March 2026
A lot of small business owners put off getting a website because they think it’s going to cost $3,000–$5,000. That might be true at a big agency, but for a local business that just needs a clean online presence, a custom-built site starting at $400 covers a lot of ground.
At that price point, you get a 1–3 page site that’s fully responsive, SEO-ready, and built with clean code instead of being dragged and dropped in a template builder. That typically includes a homepage, an about or services page, and a contact page with a working form. It also includes proper meta tags, a sitemap for Google, and fast load times out of the box.
Template builders like Wix or Squarespace are fine for personal projects, but for a business you want something that loads fast, ranks well, and doesn’t look like every other site on the internet. A custom site is built specifically for your business. Your branding, your content, your goals. And you own the code when it’s done, so you’re not locked into a $20–$40/month platform fee forever.
A $400 starter site isn’t going to be a 20-page e-commerce store or a complex booking system. But most local businesses like contractors, salons, restaurants, and small retailers in the Chesterfield and Richmond area don’t need that to start. They need a site that looks professional, works on phones, shows up in search results, and tells people how to get in touch. That’s exactly what a good starter site does.
Once your starter site is live and bringing in traffic, you can always add more pages, features, or functionality. I offer ongoing maintenance and custom development so your site can grow as your business does. Many of my clients in the Richmond area start with a simple site and expand as they see results.
If you’re a small business owner in Richmond, Chesterfield, Midlothian, or anywhere in the RVA area, you don’t need to wait until you can afford a $5,000 website. A well-built $400 site is enough to get you found online and start turning visitors into customers. Reach out and I’ll tell you exactly what your project would cost.
Want to see what $400 looks like?
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