A builder with no subscription: when it pays off
Most popular website builders charge every month or every year. That is convenient at the start, but it changes the economics of a site that has to run for years.
How to count
Take the monthly price of the subscription, multiply it by 36 and add the domain. That is the real cost of the site over three years. Compare it with a one-time payment plus the domain. A small business site rarely changes, so the difference is usually clear.
An example: if a subscription costs X a month, over three years you pay 36 × X, and over five years 60 × X. A one-time payment does not change in that time. Put in your own price and see from which month the subscription costs more.
What to compare besides the price
What happens if you stop paying. With a subscription the site usually goes offline.
Your own domain. Whether it is connected for you or you have to set up DNS yourself.
A template for your trade. An empty editor takes time and taste; a ready template only needs your details.
A preview before payment. Whether you can see your site before you pay.
Speed and search optimisation. Titles, descriptions, fast pages and a sitemap should be there from the start.
Export. Whether you can take your content with you if you decide to leave.
Questions to ask the seller
How much will I pay for the first year and for each year after?
Does the price change after the promotional period?
Are the domain, the certificate and support included?
Can I change texts and prices without your help?
What happens to my site if I stop paying?
Who a subscription suits
If you need a complex shop with integrations, or a site that a team of designers keeps changing, a subscription with advanced features can be a sensible choice. For a business card, a services page or a menu it usually turns out to be an overpayment.
Who a one-time payment suits
Owners of barbershops, salons, cafés, repair services and small companies. They need a page with prices, an address and booking, not a complex platform. A site like that can be used for years, changing only the prices and the photos.
With FastSite there is one payment. See how much it is on the pricing page, and preview the templates for free. What a site costs overall is covered in a separate article.
An example in round numbers
Take an imaginary subscription at 500 hryvnias a month (not the price of any particular service, just a convenient number). That is 6,000 a year, 18,000 over three years and 30,000 over five. The domain is paid for separately every year. If the site hardly changed in that time, you paid every month for something that would have worked just as well after a single payment.
Frequently asked questions
Is a subscription always more expensive?
No. Over a short stretch, say half a year, a subscription can come out cheaper. The difference appears when you need the site for years.
What should I check before paying in advance?
Whether you can see the finished site before paying, whether the domain is included and what happens to the site when the term ends. How to choose a domain is covered in a separate article.
Can I change the texts and prices myself later?
Yes, in the builder this is done without a programmer. That is why a single payment is enough for a small business, rather than a subscription for changes.