Before comparing tools, ask whether you need a full website right now. If you're a one-person trade or a brand-new shop, a free Google Business Profile — the listing that shows in Google Search and Maps — plus one active social account often covers the basics: your hours, phone number, location, photos, and reviews. It costs nothing, and it's where many local customers look first.
A website starts to earn its place when you want things a listing can't do well: take bookings or appointments without phone tag, lay out your services and prices your way, or give people a place to land that you control. And people do look you up before they buy — in BrightLocal's 2024 survey, 75% of consumers said they always or regularly read online reviews when researching a business.
The honest version: if money is tight and you're still testing whether the business has legs, start with the free Google profile and one social account. Add a website once you have something specific for it to do.
These are do-it-yourself website builders. You pick a template, drag things around, type in your own text and photos, and pay a monthly fee — roughly $15–$50/month depending on the plan (check their current pricing, it changes). They're capable tools, and any of them can produce a good small-business site.
Squarespace tends to look polished out of the box and is hard to make ugly. Wix is more flexible but can feel cluttered and asks you to make more decisions. GoDaddy's builder is the simplest and the most limited. None is a bad choice — the difference matters less than whether you'll actually sit down and finish the site.
The real cost of DIY isn't the subscription — it's your time and design judgment. A template only looks as good as the effort you put in, and you're the one who maintains it: updating hours, adding photos, fixing things. If you have a few spare hours and don't mind the work, DIY is the cheapest route. If the thought of it makes you tired, that's a sign you'd rather pay someone.
If you'd rather hand it off, you're paying for someone else's time and skill. Costs vary widely: a freelancer might build a simple local site for a few hundred to a couple of thousand dollars, while a traditional agency usually costs more and is built for bigger projects. Some charge one-time, some a monthly retainer, some both — ask which before you start.
What you're buying is not having to learn the tool, a design done for you, and often someone to call when something breaks. What you're risking is the usual service stuff: slow turnaround, unclear scope, and — the big one — losing access to your site if you and the provider part ways.
There's also a middle option: fixed-price done-for-you services that hand-build a small site for a set fee and include hosting and edits. fivedaylaunch is one example — it builds hand-designed sites for local service businesses from $25/month or $1,499 to own it, usually live in about five days, with booking, hosting, unlimited edits, and human support included, and you keep your site and domain. Weigh any such service the way you'd weigh a freelancer: price, what's included, and whether you own the result at the end.
There's no single best answer; it depends on your time, budget, and how hands-on you want to be. A rough guide is below.
Before you pay anyone — or sign up for any builder — check ownership. You want to own your domain name (register it yourself if you can) and be able to take your site and its content with you. Ask directly: "If I stop paying, or we stop working together, what happens to my site and my domain?" A clear answer means no lock-in. A vague one is a red flag, and it's the most common way small businesses get stuck.
Whatever you pick, done and simple beats elaborate and unfinished. A one-page site with your services, photos, hours, a phone number, and a way to book will out-earn a fancy site you never launch.