How Much Does a Website Cost in 2026? Real Prices for Small Businesses
A small business website in 2026 typically costs $500 to $2,000 upfront for a professionally built five-page site, plus roughly $150 to $600 a year to keep it online. A DIY site on a website builder costs little upfront but around $200 to $600 a year for as long as you keep it. Larger custom sites built by agencies commonly cost several thousand dollars; one industry survey puts the average agency website at about $3,700.
Those headline numbers hide the costs that actually catch business owners out: hosting that renews at up to seven times the introductory price, domains that cost more in year two, and premium plugins that bill every year. This guide breaks down every line item, shows the three-year total for a real example, and explains what pushes a price up or down.
I’m Govind Rai, founder of Crazy Media Design. We publish our own price ($750 for a five-page website), so you can see exactly where we sit in the market. Every other figure on this page is sourced; the sources are listed at the end.
Website cost at a glance
| Type of website | Typical upfront cost | Typical yearly running cost |
|---|---|---|
| DIY on a website builder (Wix, Squarespace) | $0, plus your time | About $200 to $600 in plan fees |
| Basic 5-page business website (freelancer or small agency) | $500 to $2,000 | About $40 to $200 (domain and hosting) |
| Larger business website, 10 to 20 pages | Typically $2,000 to $8,000 | $100 to $500+, depending on plugins and support |
| Online store | Typically $3,000 to $15,000+ | Platform or hosting fees plus payment processing |
| Custom web application or portal | $15,000 to $50,000+ | Ongoing development and hosting |
The ranges for larger sites and stores are typical market ranges, not quotes; they vary widely with features and who builds them.
The two kinds of website cost: upfront and ongoing
Every website has two price tags, and most quotes only show you one.
- Upfront cost: design, build, content, setup and launch. Paid once.
- Ongoing cost: domain, hosting, paid themes and plugins, updates, and any support plan. Paid every year for the life of the site.
A builder subscription looks cheap because it is all ongoing. A professionally built site looks expensive because most of the cost is upfront. The only fair comparison is the total over three years, which we work through below.
Ongoing website costs, line by line
Domain name: about $10 to $23 a year
A .com domain is the cheapest part of your website, but renewal prices vary more than most people expect. As of October 2026, Cloudflare charges $10.46 a year for both registration and renewal and Porkbun $11.08, while Namecheap charges $11.48 in the first year and $18.68 to renew, and GoDaddy $13.19 then $23.19.
Always register the domain in your own name, never your designer’s. It is the one part of your website you can’t easily replace.
Hosting: about $3 to $15 a month, but watch the renewal
Shared WordPress hosting is advertised from about $2 to $7 a month in the US. The catch is the renewal. In the UK, for example, SiteGround’s StartUp plan was £1.99 a month introductory but £13.99 on renewal, and GoDaddy Basic £3.99 then £14.99 (prices checked March 2026). That is up to seven times the price at the end of year one.
When you compare hosts, compare the renewal price, not the headline price. For a small business site, $5 to $15 a month for reliable hosting with backups is a sensible budget.
SSL certificate: usually free
The padlock in the browser (HTTPS) is essential, but most good hosts include a free SSL certificate. Paying extra for a basic SSL certificate is rarely necessary for a small business site.
Themes and plugins: $0 to a few hundred dollars a year
WordPress itself is free. Many quality themes and plugins have free versions, with premium licences typically $29 to $99 a year each (examples: OceanWP up to $29, Divi $89, Yoast SEO Premium up to $89, Wordfence $99). A typical small business site needs only one or two paid licences, if any.
Maintenance and support: your time or a monthly plan
WordPress, themes and plugins need regular updates, and the site needs backups. You can do this yourself in about 30 minutes a month, or pay someone. Agency care plans vary widely in price and scope, so ask exactly what’s included: update frequency, backups, uptime monitoring, and how many content changes a month.
What drives the upfront cost of a website
Six things decide most of the price of a build:
- Number of pages. Each page needs planning, design, content and testing. Five pages is a sensible starting point for most local businesses.
- Design approach. A proven layout customised for your brand costs far less than a fully bespoke design system.
- Content. Who writes it? Professional copywriting can cost as much as the design. Supplying your own content with a designer’s guidance cuts cost significantly.
- Features. Online booking, payments, quote calculators, member areas and integrations each add cost.
- E-commerce. Product pages, checkout, shipping and tax setup are a project in themselves.
- Who builds it. Rates range from about $15 an hour on freelance marketplaces to well over $100 an hour at established agencies.
Website cost by who builds it
| Builder | Typical cost | Best for | The trade-off |
|---|---|---|---|
| You (DIY builder) | Wix from $17/mo, Squarespace from $19/mo (billed annually) | Testing an idea, very tight budgets | Your time; the site stays on their platform |
| Freelancer | About $15 to $75+ per hour; a five-page site often $400 to $2,000 | Simple sites with a clear brief | Quality and availability vary widely |
| Small agency | About $750 to $5,000 for a small business site | Owners who want it done properly, fast | Check ownership and hosting terms |
| Larger agency | Average about $3,700; large projects $10,000 to $50,000 | Complex sites, larger budgets | Price, and often a monthly retainer |
A worked example: the 3-year cost of a plumber’s website
Take a local plumbing business that needs five pages: Home, Services, About, Reviews and Contact. Here is what three years really costs with each approach.
| Approach | Upfront | 3 years of running costs | 3-year total |
|---|---|---|---|
| DIY on Wix Light | $0 | $612 plan fees + about $43 domain renewals | About $655, plus 20 to 40 hours of your time |
| Crazy Media Design | $750 | About $31 domain + $108 to $540 hosting | About $890 to $1,320 |
| Average agency build | About $3,700 | About $31 domain + $108 to $540 hosting | About $3,840 to $4,270 |
Assumptions: a Cloudflare-registered domain at $10.46 a year, hosting at $3 to $15 a month, no paid plugins. The DIY row uses Wix’s annual price and its estimated domain renewal after the free first year.
The DIY option is cheapest on paper, but the gap shrinks to a few hundred dollars once a professional site is involved, and it disappears if the professional site brings even one extra job a year. That’s the real question to ask of any quote: not “what does it cost?” but “what will it earn?”
Hidden website costs to budget for
- Hosting renewals at several times the introductory price.
- Domain renewals higher than the first-year price at some registrars.
- Premium plugin licences that renew every year, sometimes silently.
- Professional photography. Real photos of your team and work convert better than stock, and are often worth paying for.
- Copywriting, if you don’t write your own content.
- Changes after launch, if your designer charges per edit.
- Email hosting for a professional address (you@yourbusiness.com).
- A redesign every few years as your business and design standards change.
How to lower the cost without hurting results
- Start with five pages and add service pages once the site is earning.
- Write your own content, with a simple guide from your designer.
- Use a proven layout customised to your brand rather than a bespoke design.
- Phase in features such as booking or payments once you know customers want them.
- Choose hosting by its renewal price, not its introductory price.
- Prepare everything before the project starts (our website preparation checklist helps).
We go much deeper on this in affordable web design services: what $750 really buys.
What a small business website costs with us
A professional five-page WordPress website from Crazy Media Design starts at $750. That includes custom design, mobile optimisation, a contact form, SEO basics and XML sitemap, Google Analytics, SSL, blog setup, free stock images and unlimited revisions until you approve the design, delivered in two weeks.
Not included: your domain (bought in your name), hosting (we offer it at extra cost, or you can use any host), logo design, premium photography, and pages or features beyond the five, which we quote upfront. You own the finished website outright.
Wondering about timing? See how long it takes to build a website.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a full website cost?
For a small business, a complete professionally built website usually costs $500 to $2,000 upfront for five pages and $2,000 to $8,000 for a larger site. Add roughly $150 to $600 a year for domain, hosting and any paid plugins.
How much does a 10-page website cost?
Typically $1,500 to $5,000 from a freelancer or small agency, depending on design and content. Many providers price a base package of five pages, then charge per extra page, so ask for the per-page rate upfront.
How much does a blog website cost?
A simple blog can cost almost nothing: about $10 to $20 a year for a domain, a few dollars a month for hosting, and a free WordPress theme. Costs rise only if you pay for custom design or premium tools.
How much does a website cost per month?
For a professionally built site you own, typically $10 to $50 a month once domain, hosting and any plugins are spread across the year. Website builder plans cost $17 to $40 a month for most small business plans, or more for advanced e-commerce.
Is $500 enough for a business website?
It can be for a simple site, but check what’s excluded. At that price, ask who owns the site, what hosting costs after year one, and how many revisions are included.
Should I pay for a website all upfront?
Many designers take a deposit and the balance at launch. Avoid paying 100% upfront to someone you haven’t worked with, and get the scope, timeline and ownership terms in writing first.
Get a clear price for your website
Book a free call and we’ll tell you exactly what your website needs and what it will cost, in writing, before any work starts. Five-page websites start at $750.
Sources
- Porkbun: what a .com domain costs (competitor prices checked 22 October 2026)
- 365i: WordPress hosting real cost after year one (March 2026, UK prices)
- WebsiteSetup: small business website costs
- Website Builder Expert: Wix pricing (September 2026)
- The Pricer: Squarespace website cost (October 2026)
- Upwork: cost to hire a web designer
Need a website that brings in inquiries?
Get a professional website, live in two weeks
We build fast, mobile-friendly websites for local businesses, planned around what you need your website to do. Five pages from $750, with unlimited revisions until you approve.
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founder of Crazy Media Design.
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- Delivered in two weeks
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