How much does a small business website cost
"How much does a website cost" has no single answer, because the name covers different things. Some quotes count only the design, some the domain and hosting, some a monthly subscription. To compare offers fairly, break the price into its parts.
What a website price is made of
The domain. The address of the site, such as your-name.com. It is bought for a year and renewed every year. It is a separate and fairly small cost.
Hosting. The place where the site runs. In a builder it is usually already in the plan; with a studio or your own hosting it is a separate bill.
Design and layout. The most expensive part when a site is drawn from scratch. A ready template gives a decent result for a fraction of that.
Content. Texts, price list, photos, address, opening hours. You either do it yourself or pay a copywriter and a photographer.
Upkeep. Someone has to update prices and fix mistakes. This is where monthly payments usually appear.
Three routes and how they differ
A studio or a freelancer. The site is drawn for you. It is the longest and most expensive route, and the result is unique. It fits when the site is the core of the business.
A builder with a subscription. You build the site yourself and pay every month or every year. The start is cheap, but the payment never ends.
A ready template with a one-time payment. You put your details into a finished structure and pay once. It fits a barbershop, a salon, a café or a repair service.
One payment or a subscription
A subscription looks cheaper because the first payment is small. But you pay every month for as long as the site exists, and when you stop paying the site disappears. A one-time payment costs more at the start, comes out cheaper within a few years, and the site stays yours.
To check this on your own numbers, take the monthly price of the subscription, multiply it by 36 and add the domain. Compare that with a one-time payment plus the domain. There is more in the article on builders with no subscription.
What it costs in numbers
Let us count three years of a site for a salon, a barbershop or a café.
A builder with a subscription. A plan at 500 UAH a month comes to 6,000 UAH a year and 18,000 UAH over three years. After the last payment the site goes offline.
FastSite. The Landing package costs UAH 7,500, the Extended landing with booking and contact forms UAH 10,000, the Corporate blog UAH 13,000 and the Shop UAH 20,000. It is a one-time payment, and after three years the total is the same.
A studio or a freelancer. The price comes after a brief and depends on the number of pages and the design. Ask for an estimate with design, layout, content and upkeep on separate lines.
The domain. It is renewed every year on any of these routes. A .com.ua address costs a few hundred hryvnias a year.
The plan at 500 UAH is only an example, so put in the price of the one you are considering.
Hidden costs people rarely ask about
Renewing the domain every year.
Paid templates or add-ons inside a builder.
A fee for taking payments, if the site has a basket.
A separate bill for a mailbox on your own domain.
A charge for every edit, if a studio maintains the site.
Where you can save
Start with a ready template for your trade and fill it with your own prices and photos. For a barbershop, a salon, a café or a repair service that is enough to begin with. A redesign can be ordered later, when there are customers and money. Prepare the texts and photos yourself in one evening: that is the biggest saving.
What to check before paying
Whether the domain is included and who registers it: you or the supplier.
Whether there are monthly payments after launch, and for what exactly.
Whether you can see the site before you pay.
What happens to the site if you stop paying.
Whether you can change prices and texts yourself without asking the supplier.
With FastSite the site is built from a ready template, you can preview it for free, and you pay once, when you publish. The packages and prices are on the pricing page, and you can look at the templates right away.
Frequently asked questions
Why do website prices differ so much?
Because different things hide behind one name: sometimes the price covers only design and layout, sometimes also the domain, hosting, content and support. Ask for the price to be broken into parts, and then the offers can be compared.
Which costs are unavoidable?
Renewing the domain: it is paid every year whichever way you go. The rest depends on the model: a monthly payment with a subscription, support with a studio, and no extra payments with a one-time fee.
Can I see the site first and pay afterwards?
In FastSite you can: the template can be viewed for free, and you pay once, when you publish the site. You can see what suits your trade among the templates.
How do I avoid overpaying at the start?
Start with a ready template and your own texts and photos, and leave a redesign for later. Find out before paying what support costs and whether you are made to pay every month.