What does a website cost?

Three tiers, priced upfront: a Brochure Site is $1,800, the Growth Site is $4,500, and Custom / E-Commerce starts at $8,500 with a fixed written quote before we build. No long-term contracts.

How fast can you actually launch?

Brochure Sites target 7 days, Growth Sites 14, custom builds 21. You see working pages in the first week, not a mockup that sits in review for a month.

Is the price on the page the final price?

For a Brochure or Growth Site as scoped, yes, it is a flat one-time price. Custom work starts at $8,500 and is quoted in writing after the discovery call, which is why we scope it with you rather than sell it off a number.

What is the AI follow-up, exactly?

Instant replies to new leads, follow-up sequences, appointment booking, and phone answering that picks up the calls you would otherwise miss. It is the same system that took Cache Estate from 1–2 leads a month to 4 a day.

Do you handle updates after launch?

Yes. Ongoing edits plus the automation layer keep running and get tuned as the business changes, with a short monthly report so you know what is working.

Palm Desert, California: 77824 Wildcat Drive, Palm Desert, CA 92211. Most clients are in the Coachella Valley and Southern California, and we work with businesses across the US.

Is the cheapest option the best option?

Not usually. A DIY builder is cheapest up front but costs you every month forever and locks your content inside its platform. The real comparison is total cost over 2-3 years plus what a slow or generic site costs you in leads that go to a competitor instead.

Should I hire an agency or a freelancer?

A freelancer can be great for a small, well-defined job with a single skill set. An agency makes more sense when you need design, copy, and technical build handled together, or when you want one team accountable for the whole result.

What questions should I ask before signing anything?

Ask for a fixed price in writing, a real launch date, who specifically will build the site, whether lead follow-up or AI automation is included or extra, and what happens to your site and content if you ever want to leave.

A straight answer, not a sales pitch

How to choose a web design agency.

The best web design agency for your business is the one that gives you a fixed price, a real launch date, and a plan for what happens to your leads after the site goes live. Here is what actually separates an agency, a freelancer, a DIY builder, and where Mission Hub fits, so you can compare with real information instead of a pitch deck.

Written by Lucas Harris, CEO & Lead Architect at Mission Hub. Last updated September 2026.

Fixed price vs. an hourly clock

A typical agency retainer runs on billed hours with no ceiling — the invoice grows with every revision round. A flat, one-time price (what a Brochure or Growth Site costs) means the number you agreed to is the number you pay, full stop.

A real timeline, not "it depends"

Ask any agency for a launch date before you sign. Many won’t give one. A build that targets a specific day (7, 14, or 21 days depending on scope) is either honest about scope or padding the estimate — you find out fast which one you’re dealing with.

What happens after launch

A site that just sits there loses to one that answers the phone, texts back, and books the call. Ask specifically whether follow-up automation is included or a separate line item — most agencies treat it as an upsell, if they offer it at all.

Who actually owns the site

DIY builders (Squarespace, Wix) lock your site inside their platform — leave, and you rebuild from zero. A custom build on your own domain and hosting means you can take the code and go if the relationship ever ends.

Side by side

Agency vs. freelancer vs. DIY.

“Typical” here means the industry-standard pattern for each category, not any one named company. Mission Hub’s column is what we actually do, priced on our own pricing page.

Factor	Typical Agency	Freelancer	DIY Builder	Mission Hub
Pricing model	Hourly retainer, often uncapped	Varies widely, rarely fixed	Monthly subscription, forever	Flat, one-time (from $1,800)
Typical timeline	4-8+ weeks, loose estimate	Depends on their availability	Days, but you build it yourself	7-21 days, a real target date
Who builds it	A rotating account team	One person, one skill set	You, from a template	A dedicated build lead
Lead follow-up / AI included	Rarely, usually a separate vendor	Not typically offered	Third-party plugin required	Available as part of the build
You own the code	Sometimes, check the contract	Usually yes	No — locked to their platform	Yes, your domain and hosting

Worth asking first.

Where Mission Hub fits

A fixed price, a real date, and follow-up that doesn’t stop at launch.

That is the whole pitch. See the actual tiers and prices, or talk it through on a free 30-minute call, no pressure either way.

See pricing