How Much Is It to Create a Website for a Small Business?

The answer to how much is it to create a website for a small business runs from almost nothing on a free builder plan to a large one-time agency bill. Who builds it decides most of the cost.

A DIY website builder like Wix or Squarespace is a monthly subscription. An agency charges a project fee, which is a much bigger upfront cost than a builder subscription. And the bills don't stop when it launches. The domain renews every year, and hosting and upkeep cost extra unless your plan covers them.

How much is it to create a website for a small business?

A small business website costs your build method plus your yearly running costs. There are three common routes.

• Build it yourself on a website builder. You pay a monthly plan, and some builders have a free tier.
• Hire a freelancer. A freelance web designer bills by the hour or by the project. Rates vary a lot, so get a few quotes.
• Hire an agency. business.com says pricing climbs with how complex your site is.

Here's how the three options compare.

What pushes the number up? More pages, features like online booking or payments, a store, custom design, and how much writing and photography you hand off instead of doing yourself.

You'll see an average cost quoted in plenty of places, but it doesn't tell you much. The gap between a free plan and an agency project is too wide for one middle number to fit you.

Is a builder or a professional better for you? It depends on your time and what the site needs to do. A builder works if you'll write the pages and keep them updated. An agency makes sense when you want it done for you or need features a builder can't handle well.

What does a basic website cost on a DIY builder?

A DIY website builder costs a monthly fee, and business.com says plans from builders like Wix, Squarespace and Shopify start at free. Those plans often include hosting too, so for a small business, basic websites may start with little more than a plan and a domain.

Squarespace plans cost less per month when you pay for the year upfront. Its cheapest tier also takes a fee on online store sales, which matters if you sell products.

Wix has a free plan. Its paid plans include a free domain for the first year, and the prices it shows assume you pay for the year in full. They also vary by where you live.

A website builder is a software platform that handles the hosting, security updates and design templates for you. Basic sites starting from a template go up fast, but you're limited to the design choices and features the platform offers.

The real cost of DIY is your time. A plumber who spends evenings fighting a page design isn't fixing pipes.

What are professional website development costs?

Hiring someone costs a one-time project fee, and business.com says agencies charge more as the site gets more complex. Professional website development costs cover planning, design, writing, the build itself and testing on phones and computers.

If you want a rough feel for hourly costs, the Bureau of Labor Statistics tracks what web developers and digital designers are paid. Keep in mind that's what they earn as pay. A freelancer or agency sets its own rates.

What you're paying for is mostly design judgment. Someone who builds websites for roofers knows people want photos of finished roofs and a fast way to call. Someone who builds for dentists knows what patients tend to look for before they book.

A lot of web development work happens in a CMS (content management system) like WordPress. Ask which one they'll use, because that choice decides who can edit it later, where the hosting lives and what software you'll keep paying for.

A professional designer can also set up features a template handles poorly, like booking tied to your schedule or a quote form that sends straight to your phone. Each one adds design and development time to the initial build.

Worth asking: Who owns the domain, the hosting account and the site when the project's done? If the answer is "we do," you could lose your website address if you ever part ways.

How much does a website cost per month?

What a website costs per month comes down to your domain, your hosting and your maintenance. Each renews on its own schedule, so some bills come monthly and some come once a year.

Website hosting, domain costs and upkeep

The domain. The SBA says getting online starts with registering a domain name, your website address. It stays yours only as long as you keep renewing it. The SBA also suggests using an accredited registrar and choosing one for price and customer service, and ICANN accredits a long list of registrars, so you have options. Your domain doesn't have to match your legal business name, either.

Squarespace only includes a free custom domain on annual plans, and only for the first year. From year two, domain costs are their own bill.

Hosting. That's the server your site lives on. business.com says shared hosting is the cheapest kind, and builder plans often include hosting. If someone else builds your website, ask whether website hosting is part of their monthly fee or something you set up and pay for yourself.

Maintenance. Updates, fixes, security and content changes. business.com says this costs very little when your builder plan includes it and a lot more when you pay someone separately to do it.

Heads up: A low quote for the initial build can come with a high monthly fee for hosting and changes. Compare a full year of costs, not just the launch price.

Did Google's free business websites go away?

Yes. Google turned off the free websites made with Google Business Profiles in March 2024, according to MarTech.

Until June 10, 2024, visitors to those sites were sent to the business's profile instead. After that, they got a "page not found" error. If you used one of those free sites, you need a website from somewhere else, and any old links pointing at it are dead.

Your Google Business Profile itself still works. It just can't be your website anymore.

Will a cheaper website still show up on Google?

A cheaper website can show up on Google just like an expensive one, because Google's SEO Starter Guide says you usually only have to publish your website. You don't pay Google to be listed.

Google also says plainly that there's no secret that'll rank your website first. So be wary of anyone who promises a top spot, no matter what they charge. What helps is a clean design, clear pages about your services and the areas you work in, and an easy way to reach you.

Google suggests waiting a few weeks before judging whether a change helped in Search. Don't rebuild the site in a panic after a quiet week.

Can ChatGPT build a website?

ChatGPT and other AI software can draft page text, suggest a design and write code. They can't buy your domain, set up hosting or know whether your phone number and service area are right. You still need a website builder or a professional to put the pieces together, and someone who knows your business should read every word before the website goes live.

Frequently asked questions

Can a small business website really be free?

A website can start free. Wix has a free plan, and business.com says builder plans begin at no cost. If you want your own custom domain, though, that's a bill that renews every year once any free first year runs out.

Do I need an LLC to run a website?

No. A website isn't a business structure, so you don't need an LLC to have one. Whether to form an LLC is a separate choice about liability and taxes, and an accountant or attorney in your state can help you sort it out.

Do I need a website if I have a Google Business Profile?

For most businesses, yes. Google no longer builds free websites from Business Profiles, so the profile can't stand in for a business website anymore.

Does my domain have to be my business name?

No. The SBA says your domain doesn't need to match your legal business name, trademark or DBA. Short and easy to say out loud is a good test.

What to do next

Add up the website build cost plus a year of domain, hosting and upkeep before you compare options. That's your real number.

Related reading: How Much Does a Small Website Cost? What You Actually Pay.

Review Monster builds Small Business Websites for local businesses, and we'd be glad to give you a quote if you'd rather hand the design and development to a professional. But if a website builder plan fits how you work, that's a fine place to start.

Sources

• How Much Does It Cost to Build a Website? — business.com, Amanda Hoffman
• Squarespace Pricing — Squarespace
• Wix Plans — Wix
• Web Developers and Digital Designers — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook
• Marketing and sales — U.S. Small Business Administration
• Registering a domain name — ICANN
• Google to shut down Business Profiles websites — MarTech, Nicola Agius
• SEO Starter Guide — Google Search Central