With me, a complete law firm website costs $1,999, fixed. That covers a custom design, every page you need including the legal pages, SEO built in, and one month of support after launch.
What law firm websites cost across the market
Across the market, a law firm website costs roughly $1,000 to $7,000 for a small firm built by a freelancer or small studio, $7,000 to $25,000+ for a fully custom agency build, and $15 to $500 a month if you go the template or leased route. The build price is rarely what decides whether it was money well spent. What decides it is who owns the site when you stop paying, and whether it brings in consultations.
I build WordPress sites for small businesses, law firms included, and the question I get asked most by attorneys is not “how much”. It is “why did the last one cost so much and do so little”. This page answers both.
Law firm website cost by type of build
| Option | Typical cost | What you get | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| DIY template (Wix, Squarespace and similar) | $15 to $100+ a month | A template you fill in yourself | Solo practice testing the water |
| Freelancer or small studio | $1,000 to $7,000 one-time | 5 to 15 pages, practice area pages, attorney bios, contact and intake | Solo and small firms, 1 to 10 attorneys |
| Specialist legal web agency | $7,000 to $25,000+ one-time | Fully custom design, larger content builds, strategy | Mid-size firms, competitive practice areas |
| Leased site from a legal marketing vendor | Monthly fee, often on a contract | A site bundled with hosting, directory listings or ads | Firms that want one vendor for everything |
What actually drives the price
Two law firm sites can look similar and differ in price by five times. These are the things that move it.
- Number of practice area pages. This is the biggest single factor. A firm with three practice areas needs three strong pages. A personal injury firm targeting twelve injury types and four cities needs dozens, and each one should be written properly, not cloned with the city name swapped.
- Who writes the copy. If you supply the text, the build gets cheaper. If the developer or a legal copywriter writes it, expect that to be a significant part of the bill, and it is usually worth it.
- Custom design versus a well-built template. A custom design costs more and is not always better. A clean, fast, accessible template customised to your brand beats an expensive design that loads slowly on a phone.
- Intake and integrations. A plain contact form is simple. Routing enquiries into your case management system, booking consultations, or qualifying leads by case type adds time.
- Accessibility. Law firms are a common target for website accessibility complaints in the US. Building to WCAG 2.2 AA from the start costs less than fixing it after a demand letter.
- Bilingual content. A Spanish version of a site is not a translation plugin. Each page needs to be written properly in both languages.
The monthly costs nobody quotes you
The build is a one-time number. These are the ongoing ones, and they add up over three years more than people expect.
- Hosting: a few dollars to a few hundred a month. A small firm site does not need the expensive end.
- Domain: around $20 a year.
- Maintenance: updates, backups, security and small changes. Either a care plan or occasional paid hours. I run care plans from $49 a month.
- Premium plugins or licences: forms, backups, page builder licences, usually tens to low hundreds a year.
- Marketing: SEO, ads and content are separate from the website itself, and are where most legal marketing budgets actually go.
The lease trap: check who owns your site
This is the part that costs firms the most, and it rarely shows up in the price.
Some legal marketing vendors provide the website as part of a monthly package. That can be convenient. But read the contract for three things before you sign, or before you renew:
- Who owns the design and the content. On some agreements the firm owns its text but not the site it lives in. Leave, and the site goes with the vendor.
- Who controls the domain. Your domain should be registered in the firm’s name, on an account you can log into. If it is not, that is the first thing to fix, whatever else you decide.
- What happens to your rankings when you leave. Years of search visibility are tied to your pages and URLs. If those pages disappear when the contract ends, so does much of that visibility.
I am not saying never use a vendor. I am saying the cheapest-looking monthly fee can be the most expensive option over five years if you end up rebuilding from zero when you leave. A site you own outright, on hosting in your name, is boring and safe. That is the point.
What a law firm website needs, whatever you spend
Spending more does not fix a site that is missing these. Spending less is fine if it has them.
- One page per practice area, written for the client’s problem, not your credentials. “Injured in a truck accident in Houston” beats “Commercial Vehicle Litigation”.
- Attorney bios that read like people, with photos, admissions, and why they do this work. Prospective clients read these before they call.
- A phone number and consultation button visible on every screen, especially on mobile, where most first visits happen.
- Load time under about two seconds on a phone. Someone searching after an accident is not waiting.
- Accessible design: readable contrast, keyboard navigation, proper headings, alt text.
- Basic technical SEO: clean URLs, one clear title per page, structured data for the firm and its attorneys, and a Google Business Profile that matches the site exactly.
- Reviews and results you are allowed to show, within your state bar’s advertising rules.
How to tell if a quote is fair
Ask every developer or agency the same questions and compare the answers, not just the totals.
- Is the price fixed, and what exactly is included?
- Will I own the site, the content and the domain outright?
- Who writes the practice area pages?
- Will it pass Core Web Vitals on mobile, and how will you show me?
- Is it built to WCAG 2.2 AA?
- What does it cost per month after launch, and what happens if I stop paying?
- Can I edit the text myself without breaking the layout?
A good provider answers all seven in plain language without hedging. If the answer to “will I own it” needs a follow-up call, that is your answer.
If you are still building a shortlist, I grouped the main options by firm size in best law firm website design companies.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a small law firm website cost?
For a solo or small firm, most fall between $1,000 and $7,000 for the build when done by a freelancer or small studio, plus hosting and maintenance. Specialist agencies typically start higher, from around $7,000 to $15,000 and up for custom work. My complete law firm website package is a fixed $1,999, including all pages, legal pages, SEO and one month of support.
Is WordPress good for law firm websites?
Yes, for most firms. It is widely supported, you own it, any competent developer can maintain it, and it handles practice area pages, attorney bios and blogs well. The quality depends on how it is built, not on WordPress itself.
How long does a law firm website take to build?
A small firm site usually takes three to six weeks, depending mostly on how quickly content and approvals come in. Writing the practice area pages is often the slowest part.
Should a law firm pay monthly for a website?
Paying monthly for hosting and maintenance is normal. Paying monthly for a site you never own is a different thing. Check the contract for ownership of the design, content and domain before you commit.
Can I move my law firm website away from my current provider?
Usually yes, if you control the domain and can export your content. Plan the move with redirects from old URLs to new ones so you do not lose search visibility. That is the same work as any site migration.
Want a fixed quote for your firm?
A complete, SEO-ready law firm website is $1,999 with me, legal pages and one month of support included. See how I approach law firm website development, or send me your current site and the practice areas you want to grow. You will get a clear list of what is included, and a straight answer on whether you need a rebuild at all.
