Website pricing is often frustratingly vague. A simple business website and a complex custom platform may both be called “a WordPress site,” even though the work behind them is very different. Here is what a typical Search Strategies project costs, what is included, and which choices can move the price up or down.

A clear $3,500 starting point

For a standard small-business website, a custom WordPress build from Search Strategies starts at $3,500. The base package includes five pages, custom design and development, a fast, mobile-ready build, clean code, local SEO foundations, and one full year of the Advanced Care Plan, a $1,500 value.

That starting price is designed to make budgeting easier without forcing every project into the same mold. Larger websites, complex integrations, custom applications, and other advanced requirements are scoped separately.

Post-launch support and the three-year cost

For a standard website that remains on the Advanced Care Plan, the three-year total is $6,500: $3,500 upfront, with the first year of care included, then $1,500 in year two and $1,500 in year three. Ongoing care covers managed hosting, security, updates, backups, monitoring, and maintenance.

Website features beyond the basics

Not every business needs the same functionality, so optional features are priced separately. The ranges below are typical one-time additions to the base website. The “Recommended Care Plan” column shows the ongoing plan generally required to support that feature after launch; it is separate from the add-on price.

*E-commerce pricing depends in part on product count. The core store setup is relatively fixed, while adding and organizing a large product catalog takes additional time.

**Online ordering and multilingual pricing follow a similar pattern: the core setup may be predictable, but each added product, menu item, or language expands the amount of content that must be created and maintained.

Why do website quotes vary so much?

A five-page marketing site with a blog and resource library might cost around $5,100 to $6,500. An e-commerce site with expanded navigation might cost around $6,000 to $7,900. A website that appears similar on the surface but requires substantial custom user-experience or application work could reach $12,000 or more.

The difference is scope, not necessarily quality. Content volume, integrations, user roles, custom workflows, and the amount of strategy involved all affect the final price.

Is a cheaper website ever worth it?

Sometimes. A simple site with limited requirements may not need to cost thousands of dollars. The risk is choosing a low initial price without understanding what it leaves out. Ongoing fees, limited functionality, poor ownership terms, slow performance, and a difficult exit can make an inexpensive website cost more over time. Compare the full scope, ownership, and long-term support, not just the launch price.

What do the care plans include?

After the included first year, businesses can choose the level of ongoing support they need: Essential at $75 per month, Advanced at $125 per month, or Security & Growth at $300 per month, all billed annually. Every plan includes managed hosting, backups, uptime monitoring, and maintenance, with more frequent updates, faster support, stronger security protection, and hands-on help at higher tiers.

We typically host care-plan sites on infrastructure we manage so we can stand behind patch speed, backup integrity, performance, and uptime. If you already have your own WP Engine account, you can add us to it instead.

Who owns the website?

You do. The client owns the website, its content, the domain, and the custom code created for the project. The domain stays in the client’s own registrar account. Hosting is a service, not leverage. If you leave, we provide the files, database, credentials, and code you own at no charge, with migration assistance available if needed.

How we develop the scope of work

We begin with discovery: what the website needs to accomplish, how much content it will contain, which features and integrations it requires, and what your team needs to manage after launch. Once discovery is complete, we provide a detailed scope of work and a firm project price based on the agreed requirements. If the scope changes later, we document and price the change before the additional work moves forward.