Ask three web developers what a website costs and you will get three answers, none of them complete. The quote covers the build but not the hosting. Or the hosting but not the edits. Six months later you are paying four different bills to keep one website alive, and the person who built it has stopped answering email. If you run a small business and just want a site that works, that setup wastes your money and your patience.
The DietzenDev website subscription is our answer to that mess: $299 per month, no setup fee, everything included. Design, hosting, security, unlimited content edits, and the page content written for you. After the 18-month term the plan continues month-to-month for that same care, and the site is yours, files and domain included. This post walks through exactly what the $299 covers, how the math compares to paying up front, and who should not buy it.
Key takeaways:
- The website subscription is $299/mo with no setup fee, on an 18-month term that then goes month-to-month.
- It includes a custom-built site of up to 12 page designs, domain and email setup, and hosting with SSL, CDN, daily backups, and security.
- Content edits are unlimited and done within 2 business days, and I write the page content.
- At the end of the term the site is yours, files and domain included, and the plan continues month-to-month for hosting, security, updates, and edits.
- Launch takes 2 to 4 weeks from a completed intake form.
- What the website subscription includes for $299 a month
- The math against paying up front
- The site is yours after the term
- What launch looks like
- Who it is not for
- Frequently asked questions
What the website subscription includes for $299 a month
Everything a small business website needs to exist, load fast, and stay current. Not a starter tier with the useful parts sold separately. The full list:
- A custom-built website, up to 12 page designs. Hand-coded WordPress, no templates, no page builders. Designed for your business, not adapted from someone else’s.
- Domain and email setup. We register or transfer your domain and get your business email working.
- Hosting with SSL, CDN, daily backups, and security. The same stack we run for our hosting clients, tuned to keep pages loading in under two seconds.
- Google Analytics, Search Console, and Business Profile integration. You can see who visits and Google can find you, from day one.
- Unlimited content edits, done within 2 business days. New hours, new photos, a new page section. Send it, it gets done. No per-change invoices.
- Page content written for you. I write the copy for every page, so you never start from a blank page. Monthly blog posts are available as an add-on.
- Direct developer access. You talk to the developer who built your site, not a ticket queue.
The speed part is not a throwaway line. When the BBC’s pages got one second slower, the site lost an additional 10% of its users, according to Google’s web.dev. Fast hosting is included because a slow site quietly costs you customers every day. It is the same infrastructure behind our managed hosting plans.
The math against paying up front
We sell both paths, so here is the honest comparison over the same 18 months, and what each costs after that.
| Over 18 months | Custom build | Website subscription |
|---|---|---|
| Up-front cost | From $5,000 | $0 |
| Monthly cost | Hosting from $40/mo | $299/mo |
| Content edits | Your job, or billed separately | Unlimited, included |
| Page content | Your job | Written for you, included |
| Approximate total | $5,720 | $5,382 |
| Ownership | Day one | At the end of the term |
| After 18 months | Hosting from $40/mo; edits are your job | $299/mo, month-to-month, same care |
Over the term, the subscription comes out about $340 less, and you never write a $5,000 check. After the term the math changes: the subscription keeps going at $299 a month for hosting, security, and unlimited edits, while a custom build costs about $40 a month to host, so on raw dollars the custom build is the cheaper path from about month 20 on. That ongoing difference buys unlimited edits, the security work, and never touching the site yourself. If you have the budget ready and someone to maintain the site, a custom build is the cheaper path over the long run and you own it immediately. The subscription exists for the business that would rather pay for its website the way it pays for electricity: one predictable bill, everything just works.
The site is yours after the term
This is the part that separates a website subscription from renting a site. With most site rental arrangements, the day you stop paying is the day your website disappears. Ours works differently: at the end of the 18-month term, the site is yours. Files, design, content, and domain, all of it transfers to you, and the plan continues month-to-month for the same hosting, security, updates, and edits.
Even if you leave early, you pay out the remaining months and the site still transfers. You are never trapped, and you never lose your website. After the initial term the plan goes month-to-month, so you can keep the hosting and edits going, or take the site anywhere you like.
What launch looks like
Launch takes 2 to 4 weeks from the day you complete our intake form. The intake covers your business, your pages, your photos, and what you want the site to do. From there we design, build, and review it with you before it goes live.
We put a guarantee behind that timeline: if launch slips past 30 days because of an error on our side, you get a month of service credited. After launch, the 2-business-day edit turnaround applies to every change you send.
Who it is not for
The subscription fits most small businesses, but not all of them. It is the wrong choice if:
- You need more than 12 page designs or complex custom features. That is custom build territory, starting at $5,000 fixed.
- You sell products online. Online stores need a different foundation. Our e-commerce subscription starts at $499/mo and you keep 100% of your sales.
- You want to build and tinker yourself. We hand-code every site. If dragging blocks around a page builder on weekends sounds fun to you, we are not your developer.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a setup fee for the website subscription?
No. The website subscription is $299 per month with no setup fee and no up-front build cost. That number covers design, development, hosting, security, unlimited content edits, and the page content written for you. The only commitment is the 18-month initial term.
Do I really own the website at the end?
Yes. At the end of the 18-month term the site is yours, files and domain included. The service then continues month-to-month for hosting, security, updates, and edits, and you can cancel any month and move the site to any host you choose. Nothing is held back.
What happens if I cancel before 18 months?
You pay out the remaining months on the term, and the site still transfers to you. You are never left with nothing. We would rather you leave with your website than feel locked in a contract that stopped making sense for your business.
What counts as a content edit?
Text changes, new images, updated business hours, new page sections, swapped photos, revised service descriptions. Edits are unlimited and done within 2 business days. New pages beyond the included 8, or entirely new features, are quoted separately so there are no surprises.
What happens after the 18-month term?
The plan continues month-to-month at $299 for the same hosting, security, updates, and edits. Most clients keep it running for the hosting and unlimited edits. If you would rather manage the site yourself or move to our $40/mo shared hosting, the site is yours to take.
How long does it take to launch?
2 to 4 weeks from the day you complete the intake form. If launch slips past 30 days because of an error on our side, we credit you a month of service. Most of the timeline depends on how quickly we get your content and feedback.
The bottom line
A website subscription trades a $5,000 up-front build for one predictable $299 monthly bill that covers everything: the site, the hosting, the security, the edits, and the content. Over the 18-month term it costs a little less than building outright. After that it keeps going month-to-month for the same care, and in exchange nothing about your website is ever your problem. The site is yours after the term, so you are never locked in.
Not sure which path fits? Start with a free website review. We will look at what your current site is doing right and wrong and tell you plainly whether the subscription, a custom build, or neither is the right move.