You've probably called a few web designers in Vernon and gotten quotes anywhere from $500 to $10,000. Maybe one agency sent you a proposal full of buzzwords and a price that made you close your laptop. Maybe another offered something so cheap you wondered what the catch was.
The honest answer is: it depends. But I can give you a much more useful breakdown than that.
What affects the price
A website's cost comes down to a few things: how many pages you need, whether the design is custom or from a template, what features you need (a simple contact form vs. an online store are very different), and whether someone is maintaining it for you after launch.
A basic five-page site for a plumber or landscaper is a completely different project than a ten-page restaurant site with a menu, gallery, and reservation system — which is a completely different project than a full ecommerce store.
What you can expect to pay locally
If you're looking at options in Vernon and the North Okanagan, here's roughly what you'll find.
DIY platforms like Wix or Squarespace run about $20–50 per month. They look okay and they work, but you're limited to their templates and features. If you're comfortable doing it yourself and don't need anything custom, this can work fine.
Freelancers (like me) typically charge anywhere from $500 to $3,000 as a one-time build, or offer monthly plans in the $80–150 range. You get a custom design, someone who knows what they're doing, and a real person to call when you need changes.
Agencies — the bigger shops with teams — usually start around $3,000 and can go well past $10,000 for a full build. They often add monthly fees for hosting and maintenance on top of that. This makes sense for larger businesses with complex needs, but it's overkill for most small businesses.
What to watch out for
Not all quotes are equal. A few things to keep an eye on:
"Maintenance" fees for problems that shouldn't exist. If your website is built on WordPress with 30 plugins, yes — it needs constant updates, security patches, and monitoring. But if it's built simply and cleanly, there's very little to maintain. Ask why the maintenance costs what it does.
Who owns your domain? Some web designers register your domain name under their own account. This means if you ever want to leave, you have to get them to release it. Make sure your domain is registered in your name, in your account.
Long contracts with no exit. A 12-month commitment to get started is reasonable. A 36-month contract with no cancellation clause is not. Read the fine print.
Where Good Sites fits
I built Good Sites specifically because I saw a gap between DIY platforms and expensive agencies. Most small businesses in Vernon need something in the middle — a professional, custom website at a price that doesn't hurt.
My pricing is published right on this site because I think you deserve to know what things cost before you pick up the phone. Check out the pricing page and see if it makes sense for your business.