How Much Does a Website Cost in 2027?
By 360 Digital Solutions · · 5 min read
A professionally built small business website with us costs $900 to $2,950, while DIY builders start at a few hundred dollars a year. The price depends on page count, custom design, features such as booking or ecommerce, and who writes the content. Budget separately for your server, maintenance and marketing after launch.
This guide breaks down where the money goes so you can sanity-check any quote, whether you are getting your first site or replacing one that no longer works for you.
The short answer: typical price ranges
Website costs fall into four broad bands. The right one depends on what the site needs to do, not just how it looks.
| Option | Typical one-time cost | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| DIY builder | A few hundred dollars a year | Templates and a server plan included, you do all the work |
| Starter WordPress site (about 5 pages) | $900 with us | A clean, mobile-friendly site with working forms |
| Growth or ecommerce site | $1,950 to $2,950 with us | Custom design, 10 to 15 pages or a store of up to 50 products, SEO setup and support |
| Custom Laravel build | From $3,000 for an MVP | Bespoke features, portals and integrations |
At the lower end you get a template and your own content. In the middle, you get custom design, mobile testing, basic SEO and working forms. At the top, you get custom functionality built around how your business runs.
What drives website cost
Four factors account for most of the difference between quotes.
Number of pages and templates
Page count matters, but templates matter more. A 20-page site with one service template costs less than a 10-page site where every page has a unique layout. For example, a contractor with eight service pages that share one layout is cheaper to build than a firm wanting a distinct design for each page.
Custom design versus a theme
A theme gives you a ready-made look that you adjust. Custom design starts from wireframes and builds a layout around your brand and your customers. Custom costs more upfront but usually converts better, because the page is planned around the actions you want visitors to take.
Features and integrations
Every feature adds design, build and testing time. Common add-ons include:
- Online booking and scheduling
- Ecommerce and payment processing
- CRM integration, such as sending leads into HubSpot
- Member areas and client portals
- Multilingual content
Content and copywriting
Content is the most underestimated cost. Writing clear, search-friendly copy for every page takes time, whether you do it or a writer does. Professional photography and video add further cost but make a site feel real. Projects most often stall waiting for content, so plan who writes what before the build starts.
Cost by website type
Brochure site for a small business
A five to fifteen page site that explains your services, shows your work and generates calls and form leads. This is what most local service businesses need. Expect $900 to $1,950 for a professional build with us. Our web design service in Northern Virginia focuses on exactly this kind of site.
WordPress and Elementor site
WordPress powers a large share of business sites because it is flexible and easy to edit. Built with Elementor, your team can update pages without a developer. A well-built WordPress site with us costs $900 to $1,950, depending on design and features, and a rebuild of an existing site starts from $750. See our WordPress development services for what that includes.
Ecommerce store
Online stores cost more because of product setup, payments, shipping, tax rules and testing. A small store with up to 50 products costs $2,950 with us, while larger catalogs with custom features cost considerably more. Platform fees and payment processing add ongoing costs.
Custom web app (Laravel)
When you need customer portals, quoting tools, dashboards or complex integrations, a custom application built with a framework such as Laravel is often the right choice. These projects are priced on scope, with our MVP builds starting from $3,000. Our Laravel development page explains how we scope them.
Ongoing costs after launch
The build is only part of the cost. Plan for these every year.
Domain, server and SSL
A domain is a small yearly fee. Server plans range from a few dollars a month for basic shared plans to considerably more for managed plans with better speed and support. SSL certificates are often included with the server plan.
Maintenance, updates and backups
WordPress core, themes and plugins need regular updates, and your site needs backups and security monitoring. Maintenance plans are a monthly fee that depends on the size of the site, so ask for it in writing alongside the build quote. Skipping maintenance is how sites get hacked or break after an update. Premium plugin and license renewals add to this.
SEO and marketing
A new site will not bring traffic on its own. Most businesses budget for local SEO, content or paid ads after launch. Monthly marketing budgets vary widely, from $275 per month for our Local SEO Essentials plan to much more for competitive markets.
DIY vs freelancer vs agency
| Factor | DIY | Freelancer | Agency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | Lowest | Low to medium | Medium to high |
| Speed | Depends on your time | Varies | Planned timeline |
| Risk | Design, SEO and security gaps | Depends on one person | Lower, with a team and process |
| Support | You | Limited | Ongoing plans available |
DIY makes sense for a brand-new business testing an idea on a tight budget. A freelancer works well for a simple site when you find someone with strong past work and references. An agency makes sense when the site needs to generate leads, integrate with other tools, or be maintained and marketed after launch.
How to budget and get an accurate quote
To get a quote you can compare, prepare a short brief:
- Your goals and how you will measure success
- A list of pages and features you need
- Who will write content and supply photos
- Examples of sites you like, and why
- Your budget range and deadline
Ask each vendor to quote against the same brief, broken down by design, build, content, SEO setup and ongoing support.
Watch for red flags in cheap quotes:
- No mention of mobile testing, speed or SEO basics
- You will not own the domain, site or content
- Unlimited revisions with no defined scope
- No plan for updates, backups or security
- Lock-in to a proprietary platform you cannot leave
A clear, fixed-scope quote protects both sides. If you want one for your project, contact us for a free audit and a fixed-price quote.