The real cost of Разработка сайтов: hidden expenses revealed

13 February 2026 4 min read
The real cost of Разработка сайтов: hidden expenses revealed

The $3,000 Website That Actually Cost $12,000

Maria thought she'd found the perfect deal. A sleek business website for $3,000, delivered in six weeks. Three months later, she was staring at a credit card bill that told a very different story. The hosting upgrade she "needed"? $85 monthly instead of the $12 she budgeted for. The SSL certificate? Another $200 annually. Oh, and those stock photos she assumed were included? That's $29 per image, and she needed twelve.

Sound familiar? The website development industry has a dirty little secret: the quoted price is almost never the final price.

Why Website Quotes Are Like Iceberg Tips

Here's the thing nobody tells you upfront. That shiny proposal you received covers maybe 60% of what you'll actually need. Not because developers are scamming you (well, most aren't), but because websites aren't static products. They're living, breathing ecosystems that demand constant feeding.

A 2023 survey by WebDevCost found that 73% of clients exceeded their initial website budget by at least 40%. That's not a rounding error. That's a systemic pricing problem that nobody wants to talk about.

The Hidden Expenses That'll Blindside You

Domain Drama and Hosting Headaches

Your developer quoted you for building the site. Great. But where exactly is this digital masterpiece going to live? Domain registration runs $10-50 annually—not terrible. But hosting? That's where things get spicy.

Shared hosting starts at $5-15 monthly and works fine until it doesn't. The moment your site gets decent traffic or needs better security, you're looking at VPS hosting ($20-100/month) or managed WordPress hosting ($25-150/month). And if you're running an e-commerce operation? Dedicated servers can hit $200-500 monthly before you've sold a single product.

The Content Catastrophe

Developers build containers. You need to fill them with actual words, images, and videos. Most quotes assume you're providing "all content ready to go." Spoiler: you're not.

Professional copywriting costs $100-300 per page. Photography? Figure $500-2,000 for a basic shoot. Stock photos seem cheaper until you realize you need 30-50 images and the good ones cost $20-80 each. One client I know spent $3,400 on content for a site with a $5,000 development budget. The math wasn't mathing.

Plugin Roulette and Theme Traps

That beautiful WordPress theme? Probably $59 one-time. But the six premium plugins you need to make it actually functional? Those run $20-200 each, often with annual renewal fees. An advanced form builder, SEO tools, security plugins, backup solutions, page builders—they add up faster than items in an Amazon cart at 2 AM.

The average WordPress site uses 20-30 plugins. If even half require premium versions, you're looking at $500-1,500 in first-year costs alone.

Maintenance: The Gift That Keeps On Taking

Websites don't maintain themselves. WordPress releases updates every few months. Plugins need updating weekly. Security patches are constant. One developer told me: "I spend about 2-3 hours monthly on each client site just keeping things from breaking. That's $200-400 in labor they never budgeted for."

Most agencies charge $50-200 monthly for basic maintenance. Skip it, and you're gambling with security vulnerabilities and broken functionality.

The Revision Rabbit Hole

Your contract probably includes "two rounds of revisions." Sounds reasonable until you realize each round means revisions to the entire site, not unlimited tweaking. Want to change the navigation structure after approval? That's a change order. Decide you hate the color scheme in week five? Another change order.

These "small adjustments" typically cost $75-150 per hour. One project manager shared that revision creep adds an average of $1,200 to projects under $10,000.

What Industry Insiders Actually Say

"The biggest mistake clients make is treating website development like buying a car," explains Sarah Chen, who's built over 200 sites in the past decade. "You don't buy a car and then realize you need to purchase the engine separately. But that's essentially how web projects work. The quote covers construction, not operation."

Another developer put it more bluntly: "If someone quotes you $5,000 for a website, budget $8,000-10,000 for your first year. Otherwise, you're setting yourself up for sticker shock and a half-finished site."

Real Numbers From Real Projects

Let's break down an actual small business website that started at $4,500:

Total first-year cost: $8,970. That's nearly double the quoted price, and this was a straightforward project with no e-commerce or custom functionality.

Key Takeaways

  • Budget 50-100% more than the initial development quote for your first year
  • Always ask what's NOT included—hosting, domains, content, licenses, maintenance
  • Factor in $100-300 monthly for ongoing costs (hosting, maintenance, plugin renewals)
  • Request a detailed breakdown including third-party services and subscriptions
  • Set aside 10-15% of your development budget for revision overages
  • Content creation often costs as much as development—plan accordingly

Protecting Yourself From Budget Explosions

The solution isn't avoiding website development. It's going in with open eyes and a realistic budget. Ask potential developers for a complete cost breakdown including every subscription, license, and ongoing expense. Request a "total cost of ownership" estimate for year one.

Smart clients also negotiate fixed-price packages that include hosting, maintenance, and a set number of monthly revision hours. Yes, you'll pay more upfront. But you'll avoid the death-by-a-thousand-cuts billing that makes you dread opening your email.

The web development industry needs to get better at transparent pricing. Until then, the best defense is asking uncomfortable questions before signing anything. Your future self—and your accountant—will thank you.