What a Website Actually Costs a One-Person Business in 2026
A one-page business website costs €3,000 to build professionally. Add hosting and a domain and you're looking at €150–€600/year. Ongoing management — updates, backups, security — starts at €350/month.
Most solopreneurs underbudget because they plan for the build and forget everything that comes after.
How Much Does It Cost to Build a Business Website in 2026?
The build cost depends almost entirely on how many pages you need.
A one-page site costs €3,000 and takes about five working days. That covers a custom design, mobile layout, contact form, and deployment to a live URL. It's not a template — it's built for your business specifically.
Each additional page is €1,000 and adds roughly two days. A two-page site (home + services) runs €4,000. A five-page site runs €7,000.
What Add-ons Cost
Most solopreneurs add one or two extras at build time. Here's what they cost:
| Add-on | Cost | Build Time |
|---|---|---|
| Extra page | €1,000 | 2 days |
| Professional copywriting | €2,000 | Variable |
| Technical SEO setup | €1,500 | 2 days |
| Animations and transitions | €2,000 | 3 days |
| Booking system | €6,000 | 10 days |
| E-commerce (up to 20 products) | €10,000 | 20 days |
| Google Analytics + Ads tracking | €800 | 1 day |
A one-person business launching for the first time typically spends €5,000–€8,000 once copywriting and SEO are included. Both are worth having from day one — retrofitting them later costs more and takes longer than doing it properly at the start.
What Does Website Hosting and a Domain Cost Per Year?
A .ie domain costs €15–€25/year. A .com is slightly cheaper at €10–€15/year. For an Irish business, .ie gives you a small local SEO advantage and signals to Irish visitors that you're actually based here.
Hosting depends on how your site is built. A Next.js site on Vercel can start free and stay free for low-traffic builds. A managed WordPress site on a decent host runs €20–€80/month.
How Much Should You Budget for Hosting?
Budget €200–€600/year if you're on a managed WordPress platform. A Next.js site on Vercel brings that closer to zero until your traffic scales significantly.
What Does Website Maintenance Cost Per Month?
Two tiers. The Foundation plan is €350/month — hosting, security updates, daily backups, uptime monitoring, and two support tickets. Nerd Preferred is €650/month and adds priority support, four hours of dev time per month, and bi-weekly async strategy.
Both plans exist because the costs of not maintaining a site don't disappear. They just arrive later, as emergencies.
A hacked WordPress site costs €500–€5,000+ to clean up. A site that goes down during a product launch costs whatever that traffic was worth. A monthly plan is almost always cheaper than a single emergency fix.
What Does a Managed Maintenance Plan Cover?
- Security patches applied before they become a problem
- Daily backups — so any issue is reversible within minutes
- Uptime monitoring with alerts if the site goes offline
- Minor text changes and image updates on request
You don't need to log in, touch a plugin, or think about the site after launch. That's the point.
What Does a DIY Website Actually Cost?
Wix and Squarespace look free until you want to publish on a real domain. The free plans show their branding, block custom domains, and limit features. To remove those restrictions you're paying €17–€35/month on Wix or €16–€33/month on Squarespace.
That's €200–€420/year before app add-ons, e-commerce, or extra storage. Over three years: €600–€1,260 for a site that still looks like a template, because it is one.
The Hidden Time Cost
The real cost of DIY isn't the subscription. It's the weeks.
Most solopreneurs spend 2–6 months building a site themselves. That's time not spent landing clients, refining the offer, or building the product. At the end of it, many still don't feel confident in the result — the copy is generic, the SEO wasn't set up, and the site doesn't convert.
If your time is worth €80/hour and you spend 40 hours on a DIY site, that's €3,200 in lost billable time. More than a professionally built one-page site costs.
Website Cost Comparison: DIY vs Freelancer vs Agency vs Nerd Prescribed
| Option | Build Cost | Ongoing Cost | What You Get |
|---|---|---|---|
| DIY (Wix/Squarespace) | Free–€35/month | €200–€420/year | Template site you build and manage yourself |
| Freelancer (Upwork/marketplace) | €1,000–€5,000 | Nothing — they've moved on | A built site with no ongoing support |
| Agency | €5,000–€50,000+ | €500–€5,000/month | Full team, slow timelines, built for bigger clients |
| Nerd Prescribed | From €3,000 | From €350/month | Custom build + ongoing management from one person |
A freelancer is cheaper upfront. When something breaks three months later, you're starting a new search for a developer who doesn't know your codebase. That search takes time, and the new developer still has to learn the site before they can fix anything.
An agency is expensive and slow. You're funding the project manager, the account manager, and the offshore handoff. None of that infrastructure ends up on your website.
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People Also Ask
How much does a one-page business website cost in 2026?
€3,000. That covers design, development, mobile layout, a contact form, and deployment to a live URL. Hosting and domain are separate ongoing costs.
What does website hosting cost per year?
A Next.js site on Vercel can start free and stay free for low-traffic builds. Managed WordPress hosting runs €200–€600/year. A .ie domain adds €15–€25/year on top.
How much does a .ie domain cost in Ireland?
€15–€25/year. A .com is cheaper at €10–€15/year. For an Irish business, .ie gives you a small local SEO signal and tells Irish visitors you're actually based here.
What does website maintenance cost per month?
The Foundation care plan is €350/month — covers hosting, security updates, daily backups, uptime monitoring, and two support tickets. Nerd Preferred is €650/month and adds priority support, four hours of dev time, and bi-weekly strategy. If you skip managed maintenance, the costs don't disappear — they just arrive later, as emergencies.
How much does a multi-page website cost?
Each additional page is €1,000 and takes roughly two days. A two-page site (home + services) is €4,000. A five-page site is €7,000. Pages add up predictably — there's no mystery pricing.
What does a DIY website actually cost?
Wix and Squarespace run €17–€35/month once you unlock anything useful — €200–€420/year before app add-ons. Over three years that's €600–€1,260 for a site that still looks like a template. The bigger cost is the weeks most solopreneurs burn building it instead of working.
Should I hire a freelancer or a specialist for my website?
A freelancer is cheaper upfront and usually gone after delivery. When something breaks three months later, you're searching for a new developer who doesn't know your codebase. A specialist who builds and maintains long-term costs more upfront and less over the life of the site.
What add-ons drive up website costs?
The most common additions: copywriting (€2,000), technical SEO setup (€1,500), booking system (€6,000). E-commerce adds €10,000. You don't need all of these at launch — start with what your business actually requires right now.
What hidden website costs do most people miss?
Copywriting, SEO setup, ongoing maintenance, business email (Google Workspace is €6/month per user), and — for DIY builders — the months of unbillable time spent building something that still doesn't convert.
How long does it take to build a professional business website?
A one-page site: about five working days. Each additional page adds two days. A booking system adds 10 days. A full custom build with copywriting and SEO typically takes two to four weeks. The biggest delay is almost always waiting for content from the client.
