What Does a DIY Website Really Cost?

When you're starting or running a small business, building your own website feels like the responsible, scrappy, budget-friendly choice. After all, you've done everything except your electrical wiring yourself, and if you're an electrician, I'll wager you even did your own electrical wiring. It saves money, which is attractive when you are eating ramen noodles and operating your suspiciously noodly looking shoestring budget.

You start the research. Website builders you see advertised on YouTube seem affordable(ish). Templates look clean and modern. You think, “I can knock this out in a weekend.”

Sometimes, that’s true, if you have built websites before or if you don't mind your website looking like a website version of a kindergarten stick figure drawing, but more often, the real cost of a DIY website doesn’t show up on your invoice and you don’t realize it until you’re knee-deep in font choices and plugin problems at midnight. For the twelfth night in a row. It can become incredibly time consuming, or even addictive. Ask me how I know.

Let’s break down what a DIY site really costs, and why a done-for-you approach can actually saves you money, time, and sanity. Again, ask me how I know. BTW...I'm writing this blog post at one in the morning.

The Obvious Cost: Money

Let’s start with what is on the invoice. At first glance, building your own site is the clear winner when it comes to price:

• Website builder subscription: $10–$40/month

• Domain name: around $10-25/year

• Optional plugins, templates, or apps: $50–$300+/year

On paper, you’re looking at under a thousand bucks a year. That’s hard to beat, especially when you’re bootstrapping a new business.

Done-For-You Website Costs

Hiring a professional web designer or studio usually starts at:

• $500–$2,500 for a basic small business website

• Possibly more if you need custom features, integrations, or ecommerce functionality

The sticker shock is real, but there's more to the story.

The Hidden Cost: Your Time

This is where things get sneaky, and turn into a potential sinkhole of a time suck. DIY seems cheaper until you start tracking your time. Think honestly about how long you’ve spent (or will spend) on your DIY site:

• Browsing template libraries

• Choosing fonts, tweaking colors, adjusting spacing

• Googling things like:

  • “Why does my site look different on mobile?”

  • “What’s the best free contact form plugin?”

  • “How do I connect my domain to my site?”

  • "How do I get my site found on search engines?"

  • "What is SEO and how do I "do" it?"

  • "Wait, I have to perform a URL inspection? What even is that?"

The average small business owner spends 20–80 hours on a “simple” DIY website, and that's just building it. We haven't even talked about optimizing it for search engines and getting found by potential clients or customers.

Even if your time is worth just $25/hour, that’s $500–$2,000 on top of what you’re paying for subscriptions and tools, just to publish a website.

And that’s assuming everything goes smoothly. (Spoiler: It rarely does. Say it with me folks: Ask me how I know.)

The Opportunity Cost: What You Didn’t Do Instead

While you’re wrestling with layouts and line heights, what aren’t you doing?

• Following up with leads

• Building customer relationships

• Developing your product or service

• Creating content or marketing your business

• Resting and recharging (yes, that counts, too)

Every hour spent learning the ins and outs of web design is an hour not spent moving your business forward, or preserving your energy to run it well. A website is important, but it’s not your business. It’s a tool your business uses. The longer it distracts you, the more expensive it becomes.

The Emotional Cost: Decision Fatigue

DIY websites demand your time, it's true, but when you give them your time, you also give them your brain power. You’re suddenly making dozens (if not hundreds) of micro-decisions:

• Which template feels “on-brand”?

• Should my headline say “Welcome” or “Let’s Work Together”?

• Should I use a serif font or sans-serif?

• What’s the best size for my logo?

• Wait, I have to make a logo?

• Are these photos too stock-photo-y?

Every choice adds up, and eventually, the excitement fades, especially when you realize you poured your heart and soul into building your website and it just doesn't hit right. Building a perfect website the first time is like asking a student drummer who has played drums for two weeks, to perform on tour with a professional rock band. S/he can do it, but only after five years of practice. No shame in that.

For many small business owners, the website becomes a low-level stressor that never really goes away. It’s half-finished. Or it’s live, but you hate how it looks on mobile. Or your site isn't discoverable to people searching for a business or product like yours. Or you keep thinking, I really need to fix that homepage.

Instead of being a tool that supports your business, your site becomes another item on your never-ending mental to-do list.

The Long-Term Cost: Fixing It Later

This is the part people rarely talk about. A lot of DIY sites eventually need to be fixed, cleaned up, or completely rebuilt because of:

• Poor mobile responsiveness

• Slow loading speeds

• Weak SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

• Accessibility issues

• A design that doesn’t convert visitors into clients

The truth is, many small business owners end up hiring a professional after they’ve spent months struggling with their DIY site, sometimes paying more in fixes than they would’ve paid for a done-for-you site from the start. I've personally worked with several clients who needed work done after then spent a significant portion of their work life building one first.

When DIY Does Make Sense

DIY isn’t bad. It just isn’t the right fit for every situation. A DIY website might be the right choice if:

• You enjoy learning new tools and don’t mind trial and error

• You truly have extra time to spare

• Your business is a side project, short-term, or still experimental

• You’re okay with a site that’s “good enough” rather than polished

• You don't need to be discoverable online.

There’s absolutely no problem with doing it yourself, as long as you know what you’re getting into.

When Done-For-You Is the Better Deal

A done-for-you website makes sense if:

• You want a site that’s ready to launch without you learning web design

• You want it to work well on all devices without extra troubleshooting

• You want a professional look that builds trust with potential clients

• You’d rather focus on your actual business than how to optimize your H1, H2, and H3 headers for proper SEO

Done-for-you websites, like the ones we create at Done & Done, can give you simplicity, peace of mind, and a quality functioning site in the fraction of the time and effort it would take you to do it yourself. A good designer will build you a website that represents your business online, connects you with potential clients, gives you a good brand reputation, and also quietly remove a huge mental and logistical burden so you can focus on what you do best.

So, What’s the Real Cost?

DIY websites often cost less money, but more time, more energy, and more momentum than you realize. Done-for-you websites cost more upfront, but they give you back your time, your clarity, and your ability to move forward without second-guessing every design choice. Neither path is wrong. It just depends on what you need, and what your time, energy, and peace of mind are really worth.

Ready to Get It Done?

If you’re tired of tinkering and just want a simple website that’s finished and functional, that’s exactly what Done & Done is built for. Call or text us at 864-686-2616. Or book a free consult.

The Hidden Cost of a DIY Website