If you ask three agencies to quote a 12-page website, you will get prices ranging from $4,000 to $80,000. The reason is not that one is honest and two are crooks. The reason is that nobody actually defines the work the same way.
Here is what a real service business website costs in 2026, broken into the line items that drive the bill, with ranges you should expect for each.
1. Discovery and strategy ($1,500 to $4,000)
The first phase is research, not pixels. A good discovery covers your offer, your buyer, your competitors, your search landscape, and your conversion goals. You should leave with a one-page site plan that names every page, its purpose, its keyword target, and its primary call to action.
If a quote skips discovery entirely, the agency is hoping to design first and figure it out later. That is where revision rounds explode.
2. Copywriting ($2,000 to $8,000)
Copy is what makes the design work. A 10 to 14 page site needs roughly 6,000 to 10,000 words of structured, intent-matched copy. If the agency expects you to write it, the price drops, but the launch slips by 6 to 10 weeks while you try to write between client meetings.
Watch for: "We will write it from your existing materials." That usually means a junior rewriting your About page in their own voice. Demand a sample.
3. Design ($3,000 to $12,000)
Two to four weeks of custom design across desktop and mobile. You should see three things: a low-fidelity layout review for each unique template, a high-fidelity visual review, and a Figma file you actually own. If you only see one "final" design, you have no recourse when you do not like it.
Template-with-your-colors work runs $1,000 to $3,000 and is fine for a brochure site. It is not what we are discussing here.
4. Development ($3,000 to $14,000)
This is the largest line on most quotes. The range is wide because the choice of stack matters more than the page count. A hand-coded static site can launch in two to three weeks for $4,000 to $7,000. A WordPress build with a custom theme runs $7,000 to $12,000. A headless build on Next.js plus a CMS runs $10,000 to $20,000.
Most service businesses do not need headless. They need a fast site that the team can edit without calling the agency. Pick the stack accordingly.
5. SEO foundation ($1,000 to $3,000)
Schema markup, internal linking, image optimization, sitemap, robots, redirects, Core Web Vitals tuning, and Search Console submission. This should be inside the build, not a separate phase. If an agency lists it as an "add-on", they are charging twice for work that should already be done.
6. Analytics and tracking ($800 to $2,500)
GA4 (or your analytics of choice), conversion event mapping, lead notifications, CRM handoff, and call tracking if your business runs on the phone. Server-side or enhanced conversions if you also run paid ads. Get this wired up before launch, not after.
7. Integrations and forms ($0 to $4,000)
The variable line. A booking widget, a CRM webhook, a Stripe checkout, a custom calculator. One simple integration is usually inside the quote. Three is a separate conversation.
8. Project management and revisions (baked into the above)
Most quotes include two rounds of revisions per phase. After that, you are on hourly. That is a fair structure. What is not fair is unlimited revisions at a fixed price, because somebody is eating that cost and the work suffers.
Realistic totals
- Lean custom build (8-12 pages): $8,000 to $14,000
- Standard custom build (12-20 pages with integrations): $14,000 to $24,000
- Larger build (multi-location, ecommerce, headless): $24,000 to $60,000
Ongoing costs to plan for
- Hosting: $20 to $80 per month
- Domain and email: $20 to $40 per year
- Edits, small updates, and security patches: $300 to $1,200 per quarter
- SEO retainer (optional but recommended): $1,800 to $4,500 per month
Where to push back on a quote
- "Premium hosting fees" baked in. Most service sites run perfectly on $25/month hosting.
- License fees for the CMS. Open-source options exist for nearly every category.
- "Site maintenance" billed as a recurring fee with no scope. Ask what is in it.
- Charges for the design file. The Figma file is yours; you paid for it.
The honest version of this conversation takes 20 minutes. If a salesperson cannot tell you, line by line, where your money is going before you sign, that is your answer about how the rest of the engagement will go.
If you want a second opinion on a quote you have already received, send it over. We will read it and give you an honest read of what is fair and what is padded. No obligation, no sales push.