Summary
- Freelancer builds cost $1,500–6,000 or £1,200–5,000.
- Five well-built pages beat a large, unfocused site.
- Real photography is the highest-return website spend.
- Add a page per service area to win local searches.
- Always own your domain and hosting accounts yourself.
Quick answer
A DIY site on a builder costs $15–50 or £12–40 a month. A freelancer-built site costs $1,500–6,000 or £1,200–5,000, and an agency site $6,000–25,000 or £5,000–20,000. For a local service business, a five-page site done well beats a large one done badly.
Platform choice
| Platform | Best for | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Website builder (drag and drop) | Simple brochure sites, DIY | $15–50/mo, £12–40/mo |
| WordPress | Content-heavy sites, blogs, flexibility | $10–40/mo hosting + build |
| Custom-built | Bookings, integrations, unusual needs | $6,000+, £5,000+ |
| E-commerce platform | Selling products | $30–120/mo + fees |
Most local service businesses should start on a builder or WordPress. Custom development is rarely justified before you have proven demand.
The five pages that matter
Add a service-area page per town if you cover several — that is what wins local searches.
What actually converts
Costs beyond the build
| Item | US per year | UK per year |
|---|---|---|
| Domain | $12–25 | £10–20 |
| Hosting | $60–300 | £50–250 |
| SSL certificate | Usually free | Usually free |
| Maintenance / updates | $300–1,200 | £250–1,000 |
| Copywriting | $500–2,500 | £400–2,000 |
| Photography | $400–1,500 | £300–1,200 |
Budget for photography. It is the highest-return spend on a service business website.
DIY or hire?
Do it yourself if you have time, a clear idea of your services and decent photos. Hire someone if the site needs bookings, payments or multiple service-area pages, or if your time is better spent doing the work. When hiring, agree in writing: page count, who writes the copy, who supplies images, how many revisions, who owns the domain and hosting accounts, and what happens after launch.
Summary
Five solid pages, real photos, a tappable phone number and fast loading. Budget £1,200–5,000 or $1,500–6,000 for a freelancer build, and always keep ownership of your own domain and hosting.