How much does a small business website cost in 2026?

By Povilas, who runs Ginta · 19 October 2026 · 6 min read

A simple small business website in 2026 usually costs a domain (about $11 a year for a .com at one popular registrar) plus a website builder plan, which runs from $19 a year at the very cheapest to roughly $10–$25 a month at the builders we checked. Paying a designer instead is a one-off fee, from a few hundred pounds for a basic site to thousands for a custom one, plus hosting. The cost most people forget is their own time.

Below is each part, with real prices from the companies' own pages. We make Ginta, one of the builders listed; we've kept its prices next to everyone else's so you can judge. Prices change and some builders show different prices in different countries, so check before you buy.

The four costs of a website

1. The domain: your address, like yourbakery.com. A yearly fee to a registrar.
2. The builder or hosting: the service that keeps your site online. Monthly or yearly.
3. Design and content: you, a website builder's AI, or a designer.
4. Extras: online booking, a shop, an email address at your domain. Sometimes included, often not.

1. The domain: about $11 a year for a .com

Domains are sold by registrars. At Porkbun, a .com costs $11.08 a year to register and the same to renew; .co.uk is $5.66 and .de renews at $4.07 (Porkbun domain pricing, checked 19 October 2026). Other registrars charge more or less, and many sell the first year cheap and the renewal at full price, so always look at the renewal price.

Some website builders include a domain free for the first year on yearly plans (Wix and Squarespace do, see below). That's a real saving in year one; from year two you pay the registrar's normal price.

2. The builder or hosting: $0 to about $25 a month

This is the main running cost. What the cheapest plan that allows your own domain costs, from each company's own pricing page, checked on 19 October 2026:

Ginta's prices are the euro prices from our pricing page, VAT included where it applies. Sources for the others are at the end.

What the table doesn't show:

• Booking costs extra on some builders. On Wix, online booking starts on Core, not Light. On Squarespace, booking is a separate Acuity Scheduling subscription, from $16 a month on yearly billing (checked 19 October 2026). On Ginta, booking is included on every paid plan.
• Intro prices end. If a price only applies to the first term, work out the renewal before you compare.
• AI limits. Builders with AI use credits. If you plan to change your site often, check how many changes the plan includes.

3. Design: you, an AI, or a designer

Doing it yourself with a builder

The cost is your time. A drag-and-drop editor can take a weekend to learn; an AI website builder gets you a first version in minutes, and the time goes into checking your details and adding photos. Our timed example took about ten minutes from one sentence to a finished page (the 10-minute walkthrough).

Paying a designer

A UK guide puts a basic small business website by a web designer at about £300–£1,000, and a custom site at £10,000 or more (Startups.co.uk, updated 23 March 2026). Prices depend a lot on the country and the person. On top of the design fee you still pay for the domain and hosting, and often for changes later.

A designer is worth it when you need something a builder can't do, a strong brand, or simply no time at all. If you hire one, ask who owns the site and the domain, what hosting costs per year, and what a change costs.

4. Your time: the cost nobody budgets

Whatever you choose, someone has to:

• Write what you do, your prices, hours and the answers to common questions. Nobody knows these better than you.
• Take photos: of your shop, your work, your team. A phone in good light is enough.
• Keep it true: holiday hours, new prices, a new service. A website with last summer's hours costs you customers.

This is where tools differ most. If a change means logging in, finding the right block and republishing, it tends not to happen. If it's one message ("we close at 4 on Saturdays now"), it does.

Three realistic year-one budgets

Not counting your time, and with prices as checked on 19 October 2026:

• The cheapest own-domain site: a Carrd one-pager at $19 a year plus a domain at about $11. Around $30 for the year, if a single page you build by hand is enough.
• A builder with booking and AI: Ginta Light at €120 a year (booking included) plus the domain; or Wix Core at $29 a month billed yearly in the US, with the first year's domain included.
• A designer: a few hundred to a few thousand in the first year (design, domain, hosting), less in the following years if you don't need changes.

Can it cost nothing?

Yes, if you can live with the builder's address and badge. Several builders publish a real site for free at an address like yourname.wixsite.com or yourname.ginta.page; your own domain is almost always a paid feature. Ginta's Free plan includes 20 websites at a Ginta address with a small "Made with Ginta" badge, and new accounts get 20 credits to build when they confirm their email, plus 3 a day. The details, and what other free plans include: Can a small business get a website for free?.

Sources (checked 19 October 2026)

• Porkbun: domain pricing
• Carrd: Pro plans, custom domains
• Framer: pricing
• Squarespace: pricing (EU prices shown to us), Acuity Scheduling pricing
• Wix: plans, Wix Harmony pricing, January 2026
• Durable: pricing
• Startups.co.uk: How much does a website cost? (updated 23 March 2026)
• Ginta: pricing

Written with AI help for Ginta, which Povilas runs; he also teaches a website-building course. The screenshots are from the real Ginta on the date above, and prices come from our pricing page.