Website costs depend on complexity, customization, and who builds it. A basic WordPress site using a premium theme runs $500–$2,000 if you handle it yourself, covering the theme, plugins, and initial hosting. Hiring a freelancer for a small business site typically costs $2,000–$8,000. A professional agency build for a 10–20 page business site with custom design, SEO setup, and content strategy runs $5,000–$15,000. E-commerce sites start around $8,000 and scale up depending on product count and custom features. Enterprise sites with advanced functionality, integrations, and multiple stakeholder reviews easily hit $50,000–$150,000. The breakdown matters more than the total. Design and UX work might consume 30–40% of the budget, front-end and back-end development another 40–50%, content creation 10–20%, and project management the rest. Hosting and domain registration add $100–$500 annually for most small businesses, though high-traffic sites need $200–$2,000/month for managed hosting and CDN services. Ongoing costs catch people off guard. Expect $100–$500/month for maintenance, security updates, and minor content changes. If you run paid plugins or premium tools like rank trackers or form builders, add another $30–$150/month. Redesigns or major updates every 2–3 years cost 40–60% of the original build. At Ottawa SEO, we structure pricing around measurable outcomes rather than hours. A lead-generation site for a local contractor might cost $6,000–$9,000 because the focus is conversion-rate optimization and local SEO integration, not flashy animations. We allocate budget to technical SEO, page speed, and schema markup because those directly impact rankings and ROI. Skimping on development to save $2,000 upfront often costs $10,000 in lost leads over two years. The real question isn't what a website costs—it's what not having a properly built one costs your business.