How much does a tattoo website cost? An honest breakdown
What a tattoo website costs depends less on the website itself than on everything around it: who builds it, where it's hosted, the domain, and the tools for booking, payments, a webshop and a newsletter. Many shops compare the headline price of a website builder and only later discover the extras. This article breaks down the cost components so you can compare honestly, and shows exactly what OnlineTattoo.art charges.
The parts that make up the cost
Whatever you choose, a working tattoo website consists of the same building blocks. Some are included in a package, some you pay for separately.
1. Building the site
You can build it yourself, hire a web designer or agency, or use a service that builds the first version for you. Building it yourself costs time rather than money. A designer or agency usually charges a one-off fee, and changes later often cost extra.
2. Hosting and maintenance
A website has to run somewhere, stay secure and get updates. With a website builder this is part of the monthly price. With a custom-built site you pay for hosting separately and someone has to keep it up to date.
3. Domain name and SSL
Your own domain costs a yearly registration fee that depends on the extension, such as .com or .nl. SSL, the padlock in the browser, is included by most providers today, but check it.
4. Booking and deposits
This is where general website builders get expensive. A booking form that accepts reference images, a calendar and deposit payments are often separate apps or plugins with their own monthly fee, sometimes plus a percentage per booking.
5. Payments
Payment providers charge a transaction fee per payment; that's normal and applies everywhere. What you want to avoid is a platform that adds its own commission on top, on every deposit or webshop sale.
6. Webshop
Selling aftercare, prints or merch requires a shop function. On some builders that's a higher plan or an extra app.
7. Newsletter and e-mail
A newsletter tool and a mailbox on your own domain are usually separate subscriptions.
8. Your time
Every separate tool means another login, another invoice and another thing that can break. That cost doesn't show up on an invoice, but you pay it every week.
The hidden extras to check
- Is booking with reference images included, or a paid app?
- Is there a commission on deposits or sales?
- Is the domain included, and what does it cost after the first year?
- Is there a limit on the number of artists?
- What happens to your domain and content if you cancel?
- Are prices including or excluding VAT?
What OnlineTattoo.art costs
We keep it simple. Two plans, prices including 21% Dutch VAT:
- Shop website: €14.99 per month, or €143.90 per year (€11.99 per month). For studios with several artists: a website with shop page, team and opening hours, a portfolio and booking form per artist, a webshop for aftercare, merch and prints, and your own domain, first year free.
- Tattoo artist: €9.99 per month, or €95.90 per year (€7.99 per month). For independent artists: a portfolio website sorted by style, a booking request form, flash pages, a webshop for prints and merch, and your own domain, first year free.
In both plans we build your site or move your existing one for free, and you only pay once you like what you see. You can start with a free website preview. The full overview is on the pricing page.
What's not included
- The domain after the first year: you pay the normal yearly registration price for the extension; we tell you the amount before it renews. More on the domain and email page.
- Payment provider fees: deposits and webshop sales are paid into your own Mollie or Stripe account, which charges its usual transaction fee. We take no commission.
- Add-ons: optional modules such as the newsletter, online deposits, flash claims, gift cards and a mailbox on your domain. Some are available now, others are in development; prices follow as they launch. See the add-ons on the pricing page.
Cancelling
Monthly plans can be cancelled every month; yearly plans run until the end of the paid year. Your domain stays yours and can be moved elsewhere.
Your time is part of the price
Building a site yourself looks free, but count the hours: choosing a template, writing texts, sorting photos, connecting a booking tool and a payment provider, and testing everything on a phone. Then there are the hours every month to keep it up to date. For many shops that time is better spent tattooing. That is why we build the first version or move your existing site for you, at no extra cost, and why every plan includes the parts a tattoo shop needs instead of offering them as separate subscriptions. You can still change everything yourself afterwards in your studio dashboard, or ask us.
How to compare fairly
Make a simple list for each option you're considering:
- Monthly price of the website itself
- Booking tool and deposits
- Payment commission, if any (on top of the provider's fee)
- Webshop
- Newsletter
- Domain and e-mail
- Building or moving the site
- Your time to set up and maintain it
Add it up per month. The cheapest headline price is often not the cheapest total. And a site that saves you a few hours of DMs every week is worth more than its price suggests.
Solo artist or shop?
If you work alone, the Tattoo artist plan is usually enough. If you're a studio with several artists who each need their own portfolio and booking form, the Shop website plan fits better. Our article on what an independent tattoo artist website needs goes into the solo setup in more detail, and the tattoo website builder page shows how a shop site works.
Photo: Anthony Shkraba / Pexels
