Unfortunately, there are no simple answers to this question. On average, building a website for your small business will cost anywhere from $200 to over $10,000.
The overall cost of a website depends on its size and complexity, and whether or not you hire a professional web designer. Building your own website can save you hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars.
The good news is that building a small business website no longer takes a degree in web design and development . There are several tools that you can use to easily create your own website and save money.
Here we break down the average website design cost for small businesses, and you’ll find out:
The average prices for web hosting and a domain
The difference between building a website yourself and hiring a professional
What is the budget for website maintenance and marketing
website hosting
So how much does it cost to build a website for a small business in terms of web hosting? iPage is one of the most cost-effective hosting options, with services starting at $71 for three years of web hosting, including a free domain name.
While shared hosting is the cheapest option, iPage also offers VPS hosting if you want to add an online store to your small business website.
How Much Do Website Essentials at Small Business Cost?
Hosting services range from $7.99 to $99.99 per month. Domains range from $12.99 to $20.00 per year and are renewed annually.
An SSL certificate can be purchased with your domain and costs between $10 and $200 per month. Like domains, these are typically bought and paid for annually.
DIY or Hire a Pro: How Much Does It Cost to Build a Website for a Small Business?
Whether you decide to create your own website or hire a professional, you have several options. How much it costs to build a website for your small business depends mostly on how much you do yourself.
Option 1: DIY with WordPress
Creating your own website with WordPress can be the most affordable option available. WordPress is a free, open-source content management system (CMS) that you can use to build your website.
A few years ago, the learning curve for WordPress was more intense. However, in 2018, core developers released a content block editor (called Gutenberg) to make their tools more user-friendly.
Since then, it’s much easier to create a professional-looking website on WordPress, even if you’re a beginner. Building your own small business website with WordPress can be incredibly easy and inexpensive — as long as you’re willing to learn a little, or you have a colleague who is tech-savvy.
If you decide to build your own website with WordPress, you should take some care to ensure your design is effective. For example, make sure your homepage is spectacular and you know how to back up data.
You may be wondering how much it costs to build a website for your small business if you do it yourself do. Well, while the core WordPress software is free, there are some additional costs that you need to consider. The price of using WordPress largely depends on which theme and plugins you choose.
WordPress themes
Your WordPress theme determines the appearance of your website. There are thousands of free theme options. But as a small business, you might want to invest in a premium or custom theme to stand out from the crowd.
Premium themes can go up to $100-$200 per year. These themes are pre-built and come with advanced features and customization options.
If you would like a custom theme created by a web developer, expect to pay $1,000 or more, depending on your needs. Like hosting, you don’t have to have a custom theme right away.
If you’re thinking about how much it costs to create a website for your small business, you can choose a theme that works now and then upgrade to a custom option as your business grows.
WordPress Plugins
Plugins allow you to customize your website and give it additional functionality Many plugins can benefit your small business website, including search engine optimization (SEO), ecommerce, and online form plugins.
As with themes, there are free and premium plugins for just about every need. Most plugins have a free “Lite” version and a paid “Premium” version.
Once again, the plugins you choose can affect how much it costs to build a website for your small business.
Only pay for plugins when you need the premium features. However, as a small business, you should expect to pay for certain plugins – especially if you plan to add an online store to your website.
Option 2: Do-it-Yourself with a Website Builder
For those less comfortable learning new technologies, website builders are easier to use than WordPress.
Managed platforms like Squarespace and Wix are considered website builders. Like WordPress, they are CMS that make it easy to create your own website.
So what is the difference between WordPress and website builders?
Both of these CMS allow you to create your own website without much coding. WordPress is more flexible than Squarespace or Wix. However, this flexibility also makes it more complicated.
Website builders have a shorter learning curve. The process is simpler and more user-friendly. However, this also means that they are less customizable and have more limited options.
If you use a website builder, expect to pay between $12 and $50 per month. For online stores and e-commerce websites, the costs are at the higher end of this price estimate.
Option 3: Hire a professional
The last option for creating your website is the Hire a professional website designer to create it for you.
With this route, you pay upfront for website design and then pay a smaller amount if you want someone to maintain your website.
So, if you hire a professional, how much does it cost to build a website for a small business?
According to Digital.com, the average website design cost for a small business is between $2,000 and $8,000. Ecommerce sites start at $5,000 and can cost up to $40,000 if you have a lot of products.
If you want to save money on website maintenance, hire someone to design your website with WordPress. Once it’s integrated with WordPress, you’ll have the option to do the maintenance yourself.
How much does it cost to build a website for a small business?
WordPress is a free do-it-yourself option with add-ons available as needed.
Website builder services like Wix or Squarespace have price ranges from $12 to $50 per month.
Professional website designers charge $2,000 to $8,000 for a small business website, but can charge up to $40,000 for particularly complicated websites.
Marketing
Looking for more information on driving traffic? Explore different ways to bring visitors to your website.
Not tracking sales and leads
On small business website should help you increase sales. Sure, it’s nice to create brand awareness and talk about your business. But your small business needs sales.
This is true even if your website doesn’t have an online store. You still want to capture sales leads or subscribers.
What’s the point of getting people to your website if you can’t convert some of them into customers?
It’s important to make sure your website has everything it needs to capture leads. This can be a contact form or a newsletter subscription. Whichever method you choose, make it easy for your visitors to find you.
Make sure your website is top notch and learn how to optimize your website for lead capture , to ensure your site is business ready.
Final Thoughts: How much does it really cost to build a website for a small business?
Creating a website for your small business is no easy task. But it’s definitely easier than it used to be. While you can certainly hire an agency or professional to create a website for you, this may not be necessary in the early stages of your business.
Using WordPress or a website builder to create your small business website can save you thousands of dollars up front – when you’re a small business, every penny counts.
Start building your website by exploring your hosting options and get a free domain with iPage.
