How Much to Charge for a Small Business Website

There isn't one right price for a small business website, and anyone who gives you a single number without asking questions is guessing. But there is a sensible way to land on a price, and once you have it, the "how much?" question on a call stops being scary.

Start with what you're actually selling

Before picking a number, get clear on what's in the package. A typical small business site for a local trade or shop includes:

• A home page with the business name, what they do, where, and a call button
• A services page or section
• An about section
• Photos
• Hours, service area and contact info
• A contact form or tap-to-call and tap-to-text
• Hosting, so the site actually stays online
• A domain name
• Some amount of edits after launch

The last three are where pricing gets confusing, because they're ongoing costs and ongoing work. Decide up front whether they're bundled into a monthly fee or billed separately. Owners hate surprises more than they hate prices.

The three ways people price

One-time build fee

You charge once to build the site. Hosting and domain are either handed off to the owner to pay directly or billed yearly. Edits are billed when they come up.

Good for owners who want to own everything and never get another bill from you. Bad for you if you like steady income, and you'll spend a lot of time chasing small edit payments.

Setup fee plus monthly

A smaller upfront fee, then a monthly fee that covers hosting, the domain and a set amount of small edits. This is probably the most common setup for local freelancers now.

Easier for an owner to say yes to, and it adds up over time. The tradeoff is that you're on the hook to keep things running and answer texts about holiday hours.

Monthly only, no setup

No upfront cost, slightly higher monthly fee, usually with a minimum term (like six or twelve months) so you're not building a site for someone who cancels after one month.

Lowest barrier for the owner. Highest risk for you. Some people use this only for the first few clients to get a portfolio started.

The monthly vs one-time guide goes deeper on choosing between these.

Example ranges (with real caveats)

Prices vary a lot by region, by how much you include, and by how experienced you are. With that said, freelancers selling simple local business sites commonly quote:

• A one-time fee somewhere in the range of a few hundred dollars to around a thousand for a basic one to five page site.
• A setup fee from zero to a few hundred dollars when paired with a monthly plan.
• A monthly fee somewhere around $25 to $100, depending on what's covered.

Treat these as reference points, not targets. Agencies charge a lot more. Some freelancers charge less. Look at what other local web people around you list on their sites, and ask a couple of business owners what they paid for theirs. That tells you more about your market than any national number.

Price from value, not from hours

A five-page site might take you a few hours. If you price by the hour, you'll undercharge, because what the owner is buying isn't your time. It's the phone calls the site brings in.

A quick way to think about it: what's one new customer worth to this business? For a roofer, one job might be worth thousands. For a dog groomer, a regular customer might come back every six weeks for years. If the site brings in even one or two customers that otherwise would've called someone else, it's paid for itself.

You don't need to say this math out loud every time. But knowing it keeps you from apologizing for your price.

When you have no portfolio yet

It's reasonable to charge less for your first few clients. You're taking on some risk with your process, and they're taking a bit of risk on you. A lower price makes the yes easier and gets you real sites to point to.

What works better than a deep discount:

• Keep your normal price but offer a "first clients" rate on the setup fee only.
• Offer to waive the first month of a monthly plan.
• Ask, in exchange for the lower rate, if they're OK with you showing the site to other businesses and leaving an honest review if they're happy.

Then raise prices once you have three to five live sites. Keep current clients at their rate if you want; raise it for new ones. More on starting out in how to sell websites with no experience.

How to say the price on the phone

The worst thing you can do is hesitate. Decide the number beforehand and say it plainly.

Then stop talking. Let them react. If they push back:

That question tells you how far apart you really are. Often they had no idea and were just checking you wouldn't say a crazy number. The objection handling guide covers the "it's too expensive" conversation in detail.

Things that make pricing go wrong

• Not saying what's included. "$50 a month" sounds expensive. "$50 a month and you never think about hosting, your domain or updates again" sounds different.
• Discounting on the first pushback. If you drop your price the instant they flinch, they'll assume it was padded.
• Unlimited edits. "Unlimited changes" turns into a full redesign every month. Say "small edits like hours, prices, photos and text," and quote bigger changes separately.
• No minimum term on monthly-only plans. Someone can cancel after a month and you've built them a site for almost nothing.
• Forgetting your own costs. Your tools, the domain, and any hosting you pay for come out of what you charge.

Put it in writing

Whatever you settle on, send a short email after the call that lists the price, what's included, what the monthly covers, how to cancel, and who owns the domain. It takes five minutes and prevents most of the arguments you'd otherwise have later. The getting paid guide has a simple version.

Rover doesn't set your prices or touch your money. You decide what to charge and the business pays you directly through your own payment link. What it does is the work before the price conversation: finding businesses that need a site, building their preview, and writing the call script so you get to the "how much?" part more often.