How Much Does a Website Actually Cost?

A Honest Guide for Small Businesses

One of the questions I get asked most often — by small business owners, NGOs, creatives, individuals just starting out — is some version of this:

"I need a website. But how much is it actually going to cost me?"

It's a fair question. And the answer is more straightforward than most people expect. Let me break it down honestly.

First, why I build on Squarespace

There are a lot of website platforms out there. I've worked with several of them. I build on Squarespace because, for small businesses, NGOs and individuals, it is genuinely the best option — and I'll tell you exactly why in a moment.

But first, the numbers.

The Squarespace plans — what they cost and what you get

Squarespace currently has four plans. Here's how to think about them:

Basic — from €11/month (billed annually) or €15/month (billed monthly)

This is the starting point, and for a lot of businesses it's all you'll ever need.

A beautiful, professional website. Unlimited storage and bandwidth. Your own custom domain (free for the first year). All the SEO tools you need to be found on Google. Access to hundreds of stunning templates.

What it doesn't include is serious selling functionality — if you're processing a lot of payments or running an online shop, you'll want to look at the plans below. But for a portfolio, a blog, a service-based business, a creative studio, or anyone who just needs a clean and professional online presence — Basic does the job beautifully.

Best for: Creatives, bloggers, service providers, individuals, simple business websites.

Core — from €17/month (billed annually) or €24/month (billed monthly)

Core adds advanced analytics so you can see who's visiting your site and how they're finding you, plus better marketing tools and integrations. It also allows you to sell products online with no transaction fees from Squarespace — meaning more of every sale stays with you.

This is the plan I most often recommend to small businesses who want to sell occasionally online, take bookings, or need a deeper understanding of how their site is performing.

Best for: Small businesses, shops, anyone selling products or services online.

Advanced— from €29/month (billed annually) or €42/month (billed monthly)

Plus is built for businesses whose primary income comes through their website. Lower payment processing fees, customer accounts, and more powerful selling tools make it the right choice if you're running a proper online store.

It also includes the ability to accept donations — which makes it a strong option for NGOs and non-profit organisations (more on that below).

Best for: Online stores, NGOs accepting donations, community-focused businesses.

Advanced — from €84/month (billed annually) or €118/month (billed monthly)

The most powerful plan, built for high-volume sellers. Abandoned cart recovery, advanced shipping tools, subscriptions, the lowest processing fees. Most small businesses won't need this — but if you're scaling quickly and selling a lot online, it's there.

Best for: Large or rapidly growing online stores.

Annual vs monthly — which should you choose?

Simple answer: annual, if you can.

Paying annually saves you between 25–40% compared to paying month by month. It also includes a free custom domain for the first year, which is worth around $20 on its own.

The only reason to go monthly is if you genuinely aren't sure yet whether your website will be a long-term thing. For most businesses, it will be — so the annual saving is worth taking.

A note for NGOs and non-profits

If you're running an NGO or non-profit and you need to accept donations online, Squarespace handles this well.

The Plus plan and above include donation functionality built in — no need for complicated third-party tools or payment integrations. Donors can give directly through your website, simply and securely. For a small NGO trying to reach supporters and accept funding online, this is genuinely useful and much simpler than many alternatives.

The Core plan also allows you to sell products — so if your NGO runs events, sells merchandise, or offers memberships, that's covered too.

My recommendation for most NGOs starting out: the Core or Plus plan, depending on how central donations are to your work.

The 20% discount — and how you get it

Here's something worth knowing.

As a Squarespace Circle member — which means I'm a professional web designer who builds on the platform — I can offer my clients 20% off their first year of any Squarespace plan.

You don't need to do anything to claim it — it's applied automatically when we set up your site together.

So what does the whole thing cost?

Let's put it all together.

My one-off fee for building your site

Every project is different, so my fee depends on what you need — a simple, clean website for a small business is a very different job to a multi-page site with a shop, a booking system and a blog. Rather than a fixed price list, I work out a quote based on your specific situation.

What doesn't change is how it works: my fee is a single one-off payment. No monthly retainer, no ongoing fees to me, no surprises. You pay once, I build your site, and it's yours.

After that, the only ongoing cost is your Squarespace subscription — which you manage directly with Squarespace and is entirely in your hands.

To give you a real example of what that looks like:

Type of siteBest planAnnual cost (after 20% discount)Simple business website or blogBasic~€130/yearSmall business with occasional salesCore~€187/yearNGO accepting donationsPlus~€317/yearOnline storePlus or Advanced€317–€806/year

Prices are approximate.

Why Squarespace is the right choice for small businesses and NGOs

I want to be honest here, because I think it matters.

There are cheaper options. There are more powerful options. But for most small businesses, NGOs, creatives and individuals, Squarespace hits the right balance — and the reason I keep coming back to it is this:

After I hand over your site, you can actually run it yourself.

You don't need a developer to update your text, add a new photo, publish a blog post, or change your opening hours. The interface is genuinely easy to use — I've watched clients who described themselves as "not technical at all" update their own sites within ten minutes of being shown how.

For a small business, that independence is everything. Your website should work for you, not create a dependency on someone else every time you need to make a small change.

Squarespace also handles all the technical side — security updates, hosting, speed optimisation — so you never have to think about it. It just works. And when something goes wrong (it rarely does), their support is available around the clock.

It's not perfect for every situation. If you need a very large or complex online store, there are better options. But for the vast majority of small businesses, NGOs, creatives and individuals I work with — it's the right tool.

Want to talk about your website?

If you're thinking about getting a website built — whether you're a small business, an NGO, a creative, an individual or an influencer — I'd love to hear about what you're building.

You can reach me at Go Cucumber. Let's figure out what you need and make something that works properly for you.