How much does a custom website cost in 2026?
A custom hand-coded website costs $1,997 for a 5-page small business site, $4,997 for a 10-page site with contact forms and a CMS, $11,997 for a 20-page site with custom features and integrations, and $30,000 to $147,000 for federal-grade or enterprise multi-section portals. There are no monthly platform fees and no per-user pricing.
Four tiers — and exactly what is in each.
$1,997
5-page small business site
- Home, About, Services, Contact, Blog
- Mobile-responsive, hand-coded HTML/CSS
- Contact form to email
- Schema.org structured data
- Section 508 + WCAG 2.2 AA compliant
- Lighthouse 95+ across all 4 scores
- 2-3 week delivery
$4,997
10-page site with CMS
- Everything in Starter
- 10 pages with custom layouts
- Headless CMS (Sanity, Strapi, or markdown)
- Newsletter signup integration
- Google Business Profile schema wiring
- llms.txt + aeo.json + entity.json (AI engine optimization)
- 4-6 week delivery
$11,997
20-page site with integrations
- Everything in Standard
- 20 pages including location and industry pages
- Custom database backend (PostgreSQL or SQLite)
- API integrations (CRM, payment, calendar)
- Custom interactive components (calculators, configurators)
- Full visibility stack: SEO + AEO + GEO + AIO
- 6-10 week delivery
$30K-$147K
Multi-section portal, custom backend
- Federal-grade DevSecOps
- Section 508 VPAT 2.5 documentation
- Custom authentication (SAML, OAuth, OIDC)
- SDVOSB set-aside eligible (FAR Subpart 19.14)
- ATO documentation support
- Multi-environment deployment (dev/staging/prod)
- 12-26 week delivery
Custom vs Wix vs Squarespace — actual 5-year numbers.
| Option | Year 1 | Years 2-5 | 5-year total | You own it? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wix Business + Premium | $348 | $348 × 4 = $1,392 | $1,740 | No |
| Squarespace Business + add-ons | $432 | $432 × 4 = $1,728 | $2,160 | No |
| ThatDeveloperGuy Starter + hosting | $1,997 + $108 = $2,105 | $108 × 4 = $432 | $2,537 | Yes |
| ThatDeveloperGuy Standard + hosting | $4,997 + $108 = $5,105 | $108 × 4 = $432 | $5,537 | Yes |
Custom websites are within $300-$800 of Wix or Squarespace over 5 years at the Starter tier — and you own the source code, can move hosts, and can keep using the site indefinitely after the relationship ends. Templates lock you in; custom code does not.
Custom website pricing questions.
Why does a custom website cost more than a Wix or Squarespace template?
Template builders charge $12-$50/mo indefinitely with performance, SEO, and customization limits. A custom site is one-time, you own it, runs faster, ranks better, no monthly platform fee. Over 5 years a $4,997 custom site beats a $30/mo template with required premium add-ons.
What ongoing costs after launch?
Hosting $9-$30/mo. Domain $12-$15/yr. SSL free (Let's Encrypt). Optional maintenance plan $97-$497/mo. No mandatory platform fee.
Do you require a deposit?
Free working demo first. You pay only if you accept. After acceptance: 50% deposit, 50% on launch. Federal contracts follow milestone schedules.
How long does a custom website take?
5-page: 2-3 weeks. 10-page: 4-6 weeks. 20-page: 6-10 weeks. Federal: 12-26 weeks.
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