The True Cost Of A Website

How much does it cost to create a website in Trinidad and Tobago? Well, it depends on several factors. Here is the best breakdown of the cost of a website for your business in Trinidad and Tobago:

1. Domain Name

The first cost of a website is that of the Domain Name. A Domain Name is the website address used to access your website, for example, www.mywebsite.com.

You will need to purchase the domain from a company called a Domain Name Registrar. Our recommended registrar is Hover. We prefer Hover as they have a very uncluttered interface that makes it easy to buy a domain. All their domains also come with industry-leading customer support and free WHOIS privacy.

Unless you are an enterprise client with contracts in place, avoid letting a web developer buy your domain name as it may not be yours in the end. We recommend that you buy your domain name using your credit card.

There are many domain name suffixes that you can choose for your business, such as COM, ORG, TT, CHURCH etc.

If you require a COM domain name for your business, the following would be the average domain name cost of a website:

2. Website Hosting

The second cost of a website to bear in mind is that of Hosting. All websites must have a location to store the pages and serve those pages to the public. This location, called Hosting, needs to be available 24/7, secure and reliable.

Some companies allow you to store your web pages on their servers at a cost. Most companies provide shared servers and virtual private servers.

For most business sites, we recommend using Elementor Hosting. You get world-class hosting on Google Cloud servers, premium SSL, Daily backups, Cloudflare CDN, enhanced security, the drag-and-drop Elementor Page Builder plugin and much more. Your web developer would be able to assist you with this setup.

Similar to obtaining a domain name, unless you are an enterprise client with contracts in place, please do not fall into the trap of having the web developer purchase your web hosting. Ultimately, you may not have access to your site. We recommend that you buy the hosting using your credit card.

The following is the average web hosting cost of a website:

3. SSL Certificate

An SSL Certificate is installed on your webserver to verify safe browsing to a visitor. It usually appears as a padlock in the website address bar. SSL Certificates encrypt the communications between the server and the client.

Some web hosting providers include a free standard SSL Certificate with your hosting purchase, so this is not an additional cost. Other hosting providers (e.g. GoDaddy) require you to install your own or purchase their SSL Certificates.

If your hosting plan does not include a free SSL certificate, then obtain an SSL Certificate from Cloudflare. They offer a free SSL certificate that automatically renews. In addition to getting the SSL Certificate, you also benefit from added features such as a Content Delivery Network (CDN) and security. Security is against actions such as DDoS attacks, malicious bots and other nefarious intrusions.

The following is the SSL certificate cost of a website:

4. Web Designer

Unless you plan to build the website yourself, you will need to hire a website design Trinidad company like us to build your website.

Be wary of sketchy designers, as they abound. In the long run, you will suffer in terms of website quality, continued maintenance of the website, and ultimately brand reputation.

The costs of hiring a web developer to build a website in Trinidad and Tobago would depend on the number of pages and the required level of functionality. Always note that apart from paying for the designer’s time, you also pay for all the software/plugin/theme licenses purchased on your behalf to build the site.

If you are starting up your business, and costs are a factor, you can select our 6-page Website Design Business Package, built from a pre-built website theme. Such a website has a menu structure of Home, About, Services, Portfolio (List & Detail), and Contact.

Here is the cost to design a website that has six pages:

With a basic website package, you can pay for what you need now, and as your business grows, you can add additional functionality by purchasing Website Add-ons.

If you require a custom website with advanced features membership or eCommerce incur extra costs. Please see our website design packages for further information.

5. Email Addresses

What is a website without a professionally branded email address with your domain name? e.g. [email protected]. Therefore, you need to factor in the email cost of a website.

To obtain email addresses, you have three several options:

1. Using Web Host Email

Small businesses can set up free email from their web hosting provider.

Most small businesses may gravitate to using free hosting email. Note, however, that it is generally not recommended to send emails from your same web hosting account as it may get your domain blacklisted if tremendous spam is sent from it.

Also, bear in mind that to access mail from the web host would be through a webmail interface and that there are storage limitations.

2. Using an Email Service Provider

If you are a growing business, you can use an enterprise-grade email hosting provider (e.g. Google Workspace for USD$6.00 per user or Microsoft 365) at an additional cost.

If it is financially feasible, then this is the better option as you get an accredited email provider along with other useful productivity tools such as document processing (Docs or Word), document storage (Drive or One sync) and so on.

3. Email Forwarding

If you are a small business, and cannot afford an Email Service Provider, we recommend that you forward your email to an already existing email address using the service provided by CloudFlare.

Here is the email cost of a website:

Note: If you desire to send out bulk emails for instance to an email list or transactional emails, then you would also need to get an SMTP Service Provider, which may come at a cost. Our recommended provider is Brevo. They have a free tier that most small businesses would find suitable.

6. Website Maintenance

One often overlooked part of a website project is ongoing website maintenance. Just like a car or a house, a website needs regular maintenance. Otherwise, the site can become outdated, hacked, and compromised. Your brand will then be negatively affected.

If you have the necessary expertise to maintain your site, then the following will need your attention:

• Plugin Updates
• Core Updates
• Theme updates
• Content changes
• Backups
• Security Checks
• Performance checks
• Analytics

Small businesses can perform the above tasks if they obtain the appropriate website training. Please note that some of the above items, for example, plugins, may also require license renewal purchases.

If you prefer ease of mind, hand over the website maintenance to a reliable company like us.

The following is the standard maintenance cost of a website:

When choosing a website maintenance provider, confirm if there is the option to pay for maintenance only when necessary with no cancellation fees or contracts.

7. Website Marketing

The final cost of a website that you should consider is the marketing of the website itself. You will need to use the usual channels to promote your site, such as printing flyers, business cards, and perhaps the radio.

The digital marketing channels would include content creation, email marketing, search engine optimization, social media marketing, and search engine marketing.

As a small business, you may have the free time to create blog posts for your website and to promote your website on your social media channels such as Facebook and Instagram. You can also pay for ads on these channels to keep costs down.

For ease of mind, you can hire a digital marketing agency like ours to fully market your brand across all channels.

The following is the website marketing cost of a website:

Summary of Website Costs

Starting an online business is essential in this global economy. When done right, the website can bring in new leads and revenue for your business. But as the saying goes, “It takes money to make money”.

Here is a summary of the average basic cost of a website:

What preceded was an in-depth look at the cost of a website in Trinidad and Tobago. As a small business, you wish to keep costs down and so should choose the less expensive option. Growing companies, however, would have further needs and can widen their budgets for greater functionality.

If it is not feasible for you to design a website for your business, then you should consider listing your business in an online marketplace like OnYourIsland. On this platform, you are able to obtain an online presence for FREE with their business directory. You also get access to tools to list your vehicles, properties, products, events, jobs, and more – all in one place!