Website pricing in Canada varies substantially by scope, customization, and provider tier. The realistic ranges for 2026 work, based on our market observation across Canadian agencies and freelancers: **Small business brochure sites: $3,500–$8,000.** Five to fifteen pages, mobile-responsive, basic SEO foundation, contact form, integration with one or two existing tools (Google Analytics, basic CRM, mailing list). Built on a modern CMS (WordPress with quality theme, Webflow, or framework-based custom build). Suitable for service businesses establishing professional online presence. **Service business sites with custom content and integrations: $8,000–$25,000.** Twenty to fifty pages, custom design, more substantive content production (8–20 pages of original copy), integrations with multiple tools (CRM, calendar booking, payment processing, marketing automation), basic SEO content strategy, performance optimization. Typical for established Canadian SMBs investing seriously in their online presence. **Ecommerce or multi-location sites: $20,000–$75,000.** Custom Shopify, Shopify Plus, BigCommerce, or headless commerce builds. Catalogue setup, payment integration (Stripe, Moneris, PayPal), shipping integration, tax handling for Canadian provinces, product photography coordination, conversion optimization. Multi-location sites add complexity around location pages, store finders, local SEO infrastructure. **Custom application-style websites: $50,000–$250,000+.** Sites that function more like applications — member portals, complex multi-step transactions, custom calculators, integrated proprietary tools, multi-language deep customization. Custom development on modern frameworks (React, Vue, Next.js) with bespoke backends. **What drives price within these ranges:** - Scope and page count. - Content production (writing original copy is expensive; using existing client copy is cheaper). - Visual design complexity (custom illustration, photography, motion design add cost). - Integration count and complexity. - Custom functionality vs. off-the-shelf. - Performance requirements (sites optimized for top-tier Core Web Vitals require more engineering effort). - Accessibility requirements (WCAG 2.2 AA is standard; AAA or AODA-specific compliance work adds effort). - Bilingual content (English-French sites typically add 30–40% to scope). - SEO foundation depth (substantive keyword research, on-page optimization, content strategy add scope). **Below $3,500:** quality work is rare. Sites at this price point are typically templated, with limited customization, generic copy, and minimal SEO foundation. Acceptable for ultra-early-stage businesses; not appropriate for established businesses where the website is a substantive marketing channel. **Above $25,000 for SMB sites:** the spend should produce substantial differentiated value (custom application functionality, deep content production, sophisticated SEO foundation, ongoing optimization retainer). Spending in this range without clear differentiated value usually means the agency is overcharging or scope is poorly defined. **Ongoing costs.** A new website is not a one-time expense. Plan for ongoing hosting ($20–$300/month depending on scale), domain registration ($15–$50/year), CMS or platform fees (Shopify $39–$2,000+/month, Webflow $14–$235+/month per site), email marketing tools, SEO tools, and ongoing content investment. Annual ongoing cost typically runs 15–30% of initial build cost for sites that continue to evolve and improve. For Canadian businesses budgeting for a new site, the most common mistake is underbudgeting the ongoing investment after launch. A $15,000 site that receives no investment after launch typically underperforms a $7,000 site that receives sustained $500/month optimization investment.