A web presence is vital for any business, but you don’t want to spend big bucks. Good news: you don’t have to!
With the advancements of technology, building a website is easier than ever. You do not necessarily need to hire a web developer to make one. In addition to the ease of creating websites, it is also possible to cut all costs and do it for free.
But, what exactly can you do? What are the different options that you can choose to start a website? And, how much would it cost you?
This article will discuss the potential costs of making a website, along with some free website building options.
There are a few things that you need to know before proceeding to create a website:
It is worth noting that the cost of hiring a developer, paying for a web service, purchasing a website domain name, and hosting will vary depending on your country. Therefore, you might want to keep an eye out for sales/discounts to cut costs.
So, it is often a wild ride if you do not know where to start. We recommend you get clarity about the entire process of making a website, the tools you need, and why you need it as per the type of website you want to make.
While it is possible to make a website for free, there are some pointers that you need to keep in mind when you find any service offering free web hosting:
Hence, we recommend using some of the trustworthy platforms that let you build websites for free. And they are:
Blogger is a platform built by Google that lets you create a blog for free. You can create several posts, customize the design, apply pre-built themes, get visitor insights, add monetization, and more.
With Blogger, you do not have to worry about hosting. It is entirely free without any limits on the bandwidth. So, you can have a website xyz.blogpost.com or xyz.com (custom domain) accessible to millions without paying a penny.
WordPress.com is similar to Blogger but comes with a storage limit in the free plan, unlike Blogger.
WordPress offers the basic features along with extra functionalities for a premium. For example, you can enable payments and do a lot more stuff with a WordPress website if you upgrade.
So, if you want to start with a free website and have the ability to unlock more features soon, WordPress can be your choice. Compared to Blogger, you also get a vast library of designs to apply (free and paid).
Usually, developers use GitHub pages to promote their projects using a free website. However, anyone can use GitHub Pages to create and host a website for free.
GitHub pages can be an option with a learning curve. It may not be worth everyone's time, but if you don't mind trying, GitHub pages can help you build a basic website for free.
Depending on the level of complexity and the ease of management, there are different choices that you can make if you want to build a variety of websites (including blogs). With paid options, you get access to several features that you may or may not require.
When you choose a web host and set up a website, you will need to invest at least $3/month for decent shared web hosting. Before the host, you need a domain, which costs around $10-$15 for .com. If you opt for .bz, .games, or anything else, the cost will vary by a large margin.
You can choose to install WordPress, OpenCart, or any other Content Management System (CMS) as per requirement and set up the website's back-end. If you do not want to design the website yourself, you can purchase a theme/design in the range of $15-$65, depending on the quality and support you desire.
And, that's it! You can start making a website for as low as $30-40, including the first monthly hosting fee. You can opt for annual plans (or longer) to cut costs in the long run.
However, if you do not want to manage the back-end by yourself, you can opt for managed website hosting solution like Cloudways that starts at $10/month but has many different tiers.
In addition to all that, more costs can add up if you purchase premium add-ons/plugins, a CDN service, a security scanning solution, and more. So, $100 per year is a safe-but-low figure to make and maintain a website. However, if you want the ease of use and features, you may end up paying more than $500 per year.
If you do not want to get rid of the hassle to choose a web hosting provider and setting up the back-end, you can opt for website builders like:
Wix.com starts at $14/month, while WordPress.com can prove to be cheaper, at $4/month. You can explore other website builders or the features of these.
Note that you do not get a lot of control with website builders, but it is the way to go if you want convenience.
Whether you choose a web host or website builder, creating websites has become a lot easier. However, if you do not have the time to learn how to do all those things and want to customize your website, you can hire a professional to build your website.
Hiring a developer will cost you more than both the above methods. A decent web developer will charge upwards of $30-40 per hour. So, it is tough to come up with an estimate, as it will vary with different requirements.
To be on the safe side, you can assume $500 as the cost for the first year when hiring a developer. From the second year onwards, you do not have to pay the developer, but if you want someone to manage the back-end of your site, you will have to pay them similar to what developers charge.
It all comes down to your requirements. If you want to make the most straightforward website without hiring a developer, $100 per year should do. And, if you're going to add a variety of premium services and plugins, the sky's the limit!
In either case, hiring a developer eliminates the need to invest time yourself. If you are still unsure, you can always try the free methods to build your website and explore how it all works.
Ankush is a tech aficionado exploring the cybersecurity space to help consumers secure their digital life in the simplest way possible. He’s had bylines at various publications since 2016.
Join our newsletter for tech tips, reviews, free ebooks, and exclusive deals!
