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What are the ongoing costs of a business website (domain, hosting, email, updates)?

By Adam Collins, Founder, 3Fold Labs

"The renewal bill is the real price." over a grey pile of paper bills, with four stacked sample renewal notices: domain, hosting, booking plugin license and business email plan.

Short answer

A business website's ongoing costs are a domain renewal each year, hosting (bundled into Wix or Squarespace plans, separate elsewhere), business email priced per user, and updates you either do yourself or pay for. Watch two traps: renewal prices that jump after year one, and email that multiplies with every person on your crew.

What does a website cost to keep running each year?

Four lines, plus any extras you add. Here they are, with official list prices checked 10/20/2026.

Checklist of a website's yearly costs: domain, hosting, email per user, and updates and care, each with what it covers.
A website's ongoing costs come down to a domain, hosting, email per user, and updates you do yourself or pay for.
Four lines, plus any extras you add.

Swipe sideways to see every column.

CostWhat it coversExample list prices
DomainYour web address, renewed yearlyPorkbun .com $11.08 to register or renew; Cloudflare Registrar sells at cost
HostingWhere the site runsSiteGround StartUp renews at $17.99/month after a lower intro price; Netlify Personal $9/month; included in Squarespace and Wix plans
Emailyou@yourbusiness.com, per userGoogle Workspace Business Starter $7/user/month; Microsoft 365 Business Basic $7.00/user/month paid yearly; Porkbun $3.00/month per inbox, billed annually
Updates and careSoftware updates, backups, fixes, small edits$0 if you do it; care plans vary (see below)

Prices and features checked 10/20/2026. They change; check the vendor's site.

Why does the domain renewal price matter more than the first year?

Because you pay the renewal every year after. Builders often include a domain free for year one only. Squarespace says its free domain then "renew[s] at our standard rate," and Wix says its free domain voucher "cannot be used to renew."

Myths and facts: a builder's free domain is often free for year one only; Squarespace renews at its standard rate; Wix's voucher can't renew.
Builders often include a domain free for year one, and then it renews at their standard rate.
You pay the renewal every year after.

Part of any domain price is a small ICANN fee, which ICANN set at US$0.20 per year of registration, renewal, or transfer for its 2026 fiscal year.

Don't let a domain lapse. Porkbun, for example, charges a $200 restoration fee plus renewal to recover a domain in its redemption period.

A lapsed domain costs more to get back than to keep. Porkbun charges a $200 restoration fee plus renewal in its redemption period.
Renewing on time costs only the renewal; recovering a lapsed domain adds a restoration fee on top.
Porkbun, for example, charges a $200 restoration fee plus renewal to recover a domain in its redemption period.

Do you need to pay for business email?

If you want email at your own domain with a big provider, yes, and it's priced per person. Some hosts include basic email; SiteGround's plans list "free email."

Swipe sideways to see every column.

ProviderPlanListed price
Google WorkspaceBusiness Starter / Standard / Plus$7 / $14 / $22 per user/month with a 1-year commitment
Microsoft 365Business Basic / Standard / Premium$7.00 / $14.00 / $22.00 per user/month, paid yearly
PorkbunEmail hosting$3.00/month per inbox, billed annually

Prices and features checked 10/20/2026. They change; check the vendor's site.

Microsoft notes packaging and pricing updates dated 07/01/2026, and its annual subscriptions auto-renew. The per-user math is the part people miss. Three people on Google Workspace Business Starter at $7 each, on a 1-year commitment, is $252 a year.

$252 a year: three people on Google Workspace Business Starter at $7 per user a month, on a 1-year commitment.
Business email is priced per person, so the bill grows with every person on your crew who needs an inbox.
Three people on Google Workspace Business Starter at $7 each, on a 1-year commitment, is $252 a year.

What does hosting cost, and what's included with a builder?

On a builder, hosting is part of the plan. Squarespace says "all Squarespace plans include our fully-managed cloud hosting," with Basic at $19/month billed yearly or $25/month billed monthly. Wix's own blog lists its Light plan at $17/month billed yearly.

Elsewhere, you pay for hosting on its own:

  • SiteGround shared hosting, prepaid 12 months: StartUp "renews at $17.99/mo," GrowBig renews at $29.99, and GoGeek renews at $44.99. Intro prices are much lower and vary by location, so check the live page. Plans include SSL, CDN, daily backups, and managed WordPress autoupdates.
  • Netlify, suited to code-built sites: Free at $0, Personal $9/month, Pro $20/month. Usage is metered in credits, so a busy site can cost more.

Read every hosting offer for two numbers: the intro price and the renewal price (more on what a contractor website costs). SiteGround's StartUp costs $215.88 a year at renewal, several times its first-year price.

Before and after: SiteGround StartUp at a low intro price in year one, then $17.99 a month, $215.88 a year, at renewal.
SiteGround's StartUp plan, the post's example, starts at a low intro price and renews at $17.99 a month.
Read every hosting offer for both numbers.

What do updates, backups and security cost?

Your time, a host that handles some of it, or a care plan. WordPress's own guidance is to back up small sites weekly, always back up before an upgrade, and keep WordPress updated. On a builder like Wix or Squarespace, the platform manages the hosting.

No vendor sets an official price for "updates." Published data points:

  • WP Buffs lists care plans starting at $89/month (more on what a care plan costs).
  • Lindo.ai's 2026 report, from its own agency users, puts the median care plan at $249/month (25th to 90th percentile: $99 to $799).
  • 99creatix's 2026 study found a WordPress care median of $89/month, from only 3 providers.

More on what a care plan covers: Websites.

What does a sample year look like?

An illustration from the list prices above, not a quote. For a small contractor with 3 email users:

  • Domain (.com at Porkbun): $11.08
  • Email (3 users at $7/user/month on Google Workspace Starter or Microsoft 365 Basic): $252
  • Hosting (SiteGround StartUp): a low intro price in year one, then $215.88 a year at renewal; or Netlify Personal at $108 a year plus any extra credits
  • Updates: $0 if you do them, or a care plan

The point is the jump from year one to year two, not a total. Your own mix will differ.

When this is not the right fit

When should you skip a cost, or skip all this? If you're just starting and work comes from referrals, a builder plan with hosting included, plus a domain, can be enough. You may not need a paid inbox for every crew member on day one, and you don't need a care plan if you'll actually do the updates yourself.

What you can't skip: renewing your domain and keeping the site's software updated and backed up, whoever does it. Search and AI visibility upkeep is optional but a real ongoing line if you want it: Getting found on Google and in AI answers.

How 3Fold Labs helps

If you're pricing a new site, run every quote, mine included, against the yearly list in this post. You and I agree on the deliverables and cost before work begins, so you can see what's in the build and what you'll pay for separately. Before you sign anything, settle who should own your domain and hosting.

Here's what goes into custom websites for service businesses.

FAQ

How much does a domain cost per year?

A .com listed at $11.08 at Porkbun on 10/20/2026. Check the renewal price, not just the first-year price.

Is hosting included with Wix or Squarespace?

Yes. Both bundle hosting into their plans.

Why did my hosting bill go up?

Most likely, an intro price ended. SiteGround's StartUp, for example, starts at a low intro price and renews at $17.99/month.

Can I use a free Gmail address instead?

You can. It costs nothing, but email at your own domain looks more established. That's a judgment call, not a requirement.

Sources

Not affiliated with the companies named. Names are used to identify their products.

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