Stop Paying $200/Month for a Website That Does Nothing

The Monthly Fee That Nobody Questions

You know that charge that hits your credit card every month — the one from your “web company” or “marketing agency” — for somewhere between $100 and $300? Have you ever stopped to think about what you’re actually getting for that money?

We talk to contractors every week who are paying $150 to $300 per month for a website that was built three, five, or even eight years ago. The company that built it charges them a monthly “maintenance and hosting” fee, and in most cases, they haven’t touched the site since the day it launched.

Let’s be blunt about this: many of these arrangements are a bad deal. Not all of them — there are legitimate web companies that provide real ongoing value. But a staggering number of contractors are paying premium prices for a website that isn’t being maintained, isn’t generating leads, and is sitting on the cheapest shared hosting money can buy.

What You’re Actually Paying For (And What You’re Not)

When your web company charges you $200/month, what does that break down to? Let’s look at the typical reality:

What they tell you:

• Website hosting
• Security monitoring
• Software updates
• Technical support
• “Ongoing maintenance”

What’s usually happening:

• Hosting: $5-15/month on a shared server (they pocket the difference)
• Security monitoring: An automated plugin that runs without human intervention
• Software updates: Maybe WordPress gets updated once a quarter — if they remember
• Technical support: You email them, they respond two weeks later
• Ongoing maintenance: Nothing. The site hasn’t been touched in years.

For most contractor websites, the actual cost of hosting and maintaining the site is about $10-30/month. The rest is pure markup — and you’re not getting equivalent value in return.

Signs Your “Web Guy” Is Charging You for Doing Nothing

Here are the red flags that your current web company isn’t earning their monthly fee:

Your site looks the same as the day it launched. No new content, no design updates, no performance improvements. If a screenshot from three years ago looks identical to your site today, nothing is happening.

You can’t get anyone on the phone. Real ongoing support means being accessible. If it takes days to get a response to a simple request, you’re not getting ongoing maintenance — you’re getting neglected.

They can’t tell you your site’s traffic numbers. Any web company providing real ongoing value should be able to tell you how many visitors your site gets, where they come from, and how many turn into leads. If they can’t produce this data, they’re not monitoring anything.

Simple changes take weeks and cost extra. Need to update your phone number? That’s an extra charge. Want to add a new service to your list? That’ll be a “content update fee.” If every small change is an additional invoice, your monthly fee isn’t covering what you think it is.

Your site is slow and scores poorly on Google PageSpeed. If you’re paying someone to maintain and host your site, and it scores below 50 on Google PageSpeed Insights, they’re failing at the most basic part of their job.

You don’t own your domain or content. Some web companies register your domain under their account and hold your website content hostage. If you try to leave, they threaten to shut down your site or charge a hefty “transfer fee.” This is a predatory practice, and it’s more common than you’d think.

What a Website Should Actually Cost

Let’s talk real numbers. Here’s what a contractor’s website should cost in 2023, broken down honestly:

The website itself (one-time build):

• Template-based, professionally customized: $500-2,000
• Custom-designed from scratch: $2,000-5,000
• Premium with advanced features: $5,000-10,000

Monthly ongoing costs:

• Professional hosting on modern infrastructure: $15-49/month
• This should include: hosting, SSL, security, performance monitoring, basic updates

What you should get for your monthly fee:

• Fast, reliable hosting with guaranteed uptime
• SSL certificate included
• Regular performance monitoring
• Responsive support (same-day for urgent issues)
• Monthly content or design updates included
• Traffic and lead reporting
• No long-term contract — month-to-month

If you’re paying $200/month and not getting all of that, you’re overpaying.

Questions to Ask Your Current Provider

If you suspect you’re in a bad deal, here are the questions to ask:

1. “Can you send me a report showing what maintenance work you did on my site last month?” A legitimate provider will have documentation of updates, backups, and any changes made. If they can’t produce anything, they’re not doing anything.

2. “What is my site’s current Google PageSpeed score on mobile?” If they don’t know or can’t check, they’re not monitoring performance.

3. “How many visitors did my site get last month, and how many became leads?” If there’s no analytics tracking set up, your provider isn’t measuring results.

4. “Do I own my domain name? Is it registered under my name and my account?” If the answer is no, you have a serious problem. Your domain name should always be registered under YOUR name and YOUR account.

5. “If I decide to leave, can I take my website files and content with me?” If they say no, or if they charge an unreasonable fee, that’s a major red flag.

6. “What hosting infrastructure is my site on? What’s the server response time?” You don’t need to understand the technical details. But their ability to answer this question tells you whether they’re actually managing your hosting or just reselling a cheap shared plan.

How to Evaluate If Your Site Is Generating Leads

A website isn’t just an expense — it should be an investment that generates measurable returns. Here’s how to evaluate whether your current site is pulling its weight:

Set up call tracking. Services like CallRail or even a simple Google forwarding number let you track how many calls come specifically from your website. If you’re getting fewer than 5-10 calls per month from your website, something is wrong.

Check your Google Analytics. If you don’t have Google Analytics set up, that’s problem number one. If you do, look at these numbers:

• Monthly visitors: A local trades business should see 200-1,000+ visitors per month depending on market size
• Bounce rate: Above 70% means people are leaving immediately
• Average session duration: Under 30 seconds means nobody’s actually reading your content

Count your form submissions. If you have a contact form on your site, how many submissions are you getting per month? Zero? That’s your answer.

Ask new customers how they found you. Simple question, huge insight. If nobody says “I found you online” or “I saw your website,” your site isn’t working.

Breaking Free

If you’ve determined that your current website arrangement isn’t serving you, here’s the path forward:

1. Confirm you own your domain. Log into your domain registrar (GoDaddy, Namecheap, etc.) and make sure the domain is under your name and account. If it’s under your web company’s name, getting this transferred to you is step one.

2. Get a copy of your content. Photos, text, logo files — anything on your current site that you own. Request this in writing.

3. Don’t renew your contract. Most web companies require 30-60 days notice. Check your contract terms and provide written notice of cancellation.

4. Line up a replacement. Have your new website ready to launch before you cancel the old one. You don’t want any downtime where customers can’t find you.

The bottom line: your website should be making you money, not just costing you money. If it’s not generating measurable leads and you’re paying hundreds of dollars a month for the privilege, it’s time for a change.