How Much Does it Really Cost to Build a Business Website?

For small business owners just getting started, the uncertainty around how much they’ll need to spend to build a professional website can make it difficult to actually start building one. That’s why it’s worth understanding what essentials you’ll need and the price of each.

In the modern era of business ownership, a website is how customers and clients find you, evaluate your credibility, and decide to do business with you. This guide breaks down what to expect, from one-time setup costs to the recurring fees that keep your site running.

Average Cost of a Website in 2025

Depending on how large and fancy you want your business website to be, the average initial cost to have one designed for you can range from $1000-$6000, according to GoodFirms. This total can also vary based on how much of your site you decide to do it yourself (or DIY), either from scratch using mostly-free tools like WordPress, or paid, build-it-yourself platforms.

If you go the DIY route, you can spend as little as a few hundred dollars a year on a website that you build yourself. It’s worth noting, though, that some platforms allow more agency over your website than others. The best site builders will allow you to pack up your website and migrate it elsewhere as your needs as a business change.

Average business website costs

Before you build a website, it helps to understand the key factors that influence the total cost of one. Whether you’re building a massive digital archive that lists hundreds of products or a simple 3-page promotional website, some basic components are necessary, and these essentials can vary in cost. This includes:

• Domain name: $10-$25 per year
• Web hosting: $5-$500 per month
• Business email: $3-$10 per month (if not included with hosting)
• Site maintenance: $50-$200+ per month
• Security: $60-$600+ per year

With these prices added up, a business website per year on average costs between $800 and $10,000 to set up and maintain. These prices are just basic averages and not specifics because your actual price will depend on what service you use. Whether you build your own site or hire a professional, each of these components plays a role in keeping your website healthy.

Cut down on your website-building costs by using Northwest Registered Agent to purchase your business’s domain names. We’ll design a basic website for you at no extra cost, so you only have to pay for your domain.

Full Price Breakdown of Building a Website

To understand your total investment into a business website, you’ll need to break down both the initial setup costs and the ongoing expenses for maintenance. This includes website hosting, maintenance, and domain name renewals. Here’s all you need to know to budget wisely as your business grows.

Domain names

A domain name is your website’s unique online address; it’s the name people type into a browser to find you. It connects visitors to your site, no matter where it’s stored online.

Most domains cost between $10 and $25 per year on average, but premium or boutique names can run into the thousands.

You’ll register your domain through an accredited domain registrar, a business that is authorized to facilitate the buying and selling of domain names. You’ll also work with a registrar to renew your domain regularly to retain the exclusive right to build your website on it.

To save yourself some cash, consider registering your domain name for the longest term available. Some registrars even offer registration terms as long as 10 years. This helps to insulate your business from future price hikes and avoid lapses in domain ownership.

Web hosting service

Web hosting is what makes your site visible on the world wide web. Hosting requires powerful servers (computers that store your website’s files) to stay connected to the internet and deliver your site to visitors when they type in your domain name. Like with domains, you’ll need to renew your web hosting on a regular cycle to keep your website up and running.

The two main categories of website hosting include shared hosting and managed hosting.

• Shared hosting: Your website shares server space and resources with multiple other websites. Typical cost: Between $5 and $20 per month.
• Managed hosting: Managed hosting gives you greater access to resources that power your site, while your hosting manager (like a landlord) handles server maintenance and software updates. Typical cost: $20 to over $500 per month with some high-end services.

Starting small and upgrading your hosting plan as your traffic grows is usually the better financial move if your business isn’t swimming in investment cash.

Business email

A business email is one that uses the same domain as your business website, rather than a generic one like @gmail.com. Some providers include branded email accounts in your hosting plan, while others charge separately.

The costs for a standalone email hosting service can range from $3 to $10 per month, depending on features such as increased storage space and email encryption, which helps protect sensitive messages from interception.

A branded email helps you look professional and, like your website, enables you to build credibility with potential customers. Along with this, using your own email accounts will keep you out of spam folders when sending out follow-up messages and make it easy to build an email list to market your services and products.

Site maintenance and updates

It takes ongoing work to keep your business website up and running. The types of maintenance tasks you’ll need to worry about for your website include:

1. Fixing site-breaking updates pushed out by plugin developers
2. Keeping regular backups to ensure your site isn’t lost in the event of an attack
3. Ensuring your website includes Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) measures, like including alt-text for images embedded on your website

If you’re using a DIY site builder platform like Wix, basic maintenance may be included. If you’re building your own custom site using a tool like WordPress, you’ll be the one to handle those updates yourself or hire outside support.

Those who’ve reached a reasonably advanced level of website development might get away with spending almost nothing to maintain their website. If you’re starting from scratch, you could be paying between $50 and $200 (or even thousands per month if you stay entirely hands off and have a particularly complex site) to keep your website functional.

Security

A good site is a secure one. Securing your website from scammers and hackers looking to steal client data or proprietary site features is an absolute necessity. SSL security is the first step you should take towards keeping your site safe.

A Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) security certificate is a digital security feature that scrambles the data shared between your website and its visitors. This ensures that if a scammer intercepts any of your business’s or your clients’ data, the information is unreadable and useless. An SSL certificate also signals to visitors that your website is safe to use, literally putting the s in https within your web address.

Like email hosting, SSL security is often included in website hosting plans, but individually it averages about $60 per year, according to Hostinger.

Your Business in the Digital Realm

Getting your business online is a non-negotiable. A great website greets visitors, builds trust, and introduces your company, all while you focus on growing your offerings in the background. While a business website requires some investment and maintenance, it can easily pay for itself tenfold over time as you refine and scale its capabilities alongside your business.