Most home service businesses pay somewhere between $500 and $15,000 for a website, plus about $20 to $300 a month to keep it running. The wide range comes down to who builds it, how many pages it has, how custom it is, and what's bundled in. Here's what each option really costs, what you get for the money, and the contract traps to avoid.
Key takeaways
- DIY builders are cheapest in cash but cost you time, and the results vary widely.
- "Free website" marketing packages usually cost the most over two years, and you may not own the site.
- For most local contractors, a focused custom site with 3 to 7 pages is enough to start.
- Budget for ongoing costs: domain, hosting, updates and maintenance.
- Always make sure you own your domain and your website.
Typical price ranges
These are the ranges we commonly see in quotes for small service businesses. They aren't fixed market prices, but they're a useful guide.
- DIY website builders (Wix, Squarespace, GoDaddy and similar): roughly $200 to $600 a year in subscription fees, plus your time.
- Freelancers: often $500 to $3,000 one-time. Quality and reliability vary a lot.
- Small studios and specialists: roughly $700 to $5,000 one-time.
- Full-service agencies: often $5,000 to $15,000 or more for a custom build.
- "Free website" marketing packages: no upfront fee, but typically $500 to $2,500 a month on a 12 to 24 month contract.
Option 1: Build it yourself
DIY builders are a reasonable choice if you're just starting out and have more time than budget. The catch is the time: writing every page, choosing photos, setting up forms and making the site work on phones can take dozens of hours. Many DIY sites also end up generic, with one page trying to cover every service, which makes ranking for specific jobs harder.
Option 2: Hire a freelancer
A good freelancer can deliver solid value. The risks are availability and continuity: if they get busy or move on, updates stall. Before hiring, ask to see live sites they've built for service businesses, and get ownership and support terms in writing.
Option 3: A "free website" with a marketing package
Some marketing companies offer a free website as part of a monthly package that includes ads, SEO or listings. This can make sense if you want the whole package and the results are clearly reported. The traps are in the contract:
- Long minimum terms, often 12 to 24 months
- The company, not you, owning the website, its content or even your domain
- The site going offline when you cancel
Example: at $1,500 a month for 24 months, a package costs $36,000. If the contract says the agency owns the site, canceling means starting over with nothing.
Option 4: A custom agency build
A full-service agency brings strategy, design, copywriting and project management, and the price reflects that team. For a large multi-location company this can be the right call. For a local contractor who needs a fast site with a handful of strong pages, it's often more than the job requires.
What pushes the price up or down
- Number of pages: each core service and area page takes time to plan and write.
- Custom design or template: a template is quicker; a custom design fits your business and stands out.
- Copywriting and photos: professional writing or a photo shoot adds cost, and usually pays off.
- Integrations: online booking, CRM connections, payments or financing tools.
- SEO setup: service page structure, structured data and Google Business Profile setup.
- Ongoing support: who updates the site after launch, and how quickly.
Ongoing costs to budget for
- Domain name: about $10 to $25 a year. Register it in your own name, never your developer's.
- Hosting: from free to about $30 a month for most small business sites. Managed WordPress hosting often costs more.
- SSL certificate: free with most hosts today.
- Updates and maintenance: about $50 to $250 a month if you pay someone for content changes, security and monitoring.
- Optional extras: call tracking, review software and advertising.
Questions to ask before you sign
- Who owns the website and the domain? Get it in writing that both belong to you, with no buyout fee.
- Exactly which pages are included? List them by name.
- Who writes the content? If it's you, budget the time.
- How fast will it load on a phone, and how will you measure that? Ask about real-user Core Web Vitals, not just a one-off lab score.
- What does the monthly fee cover, and how fast are updates made?
- Can I see live websites you've built for businesses like mine?
What we charge
We keep our pricing public. As of October 2026:
- Starter, $700: a custom homepage plus 2 inner pages, mobile-friendly design, contact and quote forms, on-page SEO basics and Google Analytics setup.
- Growth, $1,000: up to 7 custom pages, a blog or services directory, structured data and Google Business Profile setup.
- Pro, $1,500: everything in Growth, plus an admin dashboard, inquiry management and online contract signing.
- Payment: half now and half at launch, all at once, or spread over 4 months.
- Optional Care Plan, $150 a month: hosting, security, SEO monitoring, content updates and priority support. Cancel anytime.
You own your website on every plan. Before you pay anything, we'll design a free custom homepage sample for your business within 24 hours. See the full details on our pricing page.
Frequently asked questions
Is a $500 website worth it?
It can be, if it's fast, works well on phones, clearly lists your services and makes calling easy. Cheap becomes expensive when the site is generic, slow, or owned by someone else.
Should I pay upfront or monthly?
A one-time build plus an optional maintenance plan usually costs less over time than a long monthly contract, and you keep ownership. Monthly packages suit businesses that want ads and SEO bundled in, as long as the contract terms are fair.
How long does it take to build a contractor website?
Most of our projects take 2 to 4 weeks from the first call to launch, depending on the number of pages and how quickly content and photos are ready.
Do I need a blog?
Not at first. Strong service pages matter more. A blog helps later, if you answer the questions your customers actually ask.