Website Builder Extras: 6 Things That May Cost More

Most website builders have extra costs beyond the monthly fees that you may not think about when trying to choose one.

They include the following:

• Set-up
• Domain name
• Shopping cart
• Transaction fees
• Phone support
• Site expansion

Set-up

Most website builders don’t charge set-up fees.  This is because you do all your own set-up using the website builder.  Nonetheless, there are a few exceptions, like Yahoo and Homestead.  They justify the extra charge by explaining how much you save by using a website builder versus the traditional route.

$$$ Extra Cost: $20.00-$60.00

Domain Name

All website builders automatically give you a sub-domain name on sign-up (ex. www.yourwebsitename.homestead.com).  But if you’re running a business site, you should have a standard domain name (ex. www.yourwebsitename.com) as it is more professional.

Some website builders give you one or more free domain names with your website.  Others require you to purchase one separately, either through the builder or from an outside company. 

$$$ Extra Cost: $8.95-$39.99 / year

Shopping Cart

Full-featured shopping carts are included with most website builders. These come with a variety of options that you can tailor to your needs.  Others come with the option to set up a basic PayPal shopping cart with your site, but will require you to pay extra for a full-featured shopping cart.

$$$ Extra Cost: $24.99-$229.99 / month

*Note: To take credit card payments using your shopping cart, you’ll need a payment system like PayPal or a merchant account combined with a payment gateway.  These also involve extra charges.  Read 6 The Bare Essentials for Selling Online for more details.

Transaction Fees

Transaction fees come as an unpleasant surprise to many people when they start making sales through their website builder.  This is because they didn’t read all the details before signing up and missed the mention of transaction fees.

Some website builders, like ProStores and Yahoo, charge you a percentage of every sale you make through your website.  These fees can cost you a lot in the long run.  This is in addition to transaction fees charged by merchant accounts, payment gateways and PayPal.

Phone Support

Phone support is very convenient for those times when a builder’s online documentation doesn’t answer a specific question you might have.  Builders that offer it generally do so as a free service, though there is the odd one that charges for the convenience.

$$$  Extra Cost: $10 per call (Homestead)

Site Expansion

A certain website builder package may be appropriate for your current needs, but it’s important to anticipate the future growth of your site when making your choice.

With some packages, you get a set amount of email addresses, Web pages, product listings, images, disk storage and data transfer (bandwidth).  If you need more, you may have to upgrade to a more expensive package. 

There are also builders that allow you to buy whatever add-ons you require and only pay for what you need.  This can be less expensive option if you only need a minor expansion.  Package upgrades often give a lot more than you need at a greater expense.

$$$  Extra Cost: Depends on the builder

*Note: There are too many package variations and add-on prices to list, so we recommend asking what it will cost to expand your website later on.