WEBSITE COST GUIDE · 2026
How much does a website cost for a small business?
What a website really costs in 2026 — built yourself, with an AI builder, on WordPress, by a freelancer or by an agency — plus what it costs to keep running, the costs people miss, and what a trade business actually needs. Every figure sourced.
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The short answer
A small business website costs anywhere from nothing up front to tens of thousands of dollars, depending on who builds it. Building it yourself on a website builder costs your time plus a plan — Squarespace runs $19 to $99 a month on annual billing. A freelancer charges about $6,760 for a basic site (FreshBooks). Most agency projects reviewed on Clutch cost under $10,000, though the average agency project is $38,105 (Clutch, September 2026).
WordPress itself is free, but running it isn't: about $111 a year at the bare minimum (a domain and shared hosting, with you doing the updates), and about $735–$4,095 a year once managed hosting and someone to keep it updated are in (WPBeginner; Codeable, March 2026).
For most small businesses — a plumber, a salon, a cleaner, a bakery — the website needs to do a few jobs well: say what you do and where, show proof, and make it easy to call or book. That's a builder-sized job, not an agency-sized one, and an AI builder does it fastest: describe the business and see the finished site before you pay anything.
COSTS · NOVEMBER 2026
What a small business website costs, by route
US prices, read off each publisher's page in September and October 2026. Full source list at the foot of the page.
| The route | What it costs · source |
|---|---|
| Build it yourself on a website builder | Your time up front, then the plan: Squarespace runs $19–$99 a month on annual billing ($25–$139 month to month) — about $228–$1,188 a year · Squarespace. The cheapest plans across eleven builders, sale and renewal prices side by side, are on our cheapest website builder guide |
| An AI website builder | Minutes up front: you describe the business and the builder writes and designs the site. Zarla is free to build and preview, and you pay a monthly plan when you publish — current prices are on the pricing page |
| Self-run WordPress | Free software, then about $111 a year at the bare minimum (a domain and shared hosting, with you doing the updates), and about $735–$4,095 a year once managed hosting and someone to keep it updated are in · WPBeginner, Codeable |
| A freelancer | About $75 an hour; a basic site averages about $6,760 in FreshBooks' breakdown (design and build $5,000, plus setup, content, training and first-year maintenance), then about $500–$1,000 a year to maintain · FreshBooks |
| A web design agency | Agencies listed on Clutch typically charge $100–$149 an hour; most projects reviewed on Clutch cost under $10,000, while the average is $38,105 because large custom builds pull it up · Clutch |
Yearly totals are our arithmetic on the published monthly prices (× 12). Ranges are typical, not quotes — scope, pages and features move every one of them.
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WORDPRESS
What a WordPress site costs to keep running
WordPress is free software; the site isn't. These are the running costs a WordPress site has every year, before any premium theme, paid plugins or developer work.
| What you pay for | What it costs · source |
|---|---|
| Domain name | about $14.99 a year · WPBeginner |
| Shared hosting (the cheapest kind) | from about $7.99 a month · WPBeginner |
| Managed WordPress hosting (faster, looked after) | $30–$100 a month · Codeable |
| Someone to keep it updated and secure | $30–$50 a month for cheap plans; Codeable's basic plan is $240 a month · Codeable |
| Bare minimum, you do the updates | about $111 a year (domain + shared hosting) |
| Looked after by someone else | about $735–$4,095 a year (domain + managed hosting + a maintenance plan) |
The two totals are our arithmetic on the rows above: published monthly prices × 12, plus the domain.
What website hosting costs
Hosting is the always-on computer that serves your site to visitors. Every website needs it; whether you pay for it separately depends on the route. A website builder's plan includes it. WordPress and a developer-built site need it bought on its own.
Hosting on its own is cheap to start and pricier to keep: Hostinger's entry plan is $1.99 a month if you pay 48 months upfront ($95.52), then renews at $10.99 a month, and a WordPress site that someone looks after runs about $735–$4,095 a year once managed hosting and upkeep are in (Hostinger, checked November 2026; Codeable, March 2026). (The WordPress table above uses WPBeginner's headline rate of about $8 a month for shared hosting; Hostinger's renewal price is what a plan costs once the intro years end. Priced item by item on each company's own page instead, sale and renewal side by side: what WordPress really costs to run.)
- Read the renewal price, not the headline. The low monthly figure usually needs years paid upfront, and the plan renews higher.
- Hostinger's entry plan includes the padlock and backups. What hosting doesn't include is someone to apply updates, fix what breaks and make changes.
- On a website builder there's no separate hosting bill. Zarla hosts the site as part of the plan you pay when you publish.
Across Hostinger, Bluehost, IONOS and DreamHost, an entry hosting plan is advertised at $1.99–$4.00 a month for the first term and renews at $8.00–$10.99 a month, so plan on about $96–$132 a year for hosting alone once the sale price ends (each host's own page, checked November 2026). Every item, sourced, and when separate hosting is the right call: website hosting for small businesses.
MAINTENANCE
How much does website maintenance cost?
Maintenance is the work of keeping a site updated, secure and backed up after it's live. On a website builder it's part of the plan. On WordPress or a custom site, someone has to do it, and these are the published prices for that someone.
| Who keeps it updated | What it costs · source |
|---|---|
| A website builder's plan (Zarla, Wix, Squarespace and the rest) | Updates, security and backups are part of the plan: no separate maintenance bill. Zarla's current plans are on its pricing page |
| A WordPress maintenance plan, the cheap kind | $30–$50 a month: automated updates, little human checking · Codeable |
| A WordPress maintenance plan, the typical kind | $50–$200 a month, depending on the site's size · WPBeginner |
| A developer-run plan with testing and dev hours | from $240 a month (Codeable's own Basic plan) · Codeable |
| A freelancer looking after a site they built | about $500–$1,000 a year, with changes at about $75 an hour · FreshBooks |
| Yearly total, a WordPress site on a typical plan | about $600–$2,400 a year (monthly × 12), before hosting and the domain |
The yearly total is our arithmetic on WPBeginner's monthly range (× 12). Maintenance plans cover updates, backups and security checks; content changes, new pages and redesigns are usually billed on top.
What website maintenance actually covers
Three jobs. Software updates (WordPress itself, the theme and every plugin, each a security patch waiting to be missed), backups you can restore from, and someone watching for the site going down or being hacked. On a hosting account those are yours to arrange; a maintenance plan is paying someone to arrange them.
What it doesn't cover. A new phone number, a new service page, a price change: most plans bill those by the hour or cap them at an hour a month. That's the running cost owners feel most, and the one a builder removes — on Zarla you type the change and it's live.
How to pay less. Put the site on a builder whose plan includes the upkeep, keep the domain in your own name, and keep the words and photos somewhere you can reach. If you're on WordPress and staying there, the cheapest honest plan is $50 a month or so with a real person checking the site; the $30-a-month plans automate updates and little else (Codeable, March 2026).
BY TRADE
What a website costs by trade
What web designers who publish prices charge for a site in each trade, from our website-design pages — each range read on the designers' own pages and dated there. The last column is the page with the full table.
| Trade | What designers who publish prices charge |
|---|---|
| Plumbing | Web designers who publish prices for plumbing sites charge $500 to $4,000 up front for a small site, or $150 to $500 a month on a plan, some on 24-month contracts. Custom agency builds run $5,000 and up. |
| Cleaning | Web agencies that publish prices for cleaning companies charge $2,400 to $4,547 for a built site (or $500 down and $175 to $325 a month), from $195 a month on a 24-month plan, or $1,600 a year for an AI-assisted service. |
| Pressure washing | Web agencies that publish prices for pressure washing sites charge $399 to $3,800 up front, or $175 to $300 a month on 12- to 24-month plans. |
| Junk removal | Web designers who publish prices for junk removal sites charge $0 to $199 up front and $49 to $350 a month. Two of them say no long-term contract; one sells a 24-month plan. |
| Electrician | Web designers who publish prices for electrician sites charge $0 to $2,500 up front, or $195 to $200 a month on a managed plan, some on 24-month contracts. Website-and-marketing packages run $659 to $3,659 a month plus a $995 start-up fee, and custom builds at a large agency start at $8,000. |
| HVAC | Web designers who publish prices for HVAC sites charge $0 to $4,499 up front and $150 to $1,999 a month for a managed site. Website-and-marketing packages run $659 to $5,000 a month, some on 12-month agreements. |
| Roofing | Web designers who publish prices for roofing sites charge $695 to $4,899 up front, plus $40 to $495 a month for hosting or a managed plan, some on 12- or 24-month commitments. One roofing marketing agency's entry package is $1,537 a month plus $225 for hosting and software, for companies with at least $1 million a year in revenue. |
| Construction | Web designers who publish prices for contractor sites charge from $97 a month with no setup fee, or $1,299 to $4,899 up front plus $49 to $69 a month on a 12-month plan. Custom builds at a remodeling marketing agency run $15,000 to $45,000, and website-plus-advertising programs $997 to $6,997 a month plus ad spend. |
| Landscaping | Web designers who publish prices for landscaping and lawn care sites charge $0 to $997 up front and $129 to $599 a month, some on 6-, 12- or 24-month contracts. Custom builds start at $2,500, and one landscaping marketing agency says to expect $15,000 to $25,000 for a high-quality custom site. |
| Moving | Web designers who publish prices for moving company sites charge $0 to $799 up front and $99 to $450 a month, the top of that range with marketing included. A custom build at a web design agency runs $4,000 to $12,000. |
| Tree service | Web designers who publish prices for tree service sites charge $0 to $499 to start and $97 to $750 a month on a plan, or $599 to $18,000 and up for a one-time build. One tree-industry marketing agency charges $1,350 a month for 12 months for a new website. |
| Towing | Web designers who publish prices for towing sites charge $795 to $2,499 up front, or $49 to $389 a month on a plan, some with a 12-month minimum. |
| Painting | Web designers who publish prices for painting company sites charge $0 to $3,500 up front with $49 to $495 a month, some on 24-month plans, or $2,500 to $5,000 and up for a one-time build. |
| Remodeling | Web designers who publish prices for remodeling sites charge $1,000 to $8,000 for a smaller site, some spread over 12 or 24 monthly payments, and $12,000 to $45,000 at contractor and remodeling marketing agencies. One website platform for home-service pros charges up to $299 a month. |
| Car detailing | Web designers who publish prices for car detailing sites charge $0 to $3,300 up front with $49 to $239.99 a month, or $599 to $9,250 to buy a site outright. One website service charges $249 a month and doesn't publish a setup fee. |
| Pet sitting | Web designers who publish prices for pet sitting and dog walking sites charge $725 for a one-page site (plus two years of required hosting) to $7,600 and up for a custom one with branding, or $249 a month for a managed site. |
| Handyman | Web designers who publish prices for handyman sites charge $0 to $399 to start with $29 to $189 a month, or $499 to $2,750 and up for a one-time build, some with a monthly care plan on top. One home-services marketing agency charges from $297 a month and doesn't publish a setup fee. |
| Daycare | Web designers who publish prices for daycare sites charge $199 to $699 to set up with $19 to $299 a month, or from $4,500 to $5,000 and up for a custom build; one website service charges $249 a month and quotes a one-time build at $2,500 to $8,000; a theme marketplace sells daycare themes for $16 to $90 that you build and host yourself. |
| Consulting | Few web designers publish prices for consulting sites. Those that do charge from $299 for a template to $4,950 and up for a custom build, or $169 to $695 a month for a managed site, most on a 12-month minimum. |
| Salon | Web designers who publish prices for salon sites charge $199 to $1,899 to set up with $29 to $99 a month, $475 to $950 and up for a one-time build, or $249 to $949 a month for a managed salon site. |
| Tutoring | Few web designers publish prices for tutoring sites. Those that do charge $2,000 to $3,500 to set up with $150 to $300 a month at a tutoring-only brand, $249 a month at a subscription service, or from $299 to set up with $49 a month at a small shop whose prices cover any small business. |
| Locksmith | Web designers who publish prices for locksmith sites charge $199 to set up with $49 a month at the low end, $249 to $695 a month for a managed site, or from $1,850 for a one-time build with a year of hosting. |
| Pool service | Web designers who publish prices for pool company sites charge $199 to set up with $49 a month at the low end, $97 to $399 a month for a managed site, $697 for a one-time build at a pool-only service, or $1,999 to set up with $139 to $159 a month at a pool-industry software company. |
| Dog grooming | Web designers who publish prices for grooming sites charge $249 flat with $9 a month hosting at the low end, $725 for a one-page site plus two years of required hosting, $99 to $165 a month for a managed site, or from $3,000 for a custom build with a $100 a month retainer. |
| Notary | Web designers who publish prices for notary sites charge $399 to set up with $39.99 a month at a notary-only company, from $197 a month for a monthly package with the site inside (booking, follow-ups and review automation) and no setup fee, or $2,000 for a one-time build with a year of hosting; one loan-signing training company includes a website in its $97 a month software. |
| Laundromat | Few web designers publish prices for laundromat sites. Those that do charge $999 to $2,499 for a one-time build plus hosting, $1,000 to set up with $30 a month at a marketing agency, or $30 a month for a templated site from a laundry-industry marketer; one laundromat software company includes a website in its $89 to $149 a month plans. |
| IT services | Web designers who publish prices for IT company and MSP sites charge $249 to $479 a month for a managed or subscription site (the MSP-only one billed annually, with a $1,499 implementation fee), typically from $3,000 for a custom build at a small agency, and $15,000 for a full managed build at a B2B shop; a pay-monthly shop whose prices cover any small business charges $169 a month. |
| Solar | Web designers who publish prices for solar sites charge $49 to $400 a month for a managed site, $249 a month for a hand-built subscription site with a demo first, or $1,299 to $4,899 down plus $49 to $69 a month at a contractor-only shop. |
| Wedding planning | Web designers who publish prices for wedding planner sites charge $2,500 to $3,500 to customize a template, $4600 for a studio build of five tailored pages and three gallery pages, most custom projects between $6k and $10k at a boutique studio, and $8,000 to $15,000 for a custom site with SEO built in at a solo wedding-industry designer; a cost guide puts the freelancer range at $3,650 to $10,150. |
| Nonprofit | Web designers who publish prices for nonprofit sites charge $1,999 to $4,999 to build with $99 to $329 a month at a nonprofit-only subscription company, $2,500 then $100 a month at a small nonprofit-and-church shop, $1,500 to $5,000 one-time at a small studio, and an estimated $12,000 to $25,000 at a nonprofit agency in Washington, DC; a cost guide puts a small charity's site at $1.5K to $4K. |
| Tax preparation | Web designers who publish prices for tax preparer sites mostly sell subscriptions: starting at $95.00 to $120.00 a month at an accounting-only website company, and $150 to $300 a month at a tax-and-accounting marketing platform that includes a website; the small agencies that build for tax offices quote after a call, and a cost guide puts a freelancer's tax preparer site at $2,600 to $8,000. |
| Church | Web designers who publish prices for church sites mostly sell monthly plans: $19 a month for a software company's builder, $35 to $99 a month at a Tampa subscription, $79 to $159 a month on a church platform, $97 a month plus a $2,000 setup fee (waived with a 12-month commitment) at a church-only agency, and $159 to $359 a month for a custom site at a Christian-only design company; a one-time build is $475 to $950 at a one-person studio, and a cost guide puts a small church's site at $800 to $2,800 with a freelancer. |
| Videography | Web designers who publish prices for videographer sites are mostly template shops and small studios: $699.00 to $797 for a Showit template you set up yourself, starting at $4,000 for a brand and custom site at a solo designer, and most projects between $6k and $10k at a boutique wedding-industry studio; a cost guide puts a freelancer's video production site at $2,900 to $8,700. |
| Therapy | Web designers who publish prices for therapist sites charge $79 a month (listed at $99) at a therapist-only website company, $1,500.00 for a single practitioner at a therapist who builds for other therapists, $2300 to $5000+ for flat-fee Squarespace builds, $2,250 to $3,750 at a hand-coded studio, and from $297 for a template to $2,500+ custom at a small studio; a cost guide puts a freelancer's therapy practice site at $2,900 to $8,700. |
| Architecture | Web designers who publish prices for architecture firm sites range from $49 a month plus a $199 setup at a one-person managed-website service, and $250 and $500 a month plans at a small-business agency, to typically between $5,000 and $40,000 at an AEC-only studio and $15,000 to $20,000 at a Seattle agency; a cost guide puts a freelancer's architect site at $4,350 to $14,500. |
| Engineering | Web designers who publish prices for engineering firm sites charge $1350 to $1950 one-time at a small-business shop, from $8,000 a site at a large digital agency, typically between $5,000 and $40,000 at an AEC-only studio, and $25,000 to $75,000 at a B2B agency; a cost guide puts a freelancer's structural firm site at $3,650 to $11,600. |
| Luxury real estate | Web designers who publish prices for real estate agent sites charge $180.00 to $797 for a template you customize yourself, $199 to $8,499 at a solo Squarespace designer (from a template to a fully custom site), $557 to $3,199 for setup packages at a Squarespace studio, $800 to $6500 setup plus $165 to $215 a month at a website platform with IDX built in, and $229 to $899 a month for a subscription site; a cost guide puts a luxury build at $8,000 to $40,000 and up. |
| Massage therapy | Web designers who publish prices for massage therapist sites charge $549 for a Showit template you set up yourself, from $150 (with $75 to start) plus $10 a month for hosting at a small general web shop, packages from $1,500 at a small Connecticut studio, and $74.25 a month (the member price the page shows) for a booking-software plan that includes a customizable website; a cost guide puts a freelancer's build at $2,600 to $7,250. |
| Dental | Web designers who publish prices for dental sites charge from $1,850 one-time at a local studio, $1,999 to $3,999 setup plus $89 a month at a practice website company, $2,500 to $7,500 one-time (enterprise from $12,000) at a healthcare web agency, $3,500 at a small dental studio, $3,980 to $4,980 at a dental-only marketing company, and $2495 to $14,495 for the design plus $249 to $725 a month for SEO at a dental-only web company; a cost guide puts a freelancer's build at $3,650 to $10,150. |
| Med spa | Web designers who publish prices for med spa sites charge from $1,850 one-time at a local studio, $2,500 to $7,500 one-time (enterprise from $12,000) at a healthcare web agency, custom projects from $3,000 at a web and SEO agency, $10K to $40K and up at a Los Angeles design studio, and $89 to $749 a month or from $249 a month for a site rented on a subscription; a cost guide puts an agency build at $11,600 to $34,800. |
| Gymnastics | Web designers who publish prices for gymnastics sites charge $199 setup plus $49 a month at a small local-marketing shop, $2250 to $2775 plus $47 a month at a designer for dance studios and gymnastics centers, and from $899 for a template setup on a $299 a month class-management plan (or $150 an hour for a custom build) at a software company; a cost guide puts a freelancer's build at $3,650 to $10,150. |
| Veterinary | Web designers who publish prices for veterinary sites charge $109 to $169 a month at a veterinary-only subscription company, $599 a month with nothing upfront at a managed-website company, $699 a month plus a $499 design fee at a marketing agency, $2,400 to $3,000 for a 5-page or 7-page build at a small agency, $997 to $9,997 one time at a Long Island agency, and $2,990 to $7,490 outright (or $149 to $429 a month) at a small-town studio; a cost guide puts a freelancer's build at $4,350 to $11,600. |
| Web design | Template shops that publish prices for a studio's own site charge $299 for a Squarespace agency template, $699.00 (or $250.00 a month for 3 months) for a Showit template with a $129.00 add-on page for brand and website designers, and $1,495.00 (or from $269.10 a month) for a 22-page Showit template; no cost guide publishes a range for a web design studio's own site, and the studios that build for other studios quote after a call. |
| Physical therapy | Web designers who publish prices for physical therapy sites charge from $1,850 one-time at a local studio, $899 setup plus $199 to $299 a month at a physical-therapy-only website company, from $399 a month at a healthcare marketing agency, $5000 plus a $150 a month care plan at a Tampa agency, and $1495 to $3095 a month for a website inside a marketing system; a cost guide puts a freelancer's build at $4,050 to $10,850. |
| Appliance repair | Web designers who publish prices for appliance repair sites charge $199 setup plus $49 a month at a one-person studio, $249 a month at a lead-capture company, $500 setup plus $295 a month at an appliance-repair-only agency, from $1,850 one-time at a local studio, and $999 a month at an appliance-repair-only website company; a cost guide puts a freelancer's build at $1,750 to $6,550 and an agency's at $5,100 to $15,250. |
| Food truck | Web designers who publish prices for food truck sites charge $199 setup plus $49 a month at a one-person studio, $249 a month at a lead-capture company, $899 upfront or $75 a month for 12 months at a local studio, from $1,500 at an owner-run studio, and $997, $3,497 or $9,997 one-time at an agency; a cost guide puts a freelancer's build at $1,750 to $5,100 and an agency's at $4,350 to $12,350. |
| Private chef | Web designers who publish prices for chef and catering sites charge $997 to $9,997 one-time at an agency, from $1,500 at an owner-run studio, and $899 or $1,299 upfront (or $75 or $108.25 a month on a 12-month plan) at a local studio; a self-serve page builder's chef page is $19 a year, and chef booking software includes a website on its $29-a-month plan; a cost guide puts a freelancer's solo private chef site at $1,200 to $2,400 and an agency's at $3,000 to $6,000. |
| Spa | Web designers who publish prices for spa sites charge $99 to $199 a month after a $247 to $497 setup at a spa-only agency, $230 to $425 and up a month with no setup fee at a subscription agency, $599 a month at a subscription company, $1,695 one-time plus $150 a month at a spa-and-esthetician studio, and from $1,200, $2,550 or $3,500 for a one-time build at the studios with a day spa page; a cost guide puts a freelancer's day spa site at $3,600 to $6,000 and an agency's spa site at $8,700 to $26,100. |
| Medical practice | Web designers who publish prices for medical practice sites charge from $149 a month at a healthcare marketing agency, $1,999 to $3,999 setup plus $89 a month at a practice website company, and from $1,850 one-time at a local studio; the practice website platform quotes after a call. A healthcare agency's cost guide puts a build at $2,000 to $10,000+, and a cost-estimate guide puts a solo practice site at $5,000 to $12,000. |
| Optometry | Web designers who publish prices for optometry sites charge $419 to $1,549 a month at an eye-care-only company, $249 to $1,750 and up a month at a subscription web company, from $149 a month at a healthcare marketing agency, from $1,850 one-time at a local studio and $2,500 to $7,500 one-time (enterprise from $12,000) at a healthcare web agency; the eye care platform quotes after a consultation, and a cost guide puts a freelancer's optometrist site at $3,650 to $10,150. |
| Chiropractic | Web designers who publish prices for chiropractic sites charge $69 a month at a chiropractic website platform, $199 to $597 a month at a chiropractic-only website company, $495 to $695 a month on a 12-month term at a managed-website studio, from $1,850 one-time at a local studio, $1,000 to $3,000 at a web studio in Illinois and $2,500 to $7,500 one-time (enterprise from $12,000) at a healthcare web agency; a chiropractic website and marketing company quotes after a 30-minute discovery call, and a cost guide puts a freelancer's chiropractor site at $3,650 to $10,150. |
| Real estate | Among the web designers and platforms with a published price for an agent's site: from $3,999 at an agency; $165 or $215 a month on top of an $800 to $6500 design-package setup at a platform that bundles IDX; $399 a month with a $500 setup fee at a website-and-CRM platform; $229 up to $899 a month on a subscription platform; and from $199 for a Squarespace template you customize yourself. An IDX plugin for a site built elsewhere runs from $94.95 a month plus the MLS's own fee, and a cost-estimate guide puts a solo agent's site at $3,000 to $8,000. |
| Restaurant | Where a restaurant site has a published price: from $1,500 at a owner-run studio ($1,500 or $2,500 setup with $30 or $200 a month); $249 a month plus a 5% fee on each order, or $499 a month flat, at a website-and-ordering platform; $70 a month per location at a restaurant website builder with ordering built in; $49 to $169 a month for web ordering on a modular platform; and $0 for a free ordering system that charges $29 a month for card payments. A cost-estimate guide puts a menu-and-contact site at $1,500 to $4,000 and one with reservations at $4,000 to $8,000. |
| Photography | With a published price on the seller's page, a photographer's site costs: $12 or $18 a month billed annually for the website plus $8 to $40 for client galleries at a gallery platform (both free on the smallest plans, with a 15% commission on sales); $9 to $40 a month at a website-and-gallery platform with a 7% fee per order; $20.00 to $37.00 a month at a photo hosting platform; $29 a month, plus $750 once for a designed-for-you site, at a website platform with a design service; and from $1,500 at an owner-run studio. A cost-estimate guide's photographer page spans $2,200 to $7,250 for a freelancer and $5,100 to $17,400 for an agency. |
| Hotel | Web designers and platforms that publish prices for hotel, inn and bed and breakfast sites charge $700 for a starter site at a hotel-website studio, from $50 a month at a reservation platform with a template website inside the subscription, €11 to €41 a month at another with a free one-room tier, and $16 or $25 a month on a website builder's paid plans (turnkey builds from $300); the agencies that build for inns quote after a call or a form. A cost guide puts a freelancer's hotel site at $4,350 to $17,400 and an agency's at $10,150 to $40,600, and a bed and breakfast site at $2,600 to $21,750. |
| Cafe | Web designers who publish prices for cafe and coffee shop sites charge $199 setup plus $49 a month at a one-person studio, $899 upfront or $75 a month for 12 months at a local studio, and $997, $3,497 or $9,997 one-time at an agency; the ordering platforms charge $249 a month plus 5% of each order, or $499 a month flat, at one, a processing fee of 2.6% + $0.30 on each order and no subscription at another, and no monthly fee and 0% commission at a delivery marketplace's direct ordering. A cost guide puts a freelancer's coffee shop site at $3,650 to $10,900 and an agency's at $8,700 to $26,100, and a cafe site at $2,200 to $15,950. |
| Bakery | The platforms that publish prices for bakery sites charge $9.99 or $17.99 a month at a home-bakery app, 5% + $0.55 on each order with no monthly fee at a pre-order drops platform, and no monthly fee and 0% commission at a delivery marketplace's direct ordering; the studios charge $899 upfront (or $75 a month over 12 months) at a local studio, and $997, $3,497 or $9,997 as one-time packages at an agency. A cost guide puts a freelancer's bakery site at $3,650 to $10,150 and an agency's at $8,700 to $24,650. |
| Interior design | The studios and shops that publish prices for interior designer sites charge $2,200 for a template, $11,300 for a semi-custom site and $18,000 and up for a custom one at an Austin studio that builds for designers, payment plans from $137 at a template shop plus $22 a month for the platform, and $297 a template at another shop; the Dallas and Long Island studios quote after a waitlist or a call. A theme vendor's guide puts an agency build at $3,000 to $15,000 and a freelancer's at $800 to $4,000, and a cost guide puts a freelancer's interior designer site at $4,350 to $13,800 and an agency's at $10,150 to $29,000. |
| Gym | The agencies and gym-software companies that publish prices charge $1,699 for a fixed-scope gym site plus $699 a month for updates at an agency with a US office in Indiana, $750 setup plus $75 to $300 a month at a done-for-you service for trainers and studios, and from $99 or $175 a month for a website from gym-software companies; one includes a website on plans from $75 a month if you take payments through it, and another sells a $329 a month CRM add-on that includes websites. The same Indiana agency puts a high-complexity gym platform at $15,000 to $22,000. |
| Home care | The agencies and studios that publish prices charge $1,000 to $1,750 for a custom-designed small-business site at one web studio; a Seattle agency for aging-services providers charged from $3,500 for a semi-custom site of up to 15 pages and from $5,500 for a custom one (its 2021 Q&A); and a home care marketing agency charges $1,499 to $2,999 a month, a limited-time discount, for a marketing plan that includes the site; a healthcare marketing firm's custom packages start at $2,500 a month. |
| Auto repair | The agencies and platforms that publish prices for auto repair sites charge $1,699 for a fixed-scope site plus $699 a month for updates at an agency with a US office in Indiana, which separately estimates $2,800 to $4,800 for a medium-complexity shop site, and $39 a month or $390 a year at a website platform for dealers and shops; the two auto repair marketing agencies and the shop-software company publish no website price (one quotes on request). |
Each range is the published price of two to six web designers or agencies for that trade, not a market average; the design page for the trade names the type of business behind each figure and the date it was read. Designing and previewing on Zarla is free for every trade; you choose a plan when you publish.
The full price table for your trade
Each trade's page lists every designer's price, what it covers, how long the build takes and what a change costs afterwards, beside six sample designs for the trade: plumbing, cleaning, pressure washing, junk removal, electrician, HVAC, roofing, construction, landscaping, moving, tree service, towing, painting, remodeling, car detailing, pet sitting, handyman, daycare, consulting, salon, tutoring, locksmith, pool service, dog grooming, notary, laundromat, IT services, solar, wedding planning, nonprofit, tax preparation, church, videography, therapy, architecture, engineering, luxury real estate, massage therapy, dental, med spa, gymnastics, veterinary, web design, physical therapy, appliance repair, food truck, private chef, spa, medical practice, optometry, chiropractic, real estate, restaurant, photography, hotel, cafe, bakery, interior design, gym, home care, auto repair.
BUDGETING
How to budget for a small business website
Five questions that decide which route — and which number — is yours.
Write down what the site has to do
Say what you do and where, show proof, take calls, quote requests or bookings. If that's the list, you need a small site done well, not a big one.
Decide who does the work
Your evenings, an AI builder, a freelancer or an agency. The more of the work you hand over, the higher the price — and the longer until it's live.
Count the yearly cost, not just the launch
Plan fees, hosting, the domain, and whoever keeps it updated. Year two is where WordPress and custom builds surprise people.
Budget for the words and photos
Copy and real photos of your work matter more than the design. If someone else writes them, they're a line item.
Ask who can change it later
If a new phone number or price means a developer's invoice, that's a running cost. Pick a setup you can edit yourself.
Which route is right for you
Build it yourself on a website builder if you enjoy design and have a few evenings. It's the cheapest route in money and the most expensive in time: the builder gives you a template; the words, photos and layout are yours to do. The cheapest website builders, with each one's renewal price beside the sale price, has the numbers.
Use an AI website builder if you want the site live this week and would rather edit than start from a blank page. The builder writes and designs the first version from a description of the business; you change what's wrong.
Keep or choose WordPress if someone on your team already runs it, you publish a lot of articles, or you need a specific plugin nothing else offers. It's powerful and flexible — and it's the route with the most running costs and upkeep.
Hire a freelancer if you want a person to hand the job to and have a few thousand dollars. Ask who hosts it, who updates it and what a change costs after launch.
Hire an agency if the site is central to a larger business — many locations, custom booking or ordering systems, a brand program. For a one-location service business, it's usually more website than the job needs.
What a website costs for a trade or local service business
A plumber, electrician, landscaper or cleaner needs a site that does five things: names each service and each town you work in, shows reviews and photos of real jobs, puts your phone number one tap away, takes a quote request or a booking, and connects to your Google Business Profile. None of that needs a custom build.
The yardstick is what a customer costs you otherwise. In plumbing, one lead from search ads costs about $129 (US average · LocaliQ 2025 benchmark). In electrical, one lead from search ads costs about $94 (US average · LocaliQ 2025 benchmark). In landscaping, one lead from search ads costs about $118 (US average · LocaliQ 2025 benchmark). Every inquiry your website brings in is one you didn't have to buy.
See what a site for your trade looks like: plumbers, electricians, landscapers, roofers and cleaners. Still setting your prices? Start with how much to charge for house cleaning or how much to charge for pressure washing.
The costs people forget
- The domain renewal. About $15 a year for a .com (WPBeginner), and first-year deals often renew higher — what a domain name is and costs has the detail.
- Hosting after the intro price. Cheap hosting is an introductory rate: Hostinger's $1.99 a month needs 48 months paid upfront and renews at $10.99 a month. Check the renewal price before you sign up for years.
- Words and photos. FreshBooks puts content creation at $500 to $5,000 when someone else writes it.
- Changes after launch. A new service, a new price or a new town — who makes the change, and what does it cost?
- Upkeep. WordPress needs updates and backups; paying someone runs from $30 to $240 a month or more (Codeable, March 2026).
- Email at your own domain. A business address like you@yourbusiness.com is usually a separate subscription.
Website costs: common questions
For a one-location service business, a website-builder plan (Squarespace runs $19 to $99 a month on annual billing) or a freelancer build (about $6,760 for a basic site in FreshBooks' breakdown) covers what the site needs. Most agency projects reviewed on Clutch cost under $10,000; the average is $38,105 because large custom builds pull it up.
On a website builder, the plan is the monthly cost — Squarespace runs $19 to $99 a month billed annually. A WordPress site costs about $8 a month for basic shared hosting, or $30 to $100 for managed hosting, plus $30 to $240 a month if you pay someone to maintain it (WPBeginner; Codeable).
Hosting on its own is cheap to start and pricier to keep: Hostinger's entry plan is $1.99 a month if you pay 48 months upfront ($95.52), then renews at $10.99 a month, and a WordPress site that someone looks after runs about $735–$4,095 a year once managed hosting and upkeep are in (Hostinger, checked November 2026; Codeable, March 2026). On a website builder, hosting is part of the plan rather than a separate bill.
The software is free; running a website on it isn't. WordPress itself is free, but running it isn't: about $111 a year at the bare minimum (a domain and shared hosting, with you doing the updates), and about $735–$4,095 a year once managed hosting and someone to keep it updated are in (WPBeginner; Codeable, March 2026).
Website maintenance costs nothing extra on a website builder, where updates and backups come with the plan; a WordPress site costs $30–$50 a month on a cheap automated plan, $50–$200 a month on a typical one and from $240 a month with a developer on it (WPBeginner; Codeable, March 2026), and a freelancer who built your site charges about $500–$1,000 a year to look after it (FreshBooks, August 2026).
Build it yourself on a website builder and publish on its cheapest plan with your own domain, or on a free plan on the builder's own address if you can live with its branding. Read the renewal price, not the sale price: several builders and hosts advertise a low monthly figure that needs a term paid up front and renews at two to four times the number. Our cheapest website builder guide lists eleven builders with both prices. With Zarla, building and previewing the whole site is free; you pay when you publish.
A freelancer charges about $75 an hour, and a basic small-business site averages about $6,760 in FreshBooks' breakdown. Agencies listed on Clutch typically charge $100 to $149 an hour, and most projects reviewed there cost under $10,000 (Clutch, September 2026).
You're paying for a team — a strategist, a designer, a developer, a project manager — and for custom work built for you from scratch. That's worth it for a complex site; for a small service business, most of that work goes into things the site doesn't need.
The same as any small business site — the job is a few pages done well: services, towns, reviews, photos, a quote form and a phone number. The useful comparison is lead cost: in plumbing, one lead from search ads costs about $129 (US average · LocaliQ 2025 benchmark), so every inquiry the site brings in is one you didn't have to buy.
You can build one free on several builders, usually on the builder's own web address with its branding. With Zarla, building, editing and previewing the whole site is free; to publish it on your own domain you'll need Premium.
Zarla is free to build and preview — the AI writes and designs the site from one description, and you can edit it as much as you like. You pay when you publish; the current plans are on the pricing page, and they include hosting, the security certificate, the SEO setup, forms, bookings and invoicing.
Where these numbers come from
Every figure on this page is read off a published source, dated below. They're US figures, typical rather than a rule — the scope of your site moves every one of them. Yearly totals are our arithmetic on the published monthly prices. Related: the cheapest website builders, website hosting for small businesses, what WordPress really costs to run (every WordPress cost priced by name), the best WordPress alternatives and Zarla's free AI website builder. Build websites for clients? See how much to charge for a website — the designer's side, from the same sources.
- Clutch — Web Design Company Pricing Guide 2026 — dated September 2026, read September 2026
- FreshBooks — How Much Do Web Designers Charge? A Pricing Guide — dated August 2026, read October 2026
- Squarespace — Pricing (US) — no date on the page, read October 2026
- WPBeginner — How Much Does It Really Cost to Build a WordPress Website? — dated September 2025, read October 2026
- Codeable — WordPress Maintenance Pricing for 2026 — dated March 2026, read October 2026
- Hostinger — Web Hosting plans (US) — no date on the page, read November 2026
- Bluehost — Shared Hosting plans (US) — no date on the page, read November 2026
- IONOS — Web Hosting plans (US) — no date on the page, read November 2026
- DreamHost — Web Hosting plans (US) — no date on the page, read November 2026
- LocaliQ — 2025 Search Ad Benchmarks for Home Services — the cost of a lead from search ads, by trade
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