Take The Legit Check

pricing

How much should a small-business website cost?

A small-business website can cost anywhere from under $100 to $10,000+. The spread isn't random — it tracks how much of the work you do yourself, how much custom design and content is involved, and whether ongoing hosting and upkeep are included. Here's how the ranges break down and where the money goes.

By The Legitely Team ·

There’s no single right number, but the ranges are predictable once you know what moves them.

The four common paths

Do it yourself with a website builder — roughly $0–$300 up front. You pay for a subscription and a domain, and you supply everything else: the words, the photos, the structure, the Google setup. The tools are capable. The work that’s left is the work that matters, and there’s no one to tell you if you’ve got it wrong.

Hire a freelancer — roughly $800–$3,500. A freelance designer or small studio builds a straightforward site, usually on a template or a light custom design. Good value if you bring clear content and photos. Price climbs with page count, custom design and how much writing they do.

Done-for-you package — roughly $1,200–$5,000. A service builds the whole thing: design, structure, your content organised properly, project photos, a quote form, and a local-search and basic SEO foundation. You’re paying for it to be handled and to be built around how customers actually decide — not just to look nice.

Full agency project — $5,000–$15,000+. Custom design, custom content, strategy, integrations, sometimes ongoing retainers. Makes sense for larger local businesses with multiple locations, service lines or a real marketing budget. Overkill for a one-crew operation.

What actually drives the price

  • Content. If someone else writes your services, FAQs and “why us” copy, that’s often the biggest line item. Supplying your own text is the single fastest way to lower a quote.
  • Design. Template-based is cheaper and perfectly respectable. Fully custom design costs more and rarely changes whether the phone rings.
  • Page count and structure. Five focused pages cost far less than fifteen, and usually convert better.
  • Photos. Using your own job-site photos is free and more convincing than stock. A professional photo shoot is a real added cost.
  • Setup beyond the site. Google Business Profile, local-search basics, structured business information, analytics and launch checks take time and are easy to skip in a cheap quote.
  • Upkeep. Hosting, updates, backups and security are ongoing. Some quotes include the first year; some include nothing.

A sensible budget for most local service businesses

If you have time and some confidence: a builder subscription plus a domain, and a weekend or two. Under $300 up front, plus your hours.

If you’d rather it be handled: a done-for-you build in the $1,500–$3,000 range, plus somewhere around $15–$60 a month for hosting and maintenance. That gets you a site that reflects the business, is set up for local search, and doesn’t become your problem to maintain.

Questions to ask any quote

  1. Exactly which pages are included?
  2. Who writes the content — me or you?
  3. Is the Google Business Profile and local-search setup included?
  4. What are the hosting and upkeep costs after launch?
  5. Do I own the domain, the site and the content at the end?
  6. What happens when I need a change in six months?

The right price is the one where you know the answers to all six before you pay.

Common questions

Why do quotes vary so much for what sounds like the same thing?

Because "a website" isn't one thing. A five-page site with your own copy and photos is a fraction of the work of a fifteen-page site where someone else writes the content, designs custom graphics and sets up integrations. Always compare what's included, not just the headline price.

Is a cheap template site a bad idea?

Not necessarily. A well-chosen template with clear content and good photos beats an expensive site that's vague. The risk with the cheapest options is that you're left to do the parts that actually matter — the words, the structure, the local-search setup — with no guidance.

What are the ongoing costs after launch?

Plan for domain registration (around $10–$20 a year), hosting (roughly $5–$30 a month for a small static or CMS site), and either your time or a care plan for updates, backups and security. Budget for upkeep, not just the build.