That is a great question. The development of a website is only one part of your investment. There are recurring expenses that are needed in order keep your investment in your website running.

While WordPress itself is free, getting a WordPress website up and running is not. For one, it requires a domain (the name of your website on the Internet) and hosting (a company that puts your website on the Internet). Then there are plugins and a theme for custom functionality. All of which can start to add up quickly.

A typical breakdown of expenses required to get up and running might look something like this:

• Domain: $12/year – $24/year (typically the first year is free.)
• Hosting: $10/month – $30/month
• Premium Theme: $50-$200
• Premium Plugins: $15-$200 (each; some are one-time purchases, others are monthly/annual licenses.)
• Rough Totals: $200-$1,000+

This is of course assuming no one already owns the domain you want (which could set you back hundreds or even thousands depending on the situation), that you can keep premium theme and plugins to a minimum, and that you personally have the time and experience to set everything up by yourself.

This is why we highly recommend you consider our maintenance and security plans. We can take care of all the little details needed to keep your investment running smoothly. Likely you’ll find our maintenance and security plans a very reasonable addition to your investment.

Obviously we want to retain you as a customer. When your project is completed we turn over to you all credentials so that you can maintain the site yourself or hire someone else. We would never hold you ‘over a barrel’ with something. If we have used our own subscription for a premium service and/or plug-in then support would end. You would need to purchase your own license for the premium service and/or plug-in. We can help with that.

We do have a competitively priced maintenance and security plan that is designed to economically keep your site secure and up-to-date. We highly recommend you consider our maintenance and security plan to maximize your investment in your website.

Another great question. The best answer is in the words “value,” “integrity,” and “experience.”

Value: Our founder has over 45 years of experience with projects small and large, local and international. That experience is brought to bear on your project and provides you with an unparalleled depth of technical and business experience. That’s real value.

Integrity: No sharp business practices here. We strive to be honest and loyal and legal. Our reputation is of great concern. If you want to do something with your project that we don’t know how to do or have experience in, we’ll tell you that straight up. If you want we can help you find another professional that has experience in what you want to do. It’s your choice and we will tell you if we are a good fit for your project. Isn’t that how you want to be treated? We want to treat you the way you would like to be treated.

Experience: Silver Lake Development Group has been in business since 1984. We primarily have been a computer consulting company taking on projects large and small in a wide variety of industries and companies in the Pacific Northwest. You may request a copy of our resumé if you like. We incorporated in 2000. Silver Lake Development Group started to expand its knowledge base and work experience in 2009 to include WordPress site design and maintenance. In addition to this site you can visit SecureLaptop.org to see one of our sites that has been built from the ground up. Twice. We write computer security articles for QWealthReport.com as well. We literally have decades of experience in computer projects and nearly 10 years of WordPress experience in production environments.