How Much Does a Small Business Website Cost in 2026?
A small business website starts at €3,000 for a single-page site. Most businesses spend €3,000–€10,000 depending on the number of pages, features, and whether they want someone to manage it after launch. Here's exactly what drives the price — and where most owners overspend or underspend.
What Does a Small Business Website Cost?
The base cost covers design, development, mobile optimisation, and deployment.
| Website Type | Price |
|---|---|
| Single-page site | €3,000 |
| 2–3 page site | €4,000–€5,000 |
| 5+ page site with custom features | €6,000–€15,000+ |
Each additional page costs €1,000. A 3-page site — About, Services, Contact — costs around €5,000.
These are build costs. You pay once. Hosting and management are separate.
What's Included in the Price
Every build includes:
- Custom design (not a template)
- Mobile-responsive layout
- Basic SEO setup (meta tags, sitemap)
- Contact form
- Deployment to a live URL
Booking systems, online shops, and copywriting are add-ons. They're not in the base price.
Website Cost Breakdown by Feature
Not every business needs every feature. A plumber needs a phone number and a service area map. A consultant needs case studies and a contact form. A freelance designer needs a portfolio. Match the features to what your business actually requires.
| Feature | Cost | Build Time |
|---|---|---|
| Extra page | €1,000 | 2 days |
| Booking system | €6,000 | 10 days |
| Online shop | €10,000 | 20 days |
| User login / accounts | €3,000 | 5 days |
| Animations & transitions | €2,000 | 3 days |
| Technical SEO setup | €1,500 | 2 days |
| Professional copywriting | €2,000 | — |
| Google Analytics + Ads tracking | €800 | 1 day |
| Sound effects | €800 | 1 day |
A residential electrician with a one-page site, a Google Maps embed, and SEO setup pays around €4,500. A leadership consultant with 5 pages, a booking system, and copywriting pays closer to €12,000.
How Much Does a Website With a Booking System Cost?
A booking system adds €6,000 to the base price and takes about 10 working days. It lets customers pick a date, choose a time slot, and confirm an appointment.
If you get fewer than 10 bookings a month, a phone number or a free tool like Calendly does the same job for nothing. Add the booking system when volume justifies the build.
How Much Does an E-Commerce Website Cost?
An online shop adds €10,000 to the base price. Product listings, shopping cart, secure checkout. About 20 working days to build.
This only makes sense if selling online is a core part of your business — not a side feature.
How Much Does a One-Page Website Cost?
€3,000. Design, development, mobile layout, and deployment.
One-page sites work well when you need:
- A phone number and service area displayed clearly for Google searches
- A professional online presence without a lot of content to write
- A landing page for Google Ads or social media traffic
Five working days to build.
Can I Add More Pages Later?
Yes. Each additional page costs €1,000 and takes about two days. You don't need to rebuild anything — new pages slot into the existing site.
How Long Does It Take to Build a Small Business Website?
A one-page site: about 5 working days. A 3–5 page site: 7–14 working days. Complex sites with booking systems or e-commerce: 3–6 weeks.
| Factor | Impact |
|---|---|
| Number of pages | +2 days per page |
| Booking system | +10 days |
| Online shop | +20 days |
| Content provided upfront | Keeps the project on schedule |
| Client delays feedback | Adds days or weeks |
The biggest delay is never the build. It's waiting for content — text, photos, logos, and feedback. Providing your content before the build starts can cut the timeline in half.
What Do I Need to Provide?
At a minimum:
- Business name, phone number, and service area
- A logo (or approval to create a text-based wordmark)
- Photos of your work, premises, or yourself — phone photos work
- A rough idea of what you want the site to say
No copy? That's a €2,000 add-on and I write it for you.
Website Costs Per Month — Managed vs Self-Managed
After the build, you have two options.
Self-managed (€0/month extra): You receive the finished site and handle hosting, updates, and security yourself. You need basic technical knowledge or a hosting account.
Managed care plans — everything handled for you, nothing to log into:
Foundation — €350/month
- Hosting
- Security updates and patching
- Daily backups
- Uptime monitoring
- 2 support tickets/month
Nerd Preferred — €650/month
- Everything in Foundation
- Priority support (8 tickets/month)
- 4 hours of dev time per month
- Bi-weekly async strategy chat
For a tradesperson or consultant billing €100–€400/hour, spending time on website maintenance is a direct loss of revenue. The care plans exist so you don't have to.
What Happens If I Stop Paying for a Care Plan?
You keep your website. It doesn't disappear.
Cancel the plan and you receive your site files. You're responsible for hosting, updates, and security from that point. The site keeps working — it's just not actively maintained. You can rejoin at any time.
Is a Website Worth It for a Small Business?
A website pays for itself when it brings in one client you wouldn't have reached otherwise.
Three situations where it's non-negotiable:
- You're losing jobs to competitors who show up on Google. If someone searches "electrician near me" and you don't appear, that job goes to someone who does.
- Clients ask for your website and you don't have one. Referrals check you online before they call. No site means no credibility check.
- You run ads but have nowhere to send traffic. Google Ads and social media ads need a landing page. Sending people to a Facebook profile loses conversions.
A €3,000 website that brings in two new clients in the first year has already paid for itself.
Should I Hire Someone to Build My Website?
Three approaches and what they actually cost:
DIY website builder (€10–€40/month): Wix, Squarespace, or WordPress.co. You build it yourself. Most business owners start here, get frustrated, abandon the project or launch something that doesn't work. The monthly fee keeps charging.
Freelancer from a marketplace (€500–€3,000): Quality is unpredictable. The freelancer may disappear after delivery. No ongoing support. Updates are your problem.
Custom build + managed care (€3,000+ build, optional care plan): A single point of contact handles design, development, deployment, and ongoing maintenance. You never touch the backend.
The right choice depends on your time. If you bill clients for your time, every hour spent fighting a website builder is lost revenue. Spend 40 hours building a Wix site at €100/hour and you've spent €4,000 in lost billable work — more than the cost of hiring someone.
Questions to Ask a Web Developer Before Hiring
Ask these before you pay anyone:
- "What happens after you deliver the site?" If the answer is "nothing," expect to be on your own when something breaks.
- "Who owns the site and the code?" You should own everything. If the developer hosts it on their own account and you can't move it, you're locked in.
- "What does the price include — and what costs extra?" Get a written list. Common surprises: hosting fees, domain renewal, stock photos, content updates.
- "Can I see a live site you've built — not a screenshot?" Screenshots can hide slow load times, broken mobile layouts, and dead links.
- "What's your response time if something goes wrong?" A two-week email response when your site is down is not support.
Website Maintenance Cost — What You Pay After Launch
Self-managed ongoing costs:
| Item | Typical Cost |
|---|---|
| Domain name (.ie) | ~€15/year |
| Hosting | €5–€50/month |
| SSL certificate | Free–€100/year |
| Security updates | Your time |
| Backups | Your time or ~€5/month |
| Content updates | Your time or €50–€150 per edit |
On a Foundation care plan at €350/month, all of the above is included plus support tickets. On Nerd Preferred at €650/month, you also get monthly dev time and strategy.
Hidden Costs to Watch For
Common extras not included in most website quotes:
- Stock photography. Professional stock images cost €5–€50 each. A site with 10–15 images adds €50–€750.
- Domain renewal. Your registrar charges annually. Forget to renew and your site goes offline.
- Business email. A professional email (you@yourbusiness.ie) is separate from the website. Google Workspace costs €6/month per user.
- SSL certificate. Some hosts include it free. Others charge €50–€100/year. Without it, browsers show a "Not Secure" warning.
- Content changes after launch. If you're not on a managed plan, every text change or image swap is either your time or a billable request.
Get a full breakdown — build cost, ongoing costs, and what's not included — before you sign anything.
Website Developer Costs in Ireland
| Provider Type | Typical Range |
|---|---|
| DIY builder | €120–€480/year |
| Freelancer | €500–€5,000 (one-off) |
| Small agency | €3,000–€15,000 (one-off) |
| Large agency | €10,000–€50,000+ |
The gap between a €500 freelancer and a €3,000 studio isn't just design quality. It's reliability, communication, ongoing support, and whether someone answers when something breaks.
Why Do Website Prices Vary So Much?
Four things drive the difference:
- Custom vs template. A template site takes hours. A custom-designed site takes days or weeks. The price reflects the time.
- Features. A contact form is simple. A booking system with calendar integration is complex. Complex features take longer to build and test.
- Ongoing support. A one-off delivery with no follow-up costs less. A managed relationship costs more because someone is permanently responsible for your site.
- Experience. A student or offshore freelancer charges less than someone with 20 years in the field. Experience means fewer mistakes, faster delivery, and better decisions about what your site actually needs.
How to Reduce Your Website Cost
Four ways to lower the price without cutting quality:
- Start with one page. Launch a €3,000 single-page site. Add pages later as your business grows.
- Skip features you don't need yet. A booking system costs €6,000. If you get three bookings a month, a phone number works fine for now.
- Provide your own content. Professional copywriting is €2,000. If you can write your own text and supply your own photos, that's €2,000 saved.
- Start right, not cheap. A €300 template site from a marketplace will need rebuilding when your business outgrows it. The rebuild costs more than if you'd started with a proper foundation.
Get an Exact Price for Your Website
The pricing calculator at /start shows you a full cost breakdown in 60 seconds. Select your pages and features, see the number. No call, no consultation, no waiting.
People Also Ask
How much does a small business website cost?
A small business website starts at €3,000 for a single-page site. Most businesses spend €3,000–€10,000 depending on the number of pages, features, and whether they want someone to manage it ongoing. A full custom build with booking, e-commerce, or SaaS features can reach €15,000+.
How much does a one-page website cost?
€3,000. That's the base price — covers design, development, mobile layout, basic SEO, contact form, and deployment. Five working days to build.
What is included in the price of a website?
Every build includes custom design (not a template), mobile-responsive layout, basic SEO (meta tags, sitemap), a contact form, and deployment to a live URL. Booking systems, e-commerce, copywriting, and advanced SEO are add-ons.
How much does website maintenance cost per month?
The Foundation care plan is €350/month and covers hosting, security updates, daily backups, uptime monitoring, and two support tickets. The Nerd Preferred plan is €650/month and adds priority support, four hours of dev time, and bi-weekly async strategy. Self-managed hosting runs €5–€50/month if you handle everything yourself.
Do I need a website if I have social media?
Yes. You own your website — Instagram can change its algorithm or restrict your account. When someone searches 'electrician in Dublin,' Google shows websites, not Instagram profiles. Social media drives people to your site; the site converts them.
How long does it take to build a small business website?
A one-page site takes around 5 working days. A 3–5 page site takes 7–14 working days. Complex builds with booking systems or e-commerce take 3–6 weeks. The biggest delay is usually waiting for content from the client.
What is the difference between a website and a landing page?
A landing page is a single page designed for one action — call, form, or purchase — with no navigation or distractions. A website has multiple pages, navigation, and different types of content. A one-page website sits in between: multiple sections but a single URL. For most small businesses starting out, a one-page site does both jobs.
What hidden costs should I watch for?
Stock photography (€5–€50 per image), domain renewal (€15/year — forgetting it takes the site offline), business email setup (€6/month per user via Google Workspace), and content changes after launch if you're not on a managed plan.
Can I update my website myself?
On a managed plan, you don't need to — send a message and the change happens within 24 hours. If you self-manage, it depends on how the site was built: a static site needs code changes, a CMS-based site has a dashboard.
What happens if I stop paying for website management?
You keep your website. You receive the site files and are responsible for hosting, updates, and security from that point. The site continues working — it's just not actively maintained. You can rejoin the managed plan at any time.
