Field Notes · No. 001

What a website actually costs in the Triangle (2026): honest numbers

BRETT HOWELL · TRIANGLE SITES · AUGUST 17, 2026 · 6 MIN READ

If you've asked around about getting a website built in Raleigh, Durham, or Chapel Hill, you've probably heard numbers that don't agree with each other at all. A neighbor's cousin quoted $600. An agency quoted $7,500. A builder tool says free. Everyone is telling the truth — they're just describing different things. Here's the map.

The four ways Triangle businesses buy websites

Route	Upfront	Monthly	What you actually get
Local agency	$3,600–$8,000+	$150–$500	Full service, 6–12 week timeline, often a 12-month contract
Freelancer	$1,200–$4,500	varies	Quality varies with the freelancer; support often disappears
DIY builder (Wix, etc.)	$0	$10–$40	Your weekends, template look, SEO and copy are on you
Triangle Sites	$495 flat	$59, cancel anytime	Finished homepage shown free first; copy, hosting, edits, local SEO included

Why agency quotes start at $3,600

Triangle agencies aren't gouging — they're carrying offices, project managers, and sales cycles, and their process is built for $20k projects even when yours is a five-page site. You're paying for their structure, not just your website. For some businesses that's worth it. For a plumber who needs the phone to ring, it usually isn't.

Why "free" builders cost the most for busy owners

The builder is free the way a pile of lumber is a free house. The template is the easy 20%. The copywriting, the Google Business Profile work, the mobile testing, the backups, the "why does my map pin show the old address" afternoons — that's the 80%, and it lands on you, forever.

What you should actually pay attention to

Whatever route you choose, three questions sort the good deals from the traps: Do you see the design before you're committed? Who owns the site if you leave? What does an edit cost in month eight? Any honest provider answers all three in one sentence each. If the answers take a meeting, that's an answer too.