A website redesign for a small business costs about the same as building a new site, because on a small site it's mostly the same work: design, build, and moving the content in. Most redesign cost guides you'll find are written for large company sites, with prices to match. A five-page site is a different job, and these are the numbers for that job.
- Do it yourself on a website builder: the builder's plan, from about $18 to $30 a month billed yearly for a basic plan, plus your own time.
- Hire a freelancer: usually billed by the hour or by the project. Web developers and digital designers in the US earned a median of $47.85 an hour in 2025, so the total depends on how many hours the redesign takes.
- Work with a studio that builds and looks after it: I charge the same as a new site, $2,500 or $250 a month for 18 months, and my $200 review comes off if you start there.
Why a redesign costs about the same as a new site
It's tempting to think a redesign should be cheaper because the site already exists. On a small site, it rarely is. The parts that cost money are the same either way:
- Design. Every page gets a new layout, built for phones first.
- Build. On a new platform, the pages are built from scratch. Little of an old theme carries over.
- Content. The text and photos still have to be moved in, checked and fitted to the new design.
What a redesign saves is the writing, when the existing text is good enough to keep. What it adds is the move: mapping old addresses to new ones so you don't lose the places Google already sends people.
- Review the site
- Decide what to keep
- Rebuild
- Move content and redirect
- Launch and check
Review the current site, decide what to keep, rebuild, move the content and redirect old addresses, then launch and check.
Path 1: redesign it yourself on a builder
Website builders let you pick a new template and move your content in yourself. As listed on Squarespace's pricing page and Wix's plans page in October 2026, billed yearly, Squarespace Basic is $19 a month and Core $29, and Wix Light is $17.77 a month and Core $29.77.
The plan is the small part. The real cost is your time: choosing a template, rebuilding every page, moving the text and photos, and setting up redirects for any old address that changes. Some builders handle redirects in their settings, but someone still has to list every old address and map it.
This path makes sense when the site is small, you're comfortable with the builder, and nothing on the current site brings much search traffic yet.
Path 2: hire a freelancer
Freelancers price redesigns by the hour or as a project. A quote goes up with:
- More pages, and pages with unique layouts.
- Rewriting the text instead of moving yours.
- A platform move, with content migration and redirects.
- Features: booking, payments, an online store, a second language.
Before you compare quotes, check that each one includes the redirects and the move itself. A quote that only covers "new design" leaves the riskiest part to you. Before you hire, go through the questions to ask a web designer.
What drives the price of a redesign
| Cost driver | Why it costs more |
|---|---|
| Number of pages | Each page needs a new layout, its content moved in and its address mapped |
| Content that needs rewriting | Writing is usually the slowest part of any website |
| A platform move | Everything has to be rebuilt and every old address checked |
| Pages that bring search traffic | They need careful redirects and their text kept, so you don't lose them |
| Booking, payments or a store | They connect to other services and need setup and testing |
| A second language | Every page, button and email exists twice |
| Photos | New photos mean a photographer, or time finding usable ones |
The first question that changes a quote is simple: how many pages does the new site need? Many old sites have pages nobody visits. Cutting them before the redesign saves money and makes the site clearer.
Refresh, redesign or rebuild: how the cost compares
The three words get used loosely, but they're different jobs:
| What changes | Relative cost | |
|---|---|---|
| Refresh | New text, photos or colors on the same site and software | The least of the three |
| Redesign on the same platform | New layouts and structure, same software | Most of a new build, without the move |
| Redesign on a new platform | Everything is rebuilt, the content moved and old addresses redirected | About the same as a new site |
If your site's structure and software are fine, a refresh may be all you need. If you can't edit the site, it's slow on phones, or it runs on software nobody updates, a refresh just repaints the problem.
When a cheap redesign ends up costing more
A low redesign quote can be a good deal. It can also leave out the parts that protect what you already have. Watch for:
- No redirects. The new site launches, the old addresses stop working, and the pages Google used to show disappear from search. Google recommends permanent redirects for any page that moves.
- No content migration. You get an empty template and the job of moving every page yourself.
- A site you can't edit. If every change still needs the designer, you've paid for a new look on the same old problem.
- No plan for afterwards. Nobody updating the new site means you'll be back to the same signs in a few years.
The costs people miss
- Redirects and checks. Google recommends keeping redirects for at least a year after a move, and someone has to set them up and test them.
- A dip in search traffic. Google says visibility "may fluctuate temporarily during the move". Plan the launch away from your busiest season.
- New subscriptions. A new booking tool, form service or app can each add a monthly fee.
- The domain. If someone else controls it, getting it back can cost time and money. Keep it in your own name.
- Maintenance afterwards. A new site still needs updates and changes. Count the monthly cost from the start, since maintenance plans differ a lot in what they include.
Redesign or fix what you have?
Sometimes the cheaper answer is not to redesign. If the site works on phones, loads fast and you can update it, new photos and clearer text may be all it needs. If the problem is that nobody looks after it, a maintenance plan costs far less than a redesign. The signs it's time for a redesign can help you decide.
How to get an accurate quote
Send these with your request and any quote you get will be closer to the real number:
- The address of your current site, and which pages you want to keep.
- What's wrong with it now, in a few sentences.
- Which pages bring visitors, if you have Google Search Console set up.
- Whether you'll provide the text or need it written.
- Any features you need: booking, payments, a second language.
- Who controls the domain and the hosting today.
Paying for it: upfront or monthly
Some designers charge the whole redesign upfront, some split it, and some offer a monthly plan that bundles the build and the upkeep. Monthly plans are easier on cash flow, but read three things before you sign:
- The minimum term, and what you owe if you leave early.
- When the website becomes yours, and whether you can take it with you.
- What the monthly fee covers after the build is paid off: hosting, updates, changes, or just hosting.
The same questions apply to any web designer's quote, redesign or not.
My price for a redesign
I price a redesign the same as a new site:
- Pay upfront: $2,500 for the build, then $100 a month for care.
- Pay monthly: $250 a month for 18 months, which covers the build and care, then $100 a month.
That includes rebuilding the site on my setup and moving your existing text and photos into the new design, for up to five pages. I keep your addresses wherever the page still exists and redirect any that have to change. Extra pages are $300 each, and if the text itself needs rewriting, that's the $750 copywriting add-on.
Most redesigns start with my Website & SEO review ($200): a written list of what's holding the current site back, in order. If you go ahead with the redesign, the $200 comes off. On the upfront plan, that makes the build $2,300. Everything is on my services page, and after launch the site can join my care plan.
To compare a redesign with a builder or a freelancer over three years, use the three-year cost calculator.
Questions people ask about redesign costs
Is a redesign cheaper than a new website? On a small site, not by much. The design, build and content work are mostly the same. A redesign saves the writing when your current text is good, and adds the work of moving addresses.
Why do redesign prices online look so high? Most published ranges are for large company sites with dozens or hundreds of pages, custom features and a team. A five-page small business site is a much smaller job.
Can I redesign in stages? Yes. Launch the main pages first and add the rest in a second round, as long as every old address is either kept or redirected at launch.
Does a redesign include new content? Usually it includes moving your existing content. Writing new text is often priced separately, so check the quote.
How long does a redesign take? About as long as a new site. Here's the week-by-week timeline.
