A small business website in India needs four things that cost money every year (a domain, hosting, business email and GST on all three) and one that varies a lot: the design and build. Here's each one with real prices, so you can budget before you talk to anyone.
The short answer
| Item | What it is | Yearly cost | Needed? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Domain | yourbusiness.in or .com | .in renews at ₹899; .com at ₹1,479–₹1,599 | Yes |
| Hosting | Where the website lives | From ₹1,068 (Cloudy24 Starter, ₹89/mo) | Yes |
| Business email | you@yourbusiness.in | From ₹1,200 per mailbox (Cloudy24 Mail Lite) | Recommended |
| SSL certificate | The padlock / https | Free with most hosting, including Cloudy24 | Yes |
| GST | On hosting, domains and email | 18% on top, unless a price already includes it | — |
| Design & build | Making the site itself | Depends how you build it (below) | Yes |
1. Domain name
Your domain is your address, like yourbusiness.in. You rent it a year at a time. Registrars advertise very low first-year prices, often ₹1, but those usually need a three-year purchase, and the yearly renewal is the real price: ₹899 a year for .in and ₹1,479–₹1,599 for .com at the registrars we track. See the full table in our year-by-year cost guide.
A .in domain signals an Indian business; .com is the global default. Either works with any host.
2. Hosting
Hosting is the server your website runs on. For a small business site, shared hosting is enough: Cloudy24 Starter is ₹89/mo on annual billing (₹1,068 a year) and renews at the same price. Business (₹249/mo) adds unlimited websites and daily backups; Pro (₹499/mo) is for busy or multiple sites.
When comparing hosts, look past the first-term price: many need several years paid upfront and then renew higher. Our renewal price guide shows how much.
3. Business email
An address at your own domain looks more trustworthy than a free Gmail address. Cloudy24 Business Email works with any host:
- Mail Lite: ₹1,200 per mailbox a year, 5 GB per user
- Mail Standard: ₹1,500 per mailbox a year, 10 GB per user
- Mail Premium: ₹3,600 per mailbox a year, 50 GB per user
4. SSL and GST
An SSL certificate puts your site on https and shows the padlock. It's free with most hosting plans today, including every Cloudy24 plan. GST at 18% applies to hosting, domains and email. Many hosts show prices without it, so check before you compare.
5. Design and build
This is where costs vary most, so we won't quote a number. Your options, cheapest first:
- Build it yourself with WordPress (free software) and a free or paid theme.
- Hire a freelancer for a few pages; ask for a fixed quote and who owns the site afterwards.
- Hire an agency for custom design, online stores or ongoing work.
Example: a first-year budget
A small business building its own site, with one email address:
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Hosting: Cloudy24 Starter, 12 months | ₹1,068 |
| Domain: .in for a year (lowest renewal price we track) | ₹899 |
| Email: 1 × Cloudy24 Mail Lite | ₹1,200 |
| SSL | Free |
| Subtotal | ₹3,167 |
| GST at 18% | ₹570 |
| Total, first year | ₹3,737 |
The second year costs the same at Cloudy24, because hosting renews at the price you signed up at.
