Website price calculator

How this price is figured

The setup fee covers the build: a base for the size of the site, plus each extra you take on. Writing the words, setting up booking and fixing their Google listing all take real hours, so each one adds to the setup.

The monthly plan covers what keeps going after launch: hosting, the domain, backups, fixing anything that breaks and the edits you promise. Booking tools and online payments add a little each month because they need more care.

Then the calculator gives you two ways to charge for the same work:

• Option A cuts the setup fee in half and adds the other half to the monthly plan, spread over 12 months. It's the easiest yes for an owner who doesn't want to write a big check today.
• Option B charges the full setup fee and keeps the monthly price low. It fits owners who don't like subscriptions.

Both options earn about the same in year one. After that, option A keeps paying more every month.

Why you should always sell a monthly plan

A one-time $800 site is a one-time $800. The same site with a $99 monthly plan is worth $1,988 in year one and keeps paying after that. Ten clients on a $99 plan is about $1,000 a month before you sell anything new. Run your own numbers in the monthly income calculator.

Owners also expect it. Most of them don't want to deal with hosting, renewals or a broken contact form. "I take care of all of it for one monthly price" is easier for them to hear than a list of separate bills.

How to present the price

From a lot of in-person selling, a few things make the price land:

1. Show the site first, price second. If they can see their business on your phone before you say a number, the number is about something real.
2. Say the price once, plainly, then stop talking. Don't apologize for it or start discounting before they react.
3. Offer two options, not one. Option A and option B turns "yes or no" into "which one."
4. Tie it to one customer. "If this brings you one extra customer a month, it pays for itself" works for almost every local business.

Need the words for the first conversation? The pitch script generator writes them for walk-ins, calls, texts and email.

Mistakes that keep prices too low

• Pricing by the hour. Owners pay for a site that brings in customers, not for your time. Price the result.
• No monthly plan. You end up doing free edits for years.
• Giving everything away up front. Put the extras (booking, store, logo) on the list so the owner sees the value.
• Never raising prices. After your first three or four sales, move up one experience level in the calculator.