How much does a small business website cost?

The honest answer is that a small business website can cost almost nothing or tens of thousands of dollars, and both are fair prices for what you get. The trick is knowing which one you need. Most local businesses need far less than a custom build, and a little more than they'd get doing it themselves on a Sunday.

If you run a restaurant, there's a version of this with restaurant platforms included: How much does a restaurant website cost?

What are the main ways to get a small business website?

Builder prices are list prices from published reviews. They change, so check before you sign up.

What do you get from a DIY website builder?

The lowest cash cost. Wix's paid plans run $19, $29 and $39 a month on a yearly plan. Squarespace starts around $19 a month paid yearly, or about $25 paid monthly. Both have templates for almost every kind of business, and both can draft a first version with AI in a few minutes.

The part nobody prices in is the rest of the job. Someone has to write the words, pick and size the photos, connect the domain and make sure your business email keeps working afterward. For a lot of owners that takes several weekends, and plenty of DIY sites end up half finished with the template's sample text still on them.

What does a freelancer or agency charge?

It depends a lot on who you hire and what you ask for. Clutch, a site that collects verified reviews of agencies, says most web design projects on its platform come in under $10,000, and that US agencies typically bill $100 to $149 an hour. A freelancer is often less than an agency, but you're still paying for meetings, a design process and rounds of revisions.

That's money well spent when you need something built around how your business works: booking, an online store, a members area, or a brand that has to look like nobody else. At Abra, our custom builds start around $5,000. For a cleaning service or a tutor who needs to be found and called, it's usually more than the job needs.

What does each option cost over three years?

Monthly prices make everything look cheap. Here's the same comparison over 36 months, before domain fees:

Doing it yourself is the cheapest in dollars. It's only cheaper overall if your time costs nothing and the site actually gets finished.

What costs do small businesses forget to plan for?

• The domain name. Usually around $10 to $20 a year from a registrar, on top of every option above. Renewals are often higher than the first year.
• Photos. Good phone photos are fine for most local businesses. A professional shoot costs extra with any option.
• Changes after launch. On a builder it's your time. With a freelancer it's their hourly rate. With us it's an email and a small quote.
• Your email. Connecting a domain the wrong way can stop your business email from arriving. Here's how that happens and how to avoid it: Will a new website break my email?
• Leaving. Ask what happens to your site if you stop paying. Some builders keep it. Ours is yours.

Which option should my business choose?

• You like tinkering and have a few free weekends: a DIY builder.
• You need booking, a store or something built around how you work: a freelancer, an agency or a custom build.
• You need a real site that people can find and call you from, and you don't want to build it yourself: Website in a Week.