This article was originally published on December 24, 2024. It was completely updated on September 19, 2026, to reflect current website pricing and market conditions.
If you are considering hiring a professional web designer to build a website for your local service business, one of your first questions will probably be, “How much is this going to cost?”
Unfortunately, there is no universal answer. Website pricing can vary tremendously depending on who builds the website, how many pages it includes, how much customization is required, and what happens after the website is launched.
A simple one-page website may cost several hundred dollars, while a larger custom website from an established agency could cost many thousands. You may also encounter completely different pricing structures that make comparing two proposals more difficult than it initially appears.
This guide will help you understand the typical upfront and ongoing costs of hiring a professional web designer for a local service business website.
The Two Main Costs of a Professional Website
When comparing website prices, it helps to separate the cost into two categories.
The first is the one-time cost of designing, building, and launching the website. This may include planning the website, creating the design, adding the content, optimizing the mobile layout, configuring forms, and preparing everything for launch.
The second is the ongoing cost of keeping the website online, secure, updated, and working properly. This may include hosting, software updates, backups, security monitoring, performance optimization, domain management, and technical support.
At DPI Worldwide, LLC, we separate these into a one-time website build price and an annual website care price. This makes it clear what you are paying to have the website created and what you will pay each year to keep it hosted and maintained.
Not every freelancer or agency follows this model. That is why you should always determine exactly what is and is not included before comparing prices.
Common Website Pricing Models
Some web designers charge a one-time fee to build the website and leave the client responsible for hosting, maintenance, and future updates. The initial price may look affordable, but the business owner must either manage the website or hire someone else after launch.
Others charge a one-time build fee followed by a monthly or annual maintenance plan. This is similar to the model we use at DPI Worldwide because it provides the business owner with ongoing hosting, maintenance, and professional support.
Some companies combine everything into a monthly subscription. These arrangements can reduce the amount due upfront, but you should find out whether you actually own the website and what happens if you stop making the monthly payments.
An agency may also create a completely customized proposal based on its estimated number of hours. This is common for larger websites involving custom programming, ecommerce, professional copywriting, photography, booking systems, or other advanced functionality.
None of these pricing models is automatically better than the others. The important thing is understanding the complete cost, what is included, and who will be responsible for the website after it goes live.
Option 1: One-Page Website
A one-page website places the main information about your business on a single scrolling page. It can work well for a small local service business that needs a professional online presence without a large amount of content.
A professionally built one-page website will commonly fall within the following ranges in 2026.
One-Time Website Build
- Freelancer or small web design company: $500 to $3,000
- Established agency: $2,000 to $10,000
The lower end of these ranges will usually involve a relatively simple website using an existing platform or design system. The higher end may include extensive strategy, custom design, professional copywriting, photography, branding, or integrations with other business software.
Ongoing Hosting, Maintenance, and Support
- Basic hosting with limited maintenance: $300 to $1,000 per year
- Professionally managed website care: $600 to $2,400 per year
- Higher-touch agency support: $1,200 to $3,600 or more per year
Basic hosting is not necessarily the same as professional website care. Inexpensive hosting may provide server space and automated backups, but it may not include someone regularly updating the website, checking for problems, improving performance, or helping when something breaks.
A one-page website will typically include:
- A mobile-responsive layout
- Information about the business
- An overview of the services provided
- Contact information
- A contact form or prominent call to action
- Basic on-page search optimization
- SSL security
- Links to social media profiles
A one-page website can be an excellent starting point, but it does have limitations. If your business provides several distinct services or serves multiple locations, separate pages can give you more room to explain those services and may create better opportunities to appear in search results.
Option 2: Small Multi-Page Website
A multi-page website is the most common choice for an established local service business. Instead of placing everything on one page, the content is divided into pages such as Home, About, Services, Testimonials, and Contact.
A five-page small-business website will commonly fall within the following ranges in 2026.
One-Time Website Build
- Freelancer or small web design company: $1,500 to $5,000
- Established agency: $3,000 to $15,000 or more
Current published pricing research commonly places a professionally built five-page small-business website somewhere around $2,000 to $5,000. Prices can be considerably higher when an agency includes branding, market research, custom copywriting, photography, advanced search engine optimization, or custom functionality.
Ongoing Hosting, Maintenance, and Support
- Basic hosting with limited maintenance: $400 to $1,200 per year
- Professionally managed website care: $600 to $2,400 per year
- Higher-touch agency support: $1,200 to $3,600 or more per year
The annual cost does not always increase dramatically just because the website contains more pages. A five-page website and a ten-page website may require similar hosting, security, backups, and software updates.
Ongoing costs are more likely to increase when a website receives significant traffic, uses advanced functionality, requires frequent content changes, processes payments, or needs faster support.
A small multi-page website will typically include:
- A professionally designed homepage
- An About page
- One or more service pages
- A Contact page
- Mobile-responsive design
- Contact forms
- Basic on-page search optimization
- Analytics integration
- Hosting, security, and software updates
- Backup and recovery capabilities
Additional pages can be created for individual services, service areas, frequently asked questions, project galleries, testimonials, employment opportunities, or other important information.
What Makes One Website Cost More Than Another?
The number of pages matters, but it is only one part of website pricing. Two websites with the same number of pages can require completely different amounts of work.
Several factors can affect the final cost.
Custom Design
A website created from a proven layout will generally cost less than one designed entirely from scratch. Custom design requires more planning, design work, revisions, testing, and development.
A customized website can still use WordPress or another established platform. The word “custom” does not necessarily mean that every line of code must be written from the beginning.
Website Content
Some web designers expect you to provide all text and images in a finished format. Others will help organize, edit, or write the content.
Professional copywriting and photography can significantly increase the project price. Even when you provide the content, the web designer will still need to format it and make sure it works properly within the website design.
Special Features
A basic contact form is relatively straightforward. Appointment scheduling, online payments, ecommerce, membership areas, customer portals, advanced quote forms, and integrations with outside software require additional setup and testing.
If your website needs something beyond presenting information and generating basic inquiries, describe that functionality before accepting a proposal.
Search Engine Optimization
The phrase “SEO included” can mean many different things. A website should be structured so search engines can understand it, but that is not the same as an ongoing search engine optimization campaign.
Basic website SEO may include page titles, headings, image descriptions, mobile optimization, clean URLs, and submitting the website to Google. Keyword research, competitor analysis, creating location pages, writing ongoing content, building links, and monitoring rankings are separate services that can cost considerably more.
Revisions and Project Scope
Most website proposals include a limited number of revisions. The price may increase if the direction changes after work begins or if new pages and features are added to the original project.
A clear written scope protects both the business owner and the web designer. It establishes what will be built, what the client must provide, how many revisions are included, and what will happen if the project expands.
What Should Ongoing Website Care Include?
A website is not something that should be built and then ignored. WordPress, themes, plugins, browsers, and security threats continue to change after the website is launched.
A professional website care plan may include:
- Reliable website hosting
- WordPress core updates
- Theme and plugin updates
- Regular backups
- SSL security
- Security monitoring
- Performance optimization
- Uptime monitoring
- Domain and DNS assistance
- Troubleshooting and technical support
- Minor content updates
You should ask exactly which of these services are included. A $10-per-month hosting account and a professionally managed website care plan are not equivalent, even though both may be described as “hosting.”
You should also ask what happens if an update causes a problem or the website goes offline. Automated updates can be useful, but they do not replace having a knowledgeable person available to investigate and correct a problem.
Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Web Designer
The lowest price is not always the best value, and the highest price does not automatically guarantee the best result. Ask enough questions to understand what you are purchasing.
Before choosing a web designer, consider asking:
- What is included in the initial website price?
- How many pages will the website contain?
- Who will provide the written content and images?
- How many rounds of revisions are included?
- Is the website mobile responsive?
- Will contact forms and analytics be configured?
- What search engine optimization work is included?
- Who owns the website and domain?
- Where will the website be hosted?
- What ongoing maintenance is provided?
- How much will I pay after the first year?
- Who do I contact if the website stops working?
- What happens if I eventually want to move the website?
Get the project scope and payment terms in writing before work begins. A good proposal should make the initial cost, ongoing cost, responsibilities, and included services easy to understand.
How DPI Worldwide Prices Small-Business Websites
DPI Worldwide specializes in simple websites for small businesses. Our pricing separates the initial website build from the ongoing annual cost of hosting, maintaining, updating, and supporting the website.
As of September 2026, our website packages are priced as follows:
Starter Website
The Starter package includes a one-page scrolling website for a one-time build price of $595, plus $595 per year for hosting, maintenance, updates, security, and ongoing website care.
This package is intended for a small business that needs a simple, professional online presence without multiple service pages or advanced functionality.
Growth Website
The Growth package includes a website with up to five pages for a one-time build price of $1,995, plus $1,195 per year for hosting, maintenance, updates, security, and ongoing website care.
This package works well for a growing local service business that needs enough space to explain its services, tell its story, collect inquiries, and establish a stronger online presence.
Premium Website
The Premium package includes a website with up to ten pages for a one-time build price of $3,995, plus $1,195 per year for hosting, maintenance, updates, security, and ongoing website care.
This package is designed for an established business that needs a larger, more comprehensive website with additional pages, features, and priority support.
Our pricing is intentionally affordable compared with many professional freelancers and agencies. We focus on building effective websites for small businesses without adding unnecessary complexity or services that the business does not need.
Artificial Intelligence Has Changed Website Design, But It Has Not Eliminated the Work
Artificial intelligence can now generate layouts, images, written drafts, and even basic websites much faster than it could a few years ago. This can reduce the time required for certain parts of the website-building process.
However, generating a website is not the same as creating a useful website for a real business. Someone still needs to understand the business, organize the information, choose what should be emphasized, check the accuracy of the content, configure the technology, test the website on different devices, and maintain everything after launch.
AI is another tool a web designer can use. It does not take responsibility for your domain, hosting, security, contact forms, analytics, software updates, or the phone call you make when something stops working.
For many small-business owners, the real value of hiring a professional is not simply receiving a collection of web pages. It is knowing that someone understands how the website is set up and will continue taking care of it.
Finding the Right Website for Your Local Service Business
A professionally built website for a local service business can cost anywhere from several hundred dollars to tens of thousands. The right budget depends on the size of the website, the functionality required, the amount of custom work involved, and the level of ongoing support you want.
When comparing prices, separate the one-time build cost from the ongoing cost of hosting and maintaining the website. Then compare the actual services included in each proposal instead of looking only at the initial number.
A simple website can still be professional, secure, mobile-friendly, and effective. The goal is not to purchase the largest or most expensive website available. The goal is to choose a website that clearly represents your business, helps potential customers take the next step, and continues working properly after it is launched.
If your small business needs a new website and you would like to find out whether DPI Worldwide is the right fit, visit our Start Here page and tell us a little about your business.