What does a web-site cost? 

How long is a piece of string!  The best we can say is that we are competitive and provide value for money.

Once we have an idea of your requirements we can provide a quote,  the main element is planning and the core design, that is usually clarified and demonstrated by creating a first draft of the home page.  Subsequent pages retain much of the core design of the home page and there’s a lower cost per page.  Those individual pages vary in complexity, a really complex page might call for costly bespoke programming but that’s not a common need.

Ongoing costs. 

To keep post and admin costs down we invoice by email usually once a year, bundling all individual costs into a single invoice, the exception being for any larger tasks when we might request a separate payment.  That reduces the scope for misunderstanding and confusion when you receive separate invoices for different aspects of your web site. It also means that if you recieve one of the common scam invoices related to your website you know – if it’s not from us it’s a scam.

Web site hosting is priced according to your expected usage.  We seldom need to change the base price and historically we’ve kept costs well below inflation while improving speed and reliability.  A site may become so large or successful that it needs additional resources,  in that case you are benefiting from that success and will understand the need for any proportinate price increase.  Currently no client pays more than £250p.a. for hosting and £150p.a. is more typical. The hosting price includes an allowance for some “behind the scenes” technical support and occasional minor changes.  Many clients prefer us to undertake all routine web site content updates in which case there’s a charge per instance (£20 per half-hour or part thereof).  

Our domain name renewal and management fees are lower than the cost at the American owned business that claims to be the UK’s largest domain registrar.  They have an introductory offer: £1 for the first year but with necessary extras they’ll charge £8.38 (at time of writing) but remember that future ongoing renewals will be £28.78 over £10 more than our annual renewal.  That means that we’re cheaper when comparing the combined first 2 years and thereafter you’re saving over £10 a year.

Many web designers, domain name registrars and hosting companies provide email mailboxes typically at a cost of £50 per mailbox.  We don’t offer mailboxes because we believe it’s  better to spend your £50 on a mailbox from Google, Microsoft and Proton Mail – or use their free versions which provide a much better service than mailboxes provided by others for an annual fee.  We can provide related email services such as mail forwarding (or MX record routing) to Gmail, Microsoft, Proton or others, and help with email configuration.

We are no longer VAT registered so all prices are VAT inclusive and any significant VAT increase may impact the prices we charge.

Transferring a web site or domain name

If you wish to move a web site or domain name onto our service there is usually no charge other than advance payment for the next year’s domain name renewal or web site hosting.  We will need to check first, complex setups may call for more consideration.  Some people struggle with WordPress migrations: straightforward sites can be moved quickly and easily but some customisations may need special attention.

If you wish to transfer domain name or web site away from us we do make a small charge. That’s because we all want the process to go smoothly.  There is a certain amount of admin, and in the past we’ve often had to help the client or their new host complete the move. We will provide a zip file of all the web content including any databases, a note of any custom DNS settings and email handling.  In some cases there may be components licensed specifically to Laser Technik in which case new licences may be required.  Two weeks notice is required in order to schedule a mutually convenient time for the move. We’ll be sorry to see you leave but we are happy to remain at your service for any future tasks.

There is no refund for hosting services that have been paid in advance as we have already contracted to buy the service.    There may be as yet un-invoiced amounts for additional services provided in the past year.

For domain name transfer out we charge £10 regardless of the number of names to be transferred. Domain name registrations remain valid until their normal renewal date after which the responsibility is yours.

These amounts are payable in advance of the transfer being facilitated.

As an IT professional I aim to provide plenty of advance notice of any proposed change and I expect the same of others. Of course where there’s a genuine emergency I both expect and deliver as prompt a response as is practicable but someone else’s failure to plan is not an emergency for me.

I am disappointed to find that many who style themselves as IT professionals contradict that claim by demonstrating a lack of planning, expecting an immediate response having failed to agree a change schedule in a timely manner.  I even get calls from individuals not known to me, purporting to represent my client and requesting changes or even password access.  I require direct authorisation from my client to make any change.