How much does a small business website cost?
By Alex Hogan · Updated
The short answer
Most small business websites cost between about $500 and $5,000 to build, plus a small monthly cost for hosting. Building it yourself on Wix or Squarespace runs roughly $17 to $49 a month but costs you the hours. Freelancers commonly charge $1,500 to $5,000, and agencies often start around $6,000.
The three ways to get a website
Do it yourself. Website builders like Wix and Squarespace charge roughly $17 to $49 a month on the plans most small businesses pick. The money is low; the cost is your time, usually dozens of hours to set it up and more to keep it current.
Hire a freelancer. A freelance designer commonly charges $1,500 to $5,000 for a small business site, sometimes more for custom work. Quality varies a lot, so look at sites they've actually built.
Hire an agency. Agencies bring a team (designer, developer, writer, project manager) and usually start around $6,000, often much more. That's more than most owner-operated service businesses need.
What actually drives the price
The number of pages, and whether someone writes the words for you. Writing is often the slowest part.
Custom design versus a proven template. A good template, set up well, is fast and affordable; fully custom design costs more.
Features like online booking, payments or a customer login. A simple service business usually needs none of these on day one.
What you keep paying every month
Your domain name (about $10 to $20 a year) and hosting. Builders bundle hosting into the monthly plan; freelancers and agencies usually charge separately for hosting and small edits.
Before you sign anything, make sure you own the domain and the site, and that you can leave without a long-term contract.
What a service business really needs
For most lawn, pool, HVAC, cleaning and trade businesses, one fast page does the job: what you do, the towns you serve, your hours, a tap-to-call button, your reviews and a map. It should load quickly on a phone with one bar of signal, because that's where your customers are.
What Hogan Growth charges
A one-page Starter site is $500, and a multi-page Standard site is $750 to $1,200. Hosting and maintenance is an optional $50 a month. You own the domain and the site, there's no long-term contract, and you get an exact quote after a free audit.
Sources for the market figures
Alex Hogan
Founder · does the work
Fort Walton Beach, Florida. A few clients at a time, so the person you call is the person doing the work.