Website Hosting and Maintenance: What $99 Covers
Website hosting and maintenance costs can be one bill or several, depending on who keeps the site online and who handles changes. Front Step Sites charges $99 a year for its Launch plan, including the domain, hosting, SSL, renewals, and four accepted coherent marketing updates per Central calendar month.
By Logan Moore · Updated October 13, 2026
Website hosting and maintenance costs can show up as one managed subscription or as separate bills for hosting, a domain, software care, and edits. Front Step Sites charges $99 a year for its Launch plan, including the domain, hosting, SSL, renewals, and four accepted coherent marketing updates per Central calendar month. Compare a quote only after you know which jobs it covers.
What does the $99 yearly website cost include?
The $99 Front Step Sites Launch plan includes the initial build, a domain registered in the customer's name, hosting, SSL, renewals, and routine maintenance. There is no setup fee. The owner answers a 10-minute questionnaire, approves the site before launch, and can send four accepted coherent marketing updates per Central calendar month.
The published scope breaks down into bills and tasks an owner might otherwise track separately:
| Cost or task | Included in $99 a year? | What it means for a small trade business |
|---|---|---|
| Initial website build | Yes | The site's words and pages are built from the owner's answers |
| Domain | Yes | The web address is included and registered in the customer's name |
| Hosting and SSL | Yes | The site stays available over an encrypted HTTPS connection |
| Renewals | Yes | The yearly domain and service renewal are handled |
| Routine changes | Yes | Launch includes four accepted coherent marketing updates per America/Chicago calendar month, with no rollover |
| Store, booking, payment, or custom backend/database systems | No | These systems are not offered by Front Step Sites |
Front Step Sites provides custom static marketing pages, blogs, and contact forms. This scope table reflects Front Step Sites. Ask another provider to mark the same rows so the comparison stays fair, since each company can bundle the work differently.
What does website hosting pay for?
Website hosting pays for the service that makes the site's files available when a customer opens its address. The domain points people to the site, while SSL lets the browser use HTTPS. Our guide to website hosting in plain English separates those parts and explains why a domain bill and a hosting bill can come from different companies.
A four-page trade website may be technically simple, but it still needs a dependable public address. A plumber's customer may open a service page from a phone beside a leaking fixture. A tree-service customer may need the contact route after a storm. Hosting delivers those pages. Writing a new service description or correcting a phone number is maintenance work.
That difference matters when a proposal says "hosting included." Ask where content changes, broken contact routes, domain renewal, and support appear in the written scope. A low hosting price can be accurate while leaving those jobs with the owner.
What does website maintenance cover?
Website maintenance covers agreed work that keeps the published site accurate and working. For this plan, that includes handling renewals and publishing up to four accepted coherent marketing updates per Central calendar month. A request might update Saturday hours, replace a project photo, or add a short service detail.
Technical upkeep depends on the site's software. A static site has fewer moving parts than a plugin-heavy content management system, but its forms, links, domain settings, and published pages still need checking. The National Institute of Standards and Technology calls patching a critical part of preventive maintenance and says it helps prevent compromises, data breaches, operational disruptions, and other adverse events in its enterprise patch management guidance. NIST's guidance explains why software updates belong in a maintenance discussion, though it does not endorse any website company or define what this plan maintains.
Content maintenance is easier to see. If a landscaping company stops offering weekly mowing, the website should stop advertising it. If the estimate email changes, someone needs to update the contact route and test it. The 12-task website maker example shows how these small responsibilities add up around a finished page.
What does the plan cost over three years?
The Front Step Sites Launch plan costs $297 over three years at the current published rate: $99 + $99 + $99 = $297. The domain is included each year, so this example has no separate domain-renewal line.
| Year | Subscription | Running total |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $99 | $99 |
| 2 | $99 | $198 |
| 3 | $99 | $297 |
Add the same annual price three times to reproduce the result. The evidence supports a subscription total under the current published scope. It cannot establish future pricing, savings against every provider, search rankings, lead volume, or the value of an owner's time.
The separate three-year website maker cost check includes owner hours and builder prices. This example stays narrower because the question here is what hosting and maintenance cover inside one published subscription.
How is a website subscription different from a one-time build?
A website subscription keeps recurring responsibilities inside an ongoing service agreement. A one-time build pays for a defined project, after which hosting, domain renewal, edits, and repairs may move to the owner or a second provider.
The label alone leaves out important details. A subscription can have tight change limits, and a one-time project can include a support period. Compare the written handoff, recurring charges, response time, ownership, and exit terms.
| Question | Subscription plan | One-time build |
|---|---|---|
| Who hosts the site? | Often the same provider | Owner or a separate host after handoff |
| Who renews the domain? | May be included | Usually the owner unless stated otherwise |
| Who publishes routine changes? | Provider within plan limits | Owner or hired help |
| What happens after launch? | Service continues for the term | Project closes unless support is added |
| What can the owner take away? | Must be stated in the agreement | Must be stated in the handoff |
A redesign is a different job from ordinary maintenance. The guide to what a website redesign should cost helps separate a new structure or visual direction from routine upkeep.
What should a trade business ask before paying?
A trade business should ask for a written list of recurring work, limits, and ownership before paying for hosting or maintenance. Use the same questions for a $99 plan and a much larger proposal.
- Is the domain included, and whose name appears as the registrant?
- Does hosting include SSL and renewal handling?
- How many content changes are included, and how quickly are they published?
- Who tests the phone link and contact form after a change?
- Are backups, software updates, and restores relevant to this site's technology?
- What costs extra, and does the provider quote it before starting?
- What files and domain access does the owner receive when leaving?
Keep the answers beside the invoice. That gives the owner a practical maintenance checklist and a record to use if the service changes later.
Frequently asked questions
Is website hosting the same as website maintenance?
No. Hosting makes the site's files available online. Maintenance covers agreed checks, renewals, fixes, and content changes. Some plans bundle both, while other providers bill them separately.
Does $99 a year include the domain?
Yes. The Front Step Sites Launch plan includes the domain, and the site says it is registered in the customer's name. The three-year example therefore uses three $99 subscription payments with no added domain line.
Are unlimited website changes included?
No. Launch includes four accepted coherent marketing updates per Central calendar month. A business that needs more frequent changes should compare a larger plan or another maintenance arrangement.
Can a one-time website build have ongoing costs?
Yes. A one-time fee can cover design and launch while leaving hosting, domain renewals, software care, and future edits as recurring costs. Ask for the first-year and later-year responsibilities in writing.