Websites have become one of the most important tools in making a business successful. Therefore, investing in maintaining a website is a must, because a single fault in this tool will not only cost money but will have a bad impact on the overall goodwill of the company.
But before making any investment, one must know the kind of maintenance a particular website needs, as every other website is different and each one requires special care. So, before we discuss in greater detail as to why to invest in website maintenance, let’s understand the following steps to register and understand support and website maintenance costs closely.
Domain Registration
The registration for a domain name is done every year. Hence, a domain name would cost around $10 - $20 per year.
Server Hosting
Are different hosting plans based on the usage and scale of business? Each hosting plan offers different features for each of the websites. The estimated cost ranges as follows:
- Small - Medium blog: $2 - $20 per month
- Medium - Large blog: $25 - $100 per month
- Small - Medium eCommerce: $25 - $100 per month
- Medium - Large eCommerce: $100 - $500 per month
E-mail Server
Do give a professional touch when communicating with customers/ clients related to your business. Some third-party website providers do give a free, custom-made email, and some do not. Therefore, the cost of an email varies from $0 to $5 per user.
General Updates
A website is not a one-time investment. It requires updates and maintenance of themes, plugins, overall CMS. Many companies outsource this to professionals who would be responsible for making necessary changes in order to keep the website updated.
Design Updates
As we all have heard once "Change is the only constant thing in the globe". Speaking of the same, it is important to keep your clients always engaged that will also help in attracting new customers to your business. This is why your website must be updated regularly as well. A company either purchases a designer software or hires an external consultant to get this job done.
Tech Support
good technical support always gives a good backup to a company’s website. Tech support teams are responsible for the proper overall functioning of the website, as well as, the server.
Security
Creating a website, it also becomes important that a website is protected from all kind of external threats/ spam, have an automatic backup, and also have certain security features (depending from country-to-country) for the smooth functioning of that website.
What Happens When You Don’t Maintain Your Website?
If one does not maintain its website, that website is likely to get lost in the search engine or get crashed due to outdated content. The average website maintenance cost also includes the visibility of the same on the mobile site as well. According to the statistics, the percentage of mobile users are forecasted to increase to 7.1 billion by 2021.
If cost-cutting is one of the reasons for not maintaining the website, it always ends up the other way around. An outdated website leads to less visibility, bad user experience, and a push back in search engine results. This ultimately leads to loss of customers and business goodwill in the market.
So, ignoring the maintenance of the website is really not a good idea. Because, this hard-work will never pay-off, and can lead to a business loss.
Why Pay for Website Maintenance?
Many at times companies tend to invest in a third-party website maintenance service provider due to reason, such as:
- Companies having a small in-house development team;
- Lack of resources/ tools for the in-house team;
- Trying to save cost for the internal management team.
Depending on the nature of the business, partnering with one such service provider turns out to be a good decision; these providers do have a dedicated team of developers, focusing on every detail of the website. These experts also focus on providing services within the budget, so that it helps the company to keep its focus on website maintenance as well, rather than just ignoring it.
For example, a construction company will invest its money on the raw materials, tools, equipment, talent which will help the company to grow, rather than a person to manage its website in-house.
Thus, like every department is important, the same way investing wisely in every department is also important. Your website represents your brand in the market hence, it is important to keep it up to date.
Why Does Website Maintenance Cost Vary?
Costing for website maintenance depends on multiple factors. Here we have listed some of the common factors to help you understand the pricing difference.
- Size of the website
- The complexity of the website
- Type of maintenance services
- Service provider’s experience
- Service provider’s market share
Many third-party providers have an all-in-one package for the website maintenance, few others come with tailor-made/ customizable plans and services for monthly website maintenance fees.
The more it is customizable, the more user-friendly it becomes for most of the businesses in the market. Companies are always in search of services providers which can make this service hassle-free, more personalized so that they do not have to go through the frustrating time to manage or make the consultant understand their requirements again and again, and focus more on their core business.
Pricing should not be considered as the only factor in deciding with service provider one should go for. Keeping a budget is important, but it also compares the “best in the business” service providers. Because going with a less-costing, less-reputed might put the company in a more stressful situation, unprofessional responses, and longer Turn-Around-Time (TAT).
A business should always consider the best for its website maintenance. But that does not always mean that they should ignore their budget. Instead, it’s always reasonable to consider a more experienced service provider with the best quotes in the market.
Should I Outsource or DIY My Website Maintenance?
Outsourcing not only helps in getting the work done faster and more efficiently, but it also saves a lot of operational time and cost of maintaining a website. Many organizations face this challenge and often end up investing more while they can simply get it done at less price by outsourcing it. making the decision is not easy but by considering all the point, time, and money you can reach to a decision where you can outsource it.
Where one thinks of maintaining its website in-house, it requires an investment of:
- A dedicated team
- Management’s time and effort
- Tools and equipment
While outsourcing will not only give you an experienced- dedicated team, this team will come in a much lower cost, with a focus of providing Return on Investment (RoI). Depending upon a business’s budget, whether it would like to invest on a freelancer or an agency, it is always a good option to outsource bug fixing and website maintenance service.
To Summerise
This way the website will be secured and updated. And if you are not sure as to how to maintain your website on your own, you can also consult the professional technical partner like Owebest Technologies Pvt. Ltd. to help you with the same. The quotation is quite affordable and the results might just surprise you. So, get to the work that your website and brand deserves. Our effective communication channels feed our foundations and keep our customers informed giving consistent support. Our team of skilled professionals helps you resolve all the queries while offering greater results.