Why the answers online are so different
Search for this question and you will find answers that do not agree. That is because people are pricing different things. A do-it-yourself site builder, a freelancer, a studio and a big agency all sell a "website," and the work behind each one is not the same.
Where your business is matters less than what the site has to do. A one-chair barbershop that needs a price list, hours and a Book button is a small job. A restaurant with a changing menu, catering and two languages is a bigger one.
Three businesses, three different jobs
A food truck may need one page: the menu, where the truck is this week and how to book it for an event. A nail salon needs five: services and prices, the team, a gallery, how to book and how to find the shop. A contractor needs a home page, a page for each service, a page for the area and a quote form.
Same word, "website," and three very different jobs. That is why a flat number from someone who has never seen your business is rarely the final number, and why it helps to see a mock-up of your homepage before you decide anything.
What you are actually paying for
A website is more than the pages you see. When you compare prices, check which of these are inside the number:
- The design, so the site looks like it belongs to your kind of business.
- The words. Someone has to write them, and writing takes real time.
- Photos, whether yours or ones that are prepared for the site.
- The build itself: the pages, the menu, the contact form, how it looks on a phone.
- Hosting, which is the place the site lives so people can open it.
- Upkeep: security updates, fixes when something breaks, and checking that forms and links still work.
- Changes after launch, like new hours, a new menu or a new photo.
What pushes a price up
More pages cost more, because each one needs words and photos. A second language means every page is written twice. Features such as an online store or a custom booking system add real work. So does a site that needs a lot of new content every month.
What does not need to push it up: a long list of extras you will never use. A small business site should be clear and fast, and say plainly who you are, what you do and how to reach you.
One-time price or monthly price
Some builders charge once for the build, then bill hosting and upkeep separately, or not at all. Others bundle everything into one monthly price. Neither is wrong. The question is what happens in month six, when your hours change and a form stops working. If upkeep is not in the price, ask what it costs and who does it.
Five questions to ask any quote
- Who writes the words, and are they included?
- Is hosting included, and who fixes things when they break?
- How many changes can I ask for each month?
- What is not included, and what would it cost?
- Is all of this written down before I agree?
Cheap is not the same as low cost
A site that is cheap to buy but out of date a year later costs you something too. Customers see the wrong hours, last season's menu or a form that goes nowhere, and they go somewhere else. When you compare prices, count the cost of keeping the site right, not only the cost of getting it live.