Straight numbers, updated for 2026

What a small-business website really costs in Arkansas.

If you've asked three web companies for a price and gotten three riddles, this page is for you. Here's what Arkansas businesses actually pay, what moves the number, and the questions that expose a bad quote.

The short answer

Four ways to buy a website — four very different bills.

DIY builders (Wix, Squarespace, GoDaddy)

$20–$50/month — plus your nights and weekends

The subscription is cheap. The real cost is your time, a template that looks like a template, and nobody to call when the contact form quietly stops working. Lead capture, booking, and follow-up are all on you to wire up.

One-off freelancer

Roughly $500–$3,000, wide quality range

Can be great, can be a gamble. The common story we hear: the site got delivered, then the freelancer moved on — and now nobody knows the hosting login. Ask who maintains it in month six.

Traditional agency

Often $5,000–$15,000+ to start

Built for bigger budgets and longer timelines — discovery meetings, revision rounds, retainers. Solid work, but most local service businesses are paying for process they don't need.

Northlight's fixed packages

$1,500–$3,500 build + $97–$397/month

A published price that covers design, the words, hosting, and the lead-and-booking system — then a flat monthly that keeps it all running. If your project fits the package, that's the whole number. See the packages →

What moves the number

Five things that change what you'll pay — anywhere.

Page count

A one-page site and a ten-page site are different jobs. Get the page count in writing so "small site" means the same thing to both of you.

Who writes the words

The most common hidden cost. If copy isn't included, your "finished" site stalls for months waiting on you to write it. Ours is included.

What the site does

A brochure is cheaper than a machine. Booking, instant lead alerts, review requests, and follow-up automation are where a site starts paying for itself.

Local search setup

Showing up when someone in your town searches takes deliberate work — structured data, Google Business wiring, review flow. Ask if it's in the quote.

Month six

Hosting, security, backups, updates, edits. Somebody does this or the site rots. The only question is whether it's planned (a flat monthly) or a surprise.

Ownership

Cheap quotes sometimes mean you're renting a site you can never leave with. Make sure you can take your domain, content, and site with you.

Before you sign anything

Six questions that expose a bad quote.

Ask these of anyone quoting you a website — including us. Good shops answer fast. Vague answers are the tell.

"Is that the whole price?" — Get the total in writing: build, copy, hosting, and anything monthly. "It depends" after you've described your project is a red flag.
"Who writes the content?" — If the answer is you, add weeks to the timeline and hours to your cost.
"What happens when it breaks?" — Who fixes it, how fast, and what does that cost? "We can look at it" is not a plan.
"Do I own it?" — Domain, content, and code. If you cancel, what walks away with you?
"When will it be live?" — A real shop gives you a date range up front, not "as soon as possible."
"What will it actually do for me?" — If the pitch is all about how it looks and never mentions leads, calls, or bookings, you're buying a brochure.

Want a real number for your business?

Tell us what you do and we'll design a free preview of your site — and give you the full price in writing before you commit to anything.

Get my free preview

Or see the published packages — the price on the card is the price.