Website Costs

To have your own website, there are three costs involved: domain name registration, web hosting, and website design/development. Below is a basic description of these so you can get a better understanding.

Domain Registration

The address of a website that you type into your internet browser such as http://www.allywebdesign.com is called the domain name. If you get a website through Ally Web Design, we will register the website under your name. The cost for annual registration is under $10 per domain name.

Domain Hosting

A hosting company, keeps your website files on their server and connects it to the internet 24/7 for an annual fee. They provide the software and services needed to run your site such as the email servers, database storage, application development platforms (e.g. PHP, Java, Perl, CGI...) and more. The hosting package you choose will determine the amount of storage you can have, the amount of files your users can download, the types of scripts (programs) that you can use, the amount of email you can receive,...etc. The cost of domain hosting depends on how big your website is and what functionality is required such as ecommerce. It starts at $2.95 per month, but it averages at $8.95 per month.

Design and Development

The term "design" of websites has been widely misused. A website designer is a graphical designer of the site. Such a designer will select colors, positioning of items, and will use graphical programs to best compose a striking looking site.

A web developer will use complex computer code to piece together various components of a website to best achieve the required functions. Such a website developer will install modules such as shopping carts, create custom applications for businesses, create custom contact forms, and ensure search engine friendly code is used, and generally piece together multiple components to achieve an efficient website.

At Ally Web Design, you can choose to bypass web design costs by using a template design. There are over 5000 templates available for you to choose from. If you have a particular idea that is not covered, in those 5000 designs, then custom web design is also available. To compare these options please go to Customized Templates and Custom Web Design.