Renting vs. owning
When you build on a website builder or sign up for a monthly website plan, you’re renting. Your site lives on someone else’s platform, under their terms and their prices. If they raise prices, you pay. If you stop paying, your site goes dark. If you want to leave, you usually start from scratch.
When you own your website, none of that applies. You have the code, the content, and the accounts it runs on. You can host it anywhere, hire anyone to work on it, or leave it alone for years. It’s a business asset, like your equipment or your sign out front.
What you’ll own at launch
Everything is set up in your name. We can have access to help you, but you hold the keys.
- The source code. Your complete website lives in a code repository (on GitHub) in your account. Any developer can work with it.
- All the content. The text we write and the royalty-free stock photos we select for your site are yours to use anywhere, including brochures, ads, and social media.
- Your domain. Your domain name is registered to you, with a registrar you choose. Never to us.
- Your hosting account. Your site is hosted on a free plan, usually Cloudflare Pages, in an account in your name.
- Your form service. Form submissions go through a service like Formspree, in your account, to your inbox.
- Your data. Analytics, Search Console, and your Google Business Profile all belong to you.
How hosting can be free
Most websites run on a server that builds each page every time someone visits, using a database and plugins. That takes ongoing server resources, which is why most hosting costs money every month.
We build static websites. Every page is built ahead of time and served as a simple file from a global network. That’s why providers like Cloudflare Pages can host them for free, even for commercial use. It’s also why static sites are fast and hard to hack.
Free plans have usage limits, but a typical small business website uses a tiny fraction of them. If your site ever outgrew a free plan, you’d pay the hosting company directly, and we’d help you choose the right option.
What it costs to keep your site running
| Item | Who you pay | Typical cost |
|---|---|---|
| Domain name | Your registrar | About $10–$20 per year |
| Hosting | Nobody (free plan) | $0 |
| Contact forms | Nobody (free plan) | $0 for typical volume |
| SSL certificate | Nobody (included with hosting) | $0 |
| 1500DollarSite.com | Nobody, unless you request help | $0 |
What if I need changes later?
You have options, and none of them lock you in:
- Do it yourself. Simple text changes can be made in GitHub’s web editor. We’ll show you how.
- Ask us. One-off updates are $75 per hour, billed in 15-minute increments. Most small changes take 15–30 minutes.
- Hire anyone. Your site uses standard, well-documented technology, so any web developer can work on it.
Our business model is simple: we earn your trust with a great website at a fair price. We’d love to help you again in the future, but only because you want us to, not because you don’t have a choice.
