How Much Does a Website Cost? Florida Small Business Prices

Ask three people how much a website costs and you'll probably hear three completely different answers: free, a couple thousand dollars, and fifteen thousand. Surprisingly, all three can be accurate, depending on who designs and builds the site and what you continue paying after it goes live.

The price varies so widely because of three factors: who handles the work, how many pages your business needs, and the monthly expense that begins on launch day. Most quotes only address the first factor, which explains why two numbers that look dramatically different can end up much closer than you’d expect.

The Short Answer: Building a small business website yourself on a builder like Wix or Squarespace typically runs about $200 to $600 a year. A freelancer usually charges $500 to $3,000, and an agency $5,000 to $20,000 or more. At Deyo Creative Studio, a five-page website is $2,000 and a one-page landing page is $1,250, with the writing included. Every website also carries a monthly cost, so compare what you’ll pay over several years, not just the initial build price.

Below, you’ll find realistic price ranges for each option, the recurring expenses that continue after launch, exactly what we charge and why, and a practical checklist for evaluating any quote that arrives on your desk.

How much does a website cost?

A small business website costs anywhere from roughly $200 a year to $20,000 or more, and where you land depends primarily on who builds it. There are four common approaches: build it yourself on a website builder, hire a freelancer, hire a small local studio like ours, or hire an agency, and each approach balances money against your time differently.

Here’s how the four approaches compare when you place them side by side.

The builder prices come directly from Wix’s plans page and Squarespace’s pricing page, both reviewed in November 2026, and GoDaddy estimates a builder subscription at $120 to $300 or more a year (GoDaddy, 2026). The professional ranges come from a 2026 web design cost guide by NewMedia, a design agency. NewMedia places a simple freelancer site at approximately $500 to $3,000 and a professional business website from an experienced agency at $5,000 to $20,000 (NewMedia, 2026).

Those ranges are intentionally broad. A freelancer charging $500 and another charging $3,000 are rarely offering the same service, since one may deliver a template with your logo inserted while the other writes every page and configures your Google listing. The same pattern appears at the agency level, where the difference usually comes down to how much planning, writing and testing the project includes.

In other words, the more useful question isn’t simply “how much?” It’s “how much for what, and who maintains the site after launch?” That’s exactly why we publish our website prices where you can review them before you ever speak with us.

What do you pay once, and what do you pay every month?

Every website has a one-time expense and an ongoing expense. The build is the one-time portion, while the domain, hosting and maintenance recur every month or every year, even on a builder plan, where they’re simply included in the subscription price.

Here’s what continues after launch day.

Your domain. That’s the address customers type to find you, like yourbusiness.com, and GoDaddy suggests expecting to pay around $20 a year for a typical one, although some extensions cost more.

Hosting. That’s the service that keeps your website available around the clock. GoDaddy’s own hosting plans run $5.99 to $24.99 a month, and builders like Wix and Squarespace include hosting in their plan price, which partly explains why their monthly figure appears higher than standalone hosting.

Maintenance. Someone has to update your business hours, replace photos, repair broken links and keep everything functioning properly as the months pass. GoDaddy recommends that most businesses budget up to $500 or more a year for maintenance, and if you handle it yourself, the expense becomes your time instead of your money.

Extras. A business email address, booking tools, live social media feeds and paid add-ons can each carry their own monthly subscription, and they’re easily overlooked when you’re comparing build prices.

So is there a monthly fee to have a website? Yes, always. Even a “free” website operates on someone’s servers, and a website with your own domain requires at least an annual fee to keep that address registered in your name.

That said, these costs are modest and predictable once you anticipate them. Problems usually begin when a quote omits them entirely and you discover them after launch, once the invoices start arriving.

What does Deyo Creative Studio charge, and what’s included?

We charge $1,250 for a landing page and $2,000 for a five-page website, plus $80 or $100 a month for hosting and maintenance, and every build includes professional writing. Here’s exactly what each package contains, taken from our pricing page, so you can compare it line by line with any other quote.

The landing page ($1,250) is one page designed to accomplish one job, like generating calls or bookings, and it works on phones and loads quickly. You receive a contact form and a thank-you page, two rounds of revisions, and the essential Google setup: page title and description, clear headings, image descriptions, a sitemap and Search Console. It’s typically live within two weeks once we receive your materials.

The five-page website ($2,000) includes everything in the landing page, distributed across five pages, plus more thorough search optimization. We write every page for you, and it’s live within two to four weeks once we receive your materials.

Each of our Bradenton website design packages includes the same monthly plan after launch. It covers hosting, keeping your domain connected, submitting your sitemap to Google, and small edits and updates of up to about 2 hours a month. If you need additional time in a particular month, we quote it first, at $75 an hour in half-hour increments, and the plan has a six-month minimum before it continues month to month.

Here’s what you’d pay at each stage.

Only a few factors can change that price, and every one of them appears on the pricing page:

• Additional pages are $200 each beyond five, and the thank-you page doesn’t count.

• Photos and images you don’t already have are priced before we begin.

• Online stores are quoted after the first conversation, including any store or payment processing fees.

Customers also ask about several policies. Replacing an existing website costs the same as building a new one, because the price reflects the size of the site rather than whether you already have one. If you begin with a landing page and later want five pages, the $1,250 counts toward the $2,000. You also purchase and own your domain, while we connect it to your website. If you’d like to know more about who we are, you can read about Deyo Creative Studio.

What does each option include?

The price only tells you half the story. The other half is what’s included: who writes the pages, who keeps the site running, and who fixes it when something breaks. Here’s how the four options compare on the things that matter after launch.

The writing row is the one that changes quotes the most, and the next section shows what it typically adds. The hosting figure comes from NewMedia’s estimate of $10 to $30 a month for basic hosting on a small local website (NewMedia, 2026).

That’s also why our monthly fee is higher than plain hosting: it covers the hosting plus about 2 hours a month of edits and updates from someone who already knows your site. You don’t need to find a person to call when your hours change or a page needs updating.

Of course, if you’re comfortable writing and updating your own website, the builder column may be all you need, and it’s the least expensive way to get online. Whichever way you lean, add up what each option will cost over a few years, then check which of these rows the price covers.

What makes a website cost more?

Four factors increase a website’s price: the number of pages, the writing, the photography, and specialized features like online stores or booking systems. Of those, the writing is the one quotes most often leave out. When we analyzed the top-ranking cost guides, most treated it as an add-on, and it isn’t cheap to add once the design is done.

Pages. Additional pages require more design, more writing and more testing, so the price rises with the page count. At our studio, each page beyond five is $200.

The writing. Someone has to write the words on every page, and it’s often not the person quoting the design. HostSB, a Florida web studio, reports that copywriting typically adds $300 to $1,500 to a project (HostSB, 2026), and NewMedia estimates professional copywriting at $1,500 to $5,000 on an average project. We include the writing in every build, so it never appears later as an unexpected charge.

Photography. Stock photos are relatively affordable, and NewMedia says they often cost $10 to $50 per image, while a professional photographer for a business shoot can add $1,500 to $5,000. We price any photos you need before we begin, so you can decide whether they’re worth the investment.

Features. Finally, online stores, booking systems and member logins require more development, and they usually bring their own monthly subscription fees along with them. We quote online stores after the first conversation so you can see those fees in advance.

One thing that doesn’t affect our price is whether you already have a website. Rebuilding an existing site costs the same as starting fresh, because the work involved is roughly the same size either way.

Is a free or inexpensive website good enough?

Sometimes, yes. If you have the time to set it up and write it yourself, a builder plan can be sufficient. That’s especially true when you primarily need a place to display your hours, your services and your phone number, and plenty of businesses begin exactly that way.

Free plans do exist, but they come with meaningful limitations. Wix’s own FAQ explains that a Premium plan is what allows you to “connect your own domain, remove Wix branding”, which means a website on a free plan operates on the builder’s address and displays the builder’s name.

An inexpensive website usually stops being sufficient when one of these situations applies:

• You don’t have the hours to write and update it, so it remains half-finished for months.

• You need nearby customers to discover you on Google, not just the people who already know your name.

• The website has a specific job to accomplish, like generating calls or bookings, and it isn’t accomplishing that job.

If none of those describe your situation, start with a builder and keep your money invested in the business. If they do, that’s usually the point where hiring a professional begins to pay for itself.

Do you need a landing page or a full website?

A landing page suits a business with one primary job for its website, like generating calls for one service or bookings for one class. A five-page website suits a business with several services, or customers who prefer to explore before they reach out.

Consider what people typically do right before they contact you. If they mostly want your pricing, your service area and a convenient way to reach you, one well-written page can handle all of that, and it costs $1,250 with us.

If they compare your services, read about your background, or review your previous work first, they’ll want additional pages to explore, and that’s the $2,000 five-page website.

You don’t have to decide permanently, either. If you start with a landing page and eventually outgrow it, the $1,250 counts toward the five-page website.

Does a website cost more in Florida?

Not really. A website’s price is determined by who builds it and what’s included, not by the state where you operate, and the Florida guides we analyzed quote similar ranges to the national ones. HostSB, for example, reports that most Florida small businesses spend $1,000 to $5,000 on a professional website (HostSB, 2026).

What’s genuinely different here is timing. If your busiest months arrive with snowbird season, you want the new website live before the season begins, not halfway through it. To plan accordingly, count backward from your busy months: two to four weeks for the build, plus however long it takes you to gather photos and business details.

The other difference is accessibility. A local designer can meet you at your business, observe what you do in person, and ask the questions that become stronger pages. We’re happy to meet you at your business anywhere we provide web design in Bradenton and Manatee County, and in Sarasota as well.

How do you tell a fair quote from an inflated one?

A fair quote clearly explains what’s included, what you’ll pay every month after launch, and who owns what. An inflated one remains vague on all three, so before you sign anything, review these six questions.

• Is the writing included? If it isn’t, add somewhere between $300 and $5,000 to the price.

• How many rounds of revisions do you receive? Two is common, so find out what a third round costs.

• What’s the monthly fee, and is there a minimum commitment? Ask what it covers and how long you’re obligated.

• Who owns the domain? You should, because if someone else registers it in their name, transferring it later becomes more complicated.

• What happens if you leave? Ask whether you receive your website files and what the transition involves.

• What’s the three-year total? Add the build price to 36 months of fees, since that’s the realistic number to compare.

A trustworthy designer will answer every one of these questions in plain language, and in writing, before you pay anything. If someone can’t or won’t, it’s worth setting that quote aside and speaking with someone else.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a monthly fee to have a website?

Yes. Every website requires hosting and a domain at minimum, and builders include hosting in their plans: Wix starts at $17 a month and Squarespace at $19, both billed yearly. Our hosting and maintenance plan is $80 a month for a landing page or $100 for a five-page website, with small edits included.

What is a reasonable price for a small business website?

It depends on who builds it. NewMedia places a simple freelancer website at about $500 to $3,000 and an experienced agency at $5,000 to $20,000, while a builder plan runs about $200 to $600 a year. Our five-page website is $2,000 plus $100 a month, with the writing included.

How much does a 5-page website cost?

Freelancers and agencies vary considerably, from a few hundred dollars to well over $10,000, depending on the design and the writing. Our five-page website is $2,000, plus $100 a month for hosting and maintenance, and it includes writing every page, a contact form, two rounds of revisions and the essential Google setup.

Can I run a website for free?

You can start one for free on a builder like Wix, but free plans have limitations, and Wix’s own FAQ says you need a Premium plan to connect your own domain and remove Wix branding. A free website works for testing an idea, but it won’t look like your business’s own website.

Who owns my domain?

With us, you do. You purchase and own your domain, and we connect it to your website, so your web address remains yours regardless of who builds or hosts the site. Whoever you hire, ask this before you sign, and confirm the domain is registered in your name.

If you’d like an accurate number for your business, tell us what you do, and Beth will call you back within one business day.