Pay Monthly Web Design vs Owning Your Website: The 3-Year Cost in South Africa
Pay monthly web design sounds easy: no big upfront bill, just a small amount each month. For some businesses it is the right choice. But a website plan is a rental, and a rental is only cheap if you look at one month at a time. This guide adds it up over three years, next to the other way of doing it: paying once for the build and owning the site.
We should say up front where we stand. JWD builds websites for a once-off price, and the client owns the site once it is paid in full. What we do sell monthly is hosting, from R99 a month. So we have a view, and we show our working below so you can check it.
What Pay Monthly Web Design Usually Means
A pay monthly plan bundles the website build, hosting and some support into one fixed monthly fee, usually with a minimum contract of 12 to 24 months. You pay little or nothing to start, and the agency recovers the cost of building your site over the contract.
That works well for cash flow. The questions are what it costs in total, and what you are left with at the end.
The 3-Year Cost: Renting vs Owning
The monthly amounts below are examples of typical plan levels, not any particular company’s prices. The JWD figures are our published prices. The hosting line uses our .co.za annual hosting at R1,150 a year, which includes your .co.za domain, registered in your name.
| Over 3 years | Total paid | Do you own the site at the end? |
|---|---|---|
| Rental plan at R299 a month | R10,764 | Depends on the contract, often not |
| Rental plan at R499 a month | R17,964 | Depends on the contract, often not |
| Rental plan at R699 a month | R25,164 | Depends on the contract, often not |
| JWD custom static site (1 to 3 pages, R2,500) plus 3 years of .co.za hosting (R3,450) | R5,950 | Yes, once the build is paid in full |
| JWD WordPress site (1 to 3 pages, R3,000) plus 3 years of .co.za hosting (R3,450) | R6,450 | Yes, once the build is paid in full |
| JWD WordPress business site (up to 12 pages, R6,500) plus 3 years of .co.za hosting (R3,450) | R9,950 | Yes, once the build is paid in full |
The monthly totals are simple: the monthly fee times 36. Full prices for every package are on our website packages page.
The Catch on Both Sides
The catch with renting: you keep paying for as long as you want the site, and at the end of the contract you may not own it. Ask what happens to the design, the content and the domain if you stop paying. Some plans let you buy the site out, some do not.
The catch with owning: a rental plan usually includes some changes each month. With us, changes after launch are done at our website maintenance rate of R450 an hour, agreed before any work starts. So be honest about how often you will want changes.
Against the R499 a month example, the WordPress site above leaves R11,514 over three years. That pays for about 25 hours of changes at R450 an hour, and you would still have spent the same and own the site. If your site needs more changes than that, a plan that includes them could make sense.
Which Suits You
Renting can suit you if:
- You have no budget for a build at all right now.
- You want changes included every month and expect to use them.
- You are happy not to own the site, or the contract includes a clear buy-out.
Owning is usually better if:
- You can pay for the build once, from R2,500.
- You want the website and the domain to be yours.
- You would rather pay for changes only when you need them.
Five Questions to Ask Before Signing a Monthly Plan
- What happens to my website, my content and my domain if I cancel?
- What is the minimum contract, and what does it cost to leave early?
- How many changes are included each month, and what happens to unused ones?
- Can the monthly price go up during the contract?
- What will I have paid in total by the end, and what will I own?
If the answers are clear and you are comfortable with them, a monthly plan can be a fine choice. If they are vague, that tells you something too.
How It Works at JWD
We build your website once, for a published price, and the site is yours once it is paid in full, as our terms set out. Your domain is registered in your name. After that you choose what you want from us:
- Fast Local Hosting Basic at R99 a month (or R950 a year), or .co.za hosting with your domain at R1,150 a year.
- Website maintenance at R450 an hour, only when you need changes, with no retainer.
- Monthly SEO maintenance at R850 a month, if you want ongoing search work.
There is no contract holding you to any of it. We would rather keep clients for years because the service is good than because a contract says they have to stay, and several of our reviews come from clients who have worked with us for years. For a full breakdown of what running a website costs each month, see our guide to the real monthly cost of running a website.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is pay monthly web design cheaper than paying once?
Usually not over time. A plan at R499 a month comes to R17,964 over three years, while a JWD WordPress site of 1 to 3 pages plus three years of .co.za hosting comes to R6,450. Monthly plans often include changes, though, so compare what you would pay for changes too.
Do I own my website on a pay monthly plan?
It depends on the contract, and it is the most important question to ask. Some agencies rent you the site, so you lose it if you stop paying. At JWD you pay once for the build, and the website is yours once it is paid in full.
Does JWD offer pay monthly websites?
No. Our website builds are a once-off price, not a monthly plan. What we do sell monthly is hosting, from R99 a month, and ongoing SEO at R850 a month, if you want it.
What is the typical contract length for a pay monthly website?
Minimum terms of 12 to 24 months are common, because the agency recovers the cost of building your site over the contract. Check what leaving early costs before you sign.
What does it cost to make changes to a website I own?
With JWD, changes are done at our website maintenance rate of R450 an hour, agreed before any work starts, and there is no monthly retainer.
Ready to compare properly? See our website packages or request a free quote, and we aim to reply fast during office hours.
