secure and working. Others need very little.

A cheap build with an expensive monthly bill can easily cost more over three years than a better build with low running costs. Always add them up.

What should be in the quote

A clear quote makes the boundaries visible. Before you accept one, check that it answers:

• How many pages, and which ones? “A website” is not a scope. “Home, About, Services, three service pages and Contact” is.
• Who supplies the content? Writing and photography take real time. Know whether they are included or expected from you.
• What happens after launch? Can you edit the text yourself, and will someone show you how?
• Who owns what? The domain, hosting account and website files should be in your name or transferable to you.
• What is not included? Online shops, bookings, member areas and integrations change the price, so they should be named if they are excluded.

If a quote cannot answer these in plain language, it is hard to compare it with anything.

Where running costs come from

Hosting costs depend mostly on how the website is built. A site running on a content management system like WordPress needs a server running all the time, plus regular plugin and security updates, so it usually comes with a monthly hosting fee and some maintenance.

A lightweight site made of fast, pre-built pages can often be served from a global network such as Cloudflare on a free plan, with no server to rent at all. That suits most brochure-style business sites, portfolios and project sites. It is less suitable if you need an online shop, a members area or frequent changes by several people.

Neither approach is wrong. The point is to choose deliberately, knowing what each one will cost you to keep running.

Questions that save money later

• Will I be able to move my website to someone else if I need to?
• What is the total I will pay in the first year, and in each year after that?
• What happens if something breaks, and what does fixing it cost?
• Can I keep my existing email address while the website changes?

The short version

Compare quotes on scope, ownership and three-year cost, not on the headline build price. A good website should be clear about what it includes, cheap and simple to keep running, and fully yours.

If you would like a second opinion on a quote, or want to talk through what your business actually needs online, I am happy to have that conversation. You can see how I approach websites or start a conversation.