# How much does it cost to have someone build a website?

By Humfrid · Websites by text · Published 2026-11-04 · https://humfrid.com/blog/cost-to-have-a-website-built/

> You pay for the builder's hours to build it, and the federal median for web developers is $47.85 an hour, so every page, photo and booking setup adds to the bill. Then you pay again for every change after launch, plus the plan that keeps the site online and add-ons like booking and payments. Humfrid builds it with no setup fee and your .com included, live within a day, and you make every change by text.

Text Humfrid your business name. There's no setup fee: your website is live within a day, your own .com is included, every change after that is a text, and you see it free for 14 days before you pay. Start at https://humfrid.com/.

## How much will someone charge to build me a website?

Their rate times the hours your site needs. There's no official average price for a small business website, and quotes vary widely, so the useful numbers are the rate and the things that add hours.

For the rate, the Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the [median pay of web developers and digital designers at $47.85 an hour](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology/web-developers.htm) (May 2025). That's what employees earn. A freelancer's rate also has to cover what an employer would normally pay for, and an agency's covers a whole team, so expect quotes above it.

Then there's your own time, which no quote includes: the calls, the answers, the reviews of each draft. The BLS puts the [median wage for all U.S. workers at $24.51 an hour](https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ocwage.t01.htm) (May 2025). Ten hours of meetings and back-and-forth is about $245 of your time, on top of the bill. Humfrid takes both off the table: there's no setup fee, and instead of meetings you answer a few quick questions by text.

## What makes a website cost more to build?

Six things add hours, and hours add cost.

1. **The number of pages.** Each page is planned, written, built and checked. A page for every service and town is many more hours than one home page.
2. **Writing.** If you don't write the words, someone does. The BLS puts the [median pay of writers and authors at $36.98 an hour](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/media-and-communication/writers-and-authors.htm) (May 2025), and [65% of them are self-employed](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/media-and-communication/writers-and-authors.htm).
3. **Photos.** Your own phone photos of your work cost nothing extra. Hiring a photographer adds their time: the BLS lists the [median wage of photographers at $21.47 an hour](https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ocwage.t01.htm) (May 2025).
4. **Booking.** Your services, times and rules set up, and a booking tool connected and tested. More billed hours, and one more account.
5. **Payments.** Card payments or deposits connected to your booking and tested. More billed hours.
6. **Changes later.** This is the one most quotes leave out. If the builder makes them, each one is billed at their rate. If you make them, they come out of your evenings.

## How Humfrid does this for you

Humfrid takes the billed hours out of that list. It builds your website by text, with no setup fee. You text your business name and answer a few quick questions. You see the site on your phone, and nothing goes live without your OK. If you don't like something, text back what to change. It's live within a day.

After that, a change is one text, with no hourly bill:

- "Add a page for the towns we cover."
- "Prices on haircuts go up next month."
- A photo of finished work with "put this on the front page."

Photos and voice notes work too. There's no app, no computer and no login. Changes are unlimited on every plan: hours, prices, services, photos. Your own .com web address is included, in your name, and stays yours if you leave.

The extras that pile up elsewhere roll into one plan. You get posts and review replies written for your Google Business Profile, for you to post. Every plan sets your website up to be found on Google, Google Maps, ChatGPT and other AI answers, and includes online booking and payments.

There's no setup fee, no contract and no charge per lead. You see your website free for 14 days, and pay only when you want it live on your own .com. You cancel by text. Humfrid's plans are below, and the plans page lists every cost, including the fee on payments made through your site.

## What do I pay once, and what do I keep paying?

The build is paid once. Everything else keeps coming. Here's what a site built by a freelancer or an agency usually carries, and what each line takes from you.

| Cost | How often | What it takes from you |
| --- | --- | --- |
| The build | Once | The builder's rate times the hours, plus your hours in meetings and reviews |
| Your web address (.com) | Every year | Making sure it's in your name, and renewing it |
| The plan that keeps it online | Every month | One more account and login to keep |
| Booking | Every month | A separate tool, set up and linked from every page |
| Payments | Every month, every sale | Another account, connected and kept working |
| Changes | Every time | An hourly bill and a wait, or your own evenings |

The last row never stops. Holiday hours, a new price, a new service, a photo of good work: each one is a new request and a new bill. With Humfrid, each one is a text. For the full monthly picture, see [how much a small business website costs per month](/blog/small-business-website-cost-per-month/).

## Is a freelancer, an agency or a done-for-you service cheaper?

The one that charges nothing to build and nothing by the hour for changes: a done-for-you service like Humfrid. A low build fee isn't a cheap website. What counts is the total: the build, the bills and every change after launch, plus your own hours.

| | Freelancer | Agency | Humfrid (done for you) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Up front | A build fee for their hours | A project fee for a team's hours | No setup fee |
| Getting started | Calls and a quote | A sales call and a proposal | Text your business name |
| Time to live | When their schedule allows | After meetings and reviews | Within a day |
| Changes after launch | Usually billed by the hour | Usually under a separate agreement | By text, no hourly bill |
| Your .com | Ask whose name it's in | Ask whose name it's in | Included, in your name |
| Booking and payments | More billed hours, more accounts | More of the project fee | Booking and payments on every plan |
| Your time | Meetings and reviews | Meetings, reviews and sign-offs | A few texts and your OK |
| Leaving | Depends on the agreement | Often a contract | No contract, cancel by text |

A build fee is paid once. The changes, the waiting and the logins go on for as long as you have the site. Our post on [whether to hire someone to build your website](/blog/hire-someone-to-build-my-website/) covers what to ask before you pay anyone.

## How do I compare quotes for a website build?

Ask each one for the total for the first year and the second, not only the build fee. Ask what's included: how many pages, who writes them, whose photos, booking and payments. Ask what a change costs and how long it takes, whether the domain is registered in your name, and what happens if you leave. Then hold each answer up to Humfrid's: no setup fee, your .com in your name, changes by text, and no contract.

Text Humfrid your business name, and you'll see your website within a day.

## Sources

- [Web Developers and Digital Designers: Occupational Outlook Handbook](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology/web-developers.htm), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- [Writers and Authors: Occupational Outlook Handbook](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/media-and-communication/writers-and-authors.htm), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- [Table 1. National employment and wage data from the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey by occupation, May 2025](https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ocwage.t01.htm), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics