A guide, free to read

What a website should cost you

Most people have no way to tell whether a website price is fair. One person quotes $500, another quotes $15,000, and nobody explains the difference. Here is what actually goes into a website and what each part costs, so you know what you are paying for before you pay for it.

The short answer. Hiring a freelancer to build a small business site costs $1,500 to $12,000 once. An agency runs $6,000 to $35,000. Either way, keeping it running costs $60 to $300 a month after that. Building it yourself on a tool like Wix or Squarespace costs $15 to $50 a month and spends your time instead of your money.

Step one

Three ways to get a website built

Everyone picks one of these three. The difference in price is mostly the difference in whose time is being spent.

$15 to $50a month

Build it yourself

You build it yourself by dragging and dropping, on a tool like Wix or Squarespace. The monthly fee usually covers hosting too. An online store runs higher, $30 to $300 a month.

Best for someone with time to learn it, running a simple business.

$1,500 to $12,000once

Hire a freelancer

One person designs and builds it for you. Newer freelancers charge $1,500 to $4,000. Experienced ones charge $4,000 to $12,000. Cheaper than an agency, but it all rests on one person being available.

Best for a small business that wants a real design without agency prices.

$6,000 to $35,000once

Hire an agency

A team handles the design, the building, and often the writing and photos as well. More people and more structure, so a higher price. Anything complicated runs well past the top of this range.

Best for a business with a bigger budget that wants the whole thing handled.

The price mostly buys people's time, not magic. A $15,000 website is not ten times better than a $1,500 one. It usually means more custom work, more pages and more rounds of changes. For most small businesses, plain and well built beats expensive and complicated.

Step two

What each part costs

A website is not one purchase. It is several smaller ones stacked together, and a quote that hides them is a quote you cannot check.

DesignDeciding what it looks like, before anybody builds anythingUsually included above. Bought alone, $2,000 to $8,000

Building the pagesActually putting the site together so it worksUsually included above

Domain nameYour web address. You rent it every year, you never own it outright$10 to $20 the first year, then $15 to $40 a year

HostingThe computer that keeps your site online all day and all night$5 to $15 a month small, $30 to $75 for stronger

Security certificateThe padlock that tells visitors the site is safeUsually free with hosting. Bought alone, $9 to $250 a year

Words and photosWhat the pages actually say, and the pictures on them$100 to $300 a page, or $1,500 to $5,000 for the site. Photos from $500

Getting found on GoogleThe work that helps your site show up when somebody searches$500 to $2,000 to set up, then $500 to $2,500 a month if you keep paying

Testing before launchChecking it works properly, especially on a phoneUsually included, but ask out loud

The part most people skip is the words and the photos. A good looking site with nothing to say still fails to bring in work. If money is tight, spend a little less on the design and a little more on what the pages actually say.

Step three

What it costs to keep running

The build price is not the last bill. A website needs looking after, the same way a shop needs sweeping and restocking.

HostingKeeping the site online$5 to $75 a month

Domain renewalKeeping your web address, billed once a yearAbout $1 to $3 a month

Someone maintaining itUpdates applied and small things fixed before they turn into big things$50 to $200 a month

Ongoing Google workOptional, and only worth it if you have somebody good$500 to $2,500 a month

A small business that pays somebody to look after the site usually spends $60 to $300 a month in total, not counting the optional Google work. Look after it yourself on a builder like Squarespace and it can be as little as $25 a month.

Step four

Two examples, added up

Neither of these is the right answer. Most businesses land somewhere between the two.

A small shop keeping costs down

Squarespace, hosting included$23 a month

Someone to write the words properly$300 once

First yearabout $580

Every year afterabout $280

A business that wants it done for them

Freelancer, five pages with photos$6,000 once

Domain name$15 a year

Hosting$20 a month

Basic maintenance$75 a month

First yearabout $7,155

Every year afterabout $1,155

Step five

Questions to ask before you pay anybody

Ask all seven. The answers tell you more about who you are hiring than any portfolio will.

Do I own the finished website, or does it disappear if I stop paying you?
Is hosting included in this price, or is that a separate bill later?
Whose name is the domain registered in? It should be mine.
Can I change my own text later, or do I pay you every time?
Does the price include the words and the photos, or just the empty design?
Will it work properly on a phone, not just on a laptop screen?
What happens the day after it goes live? Who looks after it then?

A straight answer to every one of these is a good sign. A dodge on more than one is a reason to keep looking before you pay.

Prices here are typical United States ranges for 2026, checked across several independent pricing guides. They are ranges to plan with, not quotes. Any real job can land outside them, and prices drift, so treat this as a starting point for the conversation rather than the last word.