How Much Does a Website Cost in 2026? (6 Levels)
Entry 016
2025-06-15
Website costs in 2026 range from a few hundred dollars for basic maintenance or a DIY site to $20,000+ for custom design and development.
The cost depends on the size of the website, the platform, the level of design, the functionality required, and how much custom development is involved.
A local business with a five-page website has very different requirements than an eCommerce company with hundreds of products, custom integrations, and significant online revenue.
Here’s a practical breakdown of what websites cost in 2026.
Level 1: Website Maintenance
Typical Cost: $100–$1,000+ per month
If you already have a website, ongoing maintenance may be all you need.
Website maintenance can include:
Updating text and images
Adding or removing pages
Publishing blog posts
Updating products
Fixing broken links
Managing plugins and integrations
Updating promotions
Troubleshooting forms
Installing or maintaining analytics
Basic SEO updates
Small design changes
Conversion rate improvements
General technical support
A relatively static small business website may only need a few updates each month.
An active eCommerce website can require ongoing work across products, promotions, landing pages, apps, analytics, email integrations, and conversion optimization.
The scope of maintenance should match how important the website is to the business.
Level 2: DIY Website
Typical Cost: $200–$1,500
Building your own website is a reasonable option for a new business with a limited budget.
Website builders such as Squarespace, Wix, Shopify, WordPress, and Framer make it possible to launch a professional-looking website without hiring a developer.
A basic DIY project usually involves:
Purchasing a domain
Choosing a website builder
Selecting a template
Adding your branding
Writing your content
Uploading photography
Creating your pages
Connecting forms
Setting up basic SEO
Launching the site
The main expenses are the domain, website subscription, templates, plugins or apps, and your time.
For an early-stage business, this can be enough. You can always redesign or expand the website as the business grows.
Level 3: Professional Template-Based Website
Typical Cost: $2,500–$7,500
This is a common range for small business websites.
Instead of designing and developing everything from scratch, a designer uses an established website platform and customizes it around the company’s brand and requirements.
For example, this could be a Squarespace website with custom layouts and CSS or a Shopify store built from a professionally configured theme.
These projects are a good fit for:
Local businesses
Restaurants
Contractors
Consultants
Professional services
Portfolios
Startups
Small eCommerce businesses
A project at this level may include:
Sitemap planning
Page design
Mobile optimization
Brand implementation
Basic copywriting
Contact forms
Analytics setup
Google Search Console
Basic technical SEO
Meta titles and descriptions
Image optimization
Email signup integration
Custom CSS
Domain setup
Launch support
For many businesses, this level provides everything the website needs without paying for unnecessary custom development.
Level 4: Custom Website Design
Typical Cost: $7,500–$20,000+
A custom website starts with the requirements of the business rather than the limitations of an existing template.
The process typically includes strategy, sitemap planning, wireframes, design, development, content, mobile optimization, SEO, integrations, testing, and launch.
Platforms such as Squarespace, Webflow, Shopify, WordPress, and Framer can all support different levels of custom design.
The right platform depends on the project.
A custom website may include:
Website strategy
Custom sitemap
Wireframes
Custom UI/UX design
Custom desktop and mobile layouts
Copywriting
Custom CSS and JavaScript
Animations
CMS development
Blog or resource libraries
Lead-generation systems
CRM integrations
Advanced forms
Analytics and event tracking
SEO migration
Redirect mapping
Conversion optimization
Accessibility improvements
Technical SEO
Performance optimization
This level is typically appropriate for established businesses where the website plays an important role in sales, lead generation, recruiting, or brand positioning.
Level 5: Custom eCommerce Website
Typical Cost: $10,000–$30,000+
eCommerce websites generally require more functionality than standard marketing websites.
For most product businesses, Shopify is a strong starting point because products, inventory, payments, checkout, shipping, customer accounts, discounts, and integrations are already part of the platform.
A custom Shopify or eCommerce project may include:
Custom theme design
Custom theme development
Collection architecture
Product page design
Product variants
Bundles
Subscriptions
Reviews
Upsells and cross-sells
Email marketing integrations
Inventory integrations
Shipping rules
Custom discounts
Financing integrations
Analytics
Conversion tracking
Google Merchant Center
Meta catalog integrations
Custom landing pages
Conversion rate optimization
Mobile optimization
Page-speed improvements
The value of optimization also increases as online revenue grows.
For a small store, a minor conversion rate improvement may have limited financial impact. For an established eCommerce company, the same improvement can represent a significant amount of additional revenue.
Level 6: Fully Custom Website or Web Application
Typical Cost: $30,000–$100,000+
Some projects require functionality that doesn’t fit within a traditional website builder.
Examples include:
Customer dashboards
Custom account systems
Complex databases
Membership platforms
Interactive tools
Proprietary calculators
Internal software
Marketplaces
Custom APIs
Real-time data
SaaS products
These projects are closer to software development than traditional website design.
A custom project might use technologies such as React, Next.js, TypeScript, Node.js, Supabase, PostgreSQL, Vercel, Stripe, and custom APIs.
Costs increase because more of the functionality needs to be designed, developed, tested, hosted, and maintained specifically for the project.
If an established website platform can handle the requirements, custom development may not be necessary.
What Determines the Cost of a Website?
The number of pages is only one factor. Several areas have a larger impact on the final cost.
Design
Using and modifying an existing template requires less work than creating a completely custom design system.
Content
If photography, video, graphics, and copy already exist, the project will require less production work.
Functionality
A website that displays information is simpler than one that needs accounts, databases, payments, bookings, subscriptions, or custom tools.
eCommerce
A store with ten products is different from a store with hundreds or thousands of products, subscriptions, bundles, custom shipping rules, and multiple integrations.
SEO
Launching a new five-page website requires less SEO planning than migrating an established website with hundreds of indexed URLs.
Integrations
CRM platforms, email marketing tools, inventory systems, booking platforms, payment systems, and custom APIs can all add development time.
Custom Development
The more functionality that needs to be built specifically for the project, the higher the development cost.
Ongoing Support
A website that changes every week requires a different maintenance plan than one that is updated twice per year.
What Does It Cost to Run a Website?
The initial website project is only one part of the total cost.
Ongoing website expenses can include:
Domain registration
Website hosting
Website builder subscription
Shopify apps
WordPress plugins
Email marketing software
CRM software
Analytics tools
Maintenance
Development
Content
SEO
Conversion optimization
Different platforms also have different maintenance requirements.
Squarespace and Wix generally include hosting and much of the technical infrastructure within the subscription.
Shopify includes the core eCommerce infrastructure, but additional apps can increase monthly costs.
WordPress can be inexpensive to host, but themes, plugins, security, hosting, and maintenance need to be considered.
Webflow and Framer combine hosting with visual website-building tools and are commonly used for custom marketing sites.
A fully custom website or web application may require separate hosting, infrastructure, monitoring, and developer support.
The cost to maintain the website should be considered when choosing the platform.
Which Website Builder Should You Use?
There isn’t one website builder that’s right for every business. The platform should match the requirements of the project.
Shopify
Best suited for businesses primarily selling physical or digital products online.
Shopify provides products, inventory, payments, checkout, shipping, customer accounts, discounts, and a large app ecosystem.
Squarespace
A good option for small businesses, restaurants, professional services, portfolios, and other content-focused websites that don’t require complex functionality.
Wix
Another accessible option for small businesses that want a visual website builder and a large selection of built-in features.
Webflow
Best suited for custom marketing websites that require more control over layouts, responsive design, CMS content, and interactions.
Framer
Popular for modern, design-focused marketing websites and smaller sites where visual design and speed of development are priorities.
WordPress
A flexible option for content-heavy websites, publications, blogs, and projects that require a large plugin ecosystem.
Custom Development
Frameworks such as React and Next.js are appropriate when a project requires functionality that can’t efficiently be handled by an existing website platform.
The best choice is generally the simplest platform that can handle the requirements of the business.
Website Cost in 2026: Quick Breakdown
Here’s a simple way to estimate the level of website you may need:
$100–$1,000+ per month — Website Maintenance
Ongoing updates, fixes, content, SEO, and optimization for an existing website.
$200–$1,500 — DIY Website
A website you build yourself using Squarespace, Wix, Shopify, WordPress, Framer, or another website builder.
$2,500–$7,500 — Professional Template-Based Website
A professionally built small business website using an established platform or theme.
$7,500–$20,000+ — Custom Website
Custom strategy, design, development, content, SEO, integrations, and testing.
$10,000–$30,000+ — Custom eCommerce Website
A custom Shopify or other eCommerce website with more advanced products, integrations, and conversion requirements.
$20,000–$100,000+ — Fully Custom Development
Custom websites, platforms, applications, databases, dashboards, APIs, and other software-driven projects.
These ranges are estimates. Two websites with the same number of pages can have very different budgets depending on their design, functionality, content, integrations, and technical requirements.
How B2 Approaches Website Projects
At B2 Creative, we build websites for local businesses, service companies, startups, and growing eCommerce brands.
We don’t start every project by recommending a custom website. We start by determining what the business actually needs.
If Squarespace can handle the project, we’ll use Squarespace. If the business is primarily selling products online, Shopify will usually make more sense. If the project requires more control over design and interactions, we’ll consider platforms built for that purpose.
The goal is to choose the right level of design and development for the business without adding unnecessary complexity.
If you’re planning a new website or trying to determine whether your current website needs an update, contact B2 Creative to talk through the project.