Are you a small business owner looking to create or revamp your website? Whether you run a restaurant, dental clinic, auto repair shop, or local store, having a professional website is essential for attracting customers and growing your business.
Table of contents
- How much does a small business website cost?
- 3 major key factors to consider that affect the cost
- What should always be included in the price?
- Maintenance cost for a small business website
- Other costs? Hosting, domain and third-party services
- How long does it take to develop a small business website?
- Custom web development for highly specific projects
- Conclusion
How much does a small business website cost?
The cost of a website depends on its complexity, features, and the expertise of the developer or agency. Here’s a general breakdown of pricing:
- Basic one-page website: if you only need a simple landing page, an experienced freelancer or agency typically charges $800+.
- Standard business website (5-10 pages): a professional-looking website with essential pages (Home, About, Services, Contact, etc.) typically ranges from $2,000 to $4,000.
- E-commerce: if you’re selling products online and need a full e-commerce platform with hundreds of products and advanced functionalities, expect to pay $5,000 to $15,000.
Common example:
Let’s say you own a restaurant and want a professional 5-page website with features like a table reservation system and online payment. The estimated cost for such a website is between $2,000 and $4,000.
For a professional small business website, the cost typically ranges from $1,500 to $3,000 on average for a 3-5 page site with essential features like a basic contact form or a simple booking system. Plus, the cost of the hosting service and domain that usually start from $100 to $400 a year depending on the provider.
3 major factors to consider that affect the cost
When building a small business website, most agencies and freelancers use CMS platforms like WordPress, Magento, or PrestaShop to streamline development. Here are the three main cost factors to consider:
- Graphic design: this includes your logo, colours, branding, and overall look and feel. A custom design costs more than a template-based website because it has to have user-friendly design that adapts to computers, tablets, and phones and aligns with your business needs. Here we should also consider the testing phase where the developers make sure that everything is working as intended before the official release.
- Number of pages: more pages mean more design, content, and development work, increasing the overall cost.
- Functionalities: features like online booking, payments, e-commerce, multi-language, and integrations require extra development and raise the price.
1. Graphic design
Graphic design is a crucial aspect of website development, as it dictates the overall look, feel, and usability of your site. It goes beyond just choosing colors and a logo; it involves crafting a visually appealing and functional design that aligns with your brand identity.
A professionally designed website should be user-friendly, allowing visitors to navigate effortlessly. If a website is poorly designed, potential customers may leave quickly, increasing the bounce rate and negatively impacting conversions.
To ensure a great user experience, designers focus on elements such as readable fonts, intuitive navigation, call-to-action buttons, and engaging visuals that guide users toward desired actions, like booking an appointment or making a purchase.
Another essential element of modern web design is responsiveness.
A website must adapt to different screen sizes, from desktop computers to tablets and mobile devices. Mobile-friendliness is a ranking factor for Google since 2015, meaning if your website doesn’t function properly on smartphones, it could lose visibility in search results. Custom designs take time and effort, requiring the designer to create multiple versions of the site for different devices, which increases costs.
Additionally, before launching, a website undergoes a testing phase to check for issues such as broken links, slow load times, incorrect formatting on different devices, and browser compatibility problems.
Developers conduct usability testing to ensure the final design is fully functional and polished, preventing technical glitches that could frustrate visitors.
2. Number of pages
The number of pages on your website is a major cost factor since each additional page requires content creation, design customization, and coding. While a one-page website may be sufficient for a freelancer or small local business, most small businesses need a multi-page website that includes sections like:
- Home page: the first impression of your business, featuring a compelling introduction, main services, and a clear call to action.
- About us: a page that tells your story, mission, and what makes your business unique.
- Services/products: a breakdown of what you offer, with descriptions, images, and pricing if applicable.
- Contact page: essential for customer inquiries, including phone numbers, emails, and possibly a contact form.
- Blog (optional): helps with SEO and keeps your audience engaged with valuable content.
For an e-commerce store, the number of pages increases dramatically. Each product requires its own page with images, descriptions, reviews, and pricing. If you have hundreds or thousands of products, development time increases significantly, requiring database setup and product page optimization.
Beyond the standard pages, businesses often request additional sections, such as FAQ pages, customer testimonials, careers sections, case studies, or location-based landing pages. Each of these pages requires individual design and development, contributing to higher costs.
When planning your website, consider how much information you need to present and whether a smaller or larger structure makes sense for your business goals.
3. Functionalities
Functionalities are what turn a static website into an interactive, business-driven platform.
While a simple website may only need text and images, more advanced websites require dynamic elements such as contact modules, online booking, payment processing, and user logins.
For example, if you run a restaurant, you might need a reservation system that allows customers to book tables online. This feature requires backend coding, database integration, and real-time availability management.
Similarly, an e-commerce store will need a shopping cart, checkout process, and secure payment gateway, all of which involve extensive development and security measures.
Other popular functionalities include:
- Multi-language support: essential for businesses serving international customers
- Contact module: typically includes fields for name, email, subject, and message, allowing customers to send inquiries easily, and if you want a a more advanced version that includes additional fields such as service type, budget range, file uploads, and custom dropdowns, this might slightly increase the development costs
- Live chat or chatbots: useful for customer support and lead generation
- Third-party integrations: connecting with CRM systems, email marketing platforms, or social media tools
Each added functionality requires custom development, testing, and security updates, increasing the overall cost. Additionally, some features may require monthly subscriptions to third-party services, which add to the long-term investment.
What should always be included in the price?
Not all agencies and freelancers include the same services in their pricing, which is why it’s important to clarify what’s included before starting a project.
A professional website should always begin with a clear definition of business goals, target audience, and service locations to ensure the site is built with the right strategy in mind.
At a minimum, a professionally developed website should include:
- Server setup and CMS configuration: installing and configuring WordPress (or another CMS) on the selected hosting service
- Domain setup: connecting the website to the chosen domain name
- Domain property: this is critical because not all the agencies (let's say most of them), give the ownership of the domain name to their clients as they start the collaboration. This is a lack of transparency for many professionals. If you are not the owner of your domain means that you're gonna be tied to that agency until they don't approve and execute the property transfer.
- Privacy policy, cookie policy, and terms of service pages: required for legal compliance, especially when collecting user data
- Cookie banner: informs users about cookie tracking and ensures, for example, GDPR compliance. By law, this is not mandatory for every website.
- Software licenses: if using premium website builders like Divi, Elementor, or WP Bakery, licenses must be covered
- Google index setup: ensuring the website is indexed by Google for search visibility
- Google Analytics configuration: setting up visitor tracking to analyze website traffic
- Google Tag Manager setup (optional but useful): essential for businesses running paid advertising campaigns, as it allows easy tracking setup without modifying website code
- Email service setup: configuring a professional email address (e.g., contact@yourbusiness.com) with services like Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, or cPanel-based email
These elements are fundamental for a well-functioning, legally compliant website. Before hiring an agency or freelancer, businesses should verify that these features are included in the price to avoid hidden costs later.
Maintenance cost for a small business website
At Flexmoo, website maintenance is optional if the customer purchases their own hosting and domain and is comfortable handling security updates, backups, and performance optimizations independently.
However, not all agencies offer this flexibility, many require clients to host their websites on the agency’s servers and charge ongoing maintenance fees for security, updates, and general upkeep.
For business owners who want peace of mind and prefer to have professionals handle website maintenance, we offer a maintenance plan starting at $49 per month. This includes:
- Regular security updates to protect against vulnerabilities
- CMS, theme, and plugin updates to ensure compatibility and functionality
- Technical support for minor fixes and optimizations
Website maintenance is critical for security and performance. Outdated software can lead to hacking risks, slow loading times, and functionality issues. Whether handled internally or through an agency, keeping a website updated and secure is essential for a smooth online presence.
The rate raises for larger or more complex projects like e-commerce platforms, or if the clients needs more than just a security maintenance.
Other costs? Hosting, domain and third-party services
We mentioned earlier that hosting and domain costs are mandatory to keep your website accessible 24/7.
These are not included in the website development price and must be renewed annually (or monthly, depending on your plan).
- Hosting service: this is where your website's files, databases, and content are stored. Hosting costs can range from $5 to $30 per month for shared hosting, while dedicated servers or cloud hosting (for high-traffic websites) can cost $50 to $300 per month. If you are not familiar with hosting services and you're just starting out a project for your small business you can rely on shared hosting plans.
- Domain name: your website address (e.g., yourbusiness.com). The cost varies based on the domain extension (.com, .net, .shop, .it, .no, .se, .co.uk, .pt, .sg, etc.) and typically ranges from $10 to $50 per year. Premium domain names may cost significantly more.
Additionally, some businesses may need third-party services that add extra costs, such as:
- Premium plugins and themes: for added functionality, licenses for tools like Elementor Pro, WP Rocket, or SEO plugins can cost between $30 and $200 per year
- Third-party APIs or integrations: businesses using external services like payment gateways (Stripe, PayPal), booking systems, or CRM software may need to pay additional fees
- Privacy and cookie consent management tools: services like Cookiebot help businesses comply with GDPR and other privacy regulations by managing user consent through cookie banners. These services typically offer free plans for basic use and premium plans for larger websites or those with high monthly traffic. The price range for premium plans usually ranges between $10 to $30 a month. Not all websites need to include a cookie banner, but usually if you own an e-commerce platform or you advertise your business through online paid ads you need to have it in order to be compliant.
How to choose the most cost-effective hosting plan for your website
Selecting the right hosting plan is essential for ensuring your website runs smoothly, securely, and efficiently. A poor hosting service can lead to slow loading times, security vulnerabilities, and downtime, which can hurt your business and SEO rankings. To choose the most cost-effective hosting plan, consider these key factors:
- Customer reviews and reputation: before committing to a hosting provider, check customer feedback and independent reviews to ensure they have a solid reputation for reliability and performance. Platforms like Trustpilot, G2, and Reddit can provide insights into real user experiences.
- Server location: the physical location of the hosting servers significantly affects loading speed. If your business primarily serves a specific country, choose a hosting provider that owns servers in that country or a nearby region. This reduces latency and ensures faster page load times for your visitors.
- Customer support (SUPER IMPORTANT): a good hosting provider should offer 24/7 customer support via multiple channels, such as live chat, phone, and email. Fast and knowledgeable support can save time and prevent costly downtime in case of issues.
- Server quality and latest technology: ensure that the hosting provider uses modern, high-performance servers with SSD storage, LiteSpeed technology, and the latest PHP versions. These factors greatly improve website speed and long-term stability.
- Easy-to-use control panel: a great hosting plan should include a user-friendly control panel like cPanel or a custom dashboard that makes it easy to manage your website, email accounts, backups, and security settings.
Choosing the most cost-effective hosting service isn’t just about price, it’s about getting the best performance, support, and security for your website. Investing in quality hosting ensures a smooth user experience, better search engine rankings, and fewer technical issues in the long run.
We've tested many hosting services in our career, such as SiteGround, DreamHost, Aruba, GoDaddy, but the best one in our opinion, especially for small business owners and freelancers is definitely Hostinger.
This website is running on a Hostinger Business plan, which you can find here. They offer great and super fast customer service, low prices, a lot of space for your files and LiteSpeed servers all around the world.
SiteGround is also a great option, especially for its excellent customer service. We usually recommend SiteGround to our Italian customers since Hostinger doesn't provide Italian support at this time. This provider is probably the most popular when it comes to quality of service but it's significantly more expensive than the competition. Hostinger is a company that is rapidly growing and it provides super fast hosting and quality services overall at a very convenient price.
How long does it take to develop a small business website?
The time required to develop a small business website depends on its complexity, design, and features.
A basic one-page website can typically be completed in 1 to 2 weeks, while a standard 5-10 page business website with custom design and essential functionalities usually takes 2 to 4 weeks.
More complex projects, such as e-commerce sites or booking systems, may require 3 to 8 weeks or more.
Factors like client feedback, content availability, and revisions can also impact the timeline.
Choosing an experienced agency or freelancer helps ensure efficient development without unnecessary delays.
Custom web development for highly specific projects
While most small business websites can be built using content management systems (CMS) like WordPress, Magento, or PrestaShop, some projects require a fully custom-coded solution.
Platforms like WordPress are highly flexible and can be used to create e-commerce stores, hotel booking systems, membership websites, and more with the right plugins and customizations. However, there are limitations when it comes to unique, highly specialized functionalities that existing CMS platforms cannot efficiently handle.
If you have a startup idea or need a web application with specific business logic that cannot be replicated with a CMS, then custom development is the only option.
This means the entire project is built from scratch using programming languages like JavaScript, Python, PHP, or Ruby, along with frameworks such as React, Angular, or Laravel.
Since a custom-coded web application does not rely on pre-built themes or plugins, every feature must be developed, tested, and optimized manually, requiring much more time and expertise.
Due to the complexity of such projects, costs can be 5 to 10 times higher than a standard CMS-based website. Instead of a single developer, a team is usually required, including:
- Frontend developers: responsible for designing the user interface and experience
- Backend developers: build the database, logic, and server-side functionality
- UI/UX designers: ensure the platform is intuitive and user-friendly
- Quality assurance testers: test for bugs, security vulnerabilities, and performance issues
- Project managers: coordinate tasks and keep development on track
A CMS-based website might take a few weeks to a couple of months to complete, while a fully custom-coded web application could take 6 months to over a year depending on complexity.
The final cost depends on the number of features, security requirements, third-party integrations, and the size of the development team.
For businesses that need a standard yet highly customizable website, CMS platforms are the best choice. But if you’re launching a unique digital product or startup, investing in custom development ensures you have a fully tailored, scalable solution built exactly to your needs.
Conclusion
Building a professional website for your small business is an investment that depends on various factors, including design, functionalities, and hosting services. Whether you need a simple landing page, a business website, or a custom web application, the costs and development time will vary accordingly.
For example, if you own a real estate agency and need a 5-page website with property listings, an advanced search filter, a contact form, and an integrated Google Maps feature, the cost would typically range from $3,000 to $6,000, depending on the level of customization.
Additionally, ongoing costs such as hosting ($200/year) and a cookie banner service for legal compliance ($10/month) should be factored in. If you need a fully custom real estate platform with user accounts, automated property updates, and CRM integration, costs and development time would increase significantly.
To ensure the best results, always work with a reliable agency or freelancer, clarify what is included in the price, and choose high-quality hosting for speed and security. A well-built website will help your business attract more leads and stand out in the competitive real estate market.
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