Web Design in Vanderbijlpark

Domain renewal (a small annual fee), hosting (from a few dollars monthly for a brochure site), and optional maintenance. Maintenance retainers typically run 5-10% of the build cost per year and cover updates, backups and small edits. A static brochure site can genuinely run for years with near-zero maintenance.

No contract, no portfolio of live sites, registering the domain in their own name, 'free' websites with mandatory monthly fees, 100% payment up front, and guaranteed #1 Google rankings. The domain-ownership trap is the costliest — walking away can mean losing your web address.

Three price bands exist everywhere: DIY builders (Wix, Squarespace) at a monthly subscription, freelancers for custom small-business sites at a mid four-figure project price, and agencies at 2-4x freelancer rates with more process. The biggest cost driver is page count and custom functionality, not visual polish.

Fixed price for a defined scope (a 5-page site with listed features) protects both sides; hourly suits ongoing work and vague scopes. Standard payment structure is 30-50% deposit, remainder on launch — never pay 100% up front, and be wary of anyone who asks.

Freelancers typically charge R350-R900/hr, with 5-page small-business sites at R8,000-R30,000 and e-commerce from R20,000. Cape Town and Joburg agencies sit at the top; skilled independents in smaller cities undercut them significantly.

ECTA Section 43 requires your legal name and registration number, physical address, contact details, full price disclosure, terms of sale and refund policy — plus POPIA-compliant data handling. Ask your designer to include a compliant footer and legal pages in the build.