The hidden costs of a cheap website
A Wix site costs €16 per month. Squarespace €27. WordPress hosting starts at €5 per month. Sounds affordable, right?
But the real costs of a cheap website are much higher than the monthly fee. These are the hidden costs nobody tells you about.
The costs you don't see
Plugins and premium features
The basic plan is indeed cheap. But as soon as you need something specific (a contact form with conditions, a booking system, better SEO tools) you pay extra. Per plugin, per month.
An average WordPress site has 20-30 plugins. Of those, 5-10 are paid, each €5-€30 per month. That quickly adds up to €100-€300 per month on top of hosting.
Transaction fees
Selling products or services through your website? Template platforms take a percentage of every transaction. Wix charges 2.9% + €0.30 per transaction on top of your payment provider's fees.
With a custom site with direct Mollie or Stripe integration, you only pay standard transaction fees. No extra platform fees.
Time is money
How many hours per week do you spend wrestling with your website builder? Adjusting a template that "almost" does what you want? Searching for the right plugin?
As an entrepreneur, your time is your most expensive resource. Every hour spent on your website builder is an hour not spent on your customers.
Lost customers from poor performance
A website that loads in 3 seconds loses 53% of visitors. Template sites are on average slower than custom due to bloated platform code, tracking scripts, and unoptimized images.
Say you have 1,000 visitors per month and 3% convert. With a slow site, you lose half: from 30 leads to 15. What's a lead worth to you?
The cost after 3 years
Let's be honest:
| Template | Custom (Codavo) | |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | €600 (hosting + plugins) | €2,500 (one-time) |
| Year 2 | €600 | €120 (hosting) |
| Year 3 | €600 | €120 (hosting) |
| Total | €1,800 | €2,740 |
After 3 years, a template site costs the same as custom. But with custom, you have a faster, more unique site that you own.
When is cheap expensive enough?
There are three signs you've outgrown your cheap website:
- You're embarrassed by your website: if you hesitate to share the link with a potential client
- You're fighting limitations: if you spend more time on workarounds than on your business
- You need functionality: if you need a booking system, client portal, or payments
Recognize this? Then it's time for a custom website.
The better investment
A custom website isn't an expense, it's an investment in your business. You get:
- Ownership: you own all code and content
- Speed: sub-second load times, proven in projects like Opairly
- Growth: the same foundation scales from website to web application
- No hidden costs: one-time investment, no monthly surprises
Next step
Curious what custom work costs for your business? Book a free call and discover the difference.
Also read: