If you're a plumber, electrician, HVAC tech, or contractor looking for a website in 2026, you've probably heard a wildly different number from every person you've asked. Your nephew says $300. A boutique agency quoted you $8,000. Some freelancer on Upwork offered $99. And you still don't have a clear answer.
That's because most pricing guides are written by agencies trying to justify their retainers, or by freelancers trying to win the race to the bottom. We're going to give you the actual numbers we charge trades businesses every day, and explain exactly what each tier gets you — and what it doesn't.
The Three Ways to Pay for a Website
Before we get to specific dollar figures, you need to understand the three pricing models that exist in the market. Every quote you receive falls into one of these:
- One-time build. You pay a flat fee, the site gets built, and you own it. Hosting, domain, and updates are on you after launch. Best for trades owners who want to keep monthly costs near zero and don't mind handling the occasional update themselves.
- Monthly subscription. You pay a flat monthly fee that covers the build, hosting, updates, backups, and usually some level of ongoing support. No big upfront hit, but you pay indefinitely. Best for owners who want a set-it-and-forget-it arrangement.
- Custom agency retainer. $2,000-$10,000+ upfront plus ongoing monthly retainers for SEO, content, and maintenance. Best for larger trades companies doing seven figures who need dedicated marketing support.
Most trades businesses we work with fall into the first two categories. Here's what those actually cost.
The Starter: $549 One-Time
Our starter package is $549, one-time. Here's what that includes and what it doesn't.
What you get:
- A custom-designed, mobile-first website (not a template — we design it for your business)
- Up to 5 pages: Home, Services, About, Contact, and one service area or gallery page
- Click-to-call and contact form integration
- Basic on-page SEO (title tags, meta descriptions, heading structure, Google Business Profile sync)
- Fast loading, SSL, mobile responsive
- Live in 48 hours
What you don't get: ongoing SEO, monthly content updates, booking calendar integration, or a CRM. After launch, hosting and your domain are yours to manage — or you can add a small monthly hosting fee and we'll handle it.
For a solo tradesperson or a two-person operation that just needs to look credible when a referred customer Googles them, $549 is usually enough. The site pays for itself with a single job.
The Growth Plan: $125/Month
Our growth plan is $125 per month, fully managed. There's no upfront build fee — the monthly fee covers everything from day one.
What's included:
- Custom-designed, mobile-first website (same quality as the starter)
- Up to 10 pages with room to expand over time
- Online booking calendar with automated SMS and email reminders
- CRM integration — every form submission and call gets logged automatically
- Monthly SEO work — keyword tracking, Google Business Profile optimization, review generation requests, and ranking reports
- Hosting, SSL, daily backups, security updates, and unlimited content tweaks
- Monthly performance report showing calls, form submissions, and keyword rankings
This is the plan most of our trades clients choose. It's designed for owners who are actively growing — adding crews, expanding service areas, or competing on Google for the first time. The booking calendar and CRM alone typically save trades owners 4-6 hours per week in phone tag and scheduling.
At $125/month, you're paying roughly $4 per day. One booked job from the site per month more than covers it.
What Costs More (and Why)
If you've been quoted $3,000-$15,000 for a trades website, you're usually paying for one or more of the following:
- Custom functionality. E-commerce, customer portals, estimating tools, or integrations with field service software like Jobber or ServiceTitan.
- Ongoing SEO retainers. $500-$2,000/month for aggressive local SEO, content marketing, and link building in competitive markets.
- Brand development. Logo, brand guidelines, photography, and copywriting done from scratch.
- Agency overhead. Project managers, account executives, and downtown office rent. You're paying for the process, not just the product.
None of these are wrong. But for 90% of trades businesses, they're unnecessary. You don't need a $10,000 website to capture leads from Google and look professional. You need a clean, fast, mobile-first site with booking and basic SEO — and you need it live this week, not in three months.
Hidden Costs to Watch For
When you're comparing quotes, ask about these — they're the fees that don't show up on the proposal:
- Hosting. $10-$50/month after the first year on "one-time" builds.
- Domain renewal. $15-$25/year, sometimes marked up to $75 by the agency.
- Content updates. $75-$150 per hour if you want to change a photo or add a service page later.
- SEO "add-ons." Many one-time builds charge extra for even basic on-page SEO. We include it.
- Booking software licensing. $30-$100/month for third-party tools if your site doesn't include it natively.
Our $549 starter includes basic SEO, SSL, and mobile responsiveness with no hidden fees. Our $125/mo growth plan includes hosting, updates, SEO, booking, and CRM — everything except your domain ($15/year).
How to Decide Which One You Need
Choose the $549 starter if:
- You get most of your work from referrals and just need to look credible online
- You're a solo operator with a predictable workload
- You don't need online booking or a CRM
- You want to own the site outright with no ongoing payments
Choose the $125/month growth plan if:
- You're actively trying to rank on Google for your services and service areas
- You want online booking with automated reminders
- You're adding crews or expanding and need to capture more leads
- You'd rather not deal with hosting, updates, or tech at all
If you're not sure, start with the starter. You can always upgrade to the growth plan later — we'll credit the $549 toward your first few months.
Want a real quote for your business?
Tell us what you do and where you work. We'll tell you exactly what you need — no upsell, no pressure.
Get a Free Quote →Questions about pricing? Call or text us at (647) 362-2017. We build for trades, so we'll give you a straight answer in plain English — not a sales pitch.