If you've started looking into getting a new website for your business, you've probably already noticed something frustrating: nobody wants to give you a straight answer on price.
You fill out a contact form. Someone books a discovery call. You sit through a presentation. And at the end of it, you still don't know if you're looking at $500 or $50,000.
We think that's annoying. So here's an honest breakdown of what websites actually cost in London, Ontario — including who's building them, what you get at each price point, and where we fit in.
Yes, that range is real. And yes, it's completely useless without context. So let's break it down by who's actually doing the work.
Every small business owner in Southwestern Ontario has heard this story, or lived it.
Someone in your circle — a nephew, a friend's kid, someone from church — offers to build you a website. They're "good with computers." They'll do it for next to nothing, maybe even free. You say yes because the price is right and it feels like a favour.
Six months later, the site is live. It kind of works. The photos are a little blurry. The contact form might be sending emails somewhere. You're not sure.
Then, inevitably, something happens. The site goes down. WordPress sends a warning about an outdated plugin. You need to change your hours. And the nephew? He's moved on. He's at university now, or he got a job, or he just doesn't answer messages the way he used to.
You're stuck with a site you can't edit, hosted on an account you don't own, with a domain registered to an email address you've never seen.
What you get: A website, technically. Possibly. What you don't get: Support, reliability, someone to call, or any clear path forward when something breaks. The real cost: Usually higher than you'd expect once you factor in the time you spent, the opportunity cost of a site that wasn't converting, and what it costs to have someone professional untangle it later.
We've inherited a lot of these sites over the years. We don't say that to be unkind — sometimes they're actually pretty good. But more often, they're a foundation built on sand.
Squarespace, Wix, Shopify, GoDaddy Website Builder. These are legitimate tools and, for the right business, they can be the right answer.
If you're a sole proprietor, you sell one or two things, your needs are simple, and you genuinely enjoy tinkering — a DIY builder is worth considering. You can have something live in a weekend for under $50/month.
The trade-offs are real, though:
- You're the support desk. When something doesn't work, you're Googling it.
- The templates look like templates. Customers recognize them. It signals "small operation" whether you want it to or not.
- Your site looks like everyone else's. Because it uses the same building blocks as everyone else.
- SEO limitations. These platforms have gotten better, but they still have real constraints around technical SEO that matter for local businesses trying to rank.
- You're renting, not owning. If Squarespace raises prices or changes terms, you don't have a lot of options.
What you get: A working site, full control, low monthly cost. What you don't get: Custom functionality, a distinctive look, or anyone to call. Best for: Very simple businesses with straightforward needs and an owner who doesn't mind managing it themselves.
This is a wide range because "freelancer" covers a wide range of people.
On one end, you have a marketing student doing side work on weekends. On the other, you have an experienced independent developer who does this full time and is very good at it.
The challenge with freelancers isn't talent — plenty of them are excellent. The challenge is availability and continuity. Freelancers have lives. They take on other clients. They get busy, go on vacation, change careers, or just quietly stop responding. When you need something urgently, there's no backup.
For a one-time project with a clear scope and no ongoing needs, a good freelancer is a solid option. For a business that depends on its website and needs someone to pick up the phone when something goes wrong, the single-point-of-failure risk is real.
What you get: Reasonable price, often good quality if you find the right person. What you don't get: Guaranteed availability, a team behind them, or the reassurance that they'll still be there in two years. Best for: One-off projects where ongoing support isn't critical.
This is where Blake Strategies Group sits.
We're not a one-person freelance operation and we're not a 40-person agency with a boardroom, an espresso machine, and a foosball table. We're a small, experienced team that has been doing this since 2011, and we work directly with clients — no account managers in the middle, no junior developers learning on your project.
What does that mean practically?
- You talk to Jonathon. Not a salesperson. Not a project coordinator. The person actually doing or overseeing the work.
- We give you a fixed quote. What we say it costs is what it costs.
- We're still here after launch. Most of our clients have been with us for years.
What we build: We can build a simple, fast, single-page site for a trades business starting around $1,500. We can build a complex multi-page site with a custom CMS, booking system, or client portal for $8,000–$15,000. We've also done quick AI-assisted builds for clients with tight budgets who need something live fast — without sacrificing quality.
The scope drives the price, not a formula.
What you get: Real expertise, direct access, fixed pricing, and someone who'll still be around when you need something in six months. What you don't get: The cheapest option. Or a fancy boardroom. Best for: Businesses that want a professional result and a real relationship, without paying for overhead they don't need.
There are good large agencies in London and across Ontario. For enterprise clients with complex needs, large teams, and significant budgets, they're often the right choice.
For a small business? You're usually paying for things that don't benefit you.
That overhead — the downtown office, the large team, the account managers, the pitch decks — has to be covered somewhere. It's covered in your invoice.
You'll also frequently find yourself low on their priority list. A $5,000 website for your plumbing company doesn't get the same attention as a $150,000 rebrand for a regional company. You'll work with whoever is available, not whoever is best.
What you get: Brand credibility, a full team, formal processes. What you don't get: Value for money if you're a small business, or a direct relationship with anyone senior. Best for: Larger organizations with complex needs and budgets to match.
Regardless of who you hire, these are the factors that move the number up or down:
Number of pages. A 5-page brochure site is a different project than a 30-page site with service areas, team bios, a blog, and a resources section.
Custom functionality. Do you need a booking system? A client login? A product catalogue? E-commerce? Quote calculators? Each of these adds real development time.
Content. If you hand us finished, polished copy and photography, the project is faster. If we're helping you write everything from scratch, that's part of the work.
Design complexity. A site that needs to feel distinctive and carefully crafted takes more time than a clean but straightforward layout.
Integrations. Connecting your site to a CRM, an email platform, a booking tool, or an inventory system takes time and testing.
Timeline. If you need it in two weeks, that usually costs more than if you can give us six.
A few things worth knowing when you're comparing proposals:
Vague scope. If a quote doesn't clearly describe what's included, you're likely to get hit with change orders. Get specifics in writing.
Hourly pricing without a cap. "We charge $120/hour and it'll probably take 40–60 hours" is not a quote — it's a range that could easily become $9,000 instead of $5,000.
No mention of what happens after launch. Who hosts it? Who updates it? Who do you call when something breaks? If a proposal doesn't address this, ask.
Ownership of the domain and hosting. Make sure the accounts are in your name. If an agency registers your domain and you ever part ways, getting it back can be genuinely difficult.
"We'll handle the content." Sometimes this means they write great copy. Sometimes it means they'll fill placeholder text with whatever they find on your old site. Ask for examples.
Here's our honest take:
If your business is simple and you have time to manage it yourself, a DIY builder at $25/month is a reasonable choice.
If you want a professional result and a real relationship with the people building it — and you want someone to call when something goes wrong two years from now — expect to spend $2,000–$8,000 for a well-built site from a small agency, and $100–$200/month for hosting and ongoing care.
That's not the cheapest option. But it's the one where you're actually covered.
We give free 20-minute calls with no pitch and no pressure. Tell us what you're trying to accomplish and we'll tell you honestly what it's likely to cost — and whether we're even the right fit.