The short answer
Website pricing in Houston ranges from a few hundred dollars for a do-it-yourself template to six figures for a custom platform. The honest answer depends on what the site needs to do for your business.
For reference, here is what Cardinal Consulting charges, so you have real numbers to compare against other quotes:
- Marketing website (up to 10 custom pages): from $1,500, one-time
- Custom website with portals, integrations, AI features, or online sales (up to 30 pages): from $3,500, one-time
- Websites over 30 pages and custom platforms: quoted after a free consultation
- Website care plans: $299, $499, or $799 per month
- Payment terms: typically 50% at kickoff and 50% at launch
What actually drives the price
Two websites that look similar on the surface can differ in cost by thousands of dollars. These are the factors that move the number most:
- Custom design versus a template — custom design takes more time but makes your business look distinct
- Number of unique page layouts, not just number of pages
- Who writes the content — copywriting is often priced separately
- Integrations such as booking, CRM, payments, inventory, or patient portals
- E-commerce catalog size, product options, and shipping or tax complexity
- Migrating content and redirecting old URLs so you keep your search rankings
- Accessibility and industry requirements, such as healthcare privacy or lawyer-advertising rules
The ongoing costs most quotes leave out
The build is only part of the cost of owning a website. Budget for these recurring items so there are no surprises:
- Domain name renewal
- Hosting — or a platform subscription such as Shopify
- Payment processing fees on online sales
- Software, plugin, and security updates
- Content changes and new pages
- SEO or marketing, if you want the site to keep bringing in new traffic
Speed is part of value, not a luxury. Google found that 53% of mobile visits are abandoned when a page takes longer than three seconds to load, and a Deloitte study for Google measured an 8.4% lift in retail conversions from a 0.1-second speed improvement.
DIY builder, freelancer, or agency?
A website builder is the cheapest way to get online and can be the right call for a brand-new business testing an idea. You trade money for your own time, and you are limited to what the template allows.
A freelancer can be a good value for a well-defined project. Ask how they handle design, development, SEO, and support if one person is responsible for everything, and what happens if they become unavailable.
An agency costs more than a builder but brings design, development, SEO, and support under one roof, with a team that can keep supporting the site after launch. The right choice depends on how much the website needs to contribute to revenue.
Questions to ask before you sign
Whoever you hire, these questions separate clear quotes from vague ones:
- Is the design custom, or based on a template?
- How many rounds of revisions are included?
- Who owns the domain, the content, and the website files?
- What is included after launch, and for how long?
- How will you protect our current search rankings during a redesign?
- What are the ongoing monthly costs, line by line?
- Can I see live websites you've built for businesses like mine?
How to get an accurate quote
Before requesting quotes, write down your goals (calls, bookings, sales), the pages you need, the tools the site must connect to, and two or three websites you like. That one page of notes lets every company quote the same project, so you can compare fairly.
Want a written price for your project? Book a free consultation and we'll send a clear scope, timeline, and quote — no obligation.