How much does a small business website cost?
By Sam Darcy
Jun 15, 2026
6 min read
A small business website can cost anywhere from a couple hundred dollars a year to build it yourself, to several thousand for a custom build. The price comes down to what the site needs to do. Below is what each option really costs, what drives the number up, and the ongoing costs most quotes quietly leave out.
"How much does a website cost?" is the first question almost everyone asks, and the honest answer is the one nobody loves: it depends. A website is not one thing. It can be a single page you make in a weekend or a custom build wired into your booking and CRM. So instead of a vague range, here is what you actually get at each price level, so you can match the spend to what your business needs.
The three ways to get a website
1. Do it yourself on a builder — about $200 to $600 a year
Tools like Squarespace, Wix, and Shopify let you build a site yourself for a monthly subscription. There is no big upfront fee, and you can get something live quickly. The trade is your time and a ceiling on what is possible. You design it, write it, and maintain it, and you are limited to what the templates allow. For a brand-new business testing an idea, this is a reasonable place to start.
2. A freelancer or template site — about $1,000 to $5,000 once
Hire a freelancer to set up and customize a template and you get a more polished result without designing it yourself. Quality varies a lot, and so does what happens after launch, so it is worth asking who maintains the site and how easy it is to update once they hand it over.
3. A custom website from a studio — usually $5,000 and up
A custom site is designed and built around your business rather than squeezed into a template. It is faster, built for SEO from the ground up, easier to grow, and it can connect to the other tools you run on. This is the right call when your website is a real part of how you win customers. A custom web design and development project is priced by scope, which is the next thing to understand.
The question isn't "what does a website cost" — it's "what does this website need to do for my business."
What actually drives the price
Two custom websites can be priced very differently, and it usually comes down to these:
- Number of pages. A five-page site is a different job than a thirty-page one.
- Custom design vs template. Designing something unique takes more time than styling a theme.
- Features. Online booking, payments, logins, and member areas all add work.
- Integrations. Wiring the site into your CRM, calendar, or email tools.
- Content. Whether your copy and photos are ready, or need to be created.
- A web app vs a website. If you need software, not just pages, that is a bigger build. We cover the difference in when custom software makes sense.
The costs most quotes leave out
The build is only part of it. Before you compare prices, make sure each quote accounts for the running costs too:
- Domain name — roughly $15 a year for your web address.
- Hosting — anywhere from free to about $30 a month depending on the site.
- Maintenance — updates, security, backups, and small changes over time.
- Content and SEO — new pages and posts that keep the site bringing in leads.
A cheap build that ignores these is not actually cheaper. It just moves the cost somewhere you will feel it later.
So what should you spend?
Spend in proportion to what the site does for you. If the website is a brochure that rarely brings in work, keep it lean. If it is how customers find you, judge you, and book you, it is one of the highest-leverage things you own, and underspending there quietly costs you jobs. For most small businesses that depend on their site, a professional build in the low thousands pays for itself in the leads it captures and the time it saves.
How we price websites
We do not give a number until we understand the job. After a free call we scope the project and send a fixed price with clear deliverables, so you know exactly what you are getting and what it will return before any work starts. No hourly surprises, no vague "it depends" once the invoice arrives.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a small business website cost?
It ranges widely. A do-it-yourself site on a builder runs roughly $200 to $600 a year. A template site from a freelancer is usually $1,000 to $5,000 one time. A custom-designed website from a studio typically starts around $5,000 and goes up based on pages, features, and integrations. The right number depends on what the site needs to do.
Is it cheaper to build my own website?
Up front, yes — a builder costs less in dollars. But it costs your time to design, write, and maintain, and DIY sites are often slower and weaker on SEO, so they bring in fewer leads. For a business that depends on its website to win work, a professional build usually pays for itself.
What ongoing costs come with a website?
Plan for a domain (about $15 a year), hosting (often $0 to $30 a month), and maintenance such as updates, security, and small changes. Many businesses also budget for occasional new content. A good developer tells you these numbers up front instead of surprising you later.
Sam Darcy
Founder, 42 Digital