Website subscription: a fixed monthly price, no lock-in

What is a website subscription?

It’s a website you pay for as you go, monthly or yearly, instead of buying it. The subscription usually covers hosting, security and updates, so you don’t have to maintain the system yourself. What else is included depends on who you buy from:

• Website builder: you build and edit it yourself, and the subscription covers the tool and the running.
• Agency subscription, also called “website as a service”: the agency builds and maintains it, and you pay a fixed monthly price over an agreed period.
• Buying plus a service agreement: you pay for the build once, then a yearly agreement for hosting, updates and support.

How do the three subscription models differ?

They differ most on build fee, lock-in and ownership. Here they are side by side:

All amounts exclude VAT and come from our website cost calculator. Agency subscriptions have no common price list, so ask for a written quote with the total price for the whole lock-in period.

What does a website subscription cost over three years?

On a website builder, a small website costs DKK 5,500–7,500 over three years, excluding VAT and including the domain. If you buy it from a freelancer and pay for running it, the figure is DKK 26,000–77,000. The difference is that you don’t pay for other people’s hours, you use your own.

All amounts exclude VAT and come from our website cost calculator, built on Danish hourly rates: about DKK 500–900 an hour for freelancers and DKK 900–1,400 for agencies. Running costs are hosting, a domain, licences and a service agreement. Striive is DKK 99 a month incl. VAT for the first 4 months, then DKK 249 a month incl. VAT, plus your domain.

What should you check before you sign up to a subscription?

Six things you should have answered in writing:

1. The lock-in period and notice period: how long are you tied in, and when must you cancel by?
2. The price after the intro offer: many subscriptions are cheaper for the first months or the first year. Count on the price that applies afterwards.
3. Who owns the domain: it should be in the business’s name with a domain provider you have access to yourself.
4. Who owns the content: can you get a copy of your text and images if you stop?
5. What’s included: hosting, HTTPS, updates, backups, support and a number of changes a month.
6. What happens when you stop: does the website go offline at once, and how long is it kept?

What does “no lock-in” mean in practice?

It means you can cancel any time and only pay for the period you’re in. On Striive you cancel under Settings → Billing, and the subscription stops at the end of the period you’ve paid for. Striive is DKK 99 a month incl. VAT for the first 4 months, then DKK 249 a month incl. VAT, or DKK 1,890 incl. VAT for the first year, then DKK 2,490 a year incl. VAT. Renews automatically. If you pay yearly, you’ve paid for a year at a time.

Always ask what “no lock-in” covers elsewhere. Some mean no setup fee, but a year’s notice period.

Who owns the website when you pay a subscription?

On a website builder you own your content and your domain, while the system itself stays with the provider. On Striive you keep all rights to your text and images, and the domain stays with your own domain provider: you connect your domain with two DNS records.

If you stop, the website goes offline at the end of the paid period. Striive keeps it for 30 days so you can resume the subscription and get it back unchanged, and until it’s deleted you can ask for a copy of your content, media and form responses.