Starting a subscription website is an excellent way to provide exclusive content and products to your target clients. Every business has exclusive content and information that is intended for its audience and clients. Through a subscription website, you build a pathway for connectivity and engagement.
But as an independent creator or a business with a limited budget, you might wonder, “How much does it cost to start a subscription website?”
In this blog, we will guide you on the software you need to use to start and run a subscription website in a cost-efficient way.
Costs to consider when you first start and run a subscription website
Before you start making the budget for your subscription website, you need to understand the software choices available in the market, which makes your job easier. If you want to start your subscription website, a self-hosted membership software or simply put, an OnlyFans clone script will often encompass all the functionalities that you need. You will also need to buy your own domain name and hosting, but the platform will take care of the rest.
Now let’s look into the costs to consider when launching your subscription site like onlyfans.
Domain name
Before you launch your subscription platform, you need a domain name for your site which stays exclusive to your brand name. It represents your brand, and your target audience will have an easier time finding you on the web.
If you are creating your subscription site as a subdomain of another website that already exists, you don’t have to pay for the domain name. However, if you want to start a stand-alone website, you must buy a domain name from registrants like GoDaddy, which would cost around $5-$10 per year.
Click here – How to make money teaching online?
Website hosting
Once you launch your subscription site, it needs a space to “live” on the web, and that is why you need website hosting. A typical subscription platform is going to have an average style website as you would have more people access it for longer periods of time. Hence, ensuring quality hosting is critical.
The budget option for site hosting would be shared hosting, which will cost you around $10-$20 per month. The cost for hosting would come around $100-$150 per month for a quality VPS, which is a professional option. If you want to go for a dedicated server, it can cost you around $250-$400. This is a great choice if you expect fast growth and don’t want to upgrade your hosting continuously.
Choose your subscription-based community marketplace software
The obvious way to build a subscription website is to hire a development team and build it from scratch. However, it will add up to the cost based on the app’s functionalities and features. The cost to build a subscription website might come around $20k to $30k or even more, depending on factors like the number of developers, features you want to include, UI/UX design, and a lot more. The addition of features might also add to the development cost.
Whereas, if you want to build your membership site cost-effectively, the best approach is to use a readymade community marketplace script that allows you to create both adult and non-adult membership platforms. Choose a clone script like Fanso with which you can create a subscription in the niche you like – Be it travel, journalism, fitness, entrepreneurship, or even adult platforms like OnlyFans.
Being a self-hosted solution, you need to select a hosting service which is great as you can plan its costs. Fanso comes with a one-time payment with no hidden charges or recurring payments that will add up in the future.
Marketing tools and add-ons
One of the most important things you need to grow your subscription website is a marketing plan. Set aside some budget for marketing activities like email marketing, paid advertising, social media marketing, etc. Use entry-level email marketing services like Mail chimp that are affordable enough.
If you want more advanced features like built-in eCommerce, CRM, marketing automation etc., look for a high-end solution that will slightly increase the overall cost. Invest in tools with which you can analyse social media posts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc., to measure your performance across social media.
Cost of building a subscription website
When it comes to creating a subscription website, there are a lot of factors that can directly affect the cost.
Features
The important aspect of your subscription website is the features you offer to your end-users, and that’s where the cost adds up. You can use a clone script that comes with the essential functionalities you require, which is great as it saves a lot of money. You can always add custom features to make your app personalised to cater to your target audience at an additional price.
Complexity
Depending on the complexity of your subscription platform, you might have to spend a little extra. Complexity adds to the time taken to bring the feature to live functionality; it will take time as well as add up the cost.
Tech Stack
The overall price of the subscription marketplace software you use will be determined by the tech stack the solution provider uses. Fanso leverages the MERN tech stack, which allows you to scale your business.
Ongoing support
Subscription websites will need a lot of support eventually. You must choose a service provider who offers ongoing support, which might influence the cost of development, but it is worth it.
Conclusion
The cost of building a subscription website depends on several factors like the features you need, the development approach you choose, hosting fees, etc. With these things in mind, you will be able to allocate a budget for starting your membership site and be prepared to bear the costs involved in launching your subscription platform.
To launch a subscription website cost-efficiently, the best option is to choose a clone script rather than opting for developing it from scratch.
Click here – Best Bitcoin Faucets for 2022. Which Penny Coins Will Explode This Year?
