Domain   +   Files (Web Design/Development)   +   Hosting   =   Functioning Web Site

We offer all of this in one package but it can be useful to understand what you’re paying for and which fees are recurring vs. one-time costs.

Domain

The domain is the address of your website - www.yourdomain.com.   For example, the domain of this site is lotuspetaldesigns.com, although you can also get here via lotuspetaldesigns.net and many other addresses because we own multiple domains.  We can provide these same services for you!

If you own a domain, you control where it points to.   For this to do you any good, you need to have files on a server to point to.  That's where the web development and hosting parts come in so we'll be discussing them farther down the page.

Domains are usually renewed annually and costs about $15 per year for each domain name. You can reduce the annual cost by renewing or purchasing rights to a domain for multiple years at a time.  We can purchase and manage one or multiple domains for you.  Read more about these services on our Domains page.

Web Design/Development

The Web Design part is about creating the files - words, images, meta tags for search engines - that make your site useful to customers who are looking for information about your business.

The cost varies depending on a number for factors, like the complexity of your site.   We can create a site for almost any budget.   If you want a website don’t assume it is out of your price range.   Just let us know what your budget and goals are and we'll let you know what is possible.

Hosting

The reason you need hosting is that the files described in the Web Design section above need a place to be stored.   This is also the place that you will point your domain to - this place is a web server!   Every time someone types in your domain (www.yourdomain.com), it directs them to the web server you have told it to point to.   That web server then gives the files that make up your web site to the browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome etc.) so that customers looking at your site can view the information.   If you use domain email (you@yourdomain.com), this can also handled by the web server and be part of your hosting costs.

This is an ongoing cost for your website.  You can pay it monthly, quarterly, semi-annually or annually through Lotus Petal Designs.   You get the best prices by paying annually.  Please see the Hosting page for more information on hosting plans.

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All of the components above can be bundled into one annual fee for you so you don’t have to worry about any of the details that you don’t want to!