Key takeaways
- A contractor website's price follows how many project types it covers and who gathers, writes and photographs the projects.
- A cheap site that wins no bid invitations costs more than a pricier one that does. Judge the quote by qualified bids, not pages delivered.
- A monthly fee should buy work you can name and check, such as new project pages and tested backups.
- Before signing, get in writing who owns the domain, code, write-ups and photos, and what happens when you leave.
How much does a website cost for a contractor? Anywhere from a do-it-yourself template to a custom build in the five figures, and the spread comes down to scope: how many project types you sell, how much real project proof goes on the site, and whether it connects to your CRM. The better question is what a qualified bid is worth to you, and whether the site produces them.
What a website costs a contractor
The price falls into three broad shapes, and the shape matters less than what the site has to do for you. A contractor's site is judged by owners comparing builders over weeks, so the question is how much proof each option can carry.
| What you buy | What a contractor usually gets | Where it falls short |
|---|---|---|
| A template you or a site builder sets up | A homepage, a photo gallery, a contact form | No project-type pages, nothing to rank for "home addition contractor", no screening |
| A small custom site from a freelancer or agency | Five to ten pages, your branding, basic tracking | Often thin on project write-ups, because nobody budgeted time to gather them |
| A conversion-focused build | Project-type pages, a project library, service-area pages, a screening form, CRM connection and tracking | Costs more up front and needs your team's time for photos and project details |
Weigh the price against one project, not against other websites. A single signed addition or build-out is usually worth far more than the website itself, so a site that adds one or two signed projects a year has paid for a serious build. A cheap site that adds none has cost its whole price, plus the bids that went to the builder whose site answered the owner's questions.
Owned site vs rented site
| Question | Owned site | Rented site |
|---|---|---|
| The domain | In your name | Often in the provider's |
| Content and photos | Yours to move | Can stay with the provider |
| If you leave | The site goes with you | You may start over |
| What you pay for | The build, then hosting and care | A fee for as long as it runs |
What changes the price
Scope changes the price, and for contractors the biggest scope item is proof, not design. These are the line items that move a quote:
- Project types. Additions, new homes, custom homes, commercial build-outs and general contracting each need their own page with their own projects.
- The project library. Writing up twenty past jobs with scope, duration and photos means interviews with your project managers. Some vendors leave this to you, which usually means it never happens.
- Photography. Crew phone photos work for progress shots. Finished projects often deserve a photographer.
- Service-area pages. One per town you want to build in, each with work you have done there.
- CRM connection. Sending inquiries into Buildertrend, JobTread or Procore with the source attached takes setup and testing.
- A trade-partner section. Capabilities, a project list and insurance details for architects and property managers.
- Migration. Redirecting the old site's pages so you keep the search visibility you already have.
When two quotes are far apart, line them up against this list. The cheaper one usually leaves out the project library, and that is the part owners actually read (Google on helpful content).
Ongoing costs
Expect to keep paying for three things: keeping the site running, keeping it current and getting it found. Running it covers the hosting account, the domain, software updates and backups. Keeping it current means adding finished projects every season, the step most contractor sites skip, which is why so many show nothing built in years. Getting it found means SEO work and the pages behind your ads.
A monthly fee is fair when you can name what it buys. "Website maintenance" with no list attached is activity you cannot check. Ask for the monthly work in writing: updates applied, backups tested, project pages added, page speed checked (Core Web Vitals), and a report of inquiries by source (GA4 setup). If the only report you get is page views, nobody is checking whether the site earns bids.
If a full rebuild is on the table, our website design page for contractors shows what we include. The conversion checklist for contractors helps you decide whether the current site can be fixed instead.
Ownership and contract terms
Ask these questions before you sign, and get the answers into the contract:
- Whose name is the domain registered in? It should be your company's, with a login you hold.
- Who owns the code and the design? You should be able to move the site to another host or developer without starting over.
- Who owns the write-ups and photos? Project pages are years of proof. They should be yours, in files you can download.
- Whose account pays for hosting? Yours, with the vendor added as a user, or a written handover process if they host it.
- What happens if you cancel? Watch for monthly plans where the site goes dark when the payments stop.
- What does the monthly fee include, item by item? Anything that is not listed is not promised.
- What is the launch date, and what happens if it slips? A site promised for winter that launches in July misses the months when owners choose their builder.
- How will results be reported? Inquiries and qualified bids by source, not traffic alone.
How VETS Growth Marketing helps
Our website work is a project with a set scope, a fixed price and a launch date before your planning season. The contract names your company as owner of the domain, code, write-ups and photos. We collect project details from your team so the library actually gets built, and we report the qualified bids the site produces. Bring your current quotes to a growth consultation and we will compare them line by line.
Sources
- Creating helpful, reliable, people-first content, Google Search Central
- Understanding Core Web Vitals and Google search results, Google Search Central
- Set up Analytics for a website and/or app, Google Analytics Help