What a custom website costs in the western suburbs

This guide explains what a custom website costs a high-end independent business in Hinsdale, Oak Brook and the western suburbs of Chicago, and what you get at each price. It's written by a local studio, and it should be useful even if you hire someone else.

By Hashim, founder of Elimenti. Updated October 25, 2026.

The short answer

Building a site yourself on Squarespace or Wix costs a monthly subscription, starting around $17 to $19 a month on a yearly plan, plus your time. Hiring someone to design and build a custom site usually costs a few thousand dollars or more. Shopify's 2026 cost guide, citing a GoodFirms survey, reports that 63% of agencies quoted between $1,000 and $15,000 for custom design and development.

Our own numbers: an Elimenti custom-coded site starts at $3,000, and most land between $3,500 and $4,500. After launch, expect a smaller yearly cost for your domain, hosting and changes.

Four ways to get a website, and what each costs

Do it yourself
Squarespace plans run $19 to $99 a month billed yearly, and Wix starts at about $17. You get a template, hosting and a drag-and-drop editor. You give up your time, and the site looks like the template it came from. Right for a business just starting out or one that wants to edit every week.
A designer on WordPress
Prices vary widely by designer. You usually get a customized theme you can edit yourself. The catch is upkeep: themes and plugins need regular updates, and in our experience maintaining them, page-builder sites get slower and more fragile as they grow.
A custom-coded studio
This is how Elimenti works: from $3,000, most projects $3,500 to $4,500. The site is designed from scratch and written in plain HTML, CSS and JavaScript, so it's fast and doesn't depend on plugins. The tradeoff is that you can't edit it yourself. Changes go through a care plan.
A full-service agency
Usually more than a studio, often with monthly retainers for SEO, ads and content. Worth it for a business with several locations or a real advertising budget. More than most single-location businesses need.

For context, a 2025 Clutch survey of small businesses found that DIY builders like Wix and Squarespace powered 41% of the sites it covered, and 12% were custom-built.

What actually drives the price

  • Different page types, not page count. Ten treatment or project pages built from one design cost far less than ten unique layouts.
  • Who writes the words. Copywriting is real work. Ask whether it's included or whether you're expected to supply every sentence.
  • Photography. Good photos do more for a high-end site than anything else. Budget for a shoot, or plan around the photos you already have.
  • Connections to other systems. Linking to your booking platform or online store is simple. Custom integrations with a CRM or inventory system are not.
  • Visual identity. A new logo, typefaces and colors, done at the same time as the site, adds to the price.
  • An online store. E-commerce is a different kind of project with a different budget. Elimenti doesn't build stores, but we link to the one you run.
  • How many people sign off. Every extra decision-maker adds rounds of feedback, and rounds add time.

How long it takes

Our projects usually launch four to six weeks after kickoff. The biggest variable isn't design or code. It's content: a site moves as fast as photos, details and feedback come back. Larger sites, and projects that include visual identity work, take longer.

Whoever you hire, ask for the timeline in writing, along with what they need from you and by when.

What it costs after launch

  • Your domain. Registration runs from $1 to $20-plus a year, according to Shopify's guide. It should be in your name.
  • Hosting. DIY builders include it in the subscription. Custom-coded static sites can run on low-cost or free plans from hosts like Cloudflare Pages. WordPress needs a host that runs PHP and a database.
  • Changes and upkeep. Someone has to make updates and, on WordPress, keep the theme and plugins current. Elimenti's Site Care is $175 a month for up to four updates, or $85 an hour for one-off edits.

Is custom-coded worth it?

It depends on how your business sells. If customers judge you on taste and quality, a template site works against you, and a custom site is worth the higher upfront cost. If your site changes every day, or you want full control over every word, a builder you can edit yourself is the better fit, and we'll say so on the first call.

Questions to ask any web designer

  • Who owns the site, the domain and the hosting account when we're done?
  • Is the copy included, or do I write it?
  • How many rounds of revisions are included, and what counts as a round?
  • Is it built on a template or theme? Which one?
  • What happens when I need a change after launch, and what does it cost?
  • Can I see a live site you built and talk to that client?
  • What isn't included: photography, stock images, hosting, ongoing SEO?
  • If we stop working together, what do I get? Files, logins, everything?

Elimenti's pricing, in one place

Custom website
From $3,000. Most projects land between $3,500 and $4,500, scoped individually with a written proposal before any work starts.
Included
Design from scratch, custom code, copywriting, a basic SEO setup and up to three rounds of revisions.
Timeline
Usually four to six weeks from kickoff.
After launch
Site Care at $175 a month or $85 an hour, with a five-business-day turnaround.
Add-ons
Photography at $85 an hour. Visual identity, quoted per project.
Not offered
Online stores and self-editing dashboards.

We've also written about what specific industries need from a site: med spas, interior designers, custom home builders, landscape design firms, boutiques and car clubs. More questions are answered in the FAQ.

Start a project Or (630) 509-8822

Sources