There are four real ways for a business to get a website. Each one is right for somebody. Here is the whole picture, including who should not hire us.
One thing to say up front, because it changes how you read the table: a website is one deliverable, not what we sell. Field service software already includes one. Jobber puts a website on every plan from $29 a month. So if a site is genuinely all you need, buy the cheapest competent one on this page and stop reading. What we do is run everything that happens after the phone rings, which is where the money in a trade business actually leaks.
| DIY Builder (Wix, Squarespace) | Freelancer | Agency | Gold Strategics | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Up-front cost | $0 | $1,500 to $8,000 | $3,000 to $15,000+ | $250 once on Gold, $500 on the Business Operating System |
| Ongoing cost | $17 to $50/mo | $1,000 to $6,000/yr upkeep | $100 to $400/mo retainers | $80/mo Gold, $349/mo Business Operating System with every tool included |
| Your time | 60 to 80 hours to build, then ongoing | Meetings, revisions, content writing | Weeks of meetings and approvals | One form, about 15 minutes |
| Time to launch | Whenever you finish it | 4 to 8 weeks | 12 to 16+ weeks | Days, not weeks |
| Local SEO | On you to learn and set up | Sometimes, quality varies | Usually, often billed separately | Built into every page, schema included |
| Hosting & domain | Extra, managed by you | Extra, managed by you | Sometimes bundled | Included and managed for you |
| Updates after launch | You make them | Hourly billing | Retainer or hourly | Requests go straight to us. The Operating System adds priority website changes. |
| Commitment | Month to month | Project contract | Project + retainer contracts | Month to month, no cancellation fee |
| 3-year all-in* | Thousands in your time, plus fees | ~$7,600 and up | ~$15,200 and up | ~$3,130 on Gold, upkeep included |
*Three year totals use each option's mid-range pricing plus typical maintenance. Full math and sources are in our what websites cost guide. Gold Strategics figure: the $250 build fee plus 36 months of Gold; both plans are printed in full on the pricing page.
Every option is right for somebody.
DIY builders
Right for hobbies, side projects, and owners who genuinely enjoy tinkering with websites and have the hours to spend. Wrong for anyone whose weekends are already spoken for, or whose site needs to win local searches against professionally built competitors.
Freelancers
Right when you need something semi-custom and you have a trusted referral, a clear brief, and patience for the process. The risk is variance: quality, communication, and what happens when you need an update eight months after they've moved on.
Agencies
Right for funded companies that need custom platforms, brand campaigns, and a team of specialists, with budgets that start around five figures. For most businesses, you are usually paying for overhead you will never use.
Gold Strategics
Right for a trade or service business already busy enough that the problem is not finding work, it is that quotes go quiet, calls get missed and past customers never hear from you again. We build the site, then run the intake forms, the CRM and follow-up, booking and reviews around it. Wrong for you if a plain website is all you want; Gold does that for $80 a month and we will say so.
What we actually compare against. Not Wix. A part-time office person runs $2,000 to $3,000 a month. An answering service that only picks up the phone runs $250 to $350. Podium is $399 a month on an annual contract, Thryv Signature $339 to $399, Birdeye $349 per location plus onboarding. We are $349 a month, month to month, with the build refundable for ninety days.
When you should not hire us
Honesty is cheaper than churn, so here it is. If you need a large online store with hundreds of products, you want a custom web application with logins and dashboards, or building your own website genuinely sounds like a fun weekend, we are the wrong choice. Shopify, a developer, or Wix will serve you better, and we will happily say so before taking a dollar.
If you run a business and the website is the chore standing between you and more customers, that is exactly what we exist for.
Asked before choosing.
Is Wix cheaper than hiring a website service?
Only on the subscription line. Wix and similar builders run $17 to $50 a month, but industry estimates put a DIY build at 60 to 80 hours of the owner's time, and the finished site usually underperforms on speed and local SEO. Once your time has any value, DIY is frequently the most expensive option on the table.
What does a freelancer or agency website really cost?
Freelancers typically charge $1,500 to $8,000 for a small business site, and agencies charge $3,000 to $15,000 or more, with maintenance running $1,000 to $6,000 per year on top. Timelines run 4 to 8 weeks for freelancers and 12 to 16 weeks or more for agencies. The full breakdown with sources lives in our cost guide.
How is Gold Strategics different from an agency?
We are a fully managed flat-rate service with two plans. Gold is $80 a month with a $250 one time build fee and covers the custom build, hosting, security, backups, and lead capture. The Business Operating System is $349 a month plus a one-time $500 build fee, and adds the CRM and every tool in the Operating System, plus priority website changes. No hourly billing, no maintenance contracts, no long term lock-in. Every number is printed on the pricing page before you commit to anything.
When should I not use Gold Strategics?
If you need a large e-commerce store with hundreds of products, a custom web application, or you genuinely enjoy building and maintaining your own site, a dedicated platform or developer is the better fit. We are built for businesses that want a professional website handled for them.
Two plans, priced in public.
No quote calls, no ranges that span $30,000. Every number is printed on the page.
Keep reading
Two newer pages help with the decision underneath this one: WordPress or a custom-built site, and what a small business website actually needs, which is the checklist to hold every option here against.