How much a website costs for a small service business
There are four common ways to get a website for a local service business. They differ less in the final look than in who does the work and what you keep paying for.
1. Build it yourself on a website builder
Builders like Wix, Squarespace or GoDaddy charge a monthly fee and give you templates. The fee is the smallest part of the cost. The real cost is your time: writing the text, picking photos, setting up the contact form and fixing the mobile layout. It works well if you like doing this kind of thing and have a few free evenings.
2. Hire a freelancer
A freelancer builds the site once and hands it over. Prices vary a lot with experience and the number of pages. Ask who hosts the site afterwards, who makes changes, and what a change costs, because that's where most surprises come from.
3. Hire an agency
Agencies cost the most and usually bring a strategy, custom design and sometimes advertising. For a business with one or two crews this is often more than needed, and some agencies ask for a yearly contract.
4. A monthly plan where someone else builds and runs the site
You pay a smaller amount at the start, or nothing, and a monthly fee that covers hosting and changes. You don't touch the site yourself. Check whether you can leave at any time and whether you keep your domain.
Costs people forget
A domain is about $12 a year. A business email on your own domain costs a few dollars a month per person. Good photos of your own work matter more than any template. Changes after launch: a new service, new prices, a seasonal offer. Ask up front how these are handled.
Which one fits you
If you have little free time and mostly need the phone to ring, a monthly plan is usually the easiest. If you enjoy building things, a builder is the cheapest in money. If you need online booking with payments or a large catalog, talk to a freelancer or an agency.
Where Foundwell fits
We build the site first and you see it before you pay. After you approve it, you pick one of three plans: $149 to build plus $19 a month for hosting and fixes, $149 plus $49 a month with monthly changes, or $0 to build and $129 a month with changes, Google and social posts and review requests. All plans are monthly, with no yearly contract, and the domain stays in your name.