Ask five web designers for a quote and you will get five numbers between $500 and $10,000 for what looks like the same site. Here is what is actually behind the spread, so you can buy like you would buy a used truck: eyes open.
What you are actually paying for
A small business site has four real cost drivers: design time, copywriting, the tech it sits on, and whatever the seller's overhead is. That last one is the silent killer. Agencies with offices and account managers bill you for the offices and the account managers.
The subscription trap
The $99-a-month "free website" deals cost $3,564 over three years and you own nothing when you stop paying. The site, the domain, sometimes even your content, gone. Renting a website is the most expensive way to buy one.
What a fair deal looks like
For a standard small business site (services, photos, reviews, contact, mobile-fast, findable on Google), a fair flat price in 2026 is $700 to $2,500 depending on size. You should OWN the result. Hosting should be cheap ($10-20 a month) and optional, not a hostage situation.
We charge $700 flat because we build lean and local, no office, no account managers, no drawn-out discovery calls. The site is yours outright.
The one question that exposes a bad deal
Ask: "If I stop paying you next year, what do I keep?" If the answer is not "everything," walk.