By Seth VanDaele, Owner & Co-Founder of HomeBuilder Marketers
As the owner and co-founder of HomeBuilder Marketers, I’m often asked how much a website should cost. The honest answer depends on your goals, your timeline and whether you want a short-term placeholder or a long-term asset that brings in leads month after month. After years of building and rebuilding sites for home builders and remodelers across North America, I’ve seen the cheap options, the overpriced options and the sweet spot that delivers performance without wasting money. In this post I break down the numbers, explain what you should expect and show you how to protect yourself from unnecessary costs.
The Straight Answer
If you’re a home builder or remodeler looking for a 5-10 page informational website, the fair price for a professionally built WordPress site is $2,500-$3,500 USD. That range gets you a site that’s built on WordPress (not a boxed-in site builder), fully optimized for search engines, mobile friendly and fast loading, and designed to convert visitors into leads. Anything less cuts corners; anything more should include significant extra value-otherwise you’re probably being overcharged.
Why WordPress Is the Best Choice
I recommend WordPress every single time because it’s open source, which means you own your site and can customize it any way you want. Unlike Wix, Squarespace, Shopify or GoDaddy’s site builders, WordPress offers unlimited customization via plugins and custom code, superior SEO control, scalability to grow with your business and integration options for marketing, lead tracking and CRM. With WordPress you can manage technical basics, tune structure and metadata, add schema markup, and integrate lead capture. It’s supported by a massive plugin ecosystem so you’re not boxed in as your company grows. WordPress powers more than 43 percent of the web, offers over 65,000 plugins and tens of thousands of themes, and commands a CMS market share above 60 percent.
The Hidden Cost of Cheap Website Builders
Platforms like Wix, Squarespace, GoDaddy and Shopify can be fine when you’re just starting out and need something online quickly. They include hosting, templates and basic SEO tools. For a young company with little content and no budget, they work as a stopgap. But they come with hidden costs. You’re locked into their templates and functionality, you have limited control over SEO settings and scaling becomes a problem when you need advanced features. When you’re ready to invest in growth, compare these builders to WordPress in our Wix vs WordPress guide for home builders and move to WordPress.
When You’re Being Overcharged
On the other end of the spectrum, I’ve seen agencies charge $5,000, $10,000, even $25,000 for a WordPress site. Unless that price includes deep brand strategy, custom integrations, or full content creation and SEO setup, you’re probably overpaying. A $15,000 WordPress site and a $3,500 WordPress site will look and perform very similarly if they’re both built well. Custom coded websites aren’t necessary for most construction firms. They take longer to build, cost far more, and don’t offer enough benefit over a properly built WordPress site to justify the expense.
What You Should Get for $2,500-$3,500
For a mid-range WordPress build you should expect all of the following:
- Zero critical errors when you run a site audit (use a tool like SEMrush to check).
- Proper schema markup so Google understands your content.
- Well-structured H1, H2 and H3 headings for clarity and SEO.
- Copy written to convert rather than generic AI-generated filler.
- Mobile responsiveness and fast load times across devices.
- Full ownership of your hosting, domain and logins.
How to Write Copy That Converts
A good website isn’t just about design. The words on the page matter too. For home builders and remodelers, your copy should:
- Make it simple enough for a fifth grader to understand – avoid jargon.
- Position the homeowner as the hero and yourself as the guide. For more on this approach, see our StoryBrand – style content guide.
- Be radically transparent about your process, pricing and timelines.
- Include clear calls to action at every step.
What About Webflow?
Webflow is a designer’s dream and can produce beautiful, high-performance sites. For most builders, however, WordPress remains the better choice because the plugin ecosystem, ownership model and community support make it easier to extend and to hire for. If you do go with Webflow, expect a similar investment-around $3,500 to $5,000 for a comparable site-and keep in mind that the platform requires a monthly subscription and may not be as well suited to construction-industry marketing.
How to Protect Yourself From Overpaying
Before you sign a contract, take these steps to avoid getting ripped off:
- Audit past work: Ask for examples of sites your developer has launched and run a crawl to check for errors.
- Demand a scope that maps to your goals – leads, calls and booked consultations matter more than fancy animations.
- Require ownership and transparency: make sure you control hosting, domain and analytics.
- Make sure your developer builds a foundation of SEO at launch rather than treating it as an upsell.
FAQ: Website Pricing for Home Builders
Can I start with Wix or Squarespace and switch to WordPress later?
Yes, but it often means rebuilding from scratch. It’s better to start with WordPress if you can.
Is SEO included in a $2,500–$3,500 website build?
Basic on-site SEO setup should be included. Ongoing SEO is usually a separate service.
Why not just use a free website builder?
Because you’ll be limited in functionality, ranking ability and long-term flexibility.
Free Download: Website Audit Checklist for Builders
Before you hire a web developer – or to test your current site – use this checklist:
- Run a SEMrush site audit and ensure there are zero critical errors.
- Check for proper schema markup.
- Confirm that headings are structured correctly.
- Test load speed on mobile and desktop.
- Read your copy – does it explain what you do in 5 seconds?
- Verify that you own all hosting, domain and login credentials.
Download our full Website Audit Checklist to make sure your site is ready to perform.
Final Thoughts
For most builders and remodelers, a properly built WordPress website should fall between $2,500 and $3,500. This investment delivers a clean build with sound structure, clear copy and the right schema while giving you full control over your web presence. You don’t need to overspend on custom code and you shouldn’t cut corners with templates that limit your growth. If you’d like help building a site that not only looks good but also ranks and converts, we’d love to talk. Visit homebuildermarketers.com to see examples of our work and get in touch.
Research Sources
- Talo Cost Guide – Average small business website costs between $1,000 and $10,000 and a 5-10 page small business website falls in this range.
- WordPress Market Share, Statistics and More – WordPress powers over 43 percent of the internet, offers tens of thousands of themes and over 65,000 plugins, and commands a CMS market share above 60 percent.
- The Value of WordPress – WordPress is open source software that provides flexibility and true site ownership, with a thriving community and low licensing costs.
