Website development cost breaks down into three buckets: initial build, hosting infrastructure, and ongoing maintenance. For a standard business site with 5–10 pages, expect $3,000–$8,000 if you're working with a competent agency or freelancer. E-commerce platforms start around $8,000 and climb to $25,000+ depending on product count, payment integration complexity, and custom features like subscription models or multi-vendor setups. The cost drivers are design complexity, custom functionality, content volume, and who builds it. A WordPress site using a modified theme costs less than a fully custom design. Adding features like booking systems, member portals, or API integrations can add $2,000–$10,000 per major feature. Copywriting and professional photography are often underestimated—budget $1,500–$5,000 if you need those. Hosting and domain registration run $15–$200 monthly depending on traffic and whether you need managed WordPress hosting versus basic shared hosting. SSL certificates are usually included now. Maintenance is where businesses get caught off-guard. Plan for $100–$300 monthly to cover security updates, plugin management, performance monitoring, and minor content changes. If you're running e-commerce or have high traffic, double that. DIY website builders like Wix or Squarespace cost $20–$50 monthly but create technical debt if you ever need custom functionality or want to migrate. You save upfront but lose flexibility and often pay more in time spent fighting platform limitations. At Ottawa SEO, we typically recommend clients budget $5,000–$12,000 for the initial build on projects where SEO and conversion optimization matter, because cutting corners on site architecture or mobile responsiveness costs more to fix later than doing it right initially. The cheapest option is rarely the most cost-effective over two years. For ongoing work, we bundle maintenance and iterative optimization into monthly retainers rather than charging per-incident, which keeps sites healthier and prevents the neglect that kills rankings.