If you run a small business and need a website, you have three broad routes: build it yourself from a template, hire a freelancer or hire an agency. The prices quoted for each vary so widely that it can be hard to know what is reasonable.
This guide sets out what each route typically costs according to published 2026 guides, what you are actually paying for, the hidden costs on every route and when each one makes sense. A note on the figures: the cost ranges below come from third-party agencies and consultancies, not from getsites. They are estimates, they vary by country and market, and the people who publish them often sell one of the options. Treat them as rough guides, not quotes.
Three ways to get a site
- A template you set up yourself. You buy or download a ready-made design for a website builder, replace the words and photos, and publish it.
- A freelancer. An independent designer or developer builds the site for you, sometimes from a template, sometimes from scratch.
- An agency. A team handles strategy, design, writing, development and often ongoing support.
Each involves a different mix of money, your time and risk.
What each costs, according to published guides
Here is what several published guides said in 2026 (figures checked on 10 October 2026):
- Progression Agency puts a custom-designed brochure site of five to twelve pages at $2,500 to $8,000 from a freelancer and $8,000 to $25,000 from a small agency, and gives about $340 as a typical figure for DIY on a builder.
- Gilzor puts a freelancer working from a premium template at $2,000 to $8,000 and a small business site built by a professional team at $5,000 to $20,000, for US buyers.
- Surmado gives $1,500 to $8,000 one time for a freelancer and $6,000 to $35,000 or more for an agency.
The ranges overlap and are wide, because "a website" can mean anything from five simple pages to a complex site with booking, e-commerce and integrations.
For the template route, the main costs are the template and the website builder. On getsites, templates are either free or a one-time price (most paid templates are $49, with some SaaS templates at $69 or $79, as listed on 10 October 2026). For Framer, the builder our templates use, the Basic plan was listed at $10 a month billed yearly and the Pro plan at $30 a month when we checked on 9 October 2026. A custom domain requires a paid plan. Add a domain name, usually a modest yearly fee.
What you are really paying for
Price differences reflect what is included:
- Template: a finished design and structure. You supply the words, photos, setup and ongoing edits.
- Freelancer: a person's time and skill to adapt or create the design, set it up and often write or edit copy. Quality varies widely between freelancers.
- Agency: several people's time, including strategy, research, design, copywriting, development and project management, plus the agency's overheads.
In each case, the biggest variable is usually not the design. It is content: what the site says, the photos and how well it explains what you do. A template with clear, specific words will often outperform an expensive site with vague ones.
Hidden costs on every route
Whatever you choose, budget for:
- Your own time. Even with an agency, you will spend hours on briefs, feedback and content. With a template, you do the setup yourself.
- Photography. Good photos of your work, premises or team. Demo photos in templates must be replaced.
- Copywriting. If you are not comfortable writing, paying someone to help can be money well spent.
- Hosting and builder plans, monthly or yearly, on every route.
- Domain and email, yearly.
- Ongoing changes. Who updates prices, adds news or fixes something that breaks? With a freelancer or agency, that may cost extra.
- Extras, such as booking systems, payment tools or e-commerce plans.
One post on X captured what many small business owners want to avoid: "a template that looks like everyone else, a 14-week agency process, a developer disappearing halfway." Each route has its own risk.
When a template is the right call
A template is often the right choice when:
- Your budget is limited, especially at the start
- Your needs are standard for your trade, such as services, prices, gallery, booking and contact
- You are comfortable editing words and images in a visual builder
- You want to launch quickly
- You want to be able to update the site yourself
The best case is a template built for your specific trade, so the structure already fits what your customers need to see. That is why getsites templates are made for specific businesses, such as clinics, sports clubs, restaurants, law firms and property developers, rather than generic layouts.
When to hire someone
A freelancer or agency makes more sense when:
- Your business needs custom features a template cannot provide
- You need help working out what to say, not just how to show it
- You do not have the time to set up and maintain a site yourself
- Your brand needs a fully original design
- The website is central to how you sell, and expert help would clearly pay for itself
If you hire, ask for examples of similar work, a clear written quote, who owns the finished site and how ongoing changes are charged.
A middle route: a template plus a freelancer
Many small businesses get good results by combining the two. Buy a template that fits your trade, then hire a freelancer for a few hours or days to set it up, adjust the design, help with copy or connect booking and forms. You get a professionally designed structure at template prices, with expert help where it matters.
getsites templates allow this. Under the licence, one licence covers use on as many published websites as you like, including client work, so a freelancer can use a template for your site without any extra licence.
To compare options, browse all templates, start with the free templates, or read how much does a Framer website cost? for a closer look at builder costs.
There is no single right answer. Choose the route that matches your budget, your time and how much help you need, and spend the most effort on what your website says.