Should you subscribe to a website or buy it outright?
A project invoice buys a build. A hosting term spreads that build across the year. You should know which one you signed.
Buying a website outright usually means a project fee. You pay for design and development, you receive the site, and then you still need hosting, a domain, and someone to change a paragraph next March. Subscribing usually means a smaller bill each month that is supposed to include the build, the hosting, and a way to request edits. The word subscribe hides a contract. Read the months.
Artol is the subscription shape. You pay $0 down and $249/mo hosting. It is not a rent-to-nowhere and it is not a free site. The term is written below in the sentence we use everywhere, so this page cannot drift from the offer.
What buying outright tends to include
You agree a scope, you pay a build fee, and part of that fee is often due before the work starts. At the end you should have the pages, the design files or the code, and a way to move the site if you change hosts. Hosting might be a line you pay the same studio, or a bill from a host you open yourself. Edits after launch are commonly hourly or a small retainer. None of those amounts are standard enough to print here without inventing them.
The advantage is a finish line. The project ends. The disadvantage is the invoice at the beginning, which is the reason many local businesses postpone the site. A freelancer or an agency is the usual seller of this model.
What our subscription includes, and when it ends
You pay $0 down and $249/mo hosting. 12-month ownership terms: 12 months of hosting at $249/mo, then month to month. Leave earlier and the remaining hosting or a buyout of the build is due. We do not publish a separate buyout dollar amount. The sentence is the term. If you need it in a proposal, ask and you will get it in writing before we start.
During the term the site is fully turnkey: we write, design, build, launch, and host it, live in less than a week. Hosting includes SSL, daily backups, and two small content updates a month. Google Business Profile setup is included. A deep business audit and competitive market research happen before the design. The team is 100% US-based, made in the USA, in Yardley, PA. We reply within one business day.
Project fee versus hosting term
| Compare | Buy outright | Artol subscription |
|---|---|---|
| At the start | A build fee, often partly due before work | $0 down |
| Each month | Hosting, if it is not in the project | $249/mo hosting |
| Who makes it | Whoever you hired for the project | We do, fully custom |
| Edits | Often hourly after launch | Two small content updates a month |
| The commitment | The project contract | 12 months, then month to month |
| If you leave early | Whatever the contract says about files and fees | Remaining hosting, or a buyout of the build |
Ownership, without a slogan
On day one of our agreement you have not bought the build outright. You are in a 12-month hosting term that pays for it. After those 12 months the same hosting continues month to month, and you can leave without the early-exit choice. If you leave during the 12 months, the remaining hosting or a buyout of the build is due. That is the whole mechanism. Anyone who describes it as free is leaving out the term.
Buying outright does not remove hosting. A site still has to live somewhere, with SSL and backups. The cost guide splits those pieces so you can ask every vendor the same questions. How the no-upfront week works is the production sequence.
Which purchase to make
Buy outright when you want a finish line, you can pay the project fee, and you have a plan for hosting and edits after the designer is done. Subscribe with us when the upfront invoice is the blocker and a 12-month term is acceptable. Do not subscribe to this offer for an online store, a custom app, or a large multi-section site. Those are packages.
If a seller will not explain what happens when you cancel, do not sign with them, including us. You should be able to point at the term in a sentence. Ours is the one in the section above.
Questions we get asked
Do I own the Artol site on day one?
No. You are on a 12-month hosting term. After 12 months it is month to month. Leave earlier and the remaining hosting or a buyout of the build is due.
What is the buyout price?
We do not publish a separate buyout number on this page. The term is: remaining hosting, or a buyout of the build. Ask for it in writing before you start.
If I buy a site outright, is hosting free after that?
No. Hosting, a domain, and later edits are still real costs. They are just no longer inside the original project fee unless the contract says they are.
What is the monthly price?
$249/mo hosting, with $0 down. That is the only monthly price on this offer.
Can I switch from a subscription to a project later?
A larger build, such as a store or an app, is scoped on the packages page rather than added quietly to the $0 down site.
