A Straight Answer Without the Runaround
You're here because you need a website and you want to know what it should actually cost. Let me walk you through what's out there, what you're paying for, and where the traps are.
You're here because you need a website and you want to know what it should actually cost. Maybe you've already gotten a couple of quotes that made your eyes water. Maybe you've been down the DIY rabbit hole and realized it's not as simple as the ads make it look.
Here's the reality: website pricing is all over the map, and most of it doesn't make sense. Let me walk you through what's actually out there, what you're paying for, and where the traps are — so you can make a smart decision without getting burned.
What the Market Looks Like Right Now
DIY Website Builders ($0–$35/month)
Wix, Squarespace, WordPress.com — the build-it-yourself option. Templates are cheap or free, but you're the designer, the copywriter, and the tech support. If you enjoy that kind of thing and have 20+ hours to invest, it's doable. But most small business owners start a site on Saturday afternoon, get frustrated by Sunday evening, and let it sit half-finished for six months. "Easy" is a marketing claim, not a reality for most people.
Freelance Web Designers ($800–$3,000)
Hiring a freelancer gets you something more polished than DIY, usually. The quality range is enormous — from talented designers who undercharge to people running WordPress themes and marking them up 400%. The bigger risk is longevity. Freelancers move on, get busy with other clients, or go off the grid entirely. When you need a change six months later, you might be starting from scratch with someone new.
Web Design Agencies ($3,000–$15,000+)
The agency experience comes with project managers, discovery calls, brand strategy sessions, and a proposal thick enough to use as a doorstop. You're getting a professional product — but you're also subsidizing their office rent, their team, and their overhead. A five-page business website does not cost $8,000 to build. But agencies price based on what the market will bear, not what it costs to deliver. Then there are monthly retainers — $100–$300/month for hosting and "maintenance" that rarely amounts to more than a plugin update.
Subscription Web Designers ($99–$199/month)
A monthly model that avoids the upfront hit. The idea is sound — but execution varies. Most subscription providers lock you into a 12-month agreement. Cancel at month five? You owe the remaining seven months. Miss a payment? Your site goes offline. You're essentially financing a website with a penalty for early repayment. The monthly price looks reasonable. The contract is where they get you.
My Approach — Built First, Billed After
I'm not an agency charging for overhead you don't benefit from. I build professional, SEO-optimized websites for small businesses and tradespeople on a monthly subscription that doesn't punish you for signing up.
Two plans. Clear pricing. No fine print designed to trap you.
Lite — a professional, mobile-friendly, locally-optimized website with everything you need to start generating leads online.
Pro — everything in Lite, plus additional pages, features, and flexibility for businesses that need more.
No upfront build fees. No deposits. No 12-month lock-in. I design and build your website first, you review it, and your monthly subscription starts only after you've approved it. Cancel anytime with 30 days' notice. T&Cs apply.
My logic is simple: if the website is doing its job, you'll stick around. If it's not, you shouldn't be forced to keep paying. That's how businesses that respect their customers operate.
See pricing for yourself
What Actually Drives the Cost of a Website
No matter where you go, certain factors affect what you'll pay:
Number of pages — a simple five-page site costs less than a twenty-page build with dedicated service pages, area pages, and a content section. More depth means more work.
Custom design vs. templates — a fully custom design tailored to your brand costs more than customizing a pre-built template. Both can look professional, but custom work differentiates you from competitors using the same off-the-shelf layout.
SEO — a website without SEO is a billboard in a forest. Nobody sees it. Building local SEO into the site from launch is more work upfront, but it's the difference between a website that generates calls and one that collects dust.
Ongoing management — if you want someone handling updates, improvements, and technical maintenance over time, that has a cost. With my subscription, it's included. With agencies, it's usually a separate monthly invoice.
What Should a Small Business Actually Pay?
If you're running a local business or trade, you shouldn't be paying $5,000 upfront for a brochure website. You shouldn't be locked into a year-long contract for something you've never tested. And you definitely shouldn't be figuring it out yourself at midnight because you can't afford a designer.
A fair deal looks like this: a professionally built, mobile-first, locally-optimized website for a reasonable monthly price — built before you're billed, with the freedom to walk away if it's not delivering results.
That's what I provide. No more complicated than that.