WHO SAYS you cannot manage your own business website? Today, there are powerful and affordable all-in-one website development solutions for small businesses like Wix, WordPress, Weebly, Squarespace, GoDaddy, WebFlow, and more!

Q. But how true are these all-in-one deals for creating a website for small businesses?

From domain name registration, web hosting, and customizable design templates to SEO and marketing automation setup, these solutions offer it all. 

All sounds great until you realize that you can’t move the website to another host as your business grows. In other words, you’ll have to build a brand new website from scratch if you want to move out. 

Doing so, you’re always at the risk of paying more while losing the established online brand identity if such do-it-yourself website development solutions decide to raise their prices!

Q. Here arises another question, what if the website is doing great and the prices never rise?

You run the risk of limiting your online business bounded by the capabilities of the template you select. 

For instance, performing conversion rate optimization (CRO) tactics like adjusting call-to-action (CTA) placement or testing landing pages, or bringing in any substantial changes to the overall design are cumbersome.  

This is extremely limiting from a marketing perspective and leaves little room for your business’s web presence, particularly your small business web design, to grow and evolve. 

We recommend small businesses save on recurring costs by building websites on a Content Management System (CMS) like WordPress.org. Take separate decisions on the domain name, website hosting, website marketing, content enhancement, or automation. 

Already have a Website Created using Wix or Squarespace or WebFlow?

Small businesses require websites for various marketing and sales purposes like CMS information, appointment booking integration, Woo-commerce/Shopify setup, membership websites, SaaS product, or custom-built product specifications pages. 

With a growing business, a small business website demands frequent updations while the basic template restricts it. More often, website maintenance costs for small businesses tend to remain high in form of hidden costs, contrary to what it was when started. 

Cost-saving tips to fix recurring costs for small business websites

In this section, we shall explore various ways to fix recurring maintenance costs for small business websites. How much you will spend on each category depends on your business needs.

Domain name

• Usually, the owner renews it annually to keep using the same domain name. 
• The renewal prices are more expensive than the initial cost of domain name registration. 
• Better discounts may be applicable if you register the domain for a longer period.

Web hosting

• The drawbacks of relying on web hosting services included in all-in-one website development solutions have already been discussed in the introduction. 
• We recommend choosing dedicated hosting solutions like SiteGround, Hostinger, Bluehost, etc. for better cost management. 
• As a rule of thumb if you’re just starting off with a website for your small business, choosing a cheap web hosting plan for a longer period of time might be a great fit for you!

SSL certificate

• There’s a debate about choosing between PositiveSSL and Lifetime SSL.
• To save costs, small businesses get a lifetime SSL certificate which has a one-time fee, say $12, which automatically gets renewed annually for free. 

eCommerce features

• Most small businesses that are targeting eCommerce limit their options to expand through free product listings offered by platforms like Shopify or Etsy. 
• Other essential features like inventory management, payment gateway, or dedicated online sales support attract additional costs. 
• The best way to maximize opportunity cost and save more are by choosing bundled services that include product listing, inventory management, payment gateway integrations, or dedicated support.  

Custom website integration & plugin development

• Using the preset templates can be limiting when customizing site design. Small business websites may need multiple custom plugins like Contact form plugins, Membership plugins, Booking appointment plugins, and more.
• To maximize opportunity cost, hiring a full-service agency will help your business website stand out from the competition and at an affordable price.

Tech support

• Free bundles of tech support like live chat, and limited marketing automation offered by most website providers are sufficient for small business websites. 
• Unless required, small business websites need not pay premium prices to avail of additional tech support like an email ticketing system, phone service, community forums, personalized contact services, etc. for their website visitors. 

Email services

• There is always undue pressure on small businesses to move away from generic email domains like @gmail.com to custom email domains like @yourbusinessname.com 
• You cannot avoid paying a premium for professional email services but you can save on costs by finding hosting providers that bundle email services with the hosting plan. 

SEO & Content Update

• This is no cost-saving strategy but a Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) for guaranteed returns! The more you try to save your costs here, the poorer the yield in the longer run.  
• Small businesses typically see great results by implementing SEO, email marketing, and simple content marketing strategies on their website. 

The bottom line is to invest in a professional small business digital marketing agency that offers small business web design services and save for growth with truly custom-built websites while also saving on recurring costs.

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