Short answer: Website as a Service (WaaS) is a website you subscribe to instead of buying. One monthly fee covers the design, build, hosting, security, updates, backups and edits. It suits small businesses that want a professional site without a large upfront bill or any technical work. Check who owns the site at the end before you sign.
What is Website as a Service?
Website as a Service turns a website from a one-off project into an ongoing service, the same way software moved from boxed licences to subscriptions. Instead of paying a designer or agency a lump sum for the build and then finding someone else to host and maintain the site, you pay one provider a fixed monthly fee and they are responsible for the whole thing, for as long as the plan runs.
The term is used in two ways. Hosting companies and software vendors use “WaaS” for platforms that agencies resell to their own clients. For a business owner, it usually means the simpler version: a studio builds your site and then runs it for you on a subscription. This page is about that second meaning.
How does a website subscription work?
A typical WaaS plan runs in four steps:
- Brief and proposal. You explain what the business does and what the site should achieve. The provider confirms pages, features and the monthly fee in writing.
- Design and build. The provider designs and builds the site, usually with little or nothing to pay upfront, because the build cost is spread over the term.
- Launch and hosting. The site goes live on the provider’s hosting, with SSL, backups and monitoring in place.
- Ongoing care. Every month the provider updates the software, checks that forms and pages work, and makes the content changes you ask for.
At the end of the term, a good plan lets you renew, or take the site and domain with you.
What’s usually included?
- Design and build of the site
- Hosting and an SSL certificate
- Domain registration and renewal
- Software updates and security fixes
- Backups you can restore from
- Content edits on request: text, photos, prices, team, opening hours
- Technical SEO basics: page titles, structured data, a sitemap and Search Console setup
- Support when something goes wrong
Check each item. Some plans include only hosting and updates and bill edits separately, which changes the real monthly cost.
Pros and cons of WaaS
Pros
- No large upfront payment. The build is paid for over the term, so the cash stays in the business.
- One responsible party. The team that built the site keeps it running, so there’s no finger-pointing between a designer and a host when something breaks.
- Predictable cost. A fixed monthly fee instead of surprise invoices for fixes and changes.
- The site stays current. Edits are part of the plan, so prices, services and photos don’t go stale.
Cons
- It costs more over many years. If you keep a site for five years or more and can maintain it yourself, buying outright is usually cheaper.
- A minimum term. The build has to be paid for, so plans usually run for a year or more.
- Dependence on the provider. If the plan doesn’t transfer the site and domain to you, leaving can mean starting again.
WaaS vs a DIY builder vs a one-time build
| Website as a Service | DIY builder (Wix, Squarespace) | One-time build | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upfront cost | Usually little or none | None | The full build price |
| Monthly cost | Fixed fee, care included | Builder plan, from about $16–17/month | Hosting and maintenance, paid separately |
| Who does the work | The provider | You | You, or someone you pay per job |
| Edits | Included (check) | You make them | Billed per change, or done yourself |
| Ownership | Depends on the contract | Tied to the platform | Yours from day one |
Builder prices: Wix plans from $17 a month and Squarespace from about $16 a month on annual billing (Style Factory, Tooltester). If you’re leaning towards doing it yourself, our DIY vs professional checklist helps you decide.
How much does Website as a Service cost?
Prices vary widely, so it helps to compare with what the alternatives cost. UK pricing guides put a professionally built small business site at roughly £3,000–£6,000, plus £500–£2,000 a year for hosting, maintenance and updates (Whito, ExpertSure). In the US, a professional small business site commonly costs $2,000–$8,000, with maintenance plans at $50–$500 a month (Levitate, Tuesday).
A WaaS plan replaces both the build price and the maintenance line with one fee. To compare fairly, multiply the monthly fee by the full term and set it against the build price plus two years of maintenance. Our small business website cost guide does exactly that.
Red flags to check before you sign
- No ownership at the end. If the files and domain never become yours, you are renting forever.
- The domain in the provider’s name with no transfer clause.
- Unclear early-exit terms. You should know exactly what ending the plan early costs before you sign.
- Edits billed separately, which turns a low fee into an open-ended one.
- Automatic renewal at a higher price after the first term.
- A proprietary platform that the site can’t be moved off.
We go through these in more detail in is a website subscription worth it?
B63’s Website as a Service
B63 is a web studio in Sofia, in the EU, operated by Asveon Group LTD. Our plan is €0 upfront, then €150 (about £130 / $175) a month excl. VAT for 24 months, €3,600 in total. Business clients in the UK and the US pay no Bulgarian VAT on top; EU businesses with a VAT number are invoiced under the reverse-charge rule. The plan is priced in euros; the pound and dollar figures are rough equivalents.
It includes:
- A custom design, built around your services, your customers and the action you want visitors to take.
- Managed hosting with SSL, on infrastructure we run and monitor.
- Updates and security: WordPress core, theme and plugins, applied and checked so nothing breaks silently.
- Daily backups, so any problem can be rolled back.
- Edits on request: new text, photos, prices, team members, opening hours.
- Technical SEO from day one: page titles, descriptions, structured data, a sitemap and Google Search Console. More on the SEO and speed page.
- Speed: our own sites score 98–100 in Google’s Lighthouse on mobile.
The terms are written down before you start:
- Ownership: after 24 months you renew, or take the files and domain to any host.
- Early exit: if you end the plan early, you pay the remaining monthly fees, capped at 12 months’ fees. The full rules are in our terms.
- Platform: standard WordPress, not a proprietary builder, so the site isn’t locked to us.
If you would rather pay once and look after the site yourself, a one-time build starts from €550 including VAT. Both options are compared on the pricing page. You can see live sites we’ve built, such as the bilingual WooCommerce store for Valentin Gold & Diamonds.
Is WaaS right for you?
It’s a good fit if you:
- want a professional site but not a large upfront bill;
- don’t have anyone in-house to update WordPress or fix things;
- change your content regularly: prices, menus, services, team.
It’s a worse fit if you already have a developer on staff, if you want the lowest possible cost over five years or more, or if your site is a complex web application. For that, see custom web apps.
Ask for a free proposal and we’ll tell you honestly which option suits you.