A basic small business website costs about $1,000 to $3,000 to build. A bigger site with more pages and features runs $5,000 to $20,000. Those are the ranges more than 300 web development companies gave in a 2026 survey. Then there's a small bill every year to keep the site online. Where you land depends on how many pages you need, and whether you want booking, a store or payments.
So how much should a website cost for a small business? We build them and we publish our prices, so this guide gives you the market numbers first, with sources, and our prices after. Use it to sanity-check any quote you get, including ours. Not sure you need a site at all? Start with Do I need a website for my business?
What a small business website costs to design and build
These are the ranges web firms gave GoodFirms in its 2026 survey. They're estimates from the firms doing the building, across 31 countries, so treat them as a guide rather than a price list.
| Type of site | Typical cost | Typical build time |
|---|---|---|
| Basic website (a few pages, contact form) | $1,000 to $3,000 | 2 to 4 weeks |
| Mid-sized business website | $5,000 to $20,000 | 4 to 8 weeks |
| Online store | $5,000 to $50,000 | 8 to 28 weeks |
| Large or enterprise website | $20,000 to $200,000+ | 8 to 36+ weeks |
Source: GoodFirms, Website Development Cost 2026 (300+ web development companies, updated September 2026).
Agency review data points the same way for smaller jobs. Clutch, which collects client reviews of web design firms, says most projects reviewed on its platform cost less than $10,000. Its overall average is much higher, $38,105, because a few large projects pull it up.
What a small business website costs per month: hosting, maintenance and more
The build is a one-time cost. Running the site is not. Here's what keeps it online:
- Domain name. A .com costs $11.08 a year at Porkbun, and it renews at the same price. Make sure it's registered in your name, not your web designer's.
- Security certificate (the padlock, HTTPS). This can cost nothing: Let's Encrypt gives trusted certificates to anyone who owns a domain at zero cost, and good hosting sets it up for you.
- Hosting and maintenance. Someone has to keep the site running, backed up and updated. Some owners do it themselves; most pay a monthly plan. Agencies often charge more for ongoing work: in the GoodFirms survey, 30% of firms charge $500 to $1,500 a month for retainers that cover maintenance, content updates and small changes.
- Card payments, if you sell online. These are a cut of each sale, not a website fee. Stripe charges 2.9% + 30¢ per successful online card payment, with no setup or monthly fees. Square charges 2.9% + 30¢ online on its paid plans and 3.3% + 30¢ on its free plan.
What pushes the price up
When GoodFirms asked web firms what drives cost, the top answers were custom backend development, advanced design and third-party integrations. In plain terms, the price climbs with:
- More pages. Five pages is a different job from fifteen.
- Booking and payments. Taking appointments, deposits or orders means connecting other systems and testing them properly.
- An online store. Products, checkout and order emails put a site in a higher price band.
- Late content. The same firms named late text and photos as a hidden cost. Projects stall when the words and pictures don't arrive.
The cheapest way to keep a quote down is to start with what you actually need now and add the rest when it earns its keep.
Doing it yourself vs. hiring someone
You can build a site yourself with a website builder. Clutch's 2025 survey of 406 US small business owners found 41% of small business sites run on DIY builders. The monthly fee is low; the real cost is your time, and whether the result brings in customers. If you'd rather spend those evenings on your business, hiring someone is usually the better deal. If you do hire, compare quotes on what's included, not just the total.
What Soft4sure charges
Our prices are public and fixed. You know the price before you pay a cent.
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | $1,500 once | Up to 5 pages, phone-friendly design, contact form to your inbox, Google Business Profile setup, domain and HTTPS. Live in 7 days. |
| Growth (most popular) | $2,800 once | Up to 10 pages, everything in Starter, plus online booking with reminders, AI search optimization and visitor and lead tracking. |
| Store & Booking | $4,500 once | Up to 15 pages, everything in Growth, plus an online store (up to 25 products), payment links and invoicing, and automatic customer follow-up. |
| Care plans | $99, $149 or $249 a month | Hosting, security updates, backups and edit time every month. Cancel anytime. |
- Pay half to start, half when the site is live. No payment until you approve the quote.
- You own it. The domain is in your name from day one, and the site is yours once it's paid in full.
- We don't launch until you're happy with it.
- Not included, quoted separately: domain and outside software fees (billed at cost), logo design, photography, and pages beyond your plan.
- Working with a smaller budget? Tell us. We'll scope a site that fits it by doing less, never by cutting corners.
Questions to ask before you pay anyone
Whoever you hire, these four questions save the most money and stress:
- Whose name is the domain in? It should be yours. If you leave, you take it with you.
- Who fixes it a year from now? Ask what support costs after launch, and what happens if they disappear.
- What's not included? Logos, photos, extra pages and outside software fees are the usual surprises.
- How do I pay? Splitting payment between the start and the launch protects you.
Common questions
How much does a basic small business website cost?
In a 2026 survey of 300+ web development companies, a basic website was estimated at $1,000 to $3,000, built in 2 to 4 weeks. Our Starter site is $1,500, live in 7 days.
How much does a small business website cost per month?
Expect a domain name (about $11 a year for a .com at Porkbun), hosting, and someone to keep the site updated. Our Care plans cover hosting, security updates, backups and monthly edit time for $99, $149 or $249 a month, cancel anytime.
Why do website quotes vary so much?
Because the work varies. Web firms in the same survey named custom backend development, advanced design and third-party integrations as the biggest cost drivers. A 5-page site and a store with booking and payments are different jobs.
How much does it cost to maintain a website for a small business?
Plan for the domain (about $11 a year for a .com at Porkbun) plus hosting and updates. A care plan covers the upkeep: ours are $99, $149 or $249 a month. Agencies charge more for ongoing work; in a 2026 survey, 30% of web firms charged $500 to $1,500 a month for maintenance retainers.
What is the average cost of a small business website?
Averages mislead here. Clutch’s average across all the web design projects it reviewed is $38,105, but most of those projects cost less than $10,000, and a basic small business site is usually estimated at $1,000 to $3,000.
How long does it take to build a small business website?
Web firms estimated 2 to 4 weeks for a basic site and 4 to 8 weeks for a mid-sized one. Our Starter site goes live in 7 days once we have your details.
Sources
- GoodFirms, Website Development Cost 2026. Survey of 300+ web development companies in 31 countries; updated September 7, 2026.
- Clutch, Web Design Pricing Guide. Based on client reviews; updated September 21, 2026.
- Clutch, The State of Small Business Websites in 2025. Survey of 406 US small business owners, August 2025.
- Porkbun, .com domain pricing. Checked October 4, 2026.
- Let's Encrypt, About.
- Stripe, Pricing, and Square, Payment fees. US rates checked October 4, 2026.