Pricing guide · Updated September 2026

How much does a website cost in 2026?

Straight numbers for Southern California small businesses, from a web developer who publishes his prices. No "it depends" without telling you what it depends on.

The short answer

These are the one-time build fees and monthly Care Plans for a custom, hand-coded website, as published on the pricing page.

  • Service Website

    $1,800 to $2,400 build fee, $125 a month Care Plan.

    Get found in local search.

  • E-Commerce Website

    $3,500 to $5,500 build fee, $200 a month Care Plan.

    Sell online and run it yourself.

  • Corporate / Custom Commerce

    from $7,500 build fee, from $300 a month Care Plan.

    A website plus a backend system.

What moves a website's price

The biggest driver is what the site has to do, not how many pages it has. A service business that needs to be found and called sits at the low end. Online ordering, payments, shipping and tax, or a catalog someone has to manage, move a site into the e-commerce range. When the website also runs the business behind it, with an admin dashboard, bookings with deposits, inventory or client logins, it becomes a custom build quoted from a written scope.

Two things that do not change the price here: photography, which is included with every Service Website, and ownership, which is yours outright once the build is paid.

What the monthly Care Plan covers

A website is not finished at launch. The monthly plan is the ongoing work that keeps it fast, secure and climbing in local search:

  • Hosting, security updates, and uptime monitoring
  • Content updates: hours, prices, menus, photos, team changes, new offers
  • Technical SEO maintenance, with a Search Console report sent to you every month
  • One Google Business Profile post a month
  • Small additions and page tweaks included; larger work quoted separately

It can be cancelled at any time, with nothing further owed.

Custom systems and software

For businesses that need software rather than, or alongside, a website: ordering, scheduling, inventory and reporting tools built around how the business already works.

  • Core

    $3,500 build fee, $150 a month Care Plan.

  • Business

    $6,500 build fee, $250 a month Care Plan.

  • Enterprise

    from $12,000 build fee, from $400 a month Care Plan.

See custom systems

Custom site, website builder or agency?

A website builder subscription is the cheapest way to get a page online, and for some businesses that is the right call. You trade money for time: the design, writing, photos and search setup are yours to do, and some builders limit the speed and structured data that decide local rankings. A large agency sits at the other end, often with monthly retainers well above a small business budget. A hand-coded site from an independent developer lands in between: agency-grade build quality, published prices, and one person who answers the phone.

Website cost: FAQ

How much does a small business website cost in Southern California?

A custom service website runs $1,800 to $2,400 as a one-time build fee, an e-commerce site $3,500 to $5,500, and a website with a backend system from $7,500. Each adds a monthly Care Plan for hosting, updates and ongoing SEO, $125 a month Care Plan for a service site.

Why is there a monthly fee?

The monthly Care Plan is the work that keeps a site earning after launch: hosting, security, content updates, technical SEO with a monthly Search Console report, and a Google Business Profile post every month. It can be cancelled at any time with nothing further owed.

Do I own the website?

Yes. On final payment the client owns the finished site, including the source code. There is no buyout fee and no minimum term.

Is a website builder cheaper?

A builder subscription costs less up front. The trade is time and control: you do the design, writing, photography and SEO yourself, and some builders limit what you can change in the code, page speed and structured data that local search depends on.

How are payments split?

50 percent of the Build-Out fee is due at signing and the balance at launch. The Care Plan starts the month after launch. Third-party platform costs (Stripe, Clover, Twilio, Square, and the like) are passed through on the monthly at cost.

What else can change the price?

Scope does: the number of pages, integrations like booking, ordering or payments, and extra city pages. Common add-ons are on-site photography session ($450), additional city or service page ($250 per page), extra revision round ($300).

Want an exact number for your business?