How Much Does a Website Cost? Your Website Budget Guide
If you ever wondered, ‘How much does a website cost?’, and didn’t know what to plan for beyond building your site with a designer, then this article is going to be your new best friend. There are hidden costs that most people never plan for, and they can add up fast.
This post is part of my Confident Client Series, where I walk you from wondering if you should be hiring a web designer to knowing your exact next step. I am Meg, a Squarespace web designer and your Confidence Catalyst for this journey. I help successful women service providers and creative professionals close the gap between their expertise and their online presence so they can show up confidently online.
In this guide, I am walking you through how much a website costs from a full budget perspective, including web development costs. We will talk about design fees, platform and hosting, your domain, tools and integrations, content creation, and ongoing support.
By the end, you should know how much a website costs and feel clear on budget considerations, including what you need to plan for, what is optional, and what is non-negotiable, so you can move forward feeling confident and financially prepared.
What You'll Learn in This Article
If you prefer to watch or listen, you can follow the series on my YouTube channel.
How Much Does A Website Cost?
Design Fees: Your Biggest One-Time Cost
Design fees for website design are often the largest chunk of your website budget, but they vary widely based on your needs.
When you hire a web designer to answer "How much does a website cost," you are not just paying for “a website.” You are paying for a specific type of service, with a specific process, and sometimes with extra support like copywriting or SEO.
Types of web design services
Different professional web designers structure their services differently, and that has a big impact on how much your website costs.
Here are some common formats you will see:
Design Day or VIP Day:
This is where a designer builds or refreshes your site in a single day or very short time frame. These can be in the low thousands of dollars.Semi‑custom or website templates:
In this case, the designer customizes an existing template, often one you purchased from them or another provider. These projects often fall in the range of $2,000 to $5,000, depending on the designer and the complexity of your project.Custom website design:
This is a fully bespoke custom website that is designed and built from the ground up for you with custom design. Custom website design will typically cost anywhere from $2,500 to $15,000 or more.
If you are curious what a custom Squarespace project can look like in practice, you can peek at my own custom Squarespace website design services.
Factors that affect design prices
Beyond the service format, several other pieces influence the cost to build a website:
Designer’s experience level
More experienced designers, particularly those with deep website design expertise, often charge more because they bring deeper expertise, a smoother process, and stronger strategy.Number of pages
A simple, small site will cost less than a large site with many page types and layouts.Website complexity
The more complex the website functionality, the higher the investment. There is a big difference between:A basic brochure site
An e-commerce website
A course platform
A membership site
Timeline
If you need a rush project, expect to pay more. Faster timelines usually come with premium pricing.Included services
Some designers include added support and services like:Copywriting
SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
Light image generation or sourcing
These inclusions can raise the overall project fee but may save you from needing separate providers.
Common payment structures
Designers handle payments in a few standard ways. You will often see:
Milestone payments
Common structures are:50 / 50 split
One third at booking, one third at the start of the build, and one third at launch
Payment plans
Some designers offer extended payment plans so you can spread out the cost.Payment in full upfront
Others will require full payment before work begins.
Remember, design fees are your biggest one‑time cost, but they are not your only cost.
Platform and Hosting Fees: Where Your Website Lives
Your website needs a home, and this is a recurring cost you cannot skip.
When considering how much does a website cost, platform and hosting are a big part of your ongoing expenses.
All-in-one platforms vs separate hosting
Different platforms bundle their fees differently. Here is a simple comparison:
With an all-in-one website builder like Squarespace, which is a content management system, your managed hosting is part of your monthly or annual subscription. Everything is managed for you in one place.
With some platforms like WordPress.org, you will often pay for your theme or tools for a WordPress website, then also pay a separate hosting company, like one offering shared hosting, which means another monthly or annual bill.
How to choose the right plan
Within any website builder, you will have multiple plan options. When you are comparing plans:
Look closely at the features
Check for things like e-commerce capabilities, storage, and whether it supports what you actually need.Avoid overpaying
You do not want to pay for a higher tier if you will not use the features in that tier.Do not underbuy either
If you "cheap out" and miss key functionality, you may pay more later to fix it or move platforms.Ask for guidance
Your designer can often recommend the platform and plan that make sense for your specific business model.
This is a recurring monthly/annual cost, so include it in your ongoing budget, not just your startup costs.
Domain Name: Your Web Address Essentials
Your domain name is your web address, your “business.com,” and it is a small but essential part of how much a website costs each year.
Typical domain costs and extensions
Most standard domain names are very affordable, but the price depends on the extension.
Typical ranges:
$10 to $30 per year for common extensions like .com
Up to $70 per year for some more unique or specialty extensions, such as .co or .io
If you already own a domain, you will connect it to your new website. If not, you will need to budget for this as a new, annual recurring cost.
Smart domain buying tips
Here are some simple guidelines so you do not run into trouble later:
Buy the domain in your own name
A common mistake is buying the domain through your designer. Always purchase it yourself so you own it. You can grant your designer access when needed, but you stay in control.Use a reputable provider
Popular options include GoDaddy, Namecheap, Porkbun, Squarespace, and others; many also offer an SSL certificate for enhanced security. You can comparison shop a bit on price and ease of use.Remember, multiple domains add up
If you have more than one domain for your brand, for example .com, .net, and .org, each has its own renewal fee. Make sure you budget for all of them.Do not forget renewal dates
The annual cost is easy to overlook, but your domain is essential. Letting it lapse can cause a big headache.
Additional Tools and Integrations: Connecting Your Systems
Your website is usually just one part of your online business setup. Often, it needs to connect to other tools via plugins and apps, and those tools can expand your website functionality while affecting how much your website costs to run.
Some tools offer free plans, but many move into paid territory as your business grows.
Email marketing providers
If you are building an email list, you will probably use an email service provider and connect it to your site.
Common email service providers include:
Mailchimp
Kit
Flodesk
MailerLite
Many of these have free plans at the very beginning. Over time, as your subscriber list grows or you need more advanced features, you will move into paid plans. Those costs are usually tied to your number of subscribers.
Scheduling software
If people book appointments, classes, or consultations with you, you will likely integrate scheduling software with your website.
Examples include:
Acuity
Calendly
HoneyBook’s scheduling tools
Other similar services
Some have free tiers, but if you want to take payments through them or need more complex booking options, you will often need a paid plan.
Professional email and stock photos
Two other common add-ons to factor into your website budget:
Professional email
Services like Google Workspace allow you to use an email address with your own domain, rather than something like yourbusiness@gmail.com. This looks more professional and helps your sender reputation for email marketing. There is a recurring fee for this, contributing to your overall marketing costs along with email marketing providers.Stock photos
If you are not doing a full brand photo shoot, you might purchase stock images or subscribe to a stock photo library.Some libraries provide free images.
Higher quality or more unique photos often come through paid subscriptions or per-image purchases.
What to clarify with your designer
Your designer should not be paying for any of these tools for you, but they might:
Include the setup and integration of your email platform
Connect your scheduler
Hook up your forms to the right tools
Ask them clearly:
“What plugins and apps integrations are included in your package, and what will be an extra fee?”
This helps you avoid surprise charges and lets you budget for the software costs as well as any setup work.
Content Creation: Fuel For Your Website
Content creation fuels your website. Your website needs content, including words, graphics, and images, and often branding. This can add anywhere from a few hundred to several thousand dollars to your overall website costs.
Photography options
For your graphics and images, you have several routes, each with different cost and quality levels:
Traditional photo shoot
Hiring a photographer to do a brand session for you.AI photo shoots
AI-generated headshots and images are becoming more popular as an option.Stock photo libraries
Paid or free sources that provide polished, on-brand imagery.Your own phone photos
A more budget-friendly option if done thoughtfully.
The general rule is: budget for the best quality graphics and images you can afford. Strong visuals make a real difference on your site.
Copywriting choices
Your website also needs clear, effective copy. You have a few options:
DIY copywriting
Take a DIY approach by writing it yourself using templates, guides, prompts, or courses. This can save money, but will take more of your time.Hire a professional copywriter
A professional may charge into the thousands of dollars for full website copy, depending on the scope and their experience.Work with a professional web designer who supports copy
Some web designers, myself included, may:Do light copywriting
Provide content workbooks
Offer website templates or prompts to help you write your own
The exact approach will vary, so always check the details of the package.
If you would like more help thinking through copy options in general, I break down choices in my post on the best website copywriting options.
Branding foundations
If you do not already have your visual identity in place, you may need:
A logo
A color palette
Font selections
Some web designers include basic branding elements in their packages. For example, I include simple branding pieces in my custom design packages, while other designers offer it as an add-on.
You can also hire a separate brand designer for a more in-depth project. That can range from several hundred dollars to a few thousand.
How content affects your total cost
When you add it all up, content creation might increase your overall website investment by:
A few hundred dollars if you keep it simple and DIY many pieces
Several thousand dollars if you hire pros for photography, branding, and copywriting
Clarify what is included in your web design package. Do not assume that content creation is part of it. Ask your designer early on so you can budget accurately.
Ongoing Support and Maintenance: Keeping Your Site Healthy
Your website is not “done” on launch day. Ongoing maintenance tasks and costs keep it running, safe, and up to date. This ongoing maintenance is a big part of the cost to build a website each year.
Recurring expenses to expect
Here is a quick recap of website maintenance costs and other ongoing expenses you might have:
Platform and web hosting fees
Platform fees and web hosting can run a few hundred dollars per year, depending on your platform, web hosting provider, and plan.Domain renewal
Often in the $15 to $30 per year range for standard domains.Software subscriptions
Email marketing, scheduling, and other tools each have their own recurring fees.
Most of these will be billed monthly or yearly, so it helps to list them and see your total annual cost and monthly cost.
How you handle updates
You will also need to decide how your site gets updated over time.
Two main paths:
DIY updates
The DIY approach is “free” from a cash perspective, but it will cost you time. You might:Add blog posts
Update your schedule
Refresh service descriptions
Swap out images
Many of these updates are quite doable once your designer trains you.
Designer support
If you prefer not to do the tech side yourself, you can keep working with your designer.
Options might include:
Hourly support, often in the range of $50 to $150 per hour, depending on the designer
Retainer packages that start in the low hundreds per month and can go into the thousands, depending on what they include. Retainers can give you predictable monthly costs and the peace of mind that help from a professional web designer is available when you need it.
Security and backups
Security and backups are another piece of the maintenance picture:
On website builders like Squarespace, security and backups are handled for you as part of the platform, so you usually do not need separate services for those pieces.
On platforms like WordPress, you may need to:
Pay for backup tools
Pay for security plugins or services
Hire someone to keep an eye on everything or do it yourself
Even if you handle most updates yourself, plan to spend either some time each month on your site, or money for occasional professional help, regardless of which website builder you use. Budgeting for website maintenance costs from the start helps you avoid urgent, stressful fixes later.
Key Takeaways: Budget With Confidence and Avoid Surprises
Here is what I want you to remember about how much a website costs.
It is not just about the one-time design fee. It is about the complete picture. That includes setup, tools, and ongoing support, so you are not caught off guard when figuring out how much a website costs for your small business.
A simple way to move forward to build a website:
List everything you think you will need
Website design, website builder platform, domain, email marketing, scheduling and booking software, stock photos, branding, copywriting, and any extras to build a website.Get quotes from designers
Ask clearly about web development costs, what is included in each package, and what would be an extra fee to build a website.Research software costs
Look at the plans for your email provider, scheduler, and any other tools you plan to connect, especially if you need an e-commerce website.Budget for your first year and your ongoing costs
Include to understand how much your website may cost:Design fees
Platform and hosting
Domain renewals
Software subscriptions
Occasional or ongoing support
Add a buffer
When asking how much does a website cost, it's also a good idea to include a 10 to 15 percent buffer in your budget for unexpected needs.
If you are not ready to invest in everything right now, that is okay. You can:
Start saving for the full investment
Choose designers who offer payment plans
Use free or lower-tier website builder options that still give you what you need for now
What you want to avoid is starting a project and then running out of budget halfway through. Your designer does not want that, and you certainly do not either.
A clear, honest budget with smart budget considerations lets you feel confident about your decision and calm about the money side of your small business website.
I would love to hear from you. What surprised you most about these website costs, or what questions do you still have about budgeting for your site? Share your thoughts in the comments.
And if you want to go deeper, stay tuned for the next part of the Confident Client Series, where I break down exactly where your money goes when you invest in a custom Squarespace website builder design, which is my specialty.
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