It can be that expensive because sometimes it was a serious project, but sometimes people just think about things they want and spend a lot of dollars on design and a lot of things they don't really need.

Because the majority of people who ask the questions are people who want to make money from a website, I will explain this topic from the beginner's perspective.
How can you make money from the web if you are burdened with lots of costs in the beginning right? and where all that web cost coming from exactly?
How Much Does a Website Cost?
Let's start by understanding How the website is built, so you can understand better where all the cost is coming from.

According to the infographic, the website is built using CMS and it must be hosted in the server and connected to the domain.
CMS (content management system) is a software or application that can be used to manage the creation and modification of digital content.
There are a lot of CMS out there that we can use for building a website and most of them are free, The most used platform nowadays was :
- Joomla, Wordpress
- Wix, Shopify, Site Builder
- Blogspot
As I mentioned before, CMS is free to use but a website that has been created must be stored on a server, so you have to rent a server so that your website can be accessed. But in some cases, it's not necessary because there are many servers that we can use it for free.
Let's do some break down about what we have to pay and what we don't :
1. Domain Name - Fixed Cost
Domain is the name given to identify a network without using the internet protocol (we use to called it URL), domain name registration is managed by ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers).
Domain names consist of two main elements, ex: Facebook.com -> domain name (Facebook) and domain extension (.com)
When we build a website we have to buy a domain name, it is something that not negotiable "a fee we have to pay".

No matter what CMS you use (Wordpress, Joomla, Wix, Blogger, Shopify), you still have to pay for the domain name. This is the list of top domain registrars to buy your domain name from :
- Godaddy
- Bluehost
- Hostgator
- Namecheap
- Google Domain
Some of them do not accept payment via bank transfer, if you don't have a credit card or PayPal you should look for a local registrar in your country.
Domain names will cost you around 1 - 10 USD if it's available to buy, but if the domain has been taken by someone then you have to buy it from the domain owner and will cost you a lot of dollars (you better check the availability of your domain brand here at GoDaddy ).
2. Hosting - Variable Cost
Web hosting is the process of renting or buying space to house a website on the internet. Website content such as HTML, CSS, and images has to be housed on a server to be viewable online.

WordPress and Joomla by far are the most popular open-source CMS, used by approximately 100 million websites.
So, if You built a website using Joomla or Wordpress than it will cost you a hosting fee $ 5.99 / month ($ 71.88 / Year).

Drop and drag web builders like Wix or Shopify didn't have a hosting fee, but they have their own services prices ($ 48 / Year).
We have a problem here, I don't wont to be billed before I get something from my web ( i want to make money from web not losing my money !!)
If you just want to start building your own online business and don't have enough money to spend on hosting or service fees, then Blogspot is your only option left.
Don't worry, payasyouwant.com is built using Blogspot platform, and its working just great (ill tell you in the end of this article how much does it cost to build a website using Blogspot platform).
3. Service - Variable Cost
If you didn't familiar with building a website then you have to hire someone to build a website for you right?
Even if you are using Wix or any other drop and drag web builder there is always something missing if you didn't have a fair knowledge about web development.

You need your website looks professional, using a custom premium template, beautiful logo design, SEO ready, etc
Sites like freelancer.com, upwork.com, and fiverr.com offering services you need if you have some difficulties in building or managing your website, you can always hire a freelancer to do some works for you.
That kind of services will cost you about 50 to 500 USD or maybe more, but its variable cost right? if you want to learn a bit about web development it will not cost you a penny.
How Much PayAsYouWant Website Cost Me?
It only cost 20.62 USD to build a website like this, and I will give you the invoice for the proof :
Domain name cost me 165.930 Rupiah (10.67 USD) and I buy the template for 9.95 USD, so the overall cost to build my website was only 20.62 USD.
It can go lower for only 10.67 USD if I'm using a free template, but I like to appreciate the works and pay it (it's just $9.95 though).
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