"How much does a website cost?" is the first question every business owner asks — and the answers online range from $200 to $200,000. Here's a transparent look at what websites actually cost in British Columbia in 2026, and what you're really paying for at each level.

The short answer

  • DIY builders ($20–60/month): Wix, Squarespace and similar. Fine for testing an idea; limiting once you need to rank locally or stand out.
  • Template customization ($500–$3,000): a pre-made theme with your logo and colours. Fast and cheap, but you'll share a design with thousands of sites and inherit their bloat.
  • Custom professional site ($3,000–$15,000): designed around your business, hand-built, SEO-ready. This is where most established BC small businesses land.
  • Larger builds ($15,000–$40,000+): e-commerce, booking platforms, multi-location businesses and organisations with complex content.

What the money actually buys

A professional quote isn't just "design." It covers discovery (understanding your customers and competitors), copywriting and content structure, design revisions, development and testing across devices, technical SEO, analytics, and launch. When a quote is dramatically cheaper, one or more of those is missing — usually discovery and SEO, the two that determine whether the site ever earns its money back.

Red flags in cheap quotes

  • No questions about your customers or goals before the price
  • "Unlimited pages" (means: a template with your text poured in)
  • No mention of mobile performance or page speed
  • You don't own the domain, hosting or code at the end
  • SEO sold as a mysterious monthly add-on with no specifics

Ongoing costs to budget for

Beyond the build: domain (~$20/year), hosting ($5–$30/month for most small sites), and optionally a care plan for updates and improvements. Be wary of agencies that lock essential fixes behind expensive retainers.

Questions to ask before you sign

  • Who owns the website, domain and content when we're done?
  • What exactly is included — and what costs extra later?
  • How will the site be structured to rank in local search?
  • What happens if something breaks after launch?

A good studio answers all four in writing without flinching.

Want a real number for your project? Tell us what you're building and we'll reply within one business day with an honest scope and quote — no pressure, no lock-in.

Get a transparent quote