How much does a website cost in Maine? Real numbers for small businesses

How much does a website cost in Maine? Here are real numbers. As a rough guide, a do-it-yourself website builder costs tens of dollars a month plus your time. A one-time build from a freelancer or agency often runs from a few hundred dollars for something very basic to several thousand for a professional small-business site, and much more for large custom projects, usually plus hosting and upkeep. Those are general market ranges, not Maine statistics, and quotes vary a lot.

My prices are simpler: Starter is $65 a month and Business is $89 a month, with no setup fee. That covers the design, hosting, security and monthly updates. And you see a free design for your business before you pay anything.

How much does a website cost in Maine? DIY vs. one-time build vs. monthly plan

Here's how the three common options stack up. Builder and freelancer prices vary, so treat those columns as typical, and check the real quotes you get.

My plans in detail

• Starter, $65 a month: custom design, up to 5 pages, mobile-friendly, contact or quote form, hosting, SSL, backups, software updates, basic on-page SEO and up to 30 minutes of content updates a month.
• Business, $89 a month: everything in Starter, plus up to 12 pages, service-area and project-gallery pages, up to 2 hours of content updates a month, monthly analytics, a custom chatbot and priority email support.

There's no setup fee on either plan, and the free design preview is always free. You can see both plans side by side.

What drives the price of a website

Whoever you hire, the same few things push the price up or down:

• Number of pages. A five-page site costs less to build and look after than a thirty-page one.
• Custom features. Online stores, booking systems and customer logins add a lot of work.
• Content. Writing the text and gathering photos takes time, whether you do it or pay someone.
• Ongoing support. A site someone looks after every month costs more than one nobody touches after launch, but it also keeps working.

Does it cost more in Bangor or Portland?

Not with me. I work with businesses all over Maine by phone, email and video call, so the price is the same whether you're in Bangor, Portland, Presque Isle or a small town in between. Elsewhere, website cost in Bangor or anywhere else mostly comes down to the scope of the project, not the zip code.

The ongoing costs most people forget

The build is only part of the bill. Every website also needs these, every month or every year:

• Hosting: keeps your site online. Included in my plans.
• SSL certificate: the padlock in the browser bar. Included.
• Backups: a copy to restore if something breaks. Included.
• Software updates and security: keeps everything working safely. Included.
• Domain name: your web address. Registered in your name and billed separately by the registrar, usually once a year, whoever builds your site.

What a website really costs over 1 year and 3 years

Comparing a monthly price with a one-time fee is easier over a few years. My plan totals below are exact. The other two columns use example numbers to show the math, so swap in the real quotes you get: a one-time build quoted at $2,500 plus $30 a month for hosting and care, and a DIY builder at $40 a month all-in.

One more thing the one-time column hides: with a one-time build, each change after launch is usually extra. With my plans, monthly content updates are part of the price.

Does a website pay for itself?

For most trades, it doesn't take much. As an example, if an average job is worth $800 to you, one extra job a year covers a full year of Starter ($780), and two cover Business ($1,068). Use your own numbers: the revenue calculator on my pricing page does the math for you. Nobody can promise a set number of new jobs, but in a place where customers check you out online before calling, a professional site makes those calls more likely.

Red flags in a website quote

• A price with no list of what's included.
• No mention of who pays for hosting, the domain or updates after launch.
• The designer registers your domain in their own name.
• A long contract with a big cancellation fee.
• Promises of guaranteed first-page rankings. Nobody can honestly guarantee that.

Questions to ask any web designer before hiring

Ask these before you sign anything, whoever you hire. Here are my answers:

1. Who owns my domain? You do. I help you register it in your own name, and the registrar bills you for it directly.
2. What happens if I cancel? Plans are month to month. Give 30 days' notice and you'll get a copy of your site's text and images. The text, photos and logos you provided stay yours. Past months aren't refundable, and the current month isn't refundable once your site has been live for at least one business day of it.
3. What's included in updates? Up to 30 minutes a month on Starter and up to 2 hours on Business: things like new photos, changed hours or a new service. Bigger changes, like new features or extra pages, are quoted and approved before any work starts.
4. Is there a contract? No long-term contract. It's month to month.

You can read every step on how it works, and see how I build for businesses all over the state on website design across Maine. Wondering how much to budget overall? See how much a small business should spend on a website.

See a free design before you spend a dime

Prices on a page only go so far. The best way to judge value is to see what you'd actually get. Tell me your business name, what you do and how to reach you, and within 1–2 days I'll show you a homepage designed for your business. If you like it, your site can be live about 3 days after you approve it. If not, it cost you nothing.