What should a small-business website cost in Ontario in 2026?

Website pricing is awkward because two people can say “six-page business website” and mean completely different things.

One quote assumes you hand over finished copy, properly sized photographs, a logo, page structure and every business detail in a tidy folder. Another includes interviews, writing, design, mobile work, search setup, form configuration, accessibility, hosting setup and the mildly heroic task of finding out which former employee still owns the domain.

The page count might be identical. The job is not.

That is why I publish my prices beside the scope. I want somebody looking at Second Coat to know the number before we have a sales conversation, but I also want the number to mean something.

First, decide what kind of website job this actually is.

I divide most small-business projects into four categories.

One focused page

Some businesses do not need a six-page website. A single service, campaign, new business or landing page can often make its case properly on one well-built page.

My regular one-page price is $950. During the current founding-client period it is $760. That includes copy polish, a mobile and accessibility pass, and the local-search basics for that page.

An existing-site rebuild

This is for a business that already has a site and a real reputation, but the website around it has become dated, confusing, slow or technically messy.

For an existing site of up to six pages, my regular rebuild price is $2,500 and the current founding-client price is $1,750. That includes strategy and structure, writing and page design, performance cleanup and search-ready structure.

The important word is rebuild. I am not assuming everything currently online is garbage. Good photography, accurate business information, useful copy, URLs with search history and recognizable branding may all be worth keeping.

A new website from scratch

A business with no real website yet needs more invention. There is no existing page structure to assess, no copy to rescue and often no established pattern for how the information should be organized.

My regular price for a new custom site of up to six pages is $3,250. The current founding-client price is $2,250. The scope includes custom page design, copy written from scratch, client-supplied photography or optional photo direction, mobile and accessibility work, local-search foundations, one revision round, domain and hosting launch setup, and a contact form.

A complete ecommerce website

Selling online adds real machinery. Products, variants, payments, shipping, tax settings, order emails and inventory do not belong in the same price bucket as a brochure site.

My complete ecommerce website starts at a regular $5,000, with a current founding-client price of $3,750. That includes a custom site and store, up to six standard pages, up to twenty products and three collections, cart and checkout, payment setup, shipping and tax configuration based on the client's requirements, mobile and accessibility work, product SEO, Search Console and analytics setup, one revision round and training.

What makes a website quote climb?

The expensive part is rarely “adding another rectangle to the screen.” Cost rises when the project adds decisions, content, systems or responsibility.

• More pages: each page needs content, structure, design, mobile testing and search fields.
• Copywriting: writing from scratch requires understanding the business before writing the page.
• Photography: directing a proper shoot adds planning and coordination, even when the photographer bills separately.
• Ecommerce: products, variants, checkout, tax and shipping introduce another layer of setup and testing.
• Booking: appointment types, availability, buffers, intake questions and calendar connections have to be configured.
• Content systems: a blog editor or other client-managed content needs to be structured so the owner can safely use it later.
• Existing technical problems: malware, broken redirects, bad hosting or a domain nobody can access can turn a redesign into a rescue job first.

Ask what is not included.

This is where a cheap website can become surprisingly expensive and where a fair quote can look more expensive than it really is.

I spell out third-party costs separately. Domain registration, hosting, Shopify, Stripe processing, paid apps, premium tools and professional photography do not become free because I built the site. Where possible, those accounts should also belong directly to the client.

Scope limits matter too. “Ecommerce included” is meaningless if nobody knows whether that means five products or five thousand. “Copy included” needs to say whether the writer is polishing your draft or interviewing you and writing six pages from nothing.

The pricing question I would ask: “What exactly will I have when this project is finished, what will I still need to supply or pay for, and what happens if the scope changes?”

Should you choose the cheapest quote?

If two people are offering the same work, the cheaper quote is obviously attractive. But make sure it is actually the same work.

A small business website should not become a prestige purchase for its own sake. It also should not save $800 by leaving the owner with generic copy, no clear search structure, a form nobody tested and a platform they are afraid to update.

I would compare the scope, examples of actual work, who you communicate with, who owns the finished site, what happens after launch and whether the person can explain the technical choices without hiding behind terminology.

Why are my founding-client prices lower?

Second Coat is new as a web-design business. I am not pretending otherwise. I have built the work, published examples and put the pricing in public, but I am still building the client portfolio.

So the opening rates are deliberately lower through October 5, 2026. The client gets the full agreed scope at the published founding-client price. I get the opportunity to earn case studies, referrals and a stronger body of commercial work.

That feels like a cleaner deal than inventing ten years of agency history I do not have.

My simplest advice before requesting a quote

1. Write down the pages you think you need.
2. Decide whether you are supplying copy or need it written.
3. Know where the photographs are coming from.
4. List any booking, payment, store or form requirements.
5. Make sure you know who controls the domain.
6. Ask the designer to put included work and exclusions in writing.
7. Ask who owns the finished files and accounts.

A clear scope protects both sides. It prevents the client from discovering three weeks later that something obvious was never included, and it prevents a $2,000 job from quietly becoming a $6,000 workload.