When a firm asks me what a new website costs, the honest answer is a range. I’ve seen quotes for the same five-page site come in at $1,500 and at $15,000, and both vendors meant it.
The difference is almost never the code. It’s who writes the words, how much thinking happens before anyone designs a page, and what you’re left holding after launch. Here’s how to read the numbers.
What websites cost in 2026
Industry pricing guides put the ranges roughly here:
- Do it yourself on a template builder: a few hundred dollars a year, plus your own time.
- A freelancer: about $2,000 to $8,000 for a small business site with custom design.
- An agency: about $5,000 to $20,000 for a small business site, and more for large or complex builds.
Most professional services firms in Long Beach, the CPAs, attorneys, advisors and engineers I work with, land between $4,500 and $15,000. Where you fall depends on a handful of decisions.
What actually drives the price
Page count matters, but less than people think. These are the bigger levers:
- Who writes the copy. If you hand over finished text, the price drops. If the agency interviews you and writes every page, expect it to rise, and expect a better site.
- Strategy before design. A team that works out who your best clients are and what makes you different will charge for that time. It’s also the part that decides whether the site brings in calls.
- Search setup. Basic on-page SEO should be standard. Service and location pages, a blog and setup for AI search tools take real work.
- A redesign versus a fresh start. Moving an existing site means mapping old pages to new ones so you don’t lose the rankings you’ve built. Skipping that step is a common way to lose traffic.
- Integrations. Booking tools, client portals and payment forms add time.
Costs that show up after launch
The build price is only part of it. Ask every vendor about these before you sign:
- Hosting, usually billed to you directly.
- Maintenance: WordPress, theme and plugin updates, backups and security monitoring. Plans commonly run $75 to $300 a month.
- Small edits. Find out whether a new team photo or a changed phone number is included or billed by the hour.
- Photography, logo work and paid plugins, which are rarely in a website quote.
How to compare quotes
Put the proposals side by side and check for three things.
A fixed price with a written scope. You should see the page count, the number of revision rounds and a short list of what isn’t included. If a quote is hourly with no ceiling, ask for one.
Ownership. The domain, the hosting account and the website itself should be in your name, not the agency’s.
Who does the writing. If two quotes look similar but only one includes copywriting, they aren’t the same project.
Why the cheapest quote often costs more
A pattern I see a lot: a firm picks the lowest bid, gets a site that looks fine, and a year later nobody can find it in Google and the pages don’t explain what the firm does. Then they pay again to redo the copy and the search setup, which is the part they skipped the first time.
A low quote isn’t always a bad one. But if it’s half the price of the others, look closely at what’s missing. Usually it’s the writing, the strategy work or the plan for moving your old pages without losing traffic.
How long a website takes
A five-page site can be live in about four weeks. A larger firm site with 15 to 25 pages usually takes six to ten. The biggest factor isn’t the developer. It’s how quickly your team can review drafts and send photos, bios and approvals.
If your partners are hard to pin down, build that into the timeline from the start, and pick one person at the firm to collect feedback.
Questions to ask before you sign
- Who will I work with day to day, and who actually builds the site?
- How many rounds of revisions are included?
- What happens if we need a page you didn’t scope?
- How will you protect the rankings our current site already has?
- What do you need from us, and by when?
- Who owns the domain, the hosting account and the site files when we’re done?
A good vendor answers all six without hedging. If the answers are vague now, the project will be too.
What we charge
We publish our pricing because I’d rather you know before we talk. Our WordPress websites start at $4,500 for up to five pages, $8,500 for up to 12 pages with copywriting and a blog, and $14,000 for larger firms with several services or locations. Every package includes a strategy session, on-page SEO and a walkthrough at launch. You can see the details on our website design page.
If you have a quote in hand and want a second opinion, email it to lauren@lhoandco.com. I’ll tell you honestly whether it’s fair.