Look beyond the advertised monthly price.
Typical costs can include domain renewal, hosting, email, a template or plugin plan, transaction fees, backups, bandwidth/usage overages, developer support, and the staff time needed to operate the site. A managed platform can bundle several items; a self-hosted system can offer more choice but increases maintenance.
Compare total ownership
- List the features actually required: content, forms, commerce, accounts, or custom workflows.
- Check plan limits for visitors, storage, transactions, and collaborators.
- Price renewal, add-ons, and upgrade thresholds—not only a launch promotion.
- Include the cost of a backup and migration path.