What a website costs after the first year: renewals, hosting and changes

Website costs · Published 3 November 2026 · 8 min read · GetSuperWeb

Your website costs after the first year come down to three running items: renewing the domain, paying for hosting, and paying for changes. With a one-off package these are often separate bills. With a monthly or yearly plan they can sit inside one price, so compare what each option includes.

The build is the number most quotes lead with, and it is paid once. The running costs come back every year for as long as the website is online. Our Dubai website cost guide with first-year prices covers the build and year one; this guide covers what keeps coming afterwards, using prices UAE sellers publish themselves. Market figures are shown with VAT excluded where the seller charges it separately.

Domain renewal: the price that changes after year one

Your domain, such as yourbusiness.com, is registered one year at a time, or for several years paid in advance. The first year is often priced lower than the renewals that follow.

A UAE registrar's own price list shows a .com at AED 49 for the first year and AED 65 a year to renew¹. The gap is small in money, but it shows the pattern: an introductory price for year one, then the standard price for every year after. When you compare quotes, ask for the renewal price, not the first-year price.

Renewal is also where websites quietly break. Under ICANN's Expired Registration Recovery Policy, registrars must remind the registrant at least twice before a domain expires, about a month before and about a week before². If the reminders go to a designer you no longer work with, or to an old email address, nobody acts on them. After expiry, the registrar must interrupt the domain's resolution for a period while it can still be renewed, which takes the website and any email at the domain offline².

Two habits avoid this. Keep the domain registered in your name, with an email address you read. And if you rely on automatic renewal, keep the payment details current: ICANN lists this as the registrant's own responsibility³.

Whose name is on the registration also decides who can move the domain later. Our guide on who holds your domain and website files explains what to check.

Hosting: check the prepay term and what comes after

Hosting is the service that keeps your website's files online. For a small business website, a shared hosting plan is often enough.

The same UAE provider's hosting page shows its entry plan at a monthly rate that works out at about AED 228 a year. That rate is shown with 36-month billing, and the page presents it as a sale price⁴. Prepaying for three years is a reasonable choice, but it changes the comparison. Ask what the plan costs when the prepaid term ends, and whether a shorter term costs more per month.

Some web designers include hosting in a package for a period; others leave it to you. One Dubai designer's own pricing page says domain, hosting, platform subscriptions and paid add-ons are separate costs to confirm in your quote⁵. That is a fair way to price, as long as you know it before you sign.

VAT also belongs in the budget. The UAE standard VAT rate is 5%⁶. One UAE web developer's pricing page notes that VAT applies when your supplier is VAT-registered⁷. When you compare quotes, compare them on the same VAT basis.

The entry plan on that hosting page includes a free SSL certificate, which gives your website HTTPS, the padlock in the browser bar⁴. Check that yours does before you compare prices.

Changes after launch: hourly rates and small edits

A website needs small changes: a new price, new opening hours, a new photo, a service you added. With a one-off package, these are usually billed by the hour unless you buy a maintenance plan.

One UAE agency guide lists Dubai-based freelancer rates in published ranges, with AED 200 an hour at the top of its mid-level range and the bottom of its senior range⁸. Another Dubai agency guide puts hourly pricing at AED 200 and up, depending on team size and expertise⁹. A change that takes an hour at those rates costs more than a year of .com renewal at the price above.

The first agency guide also notes that most agencies offer 14 to 30 days of free bug fixes after launch, with new features, design changes and ongoing maintenance under a separate agreement⁸. Ask what counts as a fix and what counts as a change before the website goes live.

To budget, count the changes you actually made last year, or expect to make. A business that updates prices with the seasons, adds services and changes hours for holidays needs more than one change a year. Then ask each provider how they bill a change: by the hour, by a fixed fee per request, or as part of a plan.

Changes are also where ownership matters. If the designer holds the hosting account and the files, every change goes through them.

Year two side by side

Here is how the running costs of a one-off package compare with a plan where they are included. The package column uses published UAE prices; your own quotes will differ.

For the first year, our cost guide adds the median build, a .com in its first year, a year of hosting and three one-hour changes at AED 200 into an illustration of AED 2,600¹⁴. One-hour changes are an illustration; they are not necessarily the same as GetSuperWeb edits.

From year two, the build drops out of the package column, and what is left is the domain, the hosting and the changes you need. Whether that is cheaper than a plan depends on how often you change your website and how much your own time is worth. Our comparison of Instagram, Google Maps and a website can help if you are still deciding whether to have one.

How to budget for year two and beyond

A simple routine keeps running costs predictable:

• Ask for renewal prices in writing. Domain renewal, hosting after any prepaid term, and the rate for changes.
• Know who renews what. For each item, the name of the person or company that renews it, and the date.
• Keep the domain in your name. You receive the renewal reminders, and you can move the domain if a provider stops answering.
• Keep payment details current. An expired card on automatic renewal can let a domain lapse without anyone noticing.
• Count your changes. If you make several a year, hourly billing adds up faster than renewals.
• Read the price-change clause. It tells you how much notice you get before you pay more.

At GetSuperWeb, the price you pay covers the website, hosting, your .com and 3 edits a year. Under our terms, a new price applies only from a payment period that starts at least 30 days after we email you about it, and on the monthly plan your price does not change during the 3-month minimum¹⁵. Domain renewals are included while your plan is active and for 90 days after it ends¹⁵.

Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to renew a .com domain in the UAE?

Renewing a .com costs AED 65 a year on one UAE registrar's published price list¹. Its first-year price is lower, at AED 49, so the second year costs more than the first. Prices vary between registrars, so check the renewal line, not only the headline price, before you register or let a designer register for you.

Is hosting included when I buy a website package?

It depends on the package. Some designers include hosting for a period, and others list domain and hosting as separate costs to confirm in your quote⁵. Ask what is included, for how long, and what it costs to renew. With GetSuperWeb, hosting and your .com are included in the plan for as long as it runs.

Why did my website renewal cost more than the first year?

Your renewal costs more because the first year is often an introductory price. One UAE registrar lists a .com at AED 49 for the first year and AED 65 to renew¹, and hosting rates are often quoted on a multi-year prepay⁴. When the introductory period ends, the standard price applies. Ask for renewal prices before you buy.

Should I pay for a website once or monthly?

It depends on how often you change your website and who you want to manage it. A one-off build costs more at the start, then domain, hosting and changes are billed separately. A plan spreads the cost and includes those items. Compare the total over two or three years, not the first invoice.

Conclusion

A website does not stop costing money when it goes live. After the first year you still pay for the domain, for hosting and for every change, and each of those has its own renewal date and price. The build price tells you little about what the website will cost you in year three. Before you choose, list every running item, ask for its renewal price in writing, and check whose name the domain is in. Then compare options on the total over the years you expect to keep the website, on the same VAT basis.

If you want to see what your business's website would look like before you decide how to pay for it, get a free preview of your website.