How much does it cost to build a small business website?

A basic business card website can be free to $5/month using Google Business Profile. A brochure website with multiple pages typically runs $15–$50/month for hosting and a domain. An e-commerce website costs $30–$100+/month depending on the platform and transaction volume. Fully managed website services start around $249/month and include hosting, design, and ongoing updates.

What is a brochure website?

A brochure website is a multi-page informational site — typically including a homepage, about page, services page, and contact form — that presents a business online without e-commerce functionality. It's the digital equivalent of a printed brochure and is well-suited to service businesses, restaurants, and contractors.

Should I use WordPress, Shopify, or WooCommerce for my website?

WordPress is best for brochure and content sites. WooCommerce (a WordPress plugin) is best for self-hosted e-commerce with maximum flexibility. Shopify is best for merchants who want a hosted storefront with minimal technical overhead. Square Online is best if you already use Square for in-person payments.

When should I hire a web developer instead of building my own website?

Consider hiring a developer when you need custom functionality no plugin handles well, when your website directly drives revenue, when you've outgrown your current platform, or when your time is more valuable than the cost of having it handled professionally.

How to Build a Website for Your Small Business: Free and Low-Cost Options

Web and app development is similar to home or commercial construction. When we create an app or website, we are building a set of materials into a finished product with our expertise. When we write code from basic libraries, that’s as close to scratch as it gets, but there are also tools to automatically build websites within a hard-coded structure.

A website is an investment into the digital infrastructure of your business. How much you decide to invest can be dictated by a greater vision or just bare necessity — and the right answer depends entirely on what the website needs to do.

If you hire web development services, all of this is taken care of for you. Website architecture, design, and underlying systems are chosen based on your requirements and the best available technology. To build your own website, start by defining what it needs to do — that will point you toward the right tools and cost tier.

So, what is your desired outcome? Below are the three most common small business website types, with honest cost estimates and tool recommendations for each.

Cost at a Glance

Type	Monthly Cost	Best For
Business Card	Free – $5/mo	Contact info, map listing
Brochure Website	$15 – $50/mo	Multi-page service sites
E-Commerce	$30 – $100+/mo	Selling products online
Fully managed (done for you)	$249/mo	Any of the above, hands-off

Business Card Website

Best for: Sole proprietors, trades, and local businesses who just need to be findable online.

Cost: Free to ~$15/month

If all you need is to get your contact info and hours onto the web, a simple listing is the fastest path. Create a Google account, then set up a Google Business Profile for your business. Enter your location, phone number, and hours — Google will index this information and surface it in Maps and local search results.

For a standalone web address, domain names typically cost $10–$15/year through registrars like Namecheap or Cloudflare Registrar. Pair that with a free tier from a host like Netlify or GitHub Pages and you can have a single-page site live for a few dollars a year.

Brochure Website

Best for: Service businesses, restaurants, contractors, consultants — anyone who needs more than one page but isn’t selling products online.

Cost: $15 – $50/month (hosting + domain)

One step above the business card is essentially a digital trifold pamphlet. If you need a homepage, an about page, a services page, and a contact form, a multi-page static or WordPress site is the right fit.

WordPress is the most widely used CMS in the world for good reason: it’s flexible, well-documented, and has a massive ecosystem of free plugins that handle most common business tasks — contact forms, booking systems, basic SEO, and more.

Several hosting providers offer one-click WordPress installation with a custom domain included. Budget around $15–$30/month for a solid managed WordPress host (Kinsta, WP Engine, or SiteGround are well-regarded options at different price points).

Add functionality with plugins

WordPress’s plugin library makes it easy to extend a brochure site over time without hiring a developer for every change. For example, if you offer a service priced by square footage or dimensions, the free RoughEst Instant Estimate Calculatorplugin lets visitors calculate a price range directly on your website without having to fill out a contact form — reducing friction and saving you time on back-and-forth quotes.

For custom functionality beyond what free plugins offer, custom WordPress plugins can be built to your exact requirements.

E-Commerce Website

Best for: Businesses selling physical or digital products directly to consumers.

Cost: $30 – $100+/month depending on transaction volume and platform fees

Business card and brochure websites are essentially documents on the web. Once you need to display up-to-date inventory, a shopping cart, and a payment processor, you’re in more complex territory. Fortunately, e-commerce is a large industry and several platforms make this accessible without custom code.

Square

If you already use Square for in-person point-of-sale, it’s the lowest-friction option. Square stores your inventory in their system, and they can port that product data directly into an online storefront. Product listings, shopping cart functionality, and payment processing are all handled end-to-end. Square charges a processing fee per transaction (typically ~2.6–3%) rather than a flat monthly fee at the basic tier.

WooCommerce

If you’re not using an existing POS system, WooCommerce is the most widely used self-hosted e-commerce solution. It’s an extension of WordPress — meaning you get the same flexible, plugin-rich foundation as a brochure site, plus full product management, cart, and checkout functionality.

You’ll need to choose a hosting provider (many have one-click WooCommerce installs), manage your own inventory, and integrate a payment processor like Stripe. Total monthly costs typically run $30–$60 for a small store before transaction fees.

Shopify

Shopify is a fully hosted alternative to WooCommerce — less technical overhead, but higher monthly fees and less flexibility. Good for merchants who want a polished storefront without managing any server infrastructure. Plans start at ~$39/month plus transaction fees.

When to Hire a Developer Instead of DIY

DIY tools work well when your website is genuinely simple and stable. Consider bringing in a developer when:

You need custom functionality that no plugin handles cleanly
Your website is central to how you generate revenue
You’ve outgrown your platform and migrations are becoming painful
Your time is worth more than the monthly cost of having it handled

If any of those apply, custom app development is worth a conversation. Or if you want a professional small business website live in 7 days without touching any of this yourself, the Starter Website service at $249/month includes hosting, domain, design, and ongoing updates — no setup fee.

Either way, the best website is the one that’s actually live and working for your business.

Have questions about which option fits your situation? Get in touch.