“Free” website vs $0 down: what you actually pay

“Free” website offers are often paid for by something else. One well-known offer requires you to buy a year of hosting through their affiliate link. The hosting company pays them for the referral, and that funds your build.

• You buy a year of hosting up front, through their link
• They build a WordPress site, usually from a template
• After launch, you maintain it yourself or pay for help
• That well-known offer sells maintenance at around $250 a month and SEO at around $130 a month as add-ons
• Changes outside a plan are often billed by the hour

With Skosh, nothing is due up front. Your first payment is at launch, after you've approved the site. Then it's one flat monthly price: $69, $99 or $149.

That price covers the build, hosting, SSL, backups and a set number of changes each month. The trade is a 12-month plan, stated up front. Cancel before 12 months and you pay the remaining months. After that it's month to month.

If you're comfortable running WordPress yourself, updating plugins and making your own edits, a “free” build plus a year of hosting can cost less than a year with us. For some people, that's a fair trade.

It gets more expensive if you end up paying for upkeep or hourly changes. Add those in before you compare.

• What do I pay up front, and what renews after the first year?
• Who makes changes after launch, and what do they cost?
• Is the domain registered in my name?
• Who updates the software, and who fixes it if something breaks?
• What happens if I cancel?