Running your own website can actually be more than you bargained for and there are a lot of hidden costs that a lot of people won’t tell you. A lot of people will simply say that you can start your own website for less than $30. While this is true, unless you are coding your own website, that $30 may not get you very far.

Below you will find 7 hidden costs of running your own website.

1. Plugins

If you are looking to power your website with WordPress then one thing that you have to pay attention to is the cost of plugins. A lot of the plugins that get recommended to you will either have a trial period and then you will have to spend some money every month or they limit the amount of features you can use.

While you can get away with using some of these plugins with limited features they won’t help you grow and manage your site as well. Some of the plugins will cost only a couple of bucks a month while others can end up costing you hundreds of dollars a year.

If you want to start your own website we recommend using DreamHost. You can read our full Honest Review about DreamHost here.

2. Themes

Yet again another cost that many people decline to tell you to expect. If you are building your own website there are hundreds of free CSS templates out there for you to use. Just make sure to read all legal information before fully launching your website.

If you are using a website builder like WordPress or Wix then this will be a thing that may surprise you. Just like with plugins there are free themes that you can use but there are restrictions put in place for those themes. On average a theme will run you about $50 but don’t be surprised if you see a higher price tag.

If you wanted to pay a professional to build your website for you this will run you anywhere between $1000 on the SUPER low end to over $20,000.

3. Transaction Fees

Did you plan on running your own eCommerce store? Make sure to do your research and check out what platform will be best for you. Most of the time there are 2 parts of a transaction fee, a percentage and a flat amount.

PayPal, for example is 2.9% + 30 cents for each transaction that PayPal processes.

This may not sound like a lot but as your business grows this could come out to thousands of dollars in transaction fees. Some platforms, like Shopify, have different tiers that you can subscribe to and the higher ones have lower transaction fees.

4. Time

Ever heard of the expression Time is Money? Well it’s true, remember that every minute you spend on your website is a minute that could be used to make money. This is not meant to turn you away from making your own website but keep this in mind. When making your own website you want to make sure that you have the passion for it. Don’t put hundreds of dollars and countless hours into something that you know you won’t do.

5. SEO and Marketing

Want to know how sites get ranked on the first page of Google? SEO and Marketing. Those two words are KING in the online world. If you don’t know what SEO is, it’s Search Engine Optimization. This is what search engines, like Google and Bing use to rank websites within their system.

SEO and Marketing go hand-in-hand when it comes to building a website, if you understand your audience or target market then you can more easily tailor your SEO around that and start getting organic traffic to your site.

6. Advertising

This is not so much a “hidden” cost but more of a topic that a lot of people don’t mention. If you want to drive more traffic to your website or business then advertising is one of the best ways to do it. The amount that is spent on advertising is 100% up to you and your team. You could choose to spend $100 a month or $10,000 a month. This is a process that follows your marketing and target market phases.

7. SSL Certificate

An SSL Certificate kind of acts like a key to your website. It protects your websites sensitive data from being stolen, things like credit card information, or customer logins. If you plan on having customer accounts or starting an eCommerce site then an SSL is VERY important and will be almost mandatory. A lot of browsers will notify people who visit your site that your site is not secure, this will hurt your website and your business.

Most domain sellers will offer an SSL Certificate when you purchase your domain name. This can cost anywhere from $75 to $500 per year.