How Website Redesign Services Cut One Client’s Costs by 90%
As we went over in a previous blog post (you can find a link to the post below), website redesign services can cover a lot of ground. It can consist of visual overhauls, site loading speed optimizations, or an increase in SEO. But for one of our clients, the real value of a website redesign came from what was under the hood: a move to serverless computing that reduced their monthly costs from $85 to $7 per month. A difference of more than 90%!
Here’s how a strategic redesign paired with cloud-based infrastructure like Amazon Web Services turned an outdated, expensive site into a modern, lightweight machine and saved some serious money in the process!
The Client: A Regional Business Spending Too Much on Traditional Hosting
The client came to us with a site that was outdated and showing its age even more behind the scenes.
- It ran on a legacy hosting plan
- It had a custom CMS which hadn’t been updated since launch over a decade ago - and still included some placeholder text from initial tests!
- Any non-trivial changes would have required hours of paid developer time.
Worst of all? They were paying around $85/month in hosting, support, and dev fees - just to keep the lights on.
(Disclaimer: We don’t believe the client was ripped off by the previous developers - the site was well-built for its time, and CMS features were certainly requested by the client years ago when the site was first developed. This article simply means to highlight improvements that can be made with modern technology, and to be a word of caution to those who may spring for CMS implementation or other advanced features without being committed to their continued use.)
The Strategy: Website Redesign + Cloud Optimization
We stepped in to offer more than just a fresh coat of paint. Our website redesign services focused on three goals:
- A modern, professional design that respected their brand identity and reflected what made their business special.
- An optimized codebase for faster performance and lower load times.
- Cloud-native deployment for certain features, using Amazon Web Services (AWS) to reduce maintenance and cut costs.
The redesigned website was rebuilt using modern tools and using cloud infrastructure while also trimming away the fat. The site didn’t need to be dragged down by an abundance of CMS features nobody was using. This means we were able to leverage services like AWS Lambda functions for dynamic features like on-site contact form submissions. What is a Lambda function, do you ask? Well, traditional website hosting requires a server running 24/7, constantly ready to fulfill any user action. If your site has an action that is expensive, even if users rarely use it, the server needs to be powerful enough to execute it. Unfortunately, that means you’ll need to pay for a powerful server even when you’re not using that power regularly.
Think of it as an undetectable security system at a local store. Some days might not have thieves or troublemakers, so you could technically get away without having the security system on those days. But you can’t know when thieves will be around, so you need to pay for security every day - just in case.
So, back to Lambda Functions. These are a kind of serverless computation. They are pieces of code which will be activated and fulfill an order once it receives a request from your website. Serverless computing fixes the issue of having to pay for a powerful website 24/7 by only powering on when a user is actually on your site and requesting a specific feature. For startups and small businesses, the amount of clients coming to your site and using these features may be low enough that you won’t need to pay for your cloud service at all - for example, AWS allows for one million free user requests per month for certain common features!
The Result: From ~$85/month to $7/month
The new site:
- Loads twice as fast
- Requires zero ongoing developer hours
- Is safe. secure, and globally accessible
- Runs on serverless AWS architecture, with usage-based pricing
- Costs $7/month to host the bulk of the website
That’s a 90%+ drop in monthly costs, while improving every measurable aspect of performance.
The Lesson: Smart Website Redesigns Pay for Themselves
Too often, website redesigns focus only on the surface - but what’s under the surface matters just as much. By choosing a provider that understands both modern design and smart infrastructure, this client got the best of both worlds:
- A new-and-improved professional website.
- A long-term solution with lower costs and fewer headaches
Our approach to affordable custom web design always includes this kind of strategy. We're not just building pretty sites - we're building smart business assets that will work for you, not the other way around.
Ready to Redesign Smarter?
If your current site is slow, outdated, or expensive to run, there’s a good chance we can help. Not just by redesigning it, but by making it more affordable, more powerful, and more sustainable!
👉 Book a free consultation
👉 View our past work
Website redesigns aren’t just about looks. They’re about building something that works better and costs less in the long run. Get in touch today for a free website audit and stop losing money now!
