Quick answer
The cost of a website in 2026 ranges from a monthly subscription to a builder where you put it together yourself, all the way up to a large custom project. What changes the price is the number of pages, who writes the copy and what the site does besides existing. Once it's built, the fixed costs are the domain, a yearly fee for your .com, and hosting.
The kinds of websites you'll be offered
When you start asking around, you'll run into four kinds of offers. The gap in price between them is big, and it comes from what each one delivers and who does the work.
Website builder
- What you get
- A monthly plan and a set of templates to fill in
- Who builds it
- You
Ready-made template
- What you get
- A finished layout with your colors and text swapped in
- Who builds it
- Whoever sells the template
Basic business website
- What you get
- A few standard pages like home, about and contact
- Who builds it
- A professional, using standard pages
Custom professional website
- What you get
- Pages written and designed around your business and your clients
- Who builds it
- A professional, from scratch
| Type | What you get | Who builds it |
|---|---|---|
| Website builder | A monthly plan and a set of templates to fill in | You |
| Ready-made template | A finished layout with your colors and text swapped in | Whoever sells the template |
| Basic business website | A few standard pages like home, about and contact | A professional, using standard pages |
| Custom professional website | Pages written and designed around your business and your clients | A professional, from scratch |
The gap between a ready-made template and a custom website looks huge, and the two sell different things. One delivers a page that's online. The other delivers a page that shows up on Google, explains your service the way your clients ask about it and takes people to your WhatsApp.
What changes the price
- Number of pages. A single page costs less than one page per service. And the page per service is what shows up for people searching that service
- Who writes the copy. If you send the copy ready, it costs less. If it's written by someone who understands search, the site shows up more
- Custom design or template. A template is faster. A custom design sets you apart from the competitor who bought the same template
- What the site does. A WhatsApp button with a ready message, booking, a blog, a client area. Each of these is work
- Getting it ready for Google. A title and description for each page, speed on a phone, a sitemap and Search Console setup
- Photos. Using yours, editing yours or shooting new ones changes the timeline and the price a lot
- How many rounds of changes are included, and what happens after them
The four website sizes for people who sell a service
I size a website by what the business is going through right now. That's how I build mine.
Landing page
- Who it's for
- You send the link in your bio and people don't message you
- Timeline
- 10 business days
Services website, 3 to 5 pages
- Who it's for
- You get referrals, and lose people along the way
- Timeline
- 10 to 15 business days
Website with a blog, 5 to 8 pages
- Who it's for
- You depend on referrals and want new people
- Timeline
- 20 to 30 business days
Full website, 10 pages or more
- Who it's for
- You explain the same thing all day long
- Timeline
- 30 to 45 business days
| Size | Who it's for | Timeline |
|---|---|---|
| Landing page | You send the link in your bio and people don't message you | 10 business days |
| Services website, 3 to 5 pages | You get referrals, and lose people along the way | 10 to 15 business days |
| Website with a blog, 5 to 8 pages | You depend on referrals and want new people | 20 to 30 business days |
| Full website, 10 pages or more | You explain the same thing all day long | 30 to 45 business days |
If you're torn between a single page and a full website, the comparison is on the website design page.
And what about a landing page
A landing page is a single page with a single goal. A landing page built from a template costs much less than one with copy written for your audience and built to receive ad traffic. It's cheaper than a website because it has fewer pages. Doing one well still takes the same care.
It works for people who already know you, like someone who taps the link in your bio, gets a referral or clicks your ad. To show up for people searching the service on Google who don't know you yet, a website with one page per service works better.
Can you have a website without paying anything?
Yes, on a free builder, with the builder's name in your address, like yourbusiness.builder.com, and its ads on your page. That works for testing an idea. For a serious business, your own domain is the minimum, because an address with another company's name in it doesn't inspire much trust and isn't yours.
Paid builders like Wix, Squarespace and Hostinger charge a monthly fee that goes up with the plan. You pay forever, build it yourself and, on some of them, can't move your website somewhere else if you ever want to switch.
How to compare two quotes
Before looking at the number, check that both quotes answer the same questions.
- How many pages, and which ones
- Who writes the copy
- Whether the site comes ready for Google, with titles, descriptions and Search Console setup
- Whether every button takes people to your WhatsApp with a ready message
- Who owns the domain and the logins
- How many rounds of changes
- What the timeline is, and when it starts counting
- What it costs each month after the site goes live
The costs that keep going after the site is live
Domain, like yourbusiness.com
- What drives the cost
- A yearly fee paid to the domain registrar
- What happens if you don't pay
- The address goes offline and someone else can register it
Hosting
- What drives the cost
- Free for a lightweight site, up to a monthly server fee
- What happens if you don't pay
- The site goes offline
Maintenance
- What drives the cost
- How much changes in your business
- What happens if you don't pay
- Prices, hours and services go out of date
| Item | What drives the cost | What happens if you don't pay |
|---|---|---|
| Domain, like yourbusiness.com | A yearly fee paid to the domain registrar | The address goes offline and someone else can register it |
| Hosting | Free for a lightweight site, up to a monthly server fee | The site goes offline |
| Maintenance | How much changes in your business | Prices, hours and services go out of date |
Before you sign, ask who will own the domain. The domain has to be registered in your name, even when someone else builds the site. I've seen businesses lose their own address because it was registered in the personal account of the person who built the site, who later disappeared.
The mistakes that cost more later
- Choosing only by the lowest price and finding out the site doesn't show up on Google and has no WhatsApp button
- A website with no text, which has to be rebuilt when you want to show up in search
- A domain in someone else's name
- A builder that locks you in, where the site can't leave if you ever want to switch
- Paying everything up front with no written timeline, or no date it starts counting from
Questions
Written by
Chris Lopreto
I'm Chris Lopreto. I started out in design, doing brand identity and websites for health and service businesses, and I saw that a website alone didn't make clients reach out.
Today I look at the whole path, from Google to WhatsApp, and I use AI and automation across the whole operation. That's why I handle the project from the diagnosis to the live website, without passing it from hand to hand.
