We are Christina and Peter Pilarski, founders and leaders of CIPR Communications.
In our latest podcast episode, we address some of the hidden website costs that many people often overlook until it’s too late. When you’re planning and budgeting for a project, whether it’s building a website from scratch, or making some adjustments and upgrades to a current website, it is all too easy to forget about certain, seemingly small, but nonetheless essential needs. We try to help you plan ahead for these costs and factor them into your budget from the start so that they don’t catch you by surprise later on.
Revealing “Hidden” Costs Upfront
While we at CIPR Communications do our best to list and quote on all costs upfront – even those that are usually “hidden” and often turn up later on, we deal with clients who are at different stages of their website design projects. This may mean that certain things are not considered when we first get started on a project. Some of the most common costs that can turn up after the initial quotation are:
- Written, video, and audio content, as well as pictures.
- Plug-ins. These can take all kinds of forms – and usually turn up at quite a late stage when you realize you need a certain functionality that you hadn’t considered before.
- Hosting and security certificates.
- Website maintenance and backups.
- The time your team needs to dedicate to building and running the website (almost everyone overlooks this one!)
Some of these costs can be brought to the front of mind and included in plans and budgets upfront, but there is always the potential for new costs to arise due to an unexpected change of course during the process. Costs might also increase as a result of the project getting bigger than initially anticipated. Either way, it is crucial to ask your web developer about all potential hidden or delayed costs and make provision for them in your budget.
Find out more about CIPR Communications’ approach to web design services by listening to the seventh series of our podcast. For more information about website design, from site maps to website development, as well as content marketing, SEO and our other services, read our blog, listen to other podcast episodes, or contact us.
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Christina Pilarski
Christina Pilarski is CEO and co-founder of CIPR Communications, a digital PR, marketing, and AI consulting agency serving hospitality, tourism, and luxury lifestyle brands across North America. Before starting CIPR in 2010 with her life partner and business partner, Peter Pilarski, Christina led campaigns in a series of corporate roles and served as Special Advisor to the Minister at Alberta's Department of Tourism, Parks and Recreation. She now leads a team of 20+ staff and contractors across CIPR and its AI-focused division, the Tourism AI Network. Christina holds a BA with Honours and an MA in Communications Studies from the University of Calgary. Outside the office, she's a mom of twins and two dogs, based in Calgary.
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Peter Pilarski
Peter Pilarski is the Founder of Tourism AI Network and President of CIPR Communications. He helps tourism and hospitality organizations adopt AI strategically — from AI search visibility and custom tool development to team training and executive advisory. He is a sought-after keynote speaker, workshop facilitator, and AI advisor whose sessions blend practical frameworks with real-world results.
