Ask five web designers what a small business website costs and you'll get five different answers. That's because "a website" can mean a simple page you build yourself on a Sunday afternoon, or a custom site an agency works on for months.
Here are the four main ways to get a small business website in 2026, roughly what each one costs, and what you get for the money.
The short answer
- Build it yourself with a website builder: about $15 to $50 a month, plus your time.
- Hire a freelancer: about $1,000 to $5,000 up front, plus hosting and the cost of changes later.
- Hire an agency: about $5,000 to $15,000 or more up front, plus a monthly care plan.
- Get a fully managed website: one monthly fee that covers the design, hosting and updates. Ours start at $20/mo.
These are typical prices for a small local business in the US. The real number depends on how many pages you need and who's doing the work.
Option 1: Build it yourself
Website builders like Wix, Squarespace and GoDaddy let you drag and drop your own website. Paid plans usually cost about $15 to $50 a month, a little less if you pay for a year up front.
Good for: owners who like tech, have spare time and need something simple.
The hidden cost is your time. Writing the text, choosing photos and setting everything up often takes a few full weekends, and you're the one making every change after that. You're also on your own for setting up your site for Google, which is the part that actually brings in customers.
Option 2: Hire a freelancer
A freelance web designer usually charges about $1,000 to $5,000 to build a small business website, often with half paid up front.
After launch, you still need hosting, usually $10 to $50 a month. Most freelancers charge by the hour for changes, often $50 to $150 an hour. Before you hire one, ask two questions: who makes changes after the website is finished, and what does each change cost?
Watch out for: the freelancer who disappears. If your site was built in a way only they understand, getting help later can be hard and expensive.
Option 3: Hire an agency
An agency gives you a team: a designer, a developer, a writer and someone to manage the project. A custom small business website from an agency usually starts around $5,000 and can go well past $15,000. Many also charge a monthly care plan, often $100 to $500 or more, for hosting, security and updates.
Good for: businesses that need special features, like an online store with hundreds of products, customer logins or connections to other software.
Option 4: A fully managed website on a monthly plan
With a managed website, you pay one monthly fee. The company designs your website, hosts it, keeps it secure and makes your changes for you. There's no big bill up front.
It works a lot like your phone plan: you have the service for as long as you're a customer. The website itself belongs to the company that runs it, so if you cancel, it goes offline. Your domain name, your text and your photos stay yours.
Good for: busy owners who want a professional website without a big up-front cost and without learning any tech.
The costs people forget
- Domain name: your web address, like yourbusiness.com. About $10 to $25 a year.
- Hosting: the computer that keeps your website online day and night. Included with builders and managed plans, extra with freelancers and agencies.
- Security (SSL): the padlock next to your address in the browser. It's usually free today, but someone has to set it up and keep it working.
- Changes: new prices, new hours, new photos. Free with some plans, charged by the hour with others.
- Business email: an address like you@yourbusiness.com. Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 charge per person, per month.
- Your time: the biggest cost of doing it yourself, and the easiest one to forget.
What does a website cost with Nicks Web Shop?
Here are our prices, so you don't have to call to find out:
- Single-Page Website: $20/mo. Home, About, Services and Contact sections on one easy-to-scroll page. Add more sections, like Reviews or a Photo Gallery, whenever you need them.
- Multi-Page Website: $39/mo. Home, About, Services and Contact pages, and each page can show up in Google searches on its own. Add more pages whenever you need them.
Both plans include hosting, security, backups, basic setup for Google, a contact form, your own QR code and free updates: just text or email us your changes. There's no setup fee and no contract, and you can cancel anytime. Pay yearly and save 10%. An AI chat assistant that answers your customers' questions day and night is $30/mo extra.
See every detail on our pricing page, or try a live demo to see what you'd get.
How to choose
Ask yourself three questions:
- How much can you spend up front? If the answer is "not much," a website builder or a monthly plan makes the most sense.
- Who will make changes? If it's you, be honest about whether you'll have the time. If it's someone else, find out what each change costs.
- Do you need special features? A large online store or customer logins point toward a freelancer or an agency.
Most local businesses, like restaurants, salons, pet sitters, contractors and clinics, need a fast, simple website with clear information, real reviews and an easy way to call. You don't need to spend thousands of dollars to get one.
