A professional small business website in the US typically costs about $1,500 to $7,600 from a freelancer and about $5,000 to $15,000 from an agency in 2026, based on published vendor guides. A do-it-yourself site on a builder costs far less to start but takes your time. These are published estimates, not quotes, and most come from companies that sell web design or website builders.
Website cost in the US by who builds it (2026)
| Route | Typical cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| DIY on WordPress | about $95–$180 to start | Domain, one year of hosting and an optional premium theme. You do the work. |
| Website builder (Wix, Squarespace and similar) | about $200–$800 to start | Plans run roughly $17–$120 per month. Hosting is included. |
| Freelancer | about $2,000–$7,600 | A small site takes about 40–80 hours at roughly $50–$95 per hour. |
| Agency | about $5,000–$15,000 | Full-service build with strategy, design, development and content. |
Source for the table: Website Setup's 2026 small business cost guide (last updated November 2025). That guide does not describe a formal methodology, so treat the numbers as a planning range. Other guides report similar bands: a freelancer at about $1,500–$5,000 for a 5–10 page site, a boutique agency at $6,000–$12,000 and a full-service agency at $12,000–$35,000 or more. One vendor cites a 2025 Clutch survey that put the average small business spend with a professional team at $12,000–$15,000.
What you pay for after launch
The build price is not the whole bill. The same guide lists yearly costs of about $12–$25 for a .com domain, $40–$150 for shared hosting (managed WordPress hosting is $60–$250) and $60–$150 for WordPress maintenance. Content such as photography, copywriting and video is often excluded from quotes. Compare the first-year total, not just the launch price.
What makes a website cost more
- Scope: a five-page brochure site and a site with accounts, bookings or payments are different projects, even if both are called a "website."
- Custom design versus template: a quality template is often enough for a standard company profile. Custom design and development costs more but fits unusual needs.
- Integrations: payments, a CRM, email, scheduling and inventory each add work.
- Content and SEO: writing, images and technical SEO are separate from layout.
- Accessibility and compliance: building to a standard from the start is cheaper than fixing a finished site.
If your site needs custom logic such as client accounts, ordering or a CRM, the cost moves into software territory. See our guide to custom software cost in the US or use the cost calculator. For a separate scope-based comparison of company websites, read business website costs.
Contract: settle ownership before you pay
In the US, a freelancer who builds your site usually owns the copyright by default. Paying for the site does not transfer ownership. You get it through a signed written assignment of copyright, or a "work made for hire" clause that actually qualifies under the law. For an independent contractor, work made for hire applies only to certain statutory categories, and a typical website design does not fit them, so the label alone may have no effect. Put an explicit written assignment in the contract.
Also settle:
- Scope and deliverables: pages, features, integrations and what "done" means.
- Payment milestones tied to working software, not just calendar dates.
- Third-party licenses: themes, plugins, fonts and stock photos are usually licensed, not owned.
- Access: you should own the domain, hosting account and code repository from day one.
- Changes and support: how revisions are priced and who maintains the site after launch.
This is general information, not legal advice. Have an attorney review the contract if the site is business-critical.
Sales tax on web design
Whether web design is taxable depends on the state. Many states treat it as an exempt professional service, but not all. Washington began taxing custom website development on October 1, 2025: the state's Department of Revenue says design, development and support of a website are subject to retail sales tax, while web hosting and domain registration are excluded. Avalara's guidance says some states such as New York and Wisconsin exempt website design delivered electronically, while Connecticut requires sellers to charge sales tax on it. Rules also change for bundles with tangible goods, so itemize your invoice. Ask your provider which state's rules they apply and check the state revenue department before you sign.
ADA and website accessibility
There is no federal web accessibility standard written into the ADA's rules for private businesses (Title III). In practice, courts and plaintiffs use WCAG 2.1 Level AA as the yardstick, and the Department of Justice's 2024 rule for state and local governments names the same standard. Lawsuits are frequent: one count by a law firm, cited by accessibility vendors, found 3,117 federal website accessibility suits in 2025, up from 2,452 in 2024. Counts differ by tracker, and most of these sources sell accessibility products. Whether the ADA reaches a given website also depends on the court, so ask a lawyer about your risk.
Practical steps: ask your developer to build to WCAG 2.1 AA, test keyboard navigation and color contrast, add alt text, and avoid relying on an overlay widget as your only fix.
FAQ
How much does a small business website cost in the US? About $1,500–$7,600 with a freelancer and about $5,000–$15,000 with an agency, plus yearly costs for domain, hosting and maintenance.
Is a freelancer cheaper than an agency? Usually, per project. An agency brings a team, project management and more capacity.
Do I own the website a freelancer builds? Not automatically. Get a signed written assignment of copyright.
Do I pay sales tax on web design? It depends on the state. Some states exempt it, others, such as Washington and Connecticut, tax it.
Does my business website need to be ADA compliant? There is no codified federal standard for private sites, but WCAG 2.1 AA is the benchmark used in practice, and lawsuits happen. Build to it.
Next step
Describe what you want to build on Start a project, see our services and live demos, or contact us.
Sources: Website Setup, "Small Business Website Costs (What to Expect in 2026)," last updated November 22, 2025; other 2026 vendor website cost guides; Washington Department of Revenue, custom website development guidance; Avalara, "Should web designers and developers charge sales tax"; Wiggin, "Copyright: works made for hire"; Seyfarth Shaw lawsuit counts as cited by accessibility vendors; US Department of Justice 2024 ADA Title II web accessibility rule. Prices are published estimates and may vary.
