What should a small business website cost?

Ask five web designers what a website costs and you will get five very different answers. That is because “a website” can mean anything from a single page to a full online shop. This guide explains what drives the price, what you should get at each level and the running costs people often forget.

What changes the price

• Number of pages: a five-page website for a local service is a much smaller job than a 30-page website with a blog and many services.
• Custom design or a theme: a well-chosen theme customised to your brand is faster and cheaper than a design drawn from scratch, and for most small businesses it works just as well.
• Online shop: selling online adds products, payments, shipping, tax and stock, which adds a lot of set-up and testing.
• Content: someone has to write the text and supply photos. If the developer writes it, the price goes up.
• Extras: booking systems, multiple languages, member areas and integrations with other software.

What a good small business website includes

Whatever you pay, a website meant to bring enquiries should have:

• A clear message on the home page: what you do, for whom, and where
• A page for each main service
• Your phone number, WhatsApp button and a short enquiry form on every page
• Fast loading on mobile, where most visitors are
• Basic on-page SEO: page titles, descriptions, headings and image alt text
• GA4 and Search Console, so you can see visitors and enquiries
• An SSL certificate (the padlock) and regular backups
• Admin access for you, so you can edit text and photos yourself

What we charge

Our Web Development packages are one-time prices:

• Starter, $299: up to 5 pages on WordPress, mobile-ready, basic on-page SEO and a contact form. Right for most local service businesses.
• Business, $599: up to 12 pages, a blog, speed tuning, GA4 and Search Console, and an enquiry form that can feed your CRM.
• E-commerce, $999: a WooCommerce or Shopify shop with up to 50 products, a payment gateway and e-commerce tracking.

Prices are in US dollars, and you can switch to rupees on the page.

The running costs people forget

The build is a one-time cost, but every website also has ongoing costs:

• Domain name: renewed every year.
• Hosting: monthly or yearly, depending on the plan.
• Paid themes, plugins or apps: some need a yearly licence to keep receiving updates.
• Updates and security: WordPress, themes and plugins need regular updates.
• Content: a website that never changes slowly loses ground in search.

Ask for these costs before you start, so the total is not a surprise.

Questions to ask before you pay anyone

• Will I own the domain, the hosting account and the website files?
• Will I get admin access?
• How many rounds of changes are included?
• Is basic SEO and analytics set up, or is that extra?
• What happens if something breaks after launch?
• Can I see websites you have built for similar businesses?

Cheap now, expensive later

A very cheap website often has no tracking, slow pages and no SEO basics. It looks fine, but brings few enquiries, and you end up paying to rebuild it. A modest website built properly, on a platform you can edit yourself, is usually the better investment.

Next step

If you are planning a new website or a redesign, tell me what you sell and who your customers are. I will suggest the right package and what you will need to prepare.