A small business website has two prices: what it costs to build and what it costs to keep running. The running costs are easy to pin down, because platforms and domain registries publish them. The build cost depends on exactly what you ask for, and that is rarely written down.
Customers do look for a site before they get in touch. In BrightLocal's 2026 survey of 1,227 US consumers, 18% said they had not contacted a local business because they couldn't find a website (BrightLocal, July 2026). Across the EU, 76.7% of small enterprises (10 to 49 staff) had a website in 2025, against 95.7% of large ones (Eurostat, February 2026).
If you already have a site and want to know what is holding it back, start with what a website audit checks.
Key takeaways
- Quotes range widely because "a website" can mean a three-page brochure or a booking system. A fixed price only means something next to a written scope.
- Platform and domain prices are published. As of October 2026, Squarespace plans cost $12 to $25 a month billed annually, and Shopify's Basic to Advanced plans $29 to $299 a month billed yearly.
- Selling online adds a fee on every sale, so a store's running cost grows with its revenue.
- Ask whether a quote covers text, photos, privacy pages, training, changes after launch and moving away later. If it doesn't, you pay for them separately.
- Before you pay anyone, make sure the domain, hosting and admin accounts are in your name.
Why website quotes vary so much
Website quotes vary because "website" has no fixed size. For one business it means three pages with opening hours, prices and a phone number. For another it means online booking with a staff calendar, reminders and card payments. Both owners ask for "a website", and both get a price.
When nobody writes the scope down, each vendor quotes for the site it imagines. One prices a template with your logo on it. Another prices custom design, written copy and a link to your booking software. The two numbers are far apart because they describe two different jobs.
What customers look for is mostly plain information. In the same BrightLocal survey, the top three factors when choosing which local business to contact were clear and complete information (32%), the most or best reviews (30%), and clear pricing or a deal (29%) (BrightLocal, July 2026). A site that says what you do, where, when and for how much covers a lot of that.
So describe the job first, then ask for a price. A page list, the features each page needs and who supplies the text make two quotes comparable. The rest is in what a written scope should list.
One-off and running costs
Some costs you pay once, at the start. Others come back every month or year for as long as the site is live. The table uses each provider's published prices as of October 2026, in US dollars before tax.
| Cost | How often | Published price, October 2026 | What to check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Design and build | Once | Set by the scope; no published price | What the price includes, in writing |
| Text and photos | Once, then with each update | Your time, or a writer's and photographer's fee | Who supplies them, and by when |
| Domain name (.com) | Every year | Registry fee of $10.97 from November 1, 2026, plus ICANN's $0.20 fee and the registrar's margin | The renewal price, not only the first year |
| Hosting (for a template or custom site) | Monthly or yearly | Quoted by the host or the vendor | Whose name the account is in |
| Website builder plan (Squarespace) | Monthly or yearly | $12, $17 or $25 a month billed annually; $19, $27 or $36 billed monthly | The free first-year domain comes with annual plans |
| Online store plan (Shopify) | Monthly or yearly | $29, $79 or $299 a month billed yearly; $39, $105 or $399 billed monthly | Which plan your sales volume needs |
| Payment and transaction fees | Every sale | Shopify Payments: 2.5% to 2.9% + 30¢ per online card payment, depending on plan. With a third-party payment provider, Shopify adds 2%, 1% or 0.6% per sale on top of that provider's fees. Squarespace Basic: 2% on store sales | How the fees change as sales grow |
| Care and maintenance | Monthly or yearly | Quoted by the provider | What it covers and how fast they respond |
| Google Business Profile | Ongoing | Free | Whose account the profile is in |
Paying for a year up front lowers the platform price. The $12 Squarespace plan comes to $144 a year billed annually, against $228 at the monthly rate (Squarespace pricing, accessed October 29, 2026). Shopify's Basic plan is $348 a year billed yearly, or $468 paid month by month (Shopify pricing, accessed October 29, 2026).
A domain price has two layers. The .com registry fee rises from $10.26 to $10.97 a year on November 1, 2026, as Domain Incite reported from Verisign's figures. Registrars add ICANN's $0.20 fee and their own margin, so the retail price is higher.
A Google Business Profile costs nothing and can take bookings (Google). For a business that mainly needs to be found and booked, set one up whatever the website budget.
Builder, template or custom website
There are three ways to get a small business website, and each one moves cost to a different place.
- A website builder, such as Squarespace or Shopify, rents you a platform. You pay monthly or yearly, edit the site yourself and work within what the platform offers.
- A template is a ready-made design, often for WordPress, set up on hosting you rent. It is cheaper to start than custom work, but someone has to keep the software updated.
- A custom site is designed and built for your business. It costs more up front and fits the way you already work.
When a builder is the right choice
A builder is the right choice when the site's job is to inform people and get found. It fits if:
- you need a handful of pages, such as services, prices, hours and contact;
- you or someone on staff will make the updates;
- the platform's booking or store features cover what you sell;
- you want to test online orders before spending more.
In those cases, custom design adds cost that customers rarely notice. The money does more in clear text and good photos.
When a custom site is worth it
Custom work earns its price when the site has to fit how the business runs: booking tied to staff calendars, quotes built from job details, stock that matches your till, or a link to software you already use.
It can also pay off for a store whose online sales keep growing. Such a store still pays a payment processor for each card payment, but no platform fee on top, such as Squarespace Basic's 2% on store sales or Shopify's added percentage for third-party providers. Weigh that saving against the build cost and the care plan you will need.
With a custom site, you depend on whoever maintains it. That makes the ownership questions in the quote comparison checklist even more important.
Costs quotes often leave out
A quote can be accurate and still miss costs you will pay later. Ask about each of these before you sign.
Text and photos
Every page needs words and pictures, and someone has to produce them. If the quote assumes you supply them, the launch waits for you. Ask whether copywriting and photography are included, and what happens to the timeline if your material is late.
Fees that grow with sales
Transaction fees are a running cost that rises with revenue. Take a shop that sells $5,000 a month online across 100 orders. At Shopify's online card rate on its Basic plan, 2.9% + 30¢ per payment, that is $175 a month in card fees.
If the shop uses a third-party payment provider instead, that provider's card fees replace Shopify's, and Shopify's extra 2% adds another $100 a month. On Squarespace's Basic plan, the 2% fee on store sales is also $100 at that volume, on top of payment processing. Double the orders at the same order value and each of those figures doubles.
Privacy and cookie pages
A contact form collects personal data, and analytics tools such as Google Analytics set cookies. Depending on where you trade, the law may require a privacy notice and consent before those cookies load. Ask whether the quote includes a privacy page and a consent banner, and check the wording with whoever advises you on compliance.
Training
Opening hours, prices and photos change. If nobody on your side knows how to update them, every change becomes a paid request. Ask for a training session and a short written guide as part of the handover.
Changes after launch
Ask where the quote ends. If it ends at launch, ask what a small change costs afterwards, how fast it gets done, and whether a care plan covers updates, backups and fixes.
Moving away later
At some point you may change vendor or platform. Ask how you would export your pages, images and customer data, whether there is a fee, and how much notice you must give. The guide to who owns your website after handover covers this in more detail.
What a written scope should list
A fixed price is only as firm as the scope behind it. The vendor can commit to a number because the job is defined, and you can hold them to it for the same reason. Before you agree to a price, the scope should list:
- every page, by name;
- what each page does, such as a contact form, booking, payments, search or a customer login;
- connections to other tools, such as your booking system, payment provider, email or accounting software;
- who writes the text and supplies the photos, and by when;
- how many rounds of design changes are included;
- the devices it is tested on, phones first;
- a privacy page and cookie consent, if the site needs them;
- launch tasks: connecting the domain, redirects from the old site, analytics, and linking the Google Business Profile;
- training and handover documents;
- what happens after launch: the care plan, response time and the price of small changes;
- whose name the domain, hosting and accounts are in, and what you receive at handover;
- the price, the payment schedule and the timeline;
- what counts as a change of scope, and how it is priced.
Phones belong at the top of the testing list. In BrightLocal's 2026 survey, 73% of respondents started their latest local search on a mobile device (BrightLocal, July 2026).
If something is not in the scope, assume it is not in the price. Ask for it to be added, or priced separately, before you sign.
How to compare two quotes
Two quotes are comparable only when they price the same scope. Send each vendor the same page list and feature list, then check each quote against the questions below.
Scope and price
- Does it cover every page and feature on your list?
- Is the price fixed, or billed by the hour?
- Are text, photos, privacy pages and training included, or extra?
- How many rounds of design changes are included?
- What is the payment schedule, and what triggers each payment?
Running costs
- Which platform or hosting plan does it assume, and what does that cost a year?
- What will transaction fees come to at the sales you expect?
- What does care cost, and what does it cover?
- What does a small change cost after launch?
Ownership and exit
- Whose name is the domain registered in? It should be yours, with your email as the contact.
- Whose account holds the hosting or builder plan, and who pays for it?
- Will you have admin logins for the site, the analytics and the Google Business Profile?
- Do you receive the code and design files at handover?
- If you leave, how do you export everything, and is there a fee?
Start with the domain. For .com and other generic domains, ICANN lists a registrant's rights, including the registrar's renewal and transfer instructions and protection from hidden fees. It also requires registrants to keep their contact details accurate (ICANN). Those rights belong to the registrant, so the registrant should be you.
Questions about website costs
How much should a small business pay for a website?
It depends on the scope, so there is no honest single figure. What you can fix in advance are the running costs, such as $144 a year for the $12 Squarespace plan billed annually, plus a domain. For the build, send two or three vendors the same written scope and compare their quotes line by line.
What are the monthly costs of running a business website?
Plan for a platform or hosting fee, the domain (billed yearly), transaction fees if you sell online, and a care plan if someone maintains the site for you. A Google Business Profile adds nothing to the bill.
Do I need to pay for a domain name every year?
Yes. You keep a domain by renewing it, and the .com registry fee alone is $10.97 a year from November 1, 2026. A free first year, as on Squarespace's annual plans, only delays the first bill.
Is a website builder cheaper than hiring a web designer?
Up front, almost always, because a builder plan swaps the build fee for your own time. Over several years, compare totals: plan fees, transaction fees and your time on one side, a one-off build plus hosting and care on the other.
Who owns my website if a designer builds it?
Whoever the contract and the account records say. Check that the domain is registered in your name, that the hosting and admin accounts are yours, and that the scope states what you receive at handover. More on this in website ownership and handover.
Before you ask for quotes
Write down what the site has to do, page by page, before you ask anyone for a price. Then add up the running costs from published prices, ask every vendor the same questions, and make sure the domain and accounts are in your name.
If you already have a site, Cokadex offers a free website check: send the address and get back the three things holding it back.
Sources
- BrightLocal, Consumer Search Behavior 2026, findings on search channels, published July 9, 2026. Survey of 1,227 US consumers who had searched for a local business in the previous three months. brightlocal.com
- BrightLocal, Consumer Search Behavior 2026, findings on decisions, published July 15, 2026. Same survey. brightlocal.com
- Eurostat, dataset isoc_ciweb, indicator for enterprises with a website, data year 2025, updated February 27, 2026. Covers enterprises with 10 or more staff; smaller firms are not reported. ec.europa.eu
- Squarespace, pricing page, accessed October 29, 2026. squarespace.com
- Shopify, pricing page, accessed October 29, 2026. shopify.com
- Domain Incite, report on the .com registry fee increase, citing Verisign, accessed October 29, 2026. domainincite.com
- Google, Google Business Profile, accessed October 29, 2026. business.google.com
- ICANN, "Registrants' Benefits and Responsibilities", accessed October 29, 2026. icann.org