What Does a Small-Business Website Actually Cost?

Website notes · By Ben Faust

If you’re planning a website for a small business in Paducah or the surrounding area, the first question is often a simple one: what will it actually cost? The useful answer includes both the initial build and what you’ll pay to keep it running.

My small-business websites start at $795 for development, plus required hosting and care from $59/month at launch. Those are separate charges. Here’s how to work out what belongs in your budget.

1. The website build: a one-time fee

Development covers planning the pages, creating the design, building the website, preparing the agreed content, and checking it before launch. The price depends on the number of pages, the content, and the features your business needs.

My current starting packages are:

• Starter Presence — $795: 1–3 standard pages, with preparation of up to 900 supplied words and 8 supplied images.
• Business Essentials — $1,495: up to 5 standard pages, with preparation of up to 2,000 supplied words and 15 supplied images.
• Business Plus — $2,495: up to 10 standard pages, with preparation of up to 4,000 supplied words and 30 supplied images.

Each package includes responsive WordPress design, contact-form setup, basic search-engine setup, content organization and light refinement, and two rounds of revisions within the agreed scope. A standard page means an information page such as Home, About, Services, or Contact. Larger or specialized websites start at $3,500 and receive an individual quote.

Before work begins, we agree on the pages, features, content, price, and payment arrangements. If you want something outside that scope, we discuss the additional cost before the work proceeds.

2. Hosting and care: the monthly cost

Hosting is the service that makes your website available online. Care covers the ongoing technical work, including updates, routine maintenance, backups, and support. All websites I newly develop launch on one of these plans:

Hosting & Care — $59/month. Managed hosting, SSL, WordPress and plugin updates, security and uptime monitoring, routine maintenance and support, and an eligible standard domain-renewal allowance. Daily backups remain subject to verification, with approximately 30 days of backup history; recovery depends on retained backups and successful restoration.

Managed Website — $99/month. Everything in Hosting & Care, plus priority support and up to 30 minutes of routine content updates each billing month. Unused time does not roll over; new pages, major redesigns, and complex development are quoted separately.

Hosting is required initially, but it is month-to-month. You may move to another compatible WordPress host later. Cancellation requires 30 days’ written notice and takes effect after that notice period or at the end of the current paid billing period, whichever is later. See the ownership and service policies for the full terms and support response targets.

3. Your domain: registration and renewal

Your domain is your website address. Initial standard domain registration and setup are included in your hosting plan, so you don’t need to budget for a separate initial registration charge. Your domain is registered in your name.

While an eligible hosting plan is active and paid, one standard domain renewal is covered up to $25 per year, when it falls due during that service period. Premium domains, specialized extensions, unusual renewal costs, and transfer fees may cost extra with advance approval. Your domain is registered in your name. After hosting cancellation, future renewals become your responsibility.

4. Content and optional features

You don’t need a finished website plan or professionally written content before contacting me. Rough notes, existing brochures, and your own photographs can be a useful starting point. Organizing and lightly refining supplied material is included within your package’s allowance; original writing, research, and substantial rewriting are additional services.

Typical additions include a standard page at $125, content writing or substantial rewriting at $100–$200 per page, and appointment-booking integration at $200–$450. These are not automatic charges: the final quote depends on complexity and agreed scope.

A booking subscription, premium plugin, licensed image, business email service, or ecommerce payment processing can create separate costs. We’ll identify applicable third-party fees before you agree to the work. A small ecommerce addition starts at $750 extra when it fits the project; larger stores and advanced systems need a custom quote.

A simple first-year example

A Starter Presence website with Hosting & Care would be $795 + 12 × $59 = $1,503 for the build and twelve monthly care payments. With Managed Website, the same illustration is $795 + 12 × $99 = $1,983.

Initial standard domain registration is included in hosting. These examples exclude optional work, paid third-party services, and applicable taxes. Twelve months is a budgeting illustration, not a required twelve-month hosting commitment. After the build, ongoing care continues at the selected monthly rate while the service is active.

A website you own, with help when you need it

After the development balance is paid in full, original website deliverables created for your project belong to you. Your supplied material remains yours, and third-party assets keep their individual license terms. Hosting does not transfer ownership of your website to me.

You don’t have to know which package fits before we talk. Tell me what your business does and what you hope the website will help with. We can work out a sensible starting point together.

Have a question first? Let’s talk about your website.