Skip to content

costs

How much does a contractor website cost?

"Two website quotes, and nothing to compare." over a laptop and notebooks on a wooden table, with two sample quote cards side by side: a vague one with pages and ownership not listed, and an itemized one for Hearth & Ridge Remodeling. No prices shown.

Short answer

A contractor website can cost as little as a monthly builder subscription you set up yourself, or a one-time build fee plus ongoing upkeep if someone builds it for you. As of 10/20/2026, Squarespace lists plans at $19 to $99 a month billed yearly. Custom quotes depend on pages, integrations, content, and maintenance.

What are you actually paying for?

Every website, cheap or expensive, is made of the same parts. Knowing them helps you compare quotes that look nothing alike:

Checklist of every website's parts: domain, hosting and security, design and build, content, features, upkeep.
Knowing the parts of a website helps you compare quotes that look nothing alike.
Every website, cheap or expensive, is made of the same parts.

What does the do-it-yourself route cost?

If you build it yourself on a builder, your main cost is the subscription plus your time. Official list prices as of 10/20/2026:

Swipe sideways to see every column.

PlatformListed priceNotes
Squarespace$19, $29, $49, or $99/month billed yearly; $25, $39, $65, or $139 billed monthlyNo free plan; 14-day free trial
WixFree plan; Light $17, Core $29, Business $39, or Business Elite $159/month billed yearly, paid up frontScheduling and payments start on the Core plan
GoDaddyFree plan with 50 AI credits a month; Airo Starter $9.99, Professional $24.99, and Ultimate $99.99 a month for the first 1-year term, billed annually, then auto-renewing at $179.88, $443.88, or $1,799.88 a year; Airo publishing needs Starter or higherProfessional is the first tier that lists bookings and online payments

Prices and features checked 10/20/2026. They change; check the vendor's site.

Prices change often. Check the official page before you buy, and look at the renewal price, not just the first-year price.

The hidden cost of DIY is time. If you bill your own hours at a real rate, a weekend spent fighting a template is not free.

What changes the price of a custom website?

A developer's quote moves with these factors. Ask about each one when you compare quotes:

  • Number of pages. A five-page site and a site with a page for every service in every town you cover are different jobs.
  • Who writes the content. If you hand over finished text and photos, the job is smaller. If the developer interviews you and writes it, it is bigger.
  • Integrations. Sending leads to your CRM, syncing estimates to a calendar, or taking deposits all add setup and testing.
  • Custom features. A customer portal, a quote calculator, or a project gallery that pulls from your job software is real software work.
  • Search setup. Structured page titles, local business markup, service-area pages, and a matching Google Business Profile take time to do right.
  • Ongoing care. Some quotes include updates and support; some stop at launch. A cheap build with no support can cost more over a few years.

What do professionally built sites cost, according to public data?

I could not find a contractor-only cost study with a clear method. Most contractor cost pages are written by companies selling websites and do not say where their numbers come from. The closest public data covers small-business websites in general. Read it with the caveats:

Swipe sideways to see every column.

SourceWhat it measuredReported figures
Lindo.ai, State of web design agencies in the United States, 2026Billing data, invoices, and a survey of 2,140 agency owners using Lindo, 01/01/2025 to 03/31/20265-page small business site: median $3,850 (25th percentile $2,200, 90th percentile $7,500). 10+ page site: median $8,500 (25th percentile $4,800, 90th percentile $15,000). Monthly care plan: median $249 (25th percentile $99, 90th percentile $799)
99creatix, Web Design Pricing Transparency in 2026 (published 08/31/2026)US providers that publish their pricesCustom small-business site: median $7,000 (only 6 providers, range $4,000 to $18,000). Basic brochure site: median $799 (3 providers)

Prices and features checked 10/20/2026. They change; check the vendor's site.

Caveats: Lindo sells a site builder to agencies, so its data comes from its own users. 99creatix is an agency, includes its own prices, and says its samples are small. Neither is specific to contractors. Lindo does report that home services (plumbing, HVAC, roofing) was the largest share of the agency work it measured, at 22%.

Quote: I could not find a contractor-only cost study with a clear method. Lindo.ai median $3,850; 99creatix median $7,000, with caveats.
The closest public data covers small-business sites in general, from two sources with caveats worth knowing.
Read the public data with the caveats.

How do you compare two quotes that look different?

Put them side by side and ask the same questions of each:

  • How many pages, and which ones?
  • Who writes the content and supplies photos?
  • What happens to the site, the domain, and the code if we part ways?
  • What is included after launch, and for how long?
  • What does a small change cost after launch?
Quote A and Quote B side by side, each with the same questions on pages, content, ownership, after launch, and change costs.
These are the questions to ask of every quote, side by side so the gaps are easy to spot.
Put them side by side and ask the same questions of each.
It just moves the cost to later. A lower quote that leaves out content, ownership, or support is not cheaper.
Content, ownership and support left out of a quote still have to be paid for later.
A lower quote that leaves out content, ownership, or support is not cheaper.

A lower quote that leaves out content, ownership, or support is not cheaper. It just moves the cost to later.

When is paying for a website not the right fit?

Paying a developer is not the right fit for everyone. Spend less, or nothing yet, if you are just starting out, your service list is short, and most of your work comes from referrals. A clean builder site with your phone number, services, service area, license info, and real job photos will do more for you than an expensive site you never update. If your calendar is already full from referrals, a complete Google Business Profile may be enough for now; put the money toward a site when you want more or different work.

How 3Fold Labs helps

I price a site the way this post suggests you compare quotes: by what's included. Before work begins, you and I agree on the deliverables, the cost and how to check the result, so the pages, content and features are written down rather than guessed. The factors above, like page count, content and integrations, are what move my quotes too.

Here's what goes into custom websites for service businesses.

FAQ

Is a free website good enough for a contractor?

A free plan can work to start, but free plans usually show the builder's branding and a builder web address. Wix, for example, uses a username.wixsite.com address on its free plan. A paid plan with your own domain looks more trustworthy.

Do I have to pay for hosting separately?

Not on Wix, Squarespace, or GoDaddy's builder; hosting is part of the plan. On a custom site, ask whether hosting is included or billed separately.

Should I pay monthly or yearly?

Yearly plans are cheaper per month on Wix and Squarespace and include a free domain for the first year. Monthly gives you more flexibility if you are not sure yet.

Do I own my website?

On a builder, you own your content and domain, but the site runs on the builder's platform. Wix, for example, says a Wix site has to be hosted and run on Wix's servers. With a custom build, ownership depends on your contract. Get it in writing.

Sources