How much to charge a small business for a website
By ULeads team · Published · 7 min read
Price a small business website as a fixed package, not by the hour: a one-page site, a standard site of about five pages, and a site with bookings or a menu, plus an optional monthly care plan. Set the numbers from your local market and your costs, and justify them with what the business loses today — the customers who find it on Google Maps and can't see its prices.
Why fixed packages work better than hourly rates
A café owner can't judge whether twenty hours is fair, but can judge whether a site that shows the menu and opening hours is worth a given price. Packages turn your work into something they can compare and choose. They also stop the slow back-and-forth of a custom quote for every small business, which is where most freelancers lose the afternoon.
What goes into each package?
The table is a structure, not a price list: the prices are examples to show the gaps between tiers. Set yours from what businesses in your area pay and what an hour of your time has to earn.
| Package | What's in it | Who it's for | Example price |
|---|---|---|---|
| One page | Services, prices, photos, map, call and WhatsApp buttons, contact form | Trades and shops with no website at all | 1× |
| Standard | Up to 5 pages, a page per service, reviews, basic local SEO | Businesses with several services or areas | 2–3× |
| Bookings or menu | Standard plus online booking, a menu or a quote form | Salons, barbers, restaurants, clinics | 3–4× |
| Care plan | Hosting, backups, small edits, updates, a yearly check-up | Any of the above | a monthly fee |
How do you justify the price?
With their own numbers. A business with 4.8 stars from 200 reviews and no website is already being found — the listing does the marketing, and the people who look for prices, a menu or a booking button go to the next business that has one. Saying that, with their real rating and review count, is worth more than any list of features. ULeads shows exactly these facts for every business, and our data shows how common the gap is: 22% of the 19,367 businesses ULeads users found had no website, 43% in Brazil.
- Many reviews, no website: they already have demand; the site turns more of it into calls and bookings.
- Few photos: the listing looks thin next to competitors; a site with real photos fixes the first impression in both places.
- Only an Instagram page: they already invest in being online; the site gives them prices and a booking button that a feed can't.
How do you set your own numbers?
- Work out the hours each package really takes you, including revisions and the call to hand it over.
- Multiply by the hourly rate you need to earn, and add the cost of hosting, domain and tools.
- Check what local agencies and freelancers ask — their websites and directory listings often show it.
- Price the one-page package where a small business can say yes the same day, and the others above it.
- Raise prices after every few projects that close easily; a yes every time means you are too cheap.
How do you present the price?
In a one-page proposal with one recommended option, the price, what happens next and by when. Three options side by side make people choose the cheapest; one recommendation with a smaller fallback makes them choose you. The proposal template shows the structure.
Common questions
Should I show prices on my own website?
Show a starting price (“one-page sites from …”). It filters out people who expect a website for the price of a lunch, and the ones who still call already accept the range. Keep the exact quote for the proposal.
Should I charge hourly or a fixed price?
Fixed. A plumber or a barber buys an outcome, not your hours, and a fixed price lets them say yes without guessing. Protect yourself with a clear scope and a price for extra pages or rounds of changes.
What if they say it's too expensive?
Offer a smaller first step instead of a discount: the one-page site now, the booking or the extra pages later. Cutting the price teaches them your first number wasn't real.
Is a monthly plan better than a one-off price?
Offer both. Some owners can't pay the full amount at once, and a care plan (hosting, small edits, updates) keeps you in touch for the next job, and turns a one-off project into income every month.
ULeads searches a city and a trade on Google Maps, keeps going past the first page until it finds real prospects, and ranks every business by how weak its online presence is.