A functional small business website in Canada runs $2,500 to $6,000 for a template-based WordPress or Shopify build with 5–10 pages, contact forms, and basic SEO. Custom design with strategic positioning, conversion optimization, and technical SEO pushes that to $8,000–15,000. E-commerce adds $3,000–8,000 depending on product count and payment integrations. The price breaks down into design (30–40%), development (30–40%), content and SEO setup (20–30%), and project management. Cheaper options exist—Fiverr builds for $500, DIY builders for $30/month—but you get template constraints, poor SEO foundations, and no strategy. At Ottawa SEO, we see businesses spend $3,000 on a cheap site, then another $6,000 fixing it a year later when it doesn't rank or convert. What drives cost up: custom functionality like booking systems, member portals, or API integrations; multilingual setups for Canadian markets; original photography and copywriting; and ongoing retainer for hosting, updates, and content. What keeps it reasonable: using proven frameworks like WordPress or Webflow, leveraging quality templates as starting points, and phasing features over time instead of building everything upfront. Monthly costs matter too. Budget $50–200/month for hosting, security, backups, and plugin licenses. Managed WordPress hosting (Kinsta, WP Engine) costs more but prevents the $1,500 emergency fix when your site goes down during a Google Ads campaign. The real question isn't cost—it's ROI. A $5,000 site that ranks for local keywords and converts at 3% pays for itself faster than a $15,000 site that looks impressive but sits on page four. We build sites assuming they need to generate 3–5x their cost in gross revenue within 12 months through organic search, which means the SEO foundation and conversion path matter more than visual complexity. If your budget is under $2,500, you're better off with a solid Squarespace setup and investing the difference in content and local SEO than getting a bottom-tier custom build.