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The world of websites is changing faster than most website designers can keep up! Walking into a meeting with a website designer can be intimidating, so arm yourself with knowledge and what you should expect to pay!

I hope you love the things I recommend! Just so you know, Laurel Leaf Studios may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page. I don’t recommend anything I wouldn’t use for myself, and all products or services are things either I use for myself or have personally tested. Enjoy!

Is your website overwhelming you?

Your website is usually the way customers interact with you for the first time. When they’re considering a purchase, they find your website through search, referral or advertisement. If you’re like many small businesses, you might have a basic website. Maybe you paid someone to create a custom website for you. Or maybe you’ve used a service like Wix, Weebly or Squarespace to make a website yourself.

For many business owners like you, the thought of creating or updating their website is overwhelming. Many don’t know a coding language: HTML, CSS, Javascript, etc. Luckily, with the advances in website applications in the past 25 years (and even this year!), you don’t need to know any coding languages to have an amazing website–I build websites for a living, and I’m only “familiar” with a few coding languages!

If you choose to have an outside company build or update a website, it’s very easy to get confused by a salesperson’s pitch. There are a lot of confusing terms that website designers throw around. I use them all the time, but the chances are you don’t know what most of these terms mean. You might be feeling a little disoriented and could end up buying something you don’t totally understand. I hope this article will unconfuse the basic components of your website or future website.

Your website is like a home

Yes, your website has a page called “Home,” but it’s also easy to understand the technical components of your website in relation to the physical structure of a house. There are different parts that make up what we know as a website, just like there are different parts that make up a house. The parts of a house that we take for granted are like the building blocks of your website. Let’s take a look at what secrets your house, er, website, is hiding:

Top-Level Domain or TLD

The top-level domain is like the street your house is on. There are many other “houses” on a street, just like there are many websites that end in .COM. If you forget the street name or Top-Level Domain when identifying your website, it can cause potential customers to get lost. Just like when you’re driving, 1428 Elm St. is the fictional location of the slasher film “Nightmare on Elm Street, a place you wouldn’t want to go by accident. However, 1428 Maplewood Ave. is the location of a rental car company.

In reference to websites, I’m sure you’ve visited Amazon.com, the e-commerce behemoth. However, Amazon.net redirects to the website for a business called Nova One. So, if you’re looking to create an Amazon Business account and get good deals on office supplies, you will want to be on Amazon.com, not Amazon.net. It is good practice to register several Top-Level Domains for your company, even if you only plan to have one website. As an example, Amazon should have reserved Amazon.com, Amazon.net, Amazon.co, Amazon.org, Amazon.biz, (many of which they have registered) as well as others.

If you are running a business, you might first choose something ending in: .COM, .CO, .BIZ, .NET or something else. Non-profit organizations usually use .ORG. Schools use .EDU. Government agencies use .GOV. It isn’t necessary to register all your Top-Level Domains right away, but consider adding an additional Top-Level Domain every year you when you renew your domain registration. Once your company starts growing, a competitor could register a similar web address and cause confusion. Registering your brand’s top-level domains will ensure clarity for your visitors.

The cost of your domain name registration (as discussed below) will sometimes depend on what Top-Level domain you choose. For instance, to register a domain name like Amazon.COM, you could expect to pay less than $20 per year. However, Amazon.STORE runs at least $50/year. If you predict that your business will be price sensitive, it might be prudent to start with a simple top-level domain like a .COM. I use Google Domains to register my domain names. It’s about $12 per year for .COM domains, and many hosting companies might throw in your first year of domain registration with the purchase of a hosting plan.

Domain name, web address, hyperlink, domain, link or location

Your website’s URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is usually the name of your business. Amazon is the business name in “Amazon.com.” Following our example above, 1428 Elm St. is scary. 14289 Elm St. is an innocuous branch of a regional bank. If you’re off by just one letter or number, you go to a completely different website, though some big businesses will also register common misspellings of their domain name. For any new business, you should check if the web address is available before applying with your Secretary of State’s Office. Just because the business name is available in your state doesn’t mean the domain name is available. Use the search feature on whois.com to find out if your desired domain name is available. If your desired web address isn’t available, you still have options. You could consider a different business name or adding additional words to your domain name. You can add your city, state, industry or country to your domain name to differentiate yourself. If you’re set on the business name and domain name, you can offer to buy the domain from the current owner, but this can sometimes be expensive. When you register your domain name through a domain registrar, you don’t own it, you simply lease it. Just like your home’s address, you’re simply the one residing at that address for now. For domain names, if you don’t pay to renew it every year, it can be purchased out from under you. Your registrar will usually allow you to “auto-renew” your domain every year, so as long as the payment method on file does not get declined or expire, you will have no problem. I highly recommend setting your domain names to auto-renew. I also put an event on my Google Calendar to remind me when the domain renews so I can make sure my payment method is good to go. As described above, you register your domain name with a specific Top-Level Domain and you have use of only that specific domain. In order to get additional addresses at different Top-Level Domains, you will need to register each one individually and you can set them up to redirect to your main website. As before, it’s not necessary to register all of the possible Top-Level Domains at first, so just get the most relevant one to start.

SSL or secure sockets layer

Just like the yard signs and window decals that a security company gives you when your home is secured, SSL shows a reminder that a website is secure. Your house might be safe with just door and window locks, but there is no extra entity keeping an eye on the security at all times.

What does SSL do?

SSL ensures that any data sent to or received from the website is encrypted and safe. This is the standard in website security. If your website allows anyone to input data (Name, address, phone number, etc), that data is at risk if you don’t have an SSL certificate. Additionally, if you accept payments on your website, you will absolutely need to have SSL. Some merchant accounts for online payment portals will deny your merchant application if you don’t have an SSL certificate on your website. Even if a merchant account allows your website to accept payments with no SSL certificate, you are open to data breaches and can be held liable for those breaches.

How do I know if my website is secure?

If you type in the website URL and it starts with “HTTPS://” it is being secured with Secure Sockets Layer. The addition of the “S” means that you are browsing the website securely. Also, a padlock icon or the word “Secure” will appear to the left in the address bar for any webpage that is secured with SSL.

HTTP or HTTPS: which is better for my website?

Undoubtedly, HTTPS is the way to go. Not only does it help users know that their information on the website is safe, but it is a priority for Google searches. Any website that doesn’t display the padlock icon, “Secure” and “HTTPS://” will rank lower in Google searches. Additionally, an insecure website will display a red “X” icon or the words “Not Secure.” That’s a website I will run away from! Make sure your website is secure or you will pay the price with lower traffic!

How much should it cost to have an SSL certificate on your website?

The answer to this question depends on what website platform you use and which company you use to host your website (two terms we’re about to cover). SSL certificates used to cost thousands of dollars per year, but with the demand for online payments through DIY small business websites, the cost has come down considerably. However, since there is labor involved with installing and maintaining an SSL certificate, the price can vary greatly. GoDaddy has charged $75 per year, which I believe is too expensive. A simple SSL certificate can be installed very quickly and they available at no cost through certain providers. I believe that any website should have the security the SSL certificate provides. My website is hosted by Bluehost, and my hosting plan includes an SSL certificate. In addition to the desire to have a safe website, you will need that SSL certificate to accept payments for all of the sales you’re going to be making!

Website hosting

The website host is like the land that a house is on. Like owning a home in a residential community, you own the land but you might pay a landscaping company to keep up the property. In case you don’t have a degree in horticulture, there are experts that help you keep everything working and looking good. They winterize sprinkler systems or eradicate pests. Like for your yard, you could always decide to do your own maintenance, but if you don’t know exactly what you’re doing, you could “break” your website. In terms of website hosting, this DIY option is known as “self-hosting.” Again, if you know what you’re doing and can make the required updates to keep your site safe, this option might be right for you. However, if you’ve never built or maintained a website, this maintenance might be best left to the experts. If you choose to self-host but decide to work with an outside company for technical updates and support, that can add to your cost, but also your peace of mind. For reference, my technical updates plan is $40 per month and includes updates to the WordPress core and plugins as well as customer support.

How much should my website host cost?

As with the SSL certificate, it depends. Managed WordPress Hosting (the host takes care of the WordPress core updates but not plugins; see here for details) can cost anywhere from $59.99 per month, all to way up to hundreds per month for a large website. The price also depends on how many monthly visitors your website has, so as you become more popular, you might need to upgrade your website hosting. Most web hosts have a great deal for your first year, so make sure you look at the cost before the discount is applied because you’ll pay that for the second year. Self-hosting is a much more affordable; almost 10 times as affordable. If you’re starting lean and willing to learn along the way, this is the way to go. Bluehost offers plans starting as low as $3.95 per month. I can’t recommend Bluehost highly enough! It offers a free domain registration for your first year and simple, one-click WordPress install.

Platform​

The website platform is like a house’s foundation. If you have a well-built foundation, you just have to maintain it. In terms of website platforms, there are many options available. Some websites are completely custom, using the languages: Hypertext Markup Language (HTML or the “content language”), Cascading Style Sheets (CSS or the “look and feel language”), and Personal Homepage (PHP or the “do-stuff language”). The problem with a completely custom coded website is unless you are a professional coder yourself, you have to hire someone to create, launch, edit, maintain, and fix it. This is an expensive option.

Through the tech bubble and the rise of the internet, many platforms were born to help create websites that are simpler to maintain. These platforms are called “Content Management Systems” (CMS). Drupal, Joomla, and WordPress are the top three CMS platforms worldwide, with WordPress running over half of all websites today.

These options allow the ease of use you will need to create or update your website. In addition, the code for the platform is open source, so you are always allowed to move the website if you don’t like your hosting company (see above). Even if a hosting company goes out of business, you still have a website that you can migrate to any new hosting company. The open-source platforms are continually updated for speed, agility, and security so you can rest easy knowing that your website is running well.

You could always use a platform like SquareSpace, Wix or Weebly, which do not allow you to take your website to another host if you wanted to. These companies also boast “all-in-one” ease of use, but they don’t offer as much flexibility and customization. If the company doesn’t offer something you want, you can’t have it on your website.

I don’t work with these platforms, since the platform, templates, domain registration and hosting are all from the same provider–if the company goes down, your whole digital presence is wiped out and you have to start from scratch.

We build websites with WordPress. This platform has the best features, customizable options, add-ons, security, and user interface out of any of the free platforms…oh, yeah, did I mention it’s free? It’s open-source, which, as I mentioned above, means the platform gets security and usability updates to the core regularly FOR YOU for $0. Once you have chosen your host, you can usually install the WordPress platform with one click. Then you’re on your way to a beautiful website!

WordPress has a few parts to it, which are covered here.

The website

After learning about all the different “invisible” parts of a website, you can see that the website itself is only one piece of the puzzle. But, just like the physical building of a house, the website likely costs the most of any of the pieces. Sometimes you can expect to spend as much as $100,000 for a custom WordPress site, and there are no limits to what a completely customized, coded website can cost! However, like the house, if you want to change something about the appearance (remove the shutters, make the door a different color), it’s a pretty easy DIY project.

Like bringing things into and out of a house, changing or removing pieces of the visible website is non-obtrusive to the rest of the website. Unlike a house, it’s typically free or very inexpensive to add a webpage (or “room”) to the property. If you want to do part of the process yourself, I recommend learning the WordPress platform and doing your own content updates. This is like mowing the lawn or painting the kitchen.

How much should a new website cost to build?

This is the answer that “depends” the most. I’ve seen some introductory packages that include a “free” build, which never includes the text, images, and other content you’ll want for a custom site. Additionally, you will have to buy several hundred dollars of other related or unrelated services to get this “free” build.

A website designer who is worth her salt will sit down with you and learn about your vision for your website before quoting you a price. She might also ask follow up questions about why you want certain features. It’s good to allow her to make suggestions about what you might need for your website (she is the professional, after all!). A competent website designer knows that just building a website does not generate sales, so you will want to consider working with a company who also works with you on marketing, social media, lead generation, email marketing and more. Working with a digital marketing team will make your website investment pay off instead of being ignored!

Conclusion

The purpose of this article was to simplify the different pieces involved in having a website. If you’re ever working with a blogger, email marketer or website designer, they might have questions about your website host or DNS provider. Now you can properly answer the questions and feel confident in any decisions you have to make about your website! Did you find this article helpful? Do you have specific questions about the article? Please feel free to contact me! I’m happy to help answer any questions you have!