"How much does a website cost?" is like asking how much a car costs: it depends on what you need. This guide breaks down the main options for a small business, what you actually get for the money and the costs people often forget.
Prices vary by country, provider and scope, so treat the ranges below as typical rather than exact quotes.
The four main ways to get a website
1. Do it yourself with a template builder
You pick a template and add your own text and images.
- Typical cost: a monthly subscription, often in the low tens of dollars per month, plus your time.
- Pros: cheap, full control.
- Cons: time-consuming, and the result often looks templated unless you have design skills.
2. Use an AI website builder
You describe your business; AI designs the site, writes the copy and creates images.
- Typical cost: a monthly subscription. OnePrompts starts free, with paid plans from $15 per month (see pricing).
- Pros: fast (minutes, not weeks), professional design without design skills, easy changes by chat.
- Cons: less suited to very complex or highly custom functionality.
3. Hire a freelancer
A freelance designer or developer builds the site for you.
- Typical cost: commonly a few hundred to a few thousand dollars for a simple site, depending on location and experience, plus ongoing fees for changes.
- Pros: a personal service and custom work.
- Cons: quality varies widely; changes take time and money.
4. Hire an agency
A team handles strategy, design, development and often marketing.
- Typical cost: from several thousand dollars upwards for small projects; much more for complex sites.
- Pros: the most thorough option for complex needs, with strategy included.
- Cons: the highest cost and the longest timelines.
Costs people forget
Whichever route you choose, budget for:
- Domain name: usually a modest yearly fee.
- Hosting: included with most builders; billed separately with custom builds.
- Updates and changes: free if you can make them yourself; billed by the hour otherwise.
- Photography: professional photos are worth it for many businesses. AI-generated images can fill the gaps while you collect your own.
- Your time: often the biggest hidden cost of DIY builders.
What do you actually need?
For most small businesses (restaurants, salons, clinics, trades, consultants, studios), a website needs to:
- Explain what you do and where
- Show your services, prices and proof
- Make it easy to contact or book
- Load fast and look good on phones
- Be easy to keep up to date
All five are achievable without a large budget. You only need a custom build when you need custom functionality.
How OnePrompts pricing works
OnePrompts uses simple credits. A complete new website, including every page, AI photography and a design review, uses 50 credits; each change by chat uses 1.
- Free: 60 credits to start (enough for your first website) plus 10 free credits a month
- Starter, $15/month: 150 credits a month
- Pro, $39/month: 400 credits a month for growing businesses and freelancers
- Business, $99/month: 1,200 credits a month for agencies managing many clients
Publishing, hosting on your own oneprompts.io address and SSL are included.
The bottom line
A professional small business website no longer has to cost thousands. Start with the option that gets you online fastest at a quality you're proud of, then invest more as your business grows.
See what your website could look like: describe your business and get a free first draft. Or compare options in detail in AI website builder vs. hiring a web designer.
