What does a $500 website get you? What to check first
A $500 small business website can be a good deal or a trap. What it should include, what is often left out, and the questions to ask before you pay.
Short answer
For about $500 you can get a real small business website: a few pages, built for phones, on your own domain, with a contact form. What decides whether it is a good deal is everything around the price: who owns the domain, what renewal costs, whether edits are included and how many pages you actually get.
What a $500 website should include
A home page, a page for your main services, an about page and a contact page, built to work on phones. Your own .com, not a subdomain of the builder. A call button and a form that emails you. Basic search setup: a page title and description for each page. Hosting for at least the first year.
What is often left out
A logo, real copywriting, Google Business Profile setup, more than one service page, and changes after launch. Some offers also leave the domain in the designer's name, which makes it hard to leave later. Ask about each one before you pay.
The monthly fee trap
Some "$500 websites" are really a low setup fee plus a monthly plan. Add up the first three years before you compare offers. A price that looks low in month one can be the most expensive option by year three.
Questions to ask before you pay
Do I own the domain? What does hosting cost from year two? Are small text changes included? Can I get a copy of my site if I leave? How many pages, and which ones? Will you set up my Google Business Profile? A provider that answers these clearly is usually fine.
$500 or a bigger budget?
A small local service business rarely needs more to start. Bigger budgets buy custom design, online booking or a shop, and ongoing marketing. See what websites cost in 2026 for the full range, and own domain vs Wix or Squarespace if you are thinking of building it yourself.
Red flags
Payment in full before you see anything, no written list of what is included, a domain registered to someone else, and promises of a guaranteed first place on Google. Nobody can promise that.
The Kingpin Sites option: $399 one time
Six pages (home, 3 service pages, about and contact) on your own .com, a logo, Google Business Profile setup, and the first year of hosting. From year two hosting is $150 a year, so three years cost $699 in total. You see a free preview first and pay only if you like it. Request your preview.
Free preview within one business day. $399 once if you like it.