Web design pricing for a local service business ranges from $0 (do-it-yourself on Wix) to $15,000+ (agency custom design and development). Here's what you're actually getting at different price points — and how to decide what makes sense.
$0–$30/month: DIY platforms
Wix, Squarespace, Google Sites. You build it yourself using templates. Reasonable for a business with very early-stage needs and no budget. Tradeoffs: low conversion rate, ongoing subscription, you're never really done tinkering, performance is mediocre.
$500–$1,500: Freelancer or small studio, basic site
This range includes custom design at various quality levels. BrandsBuilders sits at $900 in this range. The key differentiator at this tier is whether the developer has built converting service business sites before, or is treating this as a generic design project. Results vary enormously.
$3,000–$8,000: Mid-market agency
More process, more polish, more people involved. May include branding work, professional photography, and more pages. Appropriate if you're running a business at $500K+ where brand perception matters more. Overkill for a trades business whose primary goal is generating phone calls from local search.
What BrandsBuilders charges and why
$900, one-time. Domain (~$20/year) is the only ongoing cost. The rationale: a service business website has a specific job — get the phone to ring. Doing that job well doesn't require a $5,000 budget. It requires the right structure, fast loading, and the right copy. That's a $900 problem, not a $5,000 one.