DMST – Domains, Security & Hosting Cost Overview

Through the “Pay It Back” initiative, DMST removes startup barriers by building websites for free and only passing on the unavoidable essentials: domain, security, and hosting.

1. Domain Name Costs (UK Market Averages)

Domain prices vary depending on the extension (TLD) and registrar.

Domain Type	Typical Cost (per year)	Notes
.co.uk	£5–£12	Most affordable UK business domain
.com	£8–£20	Global credibility; slightly higher renewals
.org / .net	£10–£18	Often used by charities or networks
Premium domains	£50–£500+	Short, high‑demand, keyword‑rich names

Most DMST startups pay £7–£15 per year.

2. SSL Certificate Costs

SSL certificates secure the site and enable the browser padlock.

SSL Type	Typical Cost	Best For	Notes
OV (Organisation Validation)	£40–£120	Registered businesses	Displays business identity
EV (Extended Validation)	£80–£300	Finance, e‑commerce	Highest trust level

Most DMST clients only need DV SSL: £0–£10 per year.

3. Domain Guard / Privacy Protection

Protects domains from hijacking, tampering, and data exposure.

Service	Typical Cost	Coverage
Domain Privacy / WHOIS Protection	£0–£10	Hides personal details from public records
Domain Guard / DNSSEC / 2FA	£10–£20	Prevents hijacking & DNS manipulation

DMST clients typically pay £10–£15 per year.

4. Hosting Costs & Why They Increase

4.1 Shared Hosting (Basic Websites)

£6–£24 per month

Brochure sites
Personal sites
Small business pages

4.2 Cloud Hosting (Growing Businesses)

£10–£40 per month

Medium‑traffic sites
Membership platforms
Booking systems

4.3 VPS Hosting (High‑Performance)

£20–£80 per month

E‑commerce
Learning platforms
SaaS dashboards

4.4 Dedicated Hosting (Enterprise)

£80–£300+ per month

High‑traffic SaaS
Large corporate systems
Data‑heavy applications

5. Why Hosting Costs Increase

Traffic Volume: More visitors require more bandwidth and processing power.
Storage Requirements: Large media libraries or databases increase cost.
Dynamic Features: Membership, booking, e‑commerce, and SaaS require higher CPU/RAM.
Security: Advanced firewalls, backups, malware scanning, DDoS protection.
Uptime Guarantees: Premium hosting offers 99.99% uptime and faster speeds.

6. DMST “Pay It Back” – Client Cost Summary

Item	Typical Cost
Build Cost (Startups)	£0
Domain Name	£7–£15 per year
SSL Certificate	£0–£10 per year
Domain Guard	£10–£15 per year
Hosting	£6–£24 per month

Total yearly cost for a startup: £7–£25 upfront, then £6–£24 per month for hosting.

This keeps DMST perfectly aligned with its mission to remove barriers for new entrepreneurs.

7. DMST Build Costs (Non-Startups)

For established businesses and organizations not eligible for the “Pay It Back” initiative.

Package	Cost
Bronze	£549
Silver	£699
Gold	£899
Education Websites	£1400