How much does a small business website cost in 2026?
The short answer
There are three real options. A DIY builder costs a monthly subscription plus your time. A done-for-you monthly plan, like LunarSites at $55 a month, includes hosting and edits with no big upfront bill. A custom build with online ordering, integrations or many SEO pages is priced by scope, from a few thousand dollars up. The right one depends on what the site has to do, not on how it looks.
Option 1: a DIY website builder
Wix, Squarespace and similar builders charge a monthly fee and let you build the site yourself. The real cost is your time, plus the add-ons for booking, forms or ecommerce that pile up. It’s a fine start for a brand-new business. It usually gets outgrown once you need speed, SEO structure or features the builder doesn’t do well.
Option 2: a monthly website plan
A monthly plan means someone builds and runs the site for you for a flat fee. Through LunarSites, simple small-business sites start at $55 a month with hosting, SSL and edits included, and no large upfront payment. This fits most service businesses, cafés and practices that need a fast, professional site and don’t want to manage it.
Option 3: a custom build
A custom build is priced by scope. What moves the price is functionality, not page count alone:
- Online ordering or payments, such as Square checkout with pickup scheduling
- Integrations with booking platforms, CRMs or content APIs
- Many SEO pages: a page for every service and every city you cover
- Content migration from an existing site, with redirects
- Custom design work beyond an established layout
The ongoing costs people forget
Whatever you choose, budget for these:
- Domain renewal, usually billed yearly
- Hosting and SSL, unless included in a plan
- Edits and new pages as the business changes
- Paid plugins or app subscriptions on builder platforms
- Your own time, if you maintain it yourself
How to decide
Start from what the site has to do. If it only needs to look professional and be found locally, a monthly plan is usually the best value. If it has to take orders, connect to other systems or rank in many cities, a custom build pays for itself. Either way, ask for a fixed price and a clear list of what’s included before anything starts.
See it in practice
- Case study: Blissri Bakeshoppe
- Service: Custom Website Development
Full-stack web developer in San Diego and co-founder of LunarSites. I build custom Next.js sites and the SEO that gets them found. More about me.