What a website actually costs in Cochrane, AB — launch, custom, and e-commerce ranges, the factors that move a proposal, and how to spend well. Written proposals in one business day.
Growth website — full custom build (project): $5,000–$12,000 — Conversion strategy, content support, local SEO architecture, more pages and proof systems.
E-commerce or platform build (project): $12,000–$30,000+ — Online store, booking systems, member areas, or custom functionality — scoped from discovery.
Website redesign (project): $2,500–$8,000 — Audit-first rebuild of an existing site with full URL mapping and redirects.
Campaign landing page (per page): $950–$2,200 — Message-matched page, frictionless form, and measurement wired in.
Local SEO program (per month): $600–$1,500 — Scope scales with how many services and areas you compete for.
AI search optimization (per month): $450–$1,000 — Standalone or bundled with local SEO — the two share one content foundation.
Website care & hosting (per month): $59–$249 — Managed hosting, monitoring, backups, updates, and monthly content changes.
Copywriting support (project add-on): Scope dependent–Quoted by pages — Guided interviews and drafted page copy — priced with the build it feeds.
What moves a website proposal
Number of pages and page types: A five-page launch site and a twenty-page site with service, area, and proof pages are different projects. Each genuinely useful page adds research, writing, design, and build time — which is why we plan the sitemap around real search intent first, and never pad the count. More pages only cost more when they earn more.
Who writes the content: Content is the most common budget variable. If you have strong copy ready, the build moves fast. If you need guided interviews, drafting, and revisions — which most busy owners do — that structured support is priced into the proposal openly rather than surfacing later as delay and frustration.
Conversion and proof systems: Review displays, case-study templates, before-and-after modules, and campaign landing flows take real design and engineering. They are also what separates a site that describes your business from one that sells it. We recommend them where the maths favours you, and skip them where it doesn't.
Custom functionality: Booking systems, quote calculators, customer portals, e-commerce, and integrations move a project into the platform band. Each is scoped precisely at discovery — what it does, what it connects to, what it costs — so functionality never appears on an invoice before it appeared in the plan.
Local SEO architecture: Ranking for one service in one town needs a modest structure. Competing across many services and communities — the way this site does — needs service pages, area pages, and internal linking built deliberately. The architecture is planned up front because retrofitting it later costs more than building it in.
Photography and imagery: Real photography of your work, team, and premises outperforms stock in trust and conversion. If you have it, we use it well. If you don't, we'll say honestly whether stock is acceptable for launch or whether a small shoot is worth arranging before the design phase locks imagery in.
Migration complexity: Redesigns carry migration work a fresh build doesn't: auditing existing URLs, mapping redirects, preserving earning content, and verifying rankings survived the move. The complexity scales with the size and age of the old site — and skipping it is how redesigns silently destroy years of SEO.
Timeline: Standard scheduling is built into the ranges. A genuinely urgent launch — a season, an opening, a campaign date — can sometimes be accommodated by re-sequencing work, priced plainly if it requires overtime. We would rather quote an honest timeline than sell you a date we can't keep.
Ongoing programs: Local SEO, AI search optimization, and care plans are monthly scopes you can start, pause, or stop — you keep every page and asset either way. They're priced by the competitive ground being covered, reviewed quarterly, and reported in plain language against enquiries rather than vanity metrics.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a website cost for a small business in Cochrane?
Most launch websites for Cochrane small businesses run $2,500–$5,000. Full custom builds with conversion strategy, content support, and local SEO architecture run $5,000–$12,000, and e-commerce or platform builds start around $12,000. Every project gets a written, itemised proposal within one business day — the range narrows to a number before you commit to anything.
Why do website prices vary so much between providers?
Because different things are being sold under one word. A $500 website is template assembly; a $5,000 website should include strategy, custom design, performance engineering, and an SEO foundation; agency builds above $20,000 usually add research depth, content production, and integrations. The honest way to compare providers is line by line against a written scope — which is why ours is itemised.
Are there ongoing costs after a website launches?
Yes, and they should be small and transparent: hosting and care from $59/month covers managed hosting, SSL, monitoring, backups, updates, and routine content changes. Optional growth programs — local SEO from $600/month, AI search optimization from $450/month — are separate choices, not requirements. There are no surprise renewals and no licence stack; you own the site either way.
Is a $2,500 website actually worth it for a local business?
Run the maths on your own numbers: if your average customer is worth $500, a site that wins five customers has paid for itself — and a well-built local site works for years. The real question isn't the price, it's whether the build is engineered to win customers: conversion structure, local search visibility, and speed. A cheap site that wins nobody is the expensive option.
What does the 2026 free website build include?
One Cochrane business will be selected to receive a custom website build at no design or development cost in 2026. Hosting and infrastructure apply at cost, capped at $59/month. Selection is criteria-based — Cochrane connection, business impact, feasible scope, and readiness — not a random draw. Full eligibility and terms are published before you apply, and applying carries no obligation.
Do you offer payment plans for website projects?
Projects are milestone-billed by default — a deposit to schedule, then payments tied to approved stages, so you never pay ahead of visible progress. For launch-band projects we can usually structure the milestones across the build timeline to spread the investment. The structure is agreed in writing before the project starts.