How Much to Charge for a Small Business Website

"How much should I charge for a small business website?" is one of the first questions every freelance web designer runs into. Charge too little and you burn out. Charge too much without showing value and the owner says no.

There's no single right number, but there is a simple way to land on a price you can explain and defend. This guide walks you through it in seven steps.

What decides the price of a local business website

Before you pick a number, look at what actually changes the amount of work and the value to the client:

• Scope: how many pages, forms, booking tools, or galleries the site needs.
• Starting point: building from a template is faster than a fully custom design.
• Content: whether the owner gives you text and photos or you write and source them.
• What happens after launch: hosting, updates, and support are ongoing work.
• The problem you solve: a business with no site, a slow site, or a site that's down has a clear, visible reason to pay.

How to price a small business website in 7 steps

1. Work out your minimum hourly rate

Decide what you need to earn per hour to make the work worth it, including time spent on outreach, calls, and revisions, not just building. This is your floor. Never quote below it.

2. Estimate your real hours per project

Time your next build from first call to launch. Include setup, content, edits, and handover. Multiply those hours by your rate to get your base project cost.

3. Package it into clear tiers

Owners decide faster with two or three simple options than with an hourly quote. A common setup looks like this:

• Starter: a one-page or few-page site from a template, contact form, mobile-friendly.
• Standard: more pages, custom sections, basic on-page SEO, Google Maps embed.
• Plus: everything above, with extras like booking, copywriting, or a gallery.

Base each tier on your hours, then round to a clean number.

4. Add a monthly plan for after launch

Most local owners don't want to touch their website. Offer a monthly plan that covers hosting, small edits, uptime checks, and backups. Some designers also bundle social media posting. A monthly plan smooths out your income and keeps the client relationship going.

5. Show the value before you show the price

Price feels high when the owner can't see the problem. Show them a few facts about their current site first: how fast it loads, how accessible it is, and whether it even works. Locasly scores existing sites from 0 to 100 using PageSpeed and WCAG accessibility checks, and flags sites that are down, so you have a real reason to start the conversation.

6. Bring a mockup, not just a quote

A ready-made preview of their new site makes the price concrete. Locasly generates template website mockups you can show during the pitch. If you want to see how that looks in practice, read how I make a website mockup to pitch local businesses.

7. Quote with confidence and set terms

State the price plainly, explain what's included, and stop talking. Then put it in writing:

1. What's included in the build and how many revision rounds.
2. Payment terms, such as 50% up front and 50% at launch.
3. What the monthly plan covers and how to cancel.
4. Who owns the domain and the site at handover.

Common pricing mistakes

• Pricing by the hour for small builds. Faster work then means less money.
• Unlimited revisions. Always cap the rounds.
• Skipping the monthly plan. One-time builds mean you're always hunting for the next client.
• Discounting before the owner asks. Lead with value, not a lower number.

If you're building sites with AI and wondering whether this can be a steady income, our guide on whether selling AI websites is a real side hustle covers the honest picture.

FAQ

Should I charge less if I build the website with AI?

Not automatically. The owner is paying for a working site that brings in customers, plus your time finding, setting up, and supporting it. Faster tools can mean better margins for you, not a lower price for them.

Is it better to charge one-time or monthly?

Many freelancers do both: a one-time build fee plus a monthly plan for hosting, edits, and support. Some offer a lower setup fee with a longer monthly commitment.

What if the owner says it's too expensive?

Offer the smaller tier instead of cutting your price. Reducing scope keeps your rate intact.

How do I raise my prices later?

Raise them for new clients first. As your portfolio grows and you have live sites to show, higher prices get easier to justify.

Start pricing with proof

The easiest websites to sell are the ones where the owner can already see the problem. Locasly helps you find local businesses on Google Maps, score their current sites, and generate a mockup to pitch, all in one place. It's free during launch, with a $500 one-time lifetime plan for a limited number of spots.