What does a website cost per year?
Most people focus on the price of getting a website built. But the running costs matter just as much, because they come back every year for as long as the site is online. Here are the fixed items, with prices taken from the vendors' own pages on 3 October 2026. The examples are Danish, so prices are in Danish kroner (DKK) unless the vendor shows another currency.
Short answer
A website you run yourself on ordinary shared hosting can cost under 1,000 DKK a year. The smallest package at Simply.com costs 839.40 DKK including VAT per year on renewal, and a .dk domain and SSL are included. Add licences if you use premium plugins or a premium theme.
If someone else takes responsibility for updates, security and backups, operations become the big item. With me, operations start at 2,500 DKK per month excluding VAT, which is 30,000 DKK a year, with hosting and domain paid separately. My prices are on the pricing page.
Getting the site built in the first place is a separate bill. I cover it further down.
What does a website cost per year?
These are the items that come back every year for an ordinary WordPress site. External prices were read on the vendors' own pages on 3 October 2026, and each row links to its source.
| Item | Price per year | Note | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| .dk domain | 72.50 DKK incl. VAT | The base price at Punktum dk. Registrars may add fees, and many hosts include the domain | Punktum dk |
| Hosting (shared) | 839.40 to 1,559.40 DKK incl. VAT | Simply.com Basic and Standard on renewal. The first year costs 59.40 DKK for either. .dk domain, SSL and email included | Simply.com |
| SSL certificate | 0 DKK | Included with most hosts, Simply.com among them | Simply.com |
| Backups | From $49 | WPvivid Backup Pro for two domains. A free backup plugin can also do the job if you test the restore | WPvivid |
| Plugin and theme licences | From 0 DKK | Only if you use premium versions. Example: Rank Math PRO costs €95.88 for the first year and €107.88 on renewal, excluding VAT | Rank Math |
| Updates and maintenance | 0 DKK, or 30,000 DKK and up | Doing it yourself costs your time. With me, Micro is 2,500 DKK/mo, Light 5,000 DKK/mo and Drift+ 10,000 DKK/mo, excluding VAT | My prices |
| Email (optional) | 0 DKK, or €81.60 per user | Simply.com includes email with hosting. Google Workspace Business Starter costs €6.80 per user per month excluding taxes | Google Workspace |
Prices in other currencies are shown as the vendor lists them. I have not converted them, because exchange rates move.
Domain
Punktum dk runs the .dk registry. According to its own FAQ, a .dk domain name costs 72.50 DKK including VAT per year, which covers the database of all Danish domains and the infrastructure that makes them work. If you buy the domain through a registrar, the registrar may add its own fees. Every extra domain pointing to the same site is paid for separately.
Hosting
Hosting is the biggest fixed item when you run the site yourself. At Simply.com, Basic costs 69.95 DKK and Standard 129.95 DKK per month including VAT on renewal, and the first year costs 4.95 DKK per month for either. See Simply.com's prices. Watch the renewal price, because that is what you pay from year two.
Cheap shared hosting is fine for a small site with little traffic. For a webshop or a busy site, managed WordPress hosting costs more, but the server is set up for WordPress.
SSL certificate
SSL is what gives you the padlock in the browser. It comes with most hosting packages at no extra cost. A paid certificate is rarely needed for an ordinary business site.
Backups
A backup is only worth something if it can be restored. Many hosts take backups, but check how often, how long they are kept, and whether you can restore them yourself. If you want a plugin for it, WPvivid Backup Pro costs from $49 a year for two domains.
Plugin and theme licences
WordPress is free, and many plugins have a free version. Licences only come in when you choose premium versions of, for example, a page builder, an SEO plugin or a form plugin. Rank Math PRO, as an example, costs €7.99 per month for the first year billed annually and €8.99 on renewal, excluding VAT. Add up your licences before you choose plugins, because they renew every year.
Updates and maintenance
WordPress, plugins and the theme need regular updates. Doing it yourself costs no money, but it costs time, and an update that goes wrong can take the site down.
If you want someone to take responsibility, these are my operations packages:
| Package | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Micro | 2,500 DKK/mo | Updates and basic maintenance, security monitoring and backup checks, monthly mini-report |
| Light | 5,000 DKK/mo | Everything in Micro, performance and SEO improvements, fixed monthly check-in and small development tasks |
| Drift+ | 10,000 DKK/mo | More deliverables each month, ongoing security hardening, roadmap management and quarterly review |
All prices exclude VAT, and there is no commitment. Hours beyond what is included are billed at 900 DKK per hour. Hosting is not included, because the hosting account is in your own name. Read more about WordPress operations.
Email on your own domain often comes with the hosting. Simply.com includes email accounts in its packages. If you prefer Google Workspace, Business Starter costs €6.80 per user per month excluding taxes.
Two example yearly budgets
You run a small site yourself. Simply.com Basic at 839.40 DKK a year with .dk domain, SSL and email, free plugins and your own time for updates. That comes to under 1,000 DKK a year including VAT. Each paid licence comes on top.
You want someone else to run it. Micro with me costs 30,000 DKK a year excluding VAT. Hosting and domain are paid separately, for example the 839.40 DKK at Simply.com. Any licences you need come on top.
The difference is not hosting. It is whether someone is responsible when an update goes wrong or the site gets hacked.
What does it cost to have a website built?
The price of building a website depends almost entirely on how many hours it takes, not on where it is hosted. It is the work that costs.
Four things set the price:
- The number of pages and how unique they are. Ten template pages are faster than ten pages that each need their own design.
- Integrations. A contact form is quick. A setup that sends orders into your accounting system or connects your calendar and CRM takes much longer, because it touches real data.
- Content. The copy has to be written or rewritten for the web. Many people forget this and end up with a site that looks finished but says nothing.
- Responsibility for operations. Will someone look after the site after launch, or will you do it yourself?
With me, a professional website typically starts from 12,000 DKK depending on scope and features, and you get a fixed price before I start. If you need a complete technical solution with server, email, payments and operations, the complete solution starts from 20,000 DKK as a project price. Operations come on top as a monthly agreement. See what a website costs for more detail.
What does it cost over the lifetime of the site?
The yearly running cost is the part of the bill that keeps coming. A site on Simply.com Basic costs 839.40 DKK a year in hosting, so over eight years that is about 6,700 DKK in hosting alone. With Micro from me it is 30,000 DKK a year in operations, before hosting and domain.
So always calculate build price + yearly running cost × expected lifetime when you compare two quotes. That is the calculation that tells you what is actually cheapest, and it is rarely on the quote.
How to keep costs down
- Choose hosting that matches your needs. A five-page business site does not need an expensive server.
- Avoid unnecessary plugins. Each plugin is a potential cost and a security risk.
- Use free versions where they are enough. Many plugins have a free version that covers a small site.
- Watch the renewal price. Introductory prices on hosting and licences usually rise from year two.
- Plan content updates. That way you avoid paying for urgent help.
Frequently asked questions
What does a website cost per year?
If you run it yourself on ordinary shared hosting, it can be done for under 1,000 DKK a year. Simply.com charges 839.40 DKK including VAT per year on renewal for its smallest package, and a .dk domain and SSL are included. Add any licences for premium plugins or a theme. If you want someone to take responsibility for operations, my Micro package costs 2,500 DKK per month excluding VAT, which is 30,000 DKK a year, with hosting and domain paid separately.
How much does a .dk domain cost per year?
Punktum dk, which runs the .dk registry, states that a .dk domain name costs 72.50 DKK including VAT per year. Your registrar may add its own fees, and many hosting packages include the domain.
Do I need to pay for an SSL certificate?
Usually not. Most hosting providers include a free SSL certificate, Simply.com does for example. A paid certificate is rarely needed for an ordinary business site.
What does WordPress maintenance cost?
If you do it yourself, it costs your time. With me, operations cost 2,500 DKK per month for Micro, 5,000 DKK for Light and 10,000 DKK for Drift+, all excluding VAT and with no commitment. Hours beyond what is included are billed at 900 DKK per hour.
What does it cost to have a website built?
That is a one-off cost on top of the yearly running costs. A professional website with me typically starts from 12,000 DKK depending on scope and features, and a complete technical solution starts from 20,000 DKK as a project price.
Sources
All sources were read on 3 October 2026. Prices change, so check the vendor's own page before you buy.
- Punktum dk: How much does a .dk domain name cost? (Danish): punktum.dk
- Punktum dk: Is the price higher with a registrar? (Danish): punktum.dk
- Simply.com: Hosting packages and prices (Danish): simply.com
- WPvivid: Backup Pro pricing: wpvivid.com
- Rank Math: Pricing: rankmath.com
- Google Workspace: Pricing (Danish): workspace.google.com
- Mahoje: Prices for operations and technical partner and WordPress operations
