How much does a small business website cost?

WebFX’s 2026 website cost guide (opens in a new tab) (based on spending reported by 2,000+ businesses) publishes these average ranges:

WebFX also notes professional designs from an agency or freelancer can run from about $500 to $50,000+ depending on site size, and that hosting often runs about $2 to $1,000 per month while a domain name often costs about $1 to $12 per year.

Clutch’s Web Design Company Pricing Guide (updated September 2026) (opens in a new tab) reports that most web design projects reviewed on Clutch cost less than $10,000, while the average across reviewed projects is $38,105.39 because larger projects pull the mean up. Clutch also says agencies typically charge about $2,000 to $100,000 depending on scope, and that shortlisted US web design companies often charge around $100–$149 per hour.

Those figures are industry ranges, not a quote for any one business. Always compare what is included (design only, copy, photos, forms, ecommerce, training) before you compare dollar amounts.

If you build the site yourself on a hosted platform, you usually pay a subscription that bundles the builder and hosting:

• Squarespace (pricing page opened this run): Basic from $19/mo on annual billing ($25/mo billed monthly); Core from $29/mo annual ($39/mo monthly); higher Plus and Advanced tiers for more commerce features (squarespace.com/pricing (opens in a new tab)).
• Wix (pricing page opened this run): Light from $17.77/mo on yearly billing; Core from $29.77/mo; Business from $39.77/mo; Business Elite from $159.77/mo. Prices vary by location; displayed USD figures are for yearly subscriptions paid in full (wix.com/plans (opens in a new tab)).
• Shopify (for online stores; pricing page opened this run): Basic from $29/mo on yearly billing ($39/mo monthly); higher Grow and Advanced plans above that (shopify.com/pricing (opens in a new tab)).

DIY is cheaper up front if you have time to design, write and maintain the site. Over several years the subscriptions add up, and you still need content, photos and ongoing updates.

Separate from the design fee, most businesses pay for:

• Domain name: WebFX cites about $1 to $12 per year for a typical new domain.
• Hosting: WebFX cites about $2 to $1,000 per month depending on traffic and plan. Many DIY builders include hosting in the subscription. Self-hosted WordPress needs hosting you buy separately.
• Maintenance and security updates: WebFX cites maintenance averages that can run from a few dollars to thousands per month for complex sites. A simple brochure site needs less; an ecommerce site needs more.
• Optional extras: booking tools, chat widgets, email marketing and paid stock photos.

When you compare a one-time build to a DIY subscription, add the multi-year cost of the platform fee, not only month one.

1. Who builds it: you (DIY), a freelancer, or an agency.
2. Number of pages and how custom each layout is.
3. Features: contact forms are cheap; online booking, member logins and full ecommerce cost more (WebFX puts smaller ecommerce functionality around $3,000 to $10,000 and larger builds much higher).
4. Content: who writes the copy and supplies real photos.
5. Ongoing care: whether updates and hosting are included or billed separately.

• DIY fits owners who want full control, have time to learn the tool, and accept a template look.
• Freelancer fits a defined brochure or services site when you have clear content ready.
• Agency or studio fits owners who want the research, design, build and hand-off handled, often with revisions included.

Clutch’s 2025 small-business website survey found that among owners with sites, approaches split between outsourcing and building in-house, and that cost is no longer the main reason the remaining offline businesses stay offline (Clutch press release / State of Small Business Websites 2025 (opens in a new tab)). Only 40% of US SMBs in BrightLocal’s 2025 marketing report said they have a dedicated website (BrightLocal SMB Marketing Report 2025 (opens in a new tab)), so many local owners are still deciding how to get online.

Whatever you choose, check speed on a phone and put real contact details up front. Our guides What a local business website should include and How fast should a small business website load? explain those basics.

Silent Academy Lover builds local business websites from your Google reviews, photos and address. You see a free live demo within 24 hours. If you go ahead, you pay a one-time build price (quoted for your business after you email your business name), with no monthly fees from us. Domain and hosting are third-party costs you pay to those providers; if you go ahead after our call, you pay those before we build. Revisions are unlimited until you are satisfied. Delivery is usually from three days depending on the project. We do not publish a fixed dollar price on this page because every business is scoped individually.