Should you pay monthly for a website?
I sell a monthly plan, so read this with that in mind. The arithmetic still says buy once in some cases, and here is when.
I offer a monthly plan, so take what follows with the appropriate pinch of salt. I have tried to write the version I would want to read if somebody were selling it to me.
The arithmetic, first
A one-time build from me is $2,500, and then hosting is $150 a year. Over five years that is $3,250.
The managed plan is $500 a month with nothing down. Over five years that is $30,000.
That is not a close call, and anybody telling you the monthly plan is cheaper is doing arithmetic you should check. What the monthly buys is a different thing entirely, and whether it is worth it depends on which of these you are.
When paying once is right
You have cash and the site is finished. If you know what your services are, they are not going to change much, and you have $2,500 available, buy the site. Pay for changes when you need them. Most years you will need two.
You already have somebody technical. A nephew who does this, an office manager who is good with computers, a marketing person. If somebody in your world can change a phone number without it becoming a project, you do not need me on retainer.
Your business is seasonal and steady. If what you sell in March is what you sell in October and the site does not need to change with the season, there is less for a monthly plan to do.
When monthly makes sense
You have no cash and you need the site now. This is the honest main reason. Nothing down means you can have a site in three weeks instead of saving for one until spring. If the site brings in one extra job, it has paid for several months.
Your site needs to change constantly. Landscapers are the clear case. What should be on the front page in March is not what should be there in November, and snow contracts get signed in October. If somebody is going to rotate that four times a year, either it is you or it is included.
You have been burned by the per-change invoice. A lot of contractors are on their third website because each one silently rotted. Not because it broke, but because changing anything meant an email, a quote and a wait, so after a while nobody bothered. Two years later the site lists a service you dropped and a guy who left.
What to check before signing any monthly plan
Who owns the code. Ask directly, and get the answer in writing. On my plans I retain the codebase; transfer is a paid buyout quoted case by case. I would rather say that plainly than let you find out at the worst moment. Some providers hand it over free, some will not release it at all. All three are defensible. Not knowing which one you signed is not.
What happens if you stop paying. Does the site go offline that day? Do you keep the domain? Can you export the content?
What "unlimited edits" covers. For me: content changes, image swaps, copy tweaks, new sections, seasonal updates, most turned around in 48 hours. Not a full redesign and not additional pages. Those get scoped separately. Anyone claiming genuinely unlimited anything has not thought about it or is not going to honour it.
The minimum term. Mine is six months, then it rolls month to month and you can leave with 30 days' notice. A three-year lock on a website is a financing agreement wearing a costume.
Whether hosting is included, and where. If the plan ends and the hosting was theirs, you need somewhere to go. I will help you move.
The version I would give a friend
If you can afford $2,500 and your business is stable, buy the site once. It is the cheaper answer and it is usually the right one.
If you cannot, or if the site genuinely has to keep moving, the monthly is not a trap, as long as you have asked the five questions above and liked the answers.
What you should not do is sign a monthly plan because the number is small and nobody made you do the five-year multiplication. Do it now. It is thirty thousand dollars. It might still be worth it. Just know that it is.
Both of my options are itemised on the pricing page, with the comparison table, so you can do the arithmetic before you talk to me rather than after.
What it costs. Managed plans are $500/mo with $0 down and include hosting, unlimited edits and updates. One-time builds start at $2,500. Full breakdown on the pricing page.
Want to know where your current site stands? Run it through the speed check, it takes twenty seconds and costs nothing.