Ask five web companies what a contractor website costs and you’ll get five numbers between “free” and “call us.” That’s not because the industry is dishonest; it’s because they’re selling five different things. Here’s what each price tier actually buys a roofer, remodeler or builder in 2026, and how to tell which one your company needs.
The short answer
| Option | Typical cost | What you get | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| DIY builder (Wix, Squarespace, GoDaddy) | $200–$600 / year | A template you fill in yourself | Brand-new one-person operations |
| Template site from a local freelancer | $1,500–$4,000 | A pre-built WordPress theme with your logo and photos | Companies that need “a website” and nothing more |
| Semi-custom site (agency, theme-based) | $4,000–$10,000 | A theme customized around your services, some SEO setup | Established companies replacing a dated site |
| Custom build | $8,000–$25,000+ | Designed and coded for your business, lead tools, local SEO built in | Companies where the website is a real lead source |
Two things change those numbers. Ongoing costs (hosting, maintenance, SEO) usually run $50–$500 a month depending on who’s doing the work. And the number of service pages matters more than the design: a roofer who does residential, commercial, storm restoration and gutters needs four times the pages of a roofer who does one thing.
What you’re really paying for
A contractor website has four jobs: show up when someone searches, look credible in the first five seconds, make it easy to call or request a quote, and give you a way to measure what’s working. Every price tier does the second job. The gap between tiers is how well they do the other three.
DIY builders: cheap to start, expensive to rank
Wix and Squarespace sites look fine. The trouble comes later: they’re slow on phones, hard to structure for local search, and you can’t add real tools to them without workarounds. If you’re a new operation testing whether the business works, start here and don’t feel bad about it. Plan to move once you have consistent jobs.
Template sites: fast and forgettable
Most sub-$4,000 sites are a purchased theme with your logo pasted on. They can rank if someone does the SEO work, but they rarely do, because the budget went to the design. The tell: the site has a “Services” page instead of a page per service, and the contact form emails go to spam.
Custom builds: the site becomes a lead source
The extra money in a custom build goes to things you can’t see in a screenshot. A page for each service and each town you serve. A cost calculator or before/after slider that keeps visitors on the page. Forms that land in your inbox and a lead list you can review. Speed, structured data, and a Google Business Profile that’s wired to the site. That’s the difference between a website that exists and one that brings in jobs.
The one question that picks your tier
How much is one new job worth to you? A roofer with a $12,000 average ticket needs a single extra job a year to pay for a $10,000 site. A handyman with a $400 average ticket is better off with a template and a great Google Business Profile. Work out your number first, then spend up to what two or three extra jobs a year would justify.
Don’t pay for what you can get free. Lead-capture calculators are one of the biggest line items in a custom quote. We give away three — a remodel cost calculator, a roof cost estimator and a before & after slider — that work on any website, template or custom, in one copy-paste.
Hidden costs to ask about before you sign
- Who owns the site? Some agencies host your site on their platform and keep it if you leave. Insist on owning the domain, the WordPress install and the content.
- What does a change cost? A new service page shouldn’t be a $500 ticket. Ask for the hourly rate and a typical turnaround.
- Is SEO included or “available”? “SEO-friendly” means nothing. Ask which keywords the site is built to rank for and where the local pages are.
- Photos. Stock photos of a smiling crew who don’t work for you cost you trust. Budget half a day for a real photographer, or at least clean up your phone photos.
What we’d tell a friend
If your average job is under $1,000, buy a template, put the money into your Google Business Profile and reviews, and add our free tools. If your average job is over $5,000, a custom site with local SEO built in usually pays for itself inside the first year — and that’s the only math that matters. Either way, get real photos and make the phone number impossible to miss.
For a second opinion on a quote you’ve received, or a number for your own project, send us the basics. We’ll tell you if a template would do the job.
Related reading: template vs. custom websites for construction companies, and why your contractor website isn’t generating leads.
