Our Services page gives a short list of what we do. This post goes further. It covers each service, what it typically costs, and how to tell which one fits your business.
We're Hive Web Design, a small studio in Missouri. We work with local businesses, small businesses and trade contractors. Everything below uses the same starting prices and typical ranges you'll find on our pricing page. Your written quote gives you the exact price.
The short version: typical prices
| Service | Starting price | Typical range |
|---|---|---|
| Starter website | From $2,500 | $2,500–4,000 |
| Custom business website | From $5,000 | $5,000–9,000 |
| Contractor website with bid alerts | About $1,500–2,000 setup | Plus $149–249/month |
| Web app (first version) | From $15,000 | $15,000–40,000 |
| Mobile app (first version) | From $25,000 | $25,000–60,000 |
| Business systems | Scoped per project | $10,000–50,000, or hourly |
| Care plans | From $75/month | Three plans: $75, $150 or $300/month |
Hourly work is $85/hr for web work and $100–110/hr for app and systems development.
Websites: starter or custom?
If you need a website, we offer two kinds.
Starter website
A starter website has up to about 5 pages. We take a design and adapt it to your business. It starts at $2,500, and the typical range is $2,500–4,000.
A starter site is a good fit if:
- You need a clear home for your business online, with the basics covered.
- Your content fits in a handful of pages, like home, services, about and contact.
- You'd rather keep the first spend lower and grow later.
Custom business website
A custom business website has 8 to 15 pages, a custom design, and a blog and CMS. It starts at $5,000, and the typical range is $5,000–9,000.
A custom site makes sense if:
- You have more to say than five pages can hold, such as several services or locations.
- You want a design made for your business from the ground up.
- You plan to publish news, tips or updates on a blog.
What moves the price
For any website, four things change the price most: the number of pages, custom versus adapted design, features (forms, logins, payments, integrations) and your deadline. If you're between the two options, tell us what you need and we'll point you to the one that fits.
One more thing to plan for: you supply the text for your site. We design and build around your words, so it helps to start gathering them early.
Contractor websites with bid alerts
This one is built for trade contractors. You get a website for your business plus a dashboard of public bids in your area, so you can see work that's open for bidding in one place.
Setup is about $1,500–2,000, then $149–249 a month.
It's a good fit if you're a trade contractor who wants a website and an easy way to see public bids in your area. The bid alerts use the same kind of public-bid monitoring we built for Opprio (more on that below).
Apps: web app or mobile app?
Some ideas need more than a website. If people will log in, do tasks, or pay inside your product, you may need an app. We build two kinds.
Web app
A web app project gets you the first working version of a web application, often called an MVP. Logins, payments and integrations are scoped per project. Web apps start at $15,000, and the typical range is $15,000–40,000.
Mobile app
A mobile app project gets you the first version of an app for iPhone and Android, built from one codebase. It starts at $25,000, and the typical range is $25,000–60,000.
It includes the first submission to the Apple App Store and Google Play. The store developer accounts are in your name, and you pay the store fees: Apple charges $99 a year and Google charges $25 one time.
How to choose
A few questions help:
- Do your customers need to find you in the App Store or Google Play? If yes, you'll want a mobile app, since it includes the first submission to both stores.
- Are you testing an idea first? A web app has the lower starting price ($15,000, compared with $25,000 for mobile) and gets you a first working version.
- What features do you need on day one? Logins, payments and connections to other tools all affect scope, so list them when you email us.
If you're not sure, describe what you want people to be able to do. We'll tell you which route fits in your written quote.
Business systems
Some problems are about how work moves through your business. Business systems work covers two things:
- Custom software built for how your business works.
- Connecting the systems you already use so they work together.
This work is scoped per project, typically $10,000–50,000, or billed hourly at $100–110/hr.
Systems work makes sense when your current tools don't fit the way you work, or when you're moving the same information between programs by hand. If that sounds familiar, write us a few lines about where the time goes. Smaller jobs can be billed hourly. Larger builds are scoped per project with a written quote.
Proof: Opprio
We designed and built Opprio end to end, from the data pipeline to the subscription site. Opprio watches federal, state and local contract and grant postings and alerts small businesses to the ones that fit them. It's built with Next.js, TypeScript and Postgres.
It's a good example of what a web app and systems work look like together: data coming in, a product people sign up for, and alerts going out.
Care plans: are they worth it?
After launch, a site needs upkeep. Software needs updates, backups need to run, and someone should notice if the site goes down. Our care plans cover that. They're optional, billed monthly, and you can cancel with 30 days' notice.
| Plan | Price | What's included |
|---|---|---|
| Essentials | $75/month | Hosting (fees billed separately), software and security updates, daily backups, uptime monitoring. Edits billed at $85/hr. |
| Standard | $150/month | Everything in Essentials, plus up to 1 hour of edits a month and a monthly automated broken-link check. |
| Priority | $300/month | Everything in Standard, plus up to 3 hours of edits a month (unused hours don't roll over), replies within 1 business day, and a quarterly report on site speed and search visibility. |
Which plan fits
- Essentials suits a site that rarely changes. You get the upkeep covered and pay for edits only when you need them.
- Standard suits a business that makes a small change most months, like new hours, a new photo or an updated price.
- Priority suits a business that changes its site often, wants faster replies, and wants a regular look at site speed and search visibility.
A simple way to decide: if you expect to need about an hour of edits a month, Standard covers it. On Essentials, that same hour is billed at $85.
Tip
Not sure you need a care plan? Ask yourself who will run updates, check backups and notice if the site goes down. If the answer is "no one," a care plan is worth a look.
Hosting: do it yourself or let us host
You have two choices.
Host it yourself. You can host your site on your own. Care plans are optional, and you can still buy one for updates and edits.
Let us host it. If we host your site, we bill the hosting fees, and you pay those plus your care plan fee. Your SSL certificate is part of the hosting fees.
If we host, your hosting, updates and backups all stay with us. Either way works. Pick the one that matches how hands-on you want to be.
How a project works
Every project follows the same four steps.
- Email us. Tell us what you need in a few lines through our contact form or by email.
- Written quote. We send a plain-English scope and an exact price by email.
- Build and review. You see the site as it's built and sign off on each page.
- Launch and upkeep. We launch it. If you choose a care plan, we keep it hosted, updated and backed up.
Everything happens in writing. You get clear answers, a record of every decision, and you can reply when it suits you.
Payment
- Projects under $10,000: 50% deposit to start, 50% at launch.
- Projects of $10,000 or more: paid in milestones, for example 30% / 40% / 30%.
- Hourly work: billed monthly, due in 15 days.
- Care plans: billed monthly, cancel with 30 days' notice.
You can pay by card or ACH through Stripe-hosted invoices. Your card details never touch our site.
Ready to find your fit?
You don't need to know which service you need before you write. Tell us about your business and what you want to get done, and we'll reply with a written quote. Send us a note through the contact form, or see all our rates on the pricing page.