“How much does a website cost?” is a lot like “how much does a truck cost?” It depends on what you need it to haul. This guide breaks down the real options for a small business in the Des Moines metro or anywhere in central Iowa, the costs people forget, and the questions that keep you from overpaying.
The three ways small businesses usually get a website
1. Do it yourself with a website builder
Builders like Squarespace, Wix and GoDaddy charge a monthly or yearly subscription. Check their current pricing pages, since plans change often. The money cost is low; the real cost is your time and the risk of ending up with a site that looks fine on your laptop but is slow, generic or hard to use on a phone. DIY works best when you have time, a good eye, and simple needs.
2. Hire a freelancer or small studio
This is the middle ground most local businesses land in. Prices vary a lot depending on page count, copywriting, photography and features like online booking. Ask exactly what's included, especially SEO setup, mobile testing and who hosts the site afterward.
3. Hire a full-service agency
Agencies bring strategy, design, development and project management under one roof, and price accordingly. That makes sense for larger companies with complex needs; it's often more than a local contractor, salon or restaurant needs.
The ongoing costs nobody mentions up front
- Domain name: usually a modest yearly fee. Register it in your name, not your designer's.
- Hosting and SSL: where the site lives and the padlock in the address bar. Sometimes bundled, sometimes billed separately.
- Business email: an address at your domain ([email protected]) is typically a per-user monthly fee from Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Zoho or similar.
- Updates and fixes: new hours, new photos, a new service page. Either your time, an hourly rate, or a care plan.
- Third-party tools: online booking, ordering or scheduling software often has its own subscription.
What drives the price up or down
- Number of pages (and whether each service gets its own page)
- Who writes the words, and who supplies photos
- Special features: booking, e-commerce, quote forms with uploads, integrations
- How much local SEO groundwork is included
- Whether you're redesigning an existing site that needs careful redirects
Our pricing, for comparison
We publish our starting prices because we think everyone should: Starter websites start at $449 one-time plus $29/mo for hosting and care, and Growth Site + Local SEO starts at $1,195 plus $49/mo. See the pricing page for what each includes. You'll get a written quote after a free homepage mockup.
Five questions to ask any web designer
- Who will own the domain, the content and the design files?
- What exactly is included, and what costs extra?
- What are the monthly costs after launch, and what do they cover?
- How will the site be set up for local search?
- If I leave, can I take my site with me?
If the answers are vague, keep looking. A good provider is happy to put all of it in writing.