What's Included in a $1,500 Website (Line by Line)

Last updated: September 2026

What's actually included in a $1,500 website? This is the line-by-line breakdown we give clients before they sign anything — no vague "custom solution" language, no surprise add-ons discovered in week 3. Every item below is a real deliverable in the Landing tier at Branding Zombie Designs, a graphic + web design studio in Cumming, GA.

If you've been quoted $300 on one end and $5,000+ on the other and can't tell what's actually different, this is written for you.

What's Included in a $1,500 Website, Line by Line

The $1,500 Landing tier is a focused 1-2 page site built for a single offer, a launch, or an owner who needs one credible page to send people to. Here's every deliverable:

• Custom design, not a template. Built around your brand and your customers — never a reskinned Squarespace or template-marketplace theme.
• 1-2 focused pages.Hero, services, and contact, all built to answer "who are you and how do I reach you" on one clean scroll.
• Mobile-first design, Core Web Vitals pass.Built for the phone first, since that's where most local traffic lands, and tuned to pass Google's speed and stability benchmarks.
• A contact form that actually reaches you. Wired straight to your inbox — no third-party form service quietly swallowing leads.
• On-page SEO foundation. Meta tags, headings, and page structure set up so Google has something real to index from day one.
• SSL, domain, and hosting setup.The technical plumbing handled — you don't need to know what any of that means.
• You own it on handoff. The domain, the site files, the content, and the accounts transfer into your name — no proprietary lock-in.

Landing tier sites typically go live in about 7 days. Across every tier — Landing through Growth — most Branding Zombie Designs sites launch in roughly 2-3 weeks, depending on scope. See the full lineup on the packages page or the web design service page.

Need more than 1-2 pages? The next tier up, Starter at $2,500, covers 5 pages and adds a CMS you can update yourself — same studio, same designer, no separate sales pitch.

What a $300 Website Usually Skips

A $300 template site isn't automatically a scam — but it's rarely apples-to-apples with a $1,500 custom build. What tends to get skipped:

• Real mobile testing."Looks fine on desktop" and "works well on a phone" are different claims, and phones are where most of your traffic actually is.
• Core Web Vitals performance work. A slow site quietly loses visitors before they see your offer — and Google notices too.
• Local SEO schema and structure.Without it, you're invisible to the local search signals Google actually weighs.
• A form that reaches your inbox reliably. Leads silently vanishing into a form nobody checks is a common, expensive failure.
• Real ownership on handoff.Cheap builds are often on a shared or template-locked account you don't fully control — closer to renting than owning.

What a $5,000+ Agency Website Adds — And Whether You Need It

On the other end, traditional agencies often quote $5,000+ and 8+ weeks for work that, functionally, isn't far from what a focused custom build delivers — the extra cost is frequently account managers, discovery workshops, and approval layers most small businesses don't need. A solo studio without that overhead can deliver comparable custom work faster and closer to cost. That gap widens further once you're paying for pages and features you'll never use.

The honest question isn't "cheap or expensive" — it's "what does my business actually need right now." A single-offer launch rarely needs a 10-page site with a booking portal. A growing multi-service business usually does.

After Launch: What Happens Next?

The site is yours the day it launches — full stop. If you'd rather not touch it again, that's fine; nothing further is required. If you want someone keeping it fresh — content updates, backups, small edits — optional website care plans start from $100/mo, no lock-in required.

Either way, you're not stuck. You own the domain and the files, so if you ever want to move the site or bring in someone else, you take it all with you.

Frequently Asked Questions

What do you actually get for a $1,500 website?

At Branding Zombie Designs, the $1,500 Landing tier is a custom-designed 1-2 page site with hero, services, and contact sections, mobile-first design that passes Core Web Vitals, a contact form wired to your inbox, on-page SEO foundation, and SSL, domain, and hosting setup — live in about 7 days.

Is a $1,500 website enough for a small business?

For a single-offer business, a launch, or an owner who needs one credible page to send people to, yes. If you need multiple service pages, a blog, or a CMS you update yourself, the $2,500 Starter tier (5 pages) is the better fit — it's the next step up, not a different company.

What do cheap $300 websites usually skip?

Cheap template sites commonly skip real mobile testing, Core Web Vitals performance work, local SEO schema, a contact form actually wired to your inbox, and any handoff or ownership transfer — you're often left renting a template account you don't fully control.

Do I own the website after I pay for it?

Yes. You own the domain, the site files, the content, and the accounts. On handoff everything transfers into your name — no proprietary lock-in, no vendor-hostage scenarios if you ever want to move it or hire someone else.

Why do agencies charge $5,000+ for a similar-sounding website?

Traditional agencies often quote 8+ weeks because they're managing account managers, discovery workshops, and layers of approval most small businesses don't need. A solo studio with a tight process can deliver comparable custom work faster and at a fraction of the overhead cost.

What happens to my website after it launches?

It's yours to keep running as-is, or you can add a monthly care plan starting at $100/mo if you'd rather hand off updates, backups, and small edits. There's no requirement to sign up for ongoing care — the site works and belongs to you either way.

Written by Gerry Betancourt, solo owner of Branding Zombie Designs. Based in Cumming, GA. Bilingual (English/Spanish), building logos, websites, signage, and apparel for small businesses across Forsyth County and North Metro Atlanta since 2015. Text or call (770) 744-2536.