It’s the first question almost every owner asks me, and the answer they usually get is “it depends.” That’s true, but it isn’t much help when you’re trying to set a budget. So here’s what a website actually costs, where the money goes, and how to tell a fair quote from one that will cost you more later.
Most small businesses already have a website
According to a 2025 Clutch survey, 83% of small businesses now have a website, up from 64% in 2018. For most established businesses, the question isn’t whether to have a site. It’s whether the one you have is earning its keep.
Option 1: Build it yourself
Website builders like Squarespace and Wix make it possible to build a site without a designer. As of October 2026, their published prices are:
- Squarespace: Basic $19/month and Core $29/month when billed yearly. Monthly billing costs more. (Squarespace pricing)
- Wix: Light $17.77/month, Core $29.77/month, and Business $39.77/month on yearly plans. (Wix plans)
That’s roughly $200 to $500 a year, plus your domain.
The real cost is your time. You choose the template, write every page, find or take the photos, and figure out the settings. For a brand-new business on a tight budget, that can be the right call. For an established business, those are hours you’d usually rather spend on paying work.
Option 2: Hire a freelancer or small studio
This is the widest range. Upwork’s web designer cost guide puts the median hourly rate on its marketplace around $21, with most designers charging $15 to $30 an hour. Keep in mind that this is a global marketplace, and many of those designers work overseas.
Local freelancers and small studios usually charge a few thousand dollars for a small business site. The difference between them often comes down to what’s included: who writes the words, whether the design is custom, and whether anyone handles moving your old site.
The upside of a small studio is that you work with the person building your site. Nothing gets lost between a salesperson, an account manager, and a designer you never meet.
Option 3: Hire an agency
Agencies bring bigger teams: strategists, designers, developers, writers, and project managers. That structure is valuable for large or complex projects. It also costs more, because you’re paying for every layer, and ongoing monthly retainers are common.
What actually drives the price
Whoever you hire, these are the things that move a quote up or down:
Number of pages. A five-page site and a twenty-page site are different projects. Every page needs to be planned, written, designed, and tested.
Who writes the words. Writing is often the most time-consuming part of a website. Some quotes include it. Many don’t, and you end up staring at a blank page.
Custom design vs. a template. A template gets adjusted to fit your business. A custom design starts from how your customers decide, then gets built around that.
Features. Online booking, payments, calculators, and connections to other software all add work.
Moving your old site. If you have an existing site, someone has to make sure your old pages point to the new ones. Skipping this can cost you the Google rankings you’ve built over the years. (More on that in Will I lose my Google rankings if I redesign?)
Don’t forget the ongoing costs
A website isn’t a one-time purchase. Plan for:
- Domain name: usually a small yearly fee.
- Hosting: where your site lives online.
- Upkeep: software and security updates, backups, and small changes.
Some owners handle upkeep themselves. Others pay a monthly care plan. Either way, budget for it, because a site nobody maintains gets slower, less secure, and more out of date every year.
What cheap websites usually leave out
A very low price usually means something is missing. Common ones:
- You write all the copy yourself.
- The design is a template shared by hundreds of other businesses.
- No redirects from your old site, so old links break.
- You don’t own the site. Some low-cost providers rent you a website. Stop paying, and it disappears.
- No help after launch.
None of that shows up on the invoice. It shows up later.
Questions to ask before you sign
- Is this a fixed price, and what exactly is included?
- Who writes the words?
- How many rounds of changes are included?
- Will you redirect my old pages?
- Do I own the site, the domain, and the content when it’s done?
- What does upkeep cost after launch?
What I charge
I keep my prices public, so you know where you stand before we ever talk:
- Small Website · $1,950. Up to five pages, with copy written for you from a short questionnaire and a call. One round of revisions.
- Custom Website · from $3,950. Designed around how your customers decide, with every page written for you and unlimited revisions in focused rounds.
- Website Check-up · $350. A review of your current site with a clear fix list. The fee is credited toward a build within 60 days.
- Care Plans · $79 or $149 a month. Hosting, backups, security updates, and site updates, month to month.
Every quote is fixed before work begins, and you own your domain, your site, and your content at launch.
Not sure what your business needs? Book a 20-minute call, and I’ll give you a straight answer, even if the answer is that you don’t need me.
Sources: Clutch, 2025 · Squarespace pricing · Wix plans · Upwork web designer rates. Prices as of October 2026.
