Risks Involved in Developing a Website: The first thing you need to know about a website is its cost. Many elements combine to make up a website’s price: domain registration, hosting, design, etc. One needs to have ideas about costs, whether it be a simple blog or a fully-fledged eCommerce site. The com domain price in Pakistan is one chief expense, but there are many other hosting and development expenses. Here, we are analyzing several cost components constituting a website price.
1. Domain Name Cost:
It is the address of your website, i.e., yourwebsite.com. The price of the domain depends on the extension and registrar you choose. The com domain price in Pakistan will depend on the provider or current promotions. Some general trends on pricing will be mentioned next:
- .com domains – Mostly between 2000 to 3500 PKR/year.
- .pk – Approx PKR 2500 to PKR 4000 annually.
- Other extensions (.net, .org, .info)- Price range may differ, but mostly they lie within that of .coms.
GoDaddy, Namecheap, Hostinger, or local registrars like PKNIC, would be some options. Some hosting companies provide a free domain for one year upon purchase of a hosting plan.
2. Web Hosting Costs:
Web hosting is where your files for the website are hosted. Your hosting expenditure depends on what sort of hosting plan you choose:
- Shared Hosting (Best for beginners): PKR 2500 to 10000 every year.
- VPS Hosting (More control and power): PKR 15000 to 50000 every year.
- Dedicated Hosting (For big websites): PKR 80000+ every year.
- Cloud Hosting (Flexible and scalable): PKR 5000 to 30000 every year.
Shared hosting will be the cheapest for starting up a small blog or business site. HosterPK, WebSouls, HostBreak, and others are some of the popular hosting providers in Pakistan.
3. Website Development Cost:
Web development costs range greatly depending on whether it is a self-built site or by professionals; hence the few options.
- Website builder (the cheapest option): Websites assembled by Wix, Weebly, or WordPress.com cost relatively nothing, from just PKR 500 to PKR 2000, only extra premium features.
- Freelance developer: PKR 10,000-PKR 100,000, depending on how complex the website is.
- Web development agencies will charge anywhere from PKR 50,000 to PKR 500,000 or above for a project.
WordPress with the free theme is a good way of saving if you are budget conscious.
4. Cost for Themes and Plugins for Websites:
Themes and plugins are usually obtained to enable WordPress and other CMSs to beautify or augment the expected features of a website.
- Free themes: on WordPress, Wix, and Shopify.
- Premium themes: between PKR 5,000 and PKR 15,000 (one-time payment).
- Plugins and extensions: free or paid, with a range of costs between PKK 1,000 and PKK 10,000 based on various features.
If you need eCommerce functionality, plugins like WooCommerce (free) or Shopify (from PKK 5,000 a month) will incur higher costs.
5. All other Website Costs:
In addition to domain/hosting, there may be extra charges such as:
- SSL Certification (security of the site): Some hosting providers offer this for free; otherwise, over PKR 2,000/year.
- SEO and Marketing tools: Free, however, highly dependent on what tools you use, anywhere from PKR 0 to PKR 10,000/month.
- Content Creation (Writing & Images): Costs nothing if done by oneself but can vary from PKR 5,000 to PKR 50,000 if contracted out.
Running an online business would mean investing in SEO plus digital marketing to drive traffic and improve sales.
6. Website Maintenance and Ongoing Expenses:
Once the site goes live, it requires maintenance to be brought to operational standards. Common ongoing expenses that the owner may face include having to pay for upkeep, which includes the following:
- Domain Renewal: One needs to renew a .com domain in Pakistan every year, which is to the tune of PKR 2,000 to PKR 3,500.
- Hosting Renewal: Hosting packages are, once again, either renewed on a yearly or monthly basis depending on the specific plan availed with dependent pricing (shared hosting is cheapest).
Read Also: The Benefits of Professional SEO Services
Conclusion:
Different websites cost due to different factors like requirements and budget. Personal blogging sites with the standard com domain price in Pakistan, and shared hosting may cost a little more than PKR 5,000 and go up to PKR 10,000 per annum. However, a website with multiple features from premium themes and plugins, as well as marketing tools, for business promotion can range from around 50,000 to as much as 500,000 PKR. Therefore, while great online platforms are being built, cutting costs through free themes, shared hosting, and website builders is a good seam to tread.
