For South African business · 2 minute read
The real cost of building your own website
Website builders advertise a monthly price that looks like nothing. What they do not advertise is the person doing the work. If you run a business, that person is you, and your time is the most expensive thing you have.
The short answer
Doing it yourself is cheapest only if your time is free. For an owner who would rather be working, quoting or sleeping, having it built for you costs less in the end. With Appetite Host, your website is live within 1 working day of payment, and you never open an editor.
What the price list leaves out
Wix plans start at $17 a month and WordPress.com at $4 a month in the first year, both billed yearly in US dollars. That buys the tools. Then the real work starts:
- Choosing a design, and then changing it, because it looked better in the example.
- Writing every page: what you do, where you work, why someone should call you.
- Finding and resizing photos.
- Working out how to connect a .co.za, which some builders cannot sell you.
- Checking it on a phone, fixing what broke, and checking again.
Most owners do this at night or over weekends. Many start and never finish, which means paying for months of a plan with no website to show for it.
Put a price on your evenings
Think about what an hour of your work earns: a call-out, a haircut, a set of books. Now count the evenings a website takes when you are learning as you go. For most owners, those hours are worth more than the website itself.
With Appetite Host, your part is a conversation. You tell Naya about your business, typed or spoken, and watch your website build itself on screen while you talk. When you are happy, you pay R5 000 to R15 000 once-off with your first year included, and it is live within 1 working day.
The cost that keeps coming: keeping it current
A website you built yourself is a website you maintain yourself. Every new price, service or photo means logging back in and remembering how it worked. That is why so many small-business websites still show last year’s prices.
With us, you send Naya a message: “change my call-out fee to R450” or “add the Ballito area”. Changes are included, 20, 50 or 100 a month depending on your plan.
And the costs nobody warns you about
- Exchange rates. Plans priced in dollars cost more in rand when the rand weakens.
- Add-ons. Contact forms, review widgets and extra features can sit on higher plans or cost extra.
- Your web address. Renewed separately, every year, by you.
Appetite Host is priced in rand, and the monthly price, from R249 after your first year, includes your .co.za, keeping your website online and safe, and your changes.
When doing it yourself is right
If you enjoy design, have the time, and want to adjust every detail yourself, a builder is a good tool. If you would rather spend your time on your business, let us build it.
Questions
How long does it take to build a website yourself?
It depends on your experience and how many pages you need. For a first-timer, it is usually several evenings or weekends: choosing a design, writing every page, adding photos and connecting a web address. With Appetite Host your part is one conversation with Naya.
Is a website builder cheaper than Appetite Host?
On the price list, yes: builders start at a few US dollars a month. Once you count your time, a separately renewed web address, add-ons and exchange rates, the gap closes fast. Appetite Host is R5 000 to R15 000 once-off with your first year included, then R249 to R499 a month, with your web address and changes included.
Do I need any technical knowledge to use Appetite Host?
None. You talk to Naya about your business in plain words, and she builds the website. You never see an editor unless you want to.
Prices checked on 8 October 2026, as each provider showed them to a visitor in South Africa. They change; check with the provider before you decide.
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See yours before you decide
Tell Naya about your business and watch her build it. Free to try.