LaneFirst Guides / Website cost
How much does a small business website cost?
A website for a local service business can cost anywhere from a builder plan of about $10 a month to a few thousand dollars, depending on who builds it. Here's what you pay once, what you pay every year, and what to ask so the price doesn't surprise you later.
Free PDF audit in 2 business days: your Maps ranking, reviews vs. competitors, AI search check and your top 5 fixes. See what's in the audit
Rough prices
Source: GoDaddy, 2026. Prices vary by company.
What you pay once, and what keeps coming back
Most quotes only show the build. The costs that come back every year matter just as much.
- Building the site. Paid once. Design, writing the pages, setting up the quote form.
- Your web address. Paid every year. GoDaddy's 2026 cost guide puts a typical domain at around $20 a year.
- Hosting. Paid every month or year. This keeps the site online. Builder plans include it.
- Security (SSL). The padlock in the browser. Often included with hosting or a builder plan; check that it is.
- Updates and fixes. Paid as you go or monthly. New photos, a new service, a broken form.
Your three ways to get a website
Each one works. They trade money against your time. Prices below are from GoDaddy's 2026 cost guide; quotes in your area will differ.
A builder plan runs about $10 to $21 a month, per GoDaddy's 2026 cost guide. Cheapest in dollars. The real cost is your evenings: picking a template, writing every page, and fixing it when something breaks.
Good fit if you like doing it and have the time.
A one-time fee, from about $500 for a simple site in GoDaddy's 2026 cost guide. Ask who hosts it afterward and what a small change costs, because that's where the surprise bills come from.
Good fit if you want it done once and rarely change it.
The most expensive route. GoDaddy's 2026 cost guide says custom, highly technical sites can run upwards of $10,000. A trade business rarely needs that much. You're paying for custom design and meetings.
Good fit if you have many locations or need custom features.
What a trade business site actually needs
Five pages cover most home service businesses. More pages don't help if these aren't done well.
- A home page that says what you do and where. Your trade, your towns, your phone number and a quote button, all visible without scrolling.
- One page per service. Roof repair and roof replacement are different searches. Each deserves its own page.
- A service area page. List the towns you cover, in plain words.
- An about page with real photos. Your crew, your trucks, your license number. People hire people.
- A contact page and a short quote form. Name, phone, what they need. Keep it short enough to fill in with one thumb.
Five questions to ask before you pay anyone
The cheapest quote can turn into the most expensive site if these answers are wrong.
- Whose name is the domain in? It should be yours.
- What do I pay every month or year, after launch? Get the full list: hosting, domain, SSL, updates.
- What does a small change cost? Adding a service or a photo shouldn't need a new quote.
- Can I leave and take the site with me? If not, you're renting, not buying.
- Does it work well on a phone? Customers often look you up on their phone, from the driveway or the job site. Ask to see it on yours.
Want it done for you?
LaneFirst builds websites for local service businesses for $299, one time. It's live within 48 hours of your OK, and the domain is in your name. The optional Care Plan is $99 a month for hosting, security, yearly domain renewal and fixes. See what's included
Not sure your current site is doing its job? Your free audit checks it on a phone: speed, one-tap calling, the quote form, and pages for your services and towns.
Questions
How much should I pay someone to design a website?
It depends on who builds it, so get at least two quotes and compare what's included after launch. The build is paid once, but hosting, the domain and updates come back every year.
Is $1,500 a good price for a website?
It can be, if it buys a fast site with a page for each service, tap-to-call, a quote form, and a domain in your name. It's too much if you only get a design and then pay again for every small change.
How much does a 5-page website cost?
Five pages is the right size for most trade businesses: home, services, service area, about and contact. The price depends more on who builds it than on the page count, so compare what each quote includes.
Do I still need a website if I have a Google Business Profile?
Yes. Your profile gets you found on Google Maps, and your website is where people check you out before they call. A profile with a working website link also looks more complete.
Who should own my domain?
You. Make sure the domain is registered in your name or your company's name, not the designer's. Then you can move your site any time without losing your web address.
Written by George, founder of LaneFirst. Updated October 2026. Sources: GoDaddy's 2026 guide to website costs, and LaneFirst's own prices.
Get your free Google visibility audit
We'll check how you show up on Google Maps, in reviews and in AI answers, compare you with the top 3 businesses near you, and send you a PDF with the 5 fixes that would bring you the most calls. Free, within 2 business days, no obligation.
What's in your free audit
- 1Your Google Maps ranking map. Where you show up for your top 5 searches across your service area, street by street, next to your top 3 competitors.
- 2Google profile scorecard. Categories, services, photos, hours, description and posts, with every missing or wrong item flagged.
- 3Reviews vs. your competitors. Your rating, review count and how many new reviews you've had in the last 90 days, side by side with the top 3.
- 4AI search check. What ChatGPT and Google's AI answer when someone asks for the best business like yours in your city, and whether you're named.
- 5Website check. Is it fast and easy to use on a phone, can people call or request a quote in one tap, and does it have pages for your services and towns? If you have no website, what a site should include.
- 6Listings check. Whether your name, address and phone match on Apple Maps, Bing, Yelp and the main directories for your trade.
- 7Your top 5 fixes, ranked by impact. Clear next steps, including the ones you can do yourself today.
5 to 7 pages, written in plain English. Yours to keep, whether or not you work with us.