A simple business website with 5-10 pages typically costs $1,500-$5,000 when built by a freelance developer. This includes design, development, and basic features like contact forms. Costs increase with custom design, CMS integration, or additional functionality.

An e-commerce store costs $8,000-$30,000 for custom development, depending on the number of products, payment integrations, and features like filtering, user accounts, and inventory management. Platform-based solutions like Shopify start at $29/month but have ongoing transaction fees.

Hidden costs include domain registration ($10-$50/year), hosting ($0-$100/month), SSL certificates (often free with modern hosts), content writing, stock photography, ongoing maintenance (10-15% of build cost annually), and plugin/platform subscription fees.

Website builders like Wix or Squarespace cost $200-$600/year and work well for simple sites with basic needs. Hire a developer when you need custom functionality, better performance, full SEO control, or a unique design that templates cannot achieve.

A simple business website takes 2-4 weeks. A custom site with CMS takes 3-6 weeks. E-commerce stores take 4-10 weeks. Complex web applications take 6-14 weeks. Enterprise platforms can take 10-24 weeks. Timelines increase with more features and design complexity.

Annual maintenance typically costs 10-15% of the original build cost. This covers security updates, bug fixes, content updates, hosting, and domain renewal. A $5,000 website costs roughly $500-$750 per year to maintain.

Custom websites cost more upfront but offer better performance, security, and lower ongoing maintenance. WordPress has lower initial costs but requires frequent plugin updates, security patches, and can become expensive with premium plugins. For businesses planning to scale, custom development often has lower total cost of ownership over 3-5 years.

Freelancers cost 40-60% less than agencies and offer direct communication and faster iteration. Agencies provide project management, multiple specialists, and broader capabilities. Choose a freelancer for clear, well-defined projects under $15,000. Choose an agency for complex projects needing strategy, UX research, and ongoing support.