How much does a contractor website cost?
By Grady Truitt · Updated
Most contractors pay $2,500 to $8,000 to have a website built by a freelancer, or $5,000 to $25,000 through an agency. After that comes $50 to $150 a month for hosting and upkeep, and most builders charge by the hour for every change. With me, the build is $2,000 and the care plan is $99 a month, and that covers hosting, security, SEO and every change you ask for.
I’ve watched people close to me pay for websites that never brought in work, and then pay again every time they needed a phone number or a photo changed. The build price is only the first number. What you pay to keep the site running and up to date matters just as much, so this page compares both.
What each option costs
| Who builds it | Up front | Every month | Changes after launch |
|---|---|---|---|
| You, on Wix or Squarespace | $0 | $29 to $40, plus your time | You make them yourself |
| A freelancer | $2,500 to $8,000 | $50 to $150 for hosting and upkeep | By the hour, often a $50 to $100 minimum |
| An agency | $5,000 to $25,000 | $100 to $500 for upkeep, more with SEO | By the hour, or out of your plan’s hours |
| A monthly website package | Little or nothing | $150 to $500, on a 12-month contract | Limited, and the site usually isn’t yours |
| GradyBuilt | $2,000 | $99, with hosting, security and SEO | Included |
What three years really costs
Here’s a middle-of-the-road example for each option over three years, counting the build, the monthly fees and a dozen small changes, like a new photo or a price update.
| Who builds it | How it adds up | Three years |
|---|---|---|
| A freelancer | $4,000 build, $100 a month, 12 changes at $75 | $8,500 |
| An agency | $10,000 build, $200 a month, before any SEO plan | $17,200 |
| A monthly package | $300 a month, and you don’t own the site at the end | $10,800 |
| GradyBuilt | $2,000 build, $99 a month, changes included | $5,564 |
Doing it yourself costs less in cash, about $1,000 to $1,400 over three years for a business plan, but you pay for it in evenings and weekends, and in work the site doesn’t bring in.
The catch with each option
Doing it yourself
Wix and Squarespace plans that let you use your own domain start around $17 to $19 a month when you pay for a year up front, and the business plans most companies end up on cost $29 to $39. Paying month to month costs more. The software is easy enough. The hard part is everything around it: writing a page for each service, getting good photos of your work, making the phone number something people can tap to call, and setting the site up so Google knows what you do and where.
The catch: every hour you spend on the site is an hour off the job, and most do-it-yourself sites never get the Google setup that makes them show up in search.
Hiring a freelancer
Freelance sites for small businesses run from about $2,500 to $8,000, and most land between $3,000 and $5,000. The price mostly depends on how many pages you need and whether they write the words or you do. After launch, most freelancers offer a hosting and upkeep plan for $50 to $150 a month.
The catch: changes usually aren’t part of that plan. Many freelancers bill by the hour with a minimum of $50 to $100, so swapping one photo or fixing a phone number costs as much as an hour of work. Some hand over the site and move on, and then nobody is around when you need something.
Hiring an agency
An agency puts a team on your site, usually a designer, a writer, an SEO person and a project manager. That’s why small business sites from agencies cost $5,000 to $25,000, and why their upkeep plans run $100 to $500 a month before SEO, which often costs $500 a month or more on its own.
The catch: for a contractor with a handful of services and one service area, a lot of that money pays for meetings and process you don’t need. Small changes go into a ticket queue and get billed against your hours.
Monthly website packages
Some companies build the site for little or nothing up front and charge $150 to $500 a month instead, usually on a 12-month contract.
The catch: with many of these packages, the site stays theirs, and sometimes the domain does too. If you stop paying, the site goes away and you start over. Over three years, a $300-a-month package costs $10,800, and you have nothing to show for it if you leave.
Costs people forget
- Changes after launch: ask what a new photo or a price update costs before you sign. With an hourly minimum, a few small changes a year add up fast.
- Your domain: $10 to $25 a year. Make sure it’s registered in your name, not your web designer’s.
- Email at your domain: about $7 to $8.40 per person per month with Google Workspace.
- Photos: phone photos of real jobs work well. Hiring a photographer for half a day costs a few hundred dollars.
- Connecting your CRM: sending quote requests into Jobber or Housecall Pro costs extra with most builders, me included.
What to ask before you pay anyone
- What does a change cost after the site is live?
- What exactly does the monthly fee cover?
- Is the domain registered in my name?
- If I leave, do I get a copy of the site?
- Is there a contract, and how long is it?
- Can I see the site before I pay for it?
What it costs with me
I build the whole site for $2,000, one time. After that, the care plan is $99 a month, and it covers what keeps the site working for you: hosting, security updates and daily backups, ongoing SEO, a monthly lead report and your changes. Text me a new photo, a price change, a new service or different wording, and I’ll make it at no extra charge. There’s no hourly rate and no minimum.
The only things that cost extra are new integrations, like connecting your site to Jobber or Housecall Pro, or switching to a different one. I quote those up front, before any work starts. The care plan is month to month, your domain is registered in your name, and if you ever leave, I send you a full copy of the site.
You also see the finished site before you pay anything. Send me your business name and your current site or Google listing, and I’ll build a full preview in 48 hours. If it isn’t right for you, you don’t owe me anything.
Quick answers
- How much should a plumber or roofer’s website cost?
- About the same as any trade business site: $2,500 to $8,000 with a freelancer for a site with a page for each service and your service area, then $50 to $150 a month for hosting and upkeep. The trade matters less than the number of pages and the features you need.
- Do website changes cost extra?
- With many freelancers and agencies, yes. They bill by the hour, often with a $50 to $100 minimum for any change at all. On my care plan, changes are included. The only extra costs are new integrations, like connecting Jobber or Housecall Pro, or switching to a different one.
- Is it cheaper to pay monthly for a website?
- Only for the first year or so. A $300-a-month package passes the price of a $3,000 build in ten months, and with many packages you never own the site.
- Do I have to pay for hosting every month?
- Yes. Some company has to keep your site online, secure and backed up. Most builders sell that as a hosting and upkeep plan for $50 to $150 a month, and many still charge extra for changes on top of it.
- Why are some websites free?
- Free website builders put their own ads and web address on your site, and free websites from marketing companies usually come with a monthly contract. Google also shut down the free websites it used to make from Business Profiles in 2024.