How much does a website cost, and what should it include?

What drives the cost of a website

Asking what a website costs is a bit like asking what a car costs. The honest answer is that it depends on what you need it to do. A dental clinic, a law office and a home-services company can all need very different sites. These are the things that move the price the most.

• Scope. A five-page site costs far less than a site with dozens of service pages, location pages and a blog.
• Design. A template is cheaper and faster. A custom design costs more, but it fits your brand and your content instead of the other way around.
• Content. Someone has to write every page and find good photos. If you write it yourself, you save money but spend time. Professional copywriting adds cost and usually helps the site sell.
• Integrations. Online booking, quote forms, payments, a CRM or a customer portal each add setup and testing work.
• SEO setup. Page titles, descriptions, clean URLs, a sitemap and structured data take time to do properly.
• Accessibility and speed. Building a site that loads fast and works for people with disabilities takes skill and testing.

We don't quote typical prices here, because ranges you find online vary wildly and depend on what each one includes. Compare offers by what they include, not only by the number at the bottom.

Your four options, with honest trade-offs

1. Do it yourself with a website builder

This is the lowest upfront cost. You pick a template, add your text and publish. The trade-off is your time, and the result is only as good as the content and setup you put in. Builders can limit how much control you have over speed, structured data and moving the site later.

2. Hire a freelancer

A good freelancer can give you a custom site for less than an agency. Quality varies a lot. Ask who will update the site after launch, and what happens if the freelancer moves on.

3. Hire an agency

Agencies usually cost the most. In return you get a team: design, writing, development and project management. For a small business, check that you are not paying for a large process you don't need.

4. Use a managed website service

A managed service builds the site and then looks after it for an ongoing fee: hosting, updates, fixes and small changes. It spreads the cost over time. Read the contract closely, because the key question is what you own if you leave.

Ongoing costs to budget for

A website is not a one-time purchase. Plan for these costs every year, whoever builds the site.

• Domain renewal. Your domain name is registered for a set period and must be renewed, or you can lose it.
• Hosting. The server that keeps your site online. Cheap hosting can mean a slow site.
• Maintenance and updates. Software, plugins and themes need security updates.
• Security. Your site should use HTTPS. The FTC's advice on choosing a web host says the service you choose should include TLS, the technology behind HTTPS, and that you should know who keeps the site's software up to date.
• Content. Updating services, hours, photos and answers to new customer questions keeps the site useful and current.

What every small business website should include

Whatever you spend, these are the basics we would not launch without.

• Mobile-first design. Google uses the mobile version of a site for indexing and ranking, so your site must work well on a phone first.
• Speed. Google's Core Web Vitals measure loading, responsiveness and visual stability, and Google says good results align with what its core ranking systems seek to reward.
• Clear services. One clear page per main service, saying what you do, for whom and where.
• An easy way to contact you. A phone number people can tap, a short form, and booking if it fits your business.
• Measurement. Connect Google Analytics to see what visitors do, and Google Search Console to see how your site appears in Google Search.
• Local business information. Your business name, address or service area, phone and hours in plain text, matching your Google Business Profile.
• Structured data. Code that labels your business details for search engines, following Google's LocalBusiness structured data guide.
• Accessibility basics. The Department of Justice's web accessibility guidance covers businesses open to the public and names common barriers: low color contrast, images without text alternatives, videos without captions and pages that can't be used with a keyboard. The WCAG standard is the usual technical reference.
• A privacy policy. If your forms collect names, emails or phone numbers, publish a clear privacy policy. Some states require one; California's attorney general describes CalOPPA as requiring commercial websites that collect personal information from California residents to post one. Ask your attorney what applies to you.

Make sure you own your website

This is the part people skip, and it causes the most pain later. Your domain, hosting, analytics and Search Console should all be in your name, with your email as the owner. Your web team can have access as users. They should not be the owner.

The registrant is the person or company a domain is registered to. ICANN, which coordinates domain names, says in its page on changing the registrant that changes go through the registrar. If someone else is the registrant and won't cooperate, the options it lists include negotiating, waiting for the domain to expire or going to court. It is far easier to get this right at the start. ICANN's information for registrants also covers keeping your contact details current and renewing on time.

Red flags when hiring someone

• They register the domain in their own name or won't tell you who owns it.
• There is no written scope saying which pages, features and revisions are included.
• They can't explain who updates the site after launch, or what that costs.
• They promise first place on Google. Nobody can guarantee a ranking, and Google's SEO starter guide says there are no secrets that automatically rank a site first.
• You can't export your content or move the site if you leave.
• They don't mention mobile, speed, accessibility or analytics at all.

Your checklist

• A written scope: pages, features, content, revisions and launch date.
• Domain, hosting, Google Analytics and Search Console registered in your name.
• The site works well on a phone and loads fast.
• One clear page per main service, with your service area.
• A tap-to-call phone number, a contact form and booking if it fits.
• Business name, phone and hours that match your Google Business Profile.
• LocalBusiness structured data that matches the visible page.
• Accessibility basics: contrast, alt text, captions and keyboard use.
• HTTPS on every page and a plan for software updates.
• A privacy policy if your forms collect personal information.

This is what we build in our website service: a fast, mobile-first site that you own, set up to be found from day one.

Sources

1. Mobile-first indexing best practices, Google Search Central
2. Understanding Core Web Vitals and Google search results, Google Search Central
3. SEO Starter Guide, Google Search Central
4. Local business (LocalBusiness) structured data, Google Search Central
5. Google Search Console, Google
6. Set up Analytics for a website and/or app, Google Analytics Help
7. Guidance on Web Accessibility and the ADA, U.S. Department of Justice
8. WCAG 2 Overview, W3C Web Accessibility Initiative
9. About Change of Registrant, ICANN
10. Information for Domain Name Registrants, ICANN
11. Cybersecurity for small business: Hiring a web host, Federal Trade Commission
12. Attorney General Kamala D. Harris Launches New Tool to Help Consumers Report Violations of California Online Privacy Protection Act (CalOPPA), State of California Department of Justice