Total cost of ownership is a concept from enterprise procurement that rarely gets applied to small business websites. It should. The sticker price of a website — the upfront build cost — is often the smallest number in a five-year analysis.
We built a model. Here is what it shows.
The Assumptions
We modelled a typical small business site: 8 to 15 pages, a contact form, a blog, no e-commerce. A site that exists to generate enquiries and build credibility. The most common type of business website in existence.
We used conservative estimates throughout — real numbers from our own client audits, not worst-case scenarios.
Year One Costs
| WordPress | Webflow | Squarespace | Static HTML (PressFixer) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Build cost | $4,000–$12,000 | $5,000–$15,000 | $2,000–$6,000 | $7,500–$10,000 |
| Hosting | $600–$1,800 | $228–$432 | $276–$432 | $0–$120 |
| Plugins / add-ons | $400–$1,200 | $0–$600 | $0–$300 | $0 |
| Security tooling | $150–$400 | Included | Included | $0 |
| Year one total | $5,150–$15,400 | $5,228–$16,032 | $2,276–$6,732 | $7,500–$10,120 |
Year one is where static HTML looks most expensive relative to Squarespace. That changes quickly.
Years Two Through Five
This is where the model diverges sharply.
WordPress ongoing costs:
- Hosting: $600–$1,800/year
- Plugin renewals: $300–$800/year
- Maintenance time (2.8 hrs/month at $80/hr): $2,688/year
- Emergency developer calls (average): $560/year
- Security incidents (1 in 3 sites, amortised): $420/year
Annual recurring cost: $4,568–$6,268
Webflow ongoing costs:
- Hosting (CMS plan): $228–$432/year
- Editor licences for team members: $0–$600/year
- Developer time for changes beyond editor capability: $800–$2,400/year
Annual recurring cost: $1,028–$3,432
Squarespace ongoing costs:
- Subscription: $276–$432/year
- Third-party integrations: $0–$600/year
- Developer for custom work: $600–$2,000/year
Annual recurring cost: $876–$3,032
Static HTML (PressFixer) ongoing costs:
- Hosting (Cloudflare Pages or equivalent): $0–$120/year
- AI agent access (optional): $0 or $1,188/year
- Developer changes if not using agent: $0–$800/year
Annual recurring cost: $0–$2,108
The Five-Year Total
| Low estimate | High estimate | |
|---|---|---|
| WordPress | $23,422 | $40,472 |
| Webflow | $9,340 | $29,760 |
| Squarespace | $5,780 | $18,860 |
| Static HTML (PressFixer) | $7,500 | $18,552 |
At the median, a PressFixer site is cheaper than Squarespace over five years and significantly cheaper than WordPress or Webflow.
What the Model Does Not Capture
Three things that are real costs but hard to quantify:
Your attention. Every plugin update notification, every security alert, every "your site may be down" email is a tax on your mental bandwidth. The model does not price this, but you feel it.
Platform risk. Webflow has changed its pricing three times in four years. Squarespace acquires companies and discontinues features. WordPress's governance has become genuinely uncertain. A static HTML file is immune to all of this.
Portability. If you want to move your WordPress or Webflow or Squarespace site to a different provider, you are in for a project. If you want to move a folder of HTML files, you drag it.
The Honest Caveat
Static HTML is not right for every site. If you need user logins, a content database, real-time inventory, or complex dynamic functionality — you need a platform. That is not what we do.
If you need a fast, credible, durable website that exists to generate enquiries — the five-year cost comparison is not close.
See What WordPress Is Costing You
Use our free calculator — enter your real numbers and see the 3-year comparison.