The Growing Popularity of Pay-Monthly Websites

Q: How long will my website take to build?

Most standard websites can be built in 7 days, however, they typically take longer as we need you to supply content and information. Ecommerce – depends on the size of the store, number of products and supply of the content, images and details.

Q: Are there any ongoing costs?

For fixed price websites there are annual costs for ongoing hosting, technical support and SSL certificate renewal For Pay-monthly websites these costs are all covered by the monthly payment.

Once the choice of startups, pay-monthly websites are becoming more popular with larger established businesses who need to manage costs and cash flow more closely. Despite the cost of living crisis, COVID or problems in other countries, more small businesses than ever are popping up.

All businesses from startups to established companies need a professional website to grow, and for many a monthly pay website is the best option.

In the initial stages of starting a business funds are tight and one of the first things to compromise on is the business website, there are many free “build-it-yourself” options out there but this often has downsides that you may not expect such as:-

The site not looking professional
The site looking the same as your competitors
The site not being optimised for the search engines
The design you really wanted being compromised because of the limitations of drag-and-drop
Unexpected costs (additional features or transaction fees)

Taking these few examples in turn:-

If you don’t have the design skills what looks great to you may look awful to your customers, a site that looks bad doesn’t instil confidence to your customers
Your business has to stand out, you are starting a business where your competitors have already established their online space, a free template isn’t going to make you stand out from the crowd (well not in a good way)
Lots of work goes in to building a professional business website, content and images all have to be optimised, metadata has to be correct, design, navigation and linking has to be done properly
Unless you can code you will be saddled with the limitations of the drag-and-drop system provided by the system you have chosen
Often new features on platforms such as Shopify come with additional monthly charges, if it’s an ecommerce website (selling online) some providers will add a couple of percent to the transaction charges that you pay to a 3^rd party payment processor

And these are just a few examples of pitfalls.

The Benefits of a Pay-Monthly website

Some of the benefits of paying for a website or marketing package monthly are:-

No high initial cost outlay
You know every month what the cost will be so you can predict cash flow easily
You can have a bespoke business website built for YOUR business and to your brand rather than a template website
We provide local support and when you speak to us you are dealing with the people that built the website
If anything happens to the site such as updating fails, plugins stop working, hosting goes down, the site is hacked then it is our problem not yours, you are free to get on building your business

Activ digital marketing East Yorkshire provide pay-monthly website design & marketing services for an affordable monthly fee.

Whether it’s due to a lack of immediate funds, a smaller priority for your digital marketing budget or you just need to be able to accurately predict your future cash-flow a pay-monthly website is often the preferred choice.

Choosing to pay-monthly for your website or marketing doesn’t mean you will get an inferior product or service or pay more for the website.

For example, there are no technical differences between a fixed price (pay upfront) website and a pay-monthly website and usually no cost penalties. A pay-monthly business website from activ digital marketing is still a fully bespoke site to your specification.

Comparisons between Fixed price and pay-monthly websites.

Fixed Price Websites	Pay-Monthly Websites
Two 50% of final cost payments	Deposit & pay monthly
Built on WordPress	Built on WordPress
SSL Certificate	SSL Certificate
Fast secure hosting	Fast secure hosting
Full technical supports including WordPress & plugin updates	Full technical supports including WordPress & plugin updates
Scheduled backups	Scheduled backups
CMS Login to allow you to update your website	CMS Login to allow you to update your website
Free domain name (.co.uk domain subject to your choice being available)	Free domain name (.co.uk domain subject to your choice being available)
Google analytics	Google analytics
Freephone support line	Freephone support line
Annual hosting and SSL Renewal costs	Small monthly payments

Our build process

Place Order

Order your website, we will then arrange a meeting (either phone, video call or face-to-face whichever you prefer) to discuss your requirements.

The Build

We will build a professional business website for your business, using our experience and research into your industry and competitors.

The Preview

We will send you a link to review your website for changes or approval, we will also arrange a meeting to discuss the site, once approved, we will launch your website following industry best practice.

Go Live

We will finalise the launch, setup your analytics and login then handover the website to you.

The Support

Apart from technical support and free telephone/email support, you will receive 30 minutes training on using the CMS.

Some Frequently Asked Questions

What if I already have a domain or website?

No problem, we can point the domain name at your new website (Note: we can either provide you with the new settings or we can do this for you, however, we would need temporary access to your domain login).

Can I upgrade my website?

Yes of course, you can either add/edit content, images etc. add new pages or simply ask us to do it for you (these could be chargeable, however, we will always contact you with the cost before making the changes and prices are below industry standards), in short, your website will grow with your business.

How are payments taken?

We require you to setup an automatic bank transfer for the monthly amount, this must be in place for the month after the deposit is paid. We also offer a system called “GoCardless” which is free to you.

How long will my website take to build?

Most standard websites can be built in 7 days, however, they typically take longer as we need you to supply content and information.

Ecommerce – depends on the size of the store, number of products and supply of the content, images and details.

Is there an upfront cost with Pay monthly websites?

Yes, there is an initial deposit followed by monthly payments, this is to allow us to recover the cost of the website build over the initial 12 months, after that the site is yours.

The size of the deposit depends on the size and features of your website.

Are there any ongoing costs?

For fixed price websites there are annual costs for ongoing hosting, technical support and SSL certificate renewal

For Pay-monthly websites these costs are all covered by the monthly payment.

Will I own my website?

Yes, once the initial 12 months term is complete. With fixed price websites we include the first 12 months hosting with your website, Pay-monthly websites are paid for over the initial 12 months.

Note: if you wish to move your website from our servers after the initial 12 months, we charge a fee to package the site and provide a report of 3^rd party licences your new web developer may need to purchase if they don’t have these already.

If you would like a no obligation chat to find out if pay-monthly websites are right for you just give us a call on 0800 246 1209 or email hello@activdmeastyorkshire.com

Book a FREE Meeting

If you would like a 30 minute meeting to discuss your project (Phone, Face-to-face or Zoom)

Before you build your website, you may want to read this post here.

Your local web designer covering Hull, Beverley, Hessle, Anlaby, Cottingham and East Yorkshire

0345 395 0300

The Growing Popularity of Pay-Monthly Websites