If you Google "how much does a contractor website cost," you'll get answers ranging from $0 (do it yourself on Wix) to $25,000+ (hire a full agency). The problem is that none of these answers tell you what you're actually getting — or whether it'll make you any money.
As someone who builds websites specifically for service businesses, here's the honest breakdown of what things cost, what you actually need, and how to think about this as a business investment rather than an expense.
The Three Tiers of Contractor Websites
Tier 1: The DIY Template ($0–$300/year). This is your GoDaddy, Wix, or Squarespace site. You pick a template, drag and drop your content, and publish. Cost is basically just the hosting and domain — $10-25/month.
What you get: A basic web presence with your business name, phone number, and maybe a photo gallery. What you don't get: SEO architecture, schema markup, dedicated service pages, area pages, CRM, booking, lead tracking, or anything that actually generates business. These sites look fine but perform terribly in search results.
Tier 2: The Freelancer/Agency Website ($2,000–$10,000 one-time). You hire a web designer or small agency to build you a custom WordPress site. They design it, you approve it, they hand it over. Build time is usually 4-8 weeks.
What you get: A better-looking site with custom design. What you don't get: Ongoing SEO, content updates, or a system that generates leads. WordPress sites need constant plugin updates, security patches, and maintenance. And most freelancers build pretty sites that still don't rank because they're designers, not SEO specialists for local service businesses.
Tier 3: A managed local lead system (from $249/month + one-time setup). This is what we build at SolutionDG. Not just a site — a system: a lead-gen website built for your trade and city, full Google Business Profile setup and optimization, a review-request engine, lead tracking, and an honest monthly report of the leads delivered.
What you get: local visibility in the Google Map Pack and search, every inquiry captured and counted, and ongoing work to keep climbing. What one job it brings in is worth: $3,000–$15,000+. A few jobs a month cover the system many times over.
The Question You Should Actually Be Asking
"How much does a website cost?" is the wrong question. The right question is: "Will this website actually book me jobs?"
A $200/year template that generates zero leads costs you infinity dollars per lead — it never pays for itself. A managed local lead system, from $249/month, only needs to bring in a few jobs a month to cover its cost many times over. Everything after that is upside.
That's not a website cost. That's one of the highest-leverage investments a service business can make.
What to Look for When Evaluating a Website Investment
Before you spend anything on a website, ask these questions:
Does it include dedicated pages for every service I offer? Each service should have its own SEO-optimized page targeting "[service] in [city]" searches. If the proposal is for a 5-page template site, walk away.
Does it include area pages for my service territory? If you serve 15 cities, you should get 15 landing pages. This is the single biggest local SEO move most contractors miss.
Does it include schema markup and structured data? This is what gets you into Google's rich results — star ratings, service badges, map pack listings. If the developer doesn't mention schema, they don't understand local SEO.
Does it include a CRM and lead tracking? Knowing where your leads come from (Google, Facebook, referral, direct) lets you double down on what's working and cut what's not.
Does it include ongoing SEO and maintenance? A website isn't a one-time project. It needs content updates, technical maintenance, and ongoing optimization. If there's no monthly plan, you'll be back to square one in 12 months.
One job from your website should pay for the entire year. If it can't do that, the website isn't good enough.
