You can make a website for your small business in a single afternoon using a drag-and-drop website builder, with costs starting around $17 per month for a professional-looking site with your own domain name. The process comes down to five steps: picking a platform, registering your domain, building your pages, adding the right content, and connecting your site to local search so customers can find you.
Pick a Website Platform
A website builder is software that lets you design and publish a site without writing any code. You choose a template, swap in your own text and images, and hit publish. For most small businesses, this is the fastest and most affordable route.
Wix is one of the strongest options, with over 900 templates, built-in e-commerce tools, and an AI assistant that walks you through setup. Plans with a custom domain start at $17 per month for the first year. If you only need a simple one-page site, Canva Websites lets you remix templates and publish a responsive page in minutes. Google Sites is worth considering if you want a free option that still allows a custom domain name.
If you plan to sell products online, look for a platform with built-in shopping cart functionality, inventory management, and payment processing. Most website builders offer e-commerce on mid-tier or higher plans. If your site is primarily informational (a restaurant menu, a plumber’s service area, a consultant’s portfolio), a basic plan will cover everything you need.
WordPress is another popular choice, especially if you want more control over design and functionality. Managed WordPress hosting starts around $6 per month, though you’ll spend more time configuring themes and plugins than you would with a drag-and-drop builder. It’s a better fit if you’re comfortable with a slight learning curve or plan to scale into a content-heavy site like a blog or resource library.
Register a Domain and Set Up Hosting
Your domain name is your web address, like yourbusinessname.com. Registering one costs between $10 and $35 per year. Many website builders include a free domain for the first year when you sign up for an annual plan, so check before purchasing one separately.
Keep your domain name short, easy to spell, and as close to your business name as possible. Avoid hyphens and numbers, which make it harder for customers to remember or type correctly. If the .com version is taken, .co or .net are reasonable alternatives, but .com remains the most recognizable.
Hosting is the service that stores your website files and serves them to visitors. Website builders bundle hosting into their monthly fee, so you won’t need to shop for it separately. If you go the WordPress route, you’ll choose a hosting provider on your own. Entry-level hosting plans typically run $5 to $13 per month.
What Your Site Will Cost
A basic small business website using a builder will cost roughly $20 per month once you factor in hosting, a custom domain, and an ad-free experience. Here’s how the individual pieces break down:
- Domain registration: $10 to $35 per year (often free the first year with a builder plan)
- Hosting or builder plan: $15 to $20 per month for ad-free website builder packages, or $5 to $13 per month for standalone hosting
- Professional email: $1 to $26 per user per month, depending on the provider and features
- Premium templates or plugins: Free to over $1,000 for highly customized designs, though most small businesses do fine with free or low-cost options
If you hire a freelance web designer instead of building the site yourself, expect to pay anywhere from a few hundred dollars for a simple five-page site to several thousand for custom design work. The builder route keeps costs low and gives you the ability to update your site whenever you want without paying someone else.
Build Your Core Pages
Most small business websites need only a handful of pages to be effective. Start with these and add more later if needed.
Your homepage is the most important page. It should communicate what your business does, who it serves, and what a visitor should do next within a few seconds of landing on it. Use a strong hero image that shows your product or service in context, so people can picture themselves using it. Write a clear headline that states your value proposition: what you offer and why it matters. Then include a single, obvious call to action, like “Book a Free Consultation” or “Shop Now.” Removing distracting links and secondary navigation from this area keeps visitors focused.
An about page builds trust. Share your story briefly, include a photo of yourself or your team, and mention any credentials or experience that set you apart. A services or products page should list what you offer with clear descriptions and pricing if appropriate. A contact page needs your phone number, email, physical address (if applicable), and a short contact form. Keep the form simple: name, email, and a message field. Asking for too many details upfront can discourage people from reaching out.
Social proof makes a real difference. Add a section with customer testimonials, reviews, or logos of businesses you’ve worked with. Even three or four short quotes from happy customers can build credibility quickly with someone who has never heard of your business before.
Make Your Site Work on Phones
More than half of web traffic comes from mobile devices, and a site that’s hard to use on a phone will lose visitors fast. Most modern website builders automatically create mobile-responsive versions of your pages, meaning the layout adjusts to fit smaller screens. But “automatically responsive” doesn’t always mean “good on mobile.” After building each page, preview it on a phone screen and check that text is readable without zooming, buttons are large enough to tap, and images load quickly.
Page speed matters even more on mobile, where visitors are often on cellular connections. Compress large images before uploading them, limit the number of videos or animations on a single page, and avoid loading unnecessary plugins or scripts that slow things down.
Add a Privacy Policy and SSL
Every business website that collects any personal information, even just a name and email through a contact form, needs a privacy policy. Multiple states now have consumer privacy laws that require businesses to disclose what data they collect, how they use it, and whether they share it with third parties. Your privacy notice should match your actual data practices, and it’s worth reviewing it once a year as laws continue to expand.
If your site is directed at children or could collect information from users under 13, federal rules under COPPA impose additional requirements, including obtaining parental consent before collecting personal data.
SSL (the technology that puts the padlock icon in a browser’s address bar and changes your URL from http to https) encrypts data between your site and your visitors. Most website builders and hosting providers include a free SSL certificate. Make sure yours is activated. Without it, browsers will warn visitors that your site is “not secure,” which erodes trust immediately.
Connect to Google for Local Search
Having a website is only useful if people can find it. One of the most impactful things you can do is claim your free Google Business Profile, which puts your business on Google Maps and in local search results.
The process has three steps. First, create or claim your Business Profile on Google. Second, personalize it by adding your hours, photos, service area, and a link to your new website. Third, manage it on an ongoing basis by responding to reviews, posting updates, and keeping your information current. When someone nearby searches for the type of business you run, a complete and active profile significantly increases your chances of showing up.
On your website itself, include your business name, address, and phone number on every page (the footer is a natural spot). Use the same formatting across your website and your Google profile so search engines can confidently connect the two. Write a unique page title and short description for each page on your site, incorporating the services you offer and the area you serve. These small details help search engines understand what your business does and show your site to the right people.
Launch and Keep It Updated
Before going live, test every link, fill out every form yourself to confirm submissions arrive in your inbox, and view the site on at least two different devices. Ask a friend or family member to browse through and tell you if anything is confusing or broken. Small issues like a missing phone number or a broken “Contact Us” button can cost you real leads.
Once you launch, treat your website as a living document rather than a finished project. Update your hours for holidays, add new photos as your business evolves, and refresh your testimonials periodically. Search engines favor sites that are actively maintained, and customers trust a site that clearly reflects the current state of your business over one that looks abandoned. Even a quick update once a month keeps things fresh.