Definition

What is the total cost of website ownership?

The total cost of website ownership is the sum of everything a site costs over its useful life, usually three to five years. It adds up the build, hosting, maintenance, licences, changes, rework and the internal time spent keeping the site alive. It is the figure that lets you compare two quotes whose starting prices differ.

The line items to add up

  • The build. Design, integration and testing. The number of unique templates (reusable layouts) weighs more than the number of pages.
  • Hosting, for the whole period, in an account in your name.
  • Maintenance. Updates, fixes, backups and monitoring.
  • Licences. Theme, paid plugins or platform subscription.
  • Changes and rework. Revision rounds, changes of scope and recurring fixes.
  • Internal time. The hours your team spends validating content, publishing and reporting what does not work.

Why the build price is not enough

The build price is the only figure a buyer can compare easily. It is also the one that tells them the least about what they will receive. A quote clearly below market usually describes a narrower scope: content, measurement or maintenance are left out. Those line items come back later in instalments, after you sign.

Over three years, the total cost almost always exceeds the build price, often by double according to our market observations. The gap between two quotes can therefore widen or shrink after launch.

How to calculate it

  1. Set a common period. We use three years to compare quotes.
  2. For each quote, price every line item over that period, including the ones the quote does not mention.
  3. Estimate internal time in hours, then convert it to dollars with your own hourly cost.
  4. Add it all up and compare the totals, not the starting prices.

A line item missing from a quote is not free: it stays on your side. Ask the question in writing before you sign.

Formula

Total cost of ownership = build + hosting + maintenance + licences + changes and rework + internal time

Each line item is calculated over the same period, often three years. Internal time is converted to dollars with your own hourly cost.

Example

Suppose a fictional company receives two quotes for the same site. The first quotes $5,000 for the build, the second $11,000. Over three years, the first adds $600 of hosting, $2,000 of maintenance, $3,500 of unplanned rework and 80 hours of internal time. The second adds $2,400 of hosting, $3,600 of maintenance, $800 of rework and 25 hours of internal time.

At a fictional internal cost of $60 an hour, the first costs $15,900 over three years and the second $19,300. The starting gap of $6,000 drops to $3,400. The math does not say you should always pay more: it says the build price alone is not enough to make the call.

How we read it

We compare quotes over three years, never on the build price alone. Our grid fits in five questions: how many unique templates, who writes the content, how many revision rounds, who owns the code, the access credentials and the domain name, then what hosting and maintenance cost over three years. Silence on any of them signals a cost that will arrive after you sign.

We give ownership particular weight. A site built on a template licence tied to the vendor's account, with a domain name registered in its name, becomes a dependency the day you want to change providers. The cost of that exit is part of the total cost, even if it shows up in no quote.

Not to be confused with

Web design pricing
Web design pricing is the build amount, the one the quote displays. The total cost of ownership adds everything the site costs afterwards over its useful life.
Website maintenance
Website maintenance is one of the line items in the total cost: ongoing care of updates, security and changes. It is only part of it.

Related concepts

Further reading

Related services

Frequently asked questions

What does a website really cost over three years?

Clearly more than the build price: according to our market observations, often around double. You have to add hosting, maintenance, licences, changes and the time your team spends on the site. The total depends mostly on what the starting quote includes or leaves out.

Why isn't a much cheaper quote necessarily a bargain?

Because it usually covers a narrower scope. Content, measurement or maintenance are left out. They come back later in instalments, as fixes and internal time. Ask what is not in the quote rather than why the other one costs more.

Should we count our team's time in the calculation?

Yes. Validating copy, supplying photos, publishing and reporting fixes takes hours, especially on a site that is hard to change. Convert those hours to dollars with your own hourly cost. Without that line item, an option that demands a lot of internal work looks cheaper than it is.

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