How Much Does It Cost to Start a Website?

If you’re a brand-new founder, wondering the cost to build a small business website (typically 5–8 pages), the honest answer is that your cost depends less on the website platform and more on how professional the final result looks.

A site that feels homemade can quietly kill trust and conversions, even if it technically “works.”

For most new founders, a realistic starting range is:

• Lean DIY launch: $300–$1,200 in year one
• Smart mid-range (DIY + pro help): $1,500–$5,000
• Full pro build: $3,500–$12,000+

Don’t be discouraged! 

Most businesses can start a great website for $500-$1500 dollars – if you don’t have a lot of specialized needs. 

The goal isn’t to build the fanciest site. The goal is to build a credible, clear, professional site that helps you earn your first customers while you conserve capital for what really moves the needle early on: business validation, outreach, and traffic. 

Start With Scope, Not Platforms

Before you pick Wix, WordPress, or Shopify, define your scope. Most early-stage businesses need a simple 5–8 page setup with:

• Home
• Product/Services
• About
• Contact
• Optional: FAQ, testimonials, or a basic blog

If you want the simplest “minimum viable” version, you can reduce this to a small landing-style site with four pages: home, product/services, about, contact. That’s often enough to look legitimate and start generating leads.

The Real Cost Categories

Here’s where your money actually goes. You can mix and match based on your budget.

1. Domain

Typically $10–$25 per year.

2. Hosting

• Wix/Squarespace: included in your plan
• WordPress: roughly $5–$60 per month depending on quality and whether it’s managed

3. Theme/Template

• Wix/Squarespace: usually included
• WordPress: free to $50–$200 one-time

4. Plugins/Apps

• WordPress: free to $100–$500 per year for typical small-business needs
• Shopify: often $10–$200 per month once you stack apps

5. Design + Development

This is the most important trust-and-conversion lever.

• DIY: $0–$500
• Hybrid: $1,500–$5,000
• Full pro: $3,500–$12,000+

6. Copywriting

• DIY with a clear structure: $0–$300
• Professional copy for 5–8 pages: $1,500–$6,000

7. Branding (Logo/Visual Identity)

• DIY: $0–$300
• Light pro brand starter: $500–$1,500
• Full identity: $2,000–$5,000+

8. Photography/Video

• Stock photos: $0–$200
• Basic local shoot: $500–$2,500

9. Ongoing Maintenance

• Wix/Squarespace: minimal effort beyond your plan
• WordPress: optional care plans often $50–$300 per month

Platform Costs in Plain English

For early-stage founders, these are the practical differences that matter most:

• Wix/Squarespace: best for fast, clean, simple launches. You can get a credible 5–8 page site live quickly without technical overhead.
• WordPress: best for flexibility and long-term content/SEO. But it’s also the easiest place for a new founder to accidentally create a cluttered or unpolished experience without design guidance.
• Shopify: best if you’re selling products. Plan costs are manageable, but app subscriptions can grow faster than expected.

My Rule of Thumb on DIY vs Hiring

If you can afford it, hire a seasoned designer. Unless you already have strong design skills, you will likely introduce small but costly issues in layout, spacing, hierarchy, and clarity. Those issues create user hesitation and mistrust.

The most cost-effective compromise I see for new founders is a hybrid approach:

• Build the basic structure yourself.
• Hire a pro to refine your homepage, typography, spacing, mobile layout, and overall visual consistency.

This approach often delivers the best ratio of professionalism to cost.

How To Still Get a Solid Site If You Can’t Afford To Pay Designers, Copywriters, Photographers, etc.

If your budget is tight, you can still launch a solid, trustworthy site. The key is to reduce risk by using proven structures, borrowing taste and experience from others, and limiting customization until you’re confident your offer is working.

Use a “template-first, tweak-later” approach

• Pick a modern, high-quality template that already looks like a real business.
• Resist the urge to redesign layouts, add new sections, or invent your own style system.
• Match your colors and fonts to the template’s default logic rather than forcing your own early.

Borrow taste from someone who has it

You’ll often need help from a family member, friend, mentor, or a more design-savvy peer. You’re not asking them to build your site. You’re asking them to help you avoid the common mistakes that signal “untrustworthy” to visitors.

• Have them review your homepage and give blunt feedback on what feels confusing, cluttered, or amateur.
• Ask them to choose between 2–3 template options with you.
• Let them help set basic rules for fonts, spacing, and image style.

Use a simple copy framework instead of trying to be clever

• Headline: What you do + who it’s for.
• Subheadline: The specific outcome or benefit.
• Proof: A short credibility line (experience, results, certifications, or early testimonials).
• Offer blocks: 3–5 bullet points per service/product.
• CTA: One clear next step (book, contact, buy, request quote).

This structure alone can outperform a “beautiful” site with vague messaging.

Use respectable photography without blowing your budget

• Start with high-quality stock images that match your industry and tone.
• If you must take your own photos, use bright natural light and a simple background.
• Keep the style consistent across the site (don’t mix wildly different looks).

Keep the site small and focused

• Start with your minimum viable website (home, services/product, about, contact).
• Skip advanced features until you’re getting traction.
• Prioritize clarity over cleverness.

Use real-world review loops

• Ask 3–5 people in your target audience to view your homepage for 20 seconds and answer:
• What do you think this business does?
• Who is it for?
• What should you do next?
• If they hesitate, your design or copy is still too unclear.

Consider low-cost “micro help” instead of full hires

• A short paid review from a designer is often enough to fix credibility issues.
• A copywriter can polish just your homepage headline and service descriptions.
• You can often buy one hour of expertise to avoid months of DIY mistakes.

The bottom line: if you can’t afford pros, your best strategy is to leverage proven templates, keep scope tight, use simple messaging frameworks, and recruit a design-competent friend or mentor to help you avoid the most common trust-killing errors. That’s how budget sites still look and feel like real businesses.

Two Real-World Scenarios I See All the Time

Case Study 1: The Lean DIY Win

A new service-based founder needs legitimacy fast. They launch a simple 5-page site on Wix or Squarespace using a strong template, clean stock imagery, a clear call-to-action, and basic SEO setup.

• Year-one cost: roughly $400–$900
• Why it works: speed and clarity beat fancy features early on

Case Study 2: The Smart Mid-Range Build

A founder wants a 5–8 page site that doesn’t just exist but truly converts. They do the initial build, then bring in an experienced designer to polish the layout and brand presentation.

• Year-one cost: roughly $2,000–$4,500
• Why it works: the site looks and feels trustworthy without overbuilding

Hidden Costs That Catch Founders

• App/plugin creep: especially in Shopify and WordPress.
• Weak copy: a good-looking site with unclear messaging won’t convert.
• Rebuild costs: the most expensive website is the one you have to replace after it fails to earn trust.

How to Choose Your Budget Without Regretting It

Use this simple order of decisions:

1. Define scope: 5–8 pages? basic SEO? contact form? ecommerce or memberships?
2. Choose your build path: DIY, hybrid, or full pro.
3. Pick a budget tier: then keep features aligned to that level.
4. Select the platform that best fits your scope and comfort level.

Bottom Line

If you’re a new founder, you don’t need a complex website to start winning customers. You need a professional, clear, trustworthy one.

A realistic starting plan is to spend $300–$1,200 for a lean DIY launch, or $1,500–$5,000 for a smart hybrid build that looks truly credible. Save your capital, keep your scope tight, and upgrade your site after you’ve proven demand and found market fit.