Website cost guide · California
How much does a website cost in California?
What a small-business website costs in California in 2026, how the state's sales tax law treats custom web work, and the California privacy and civil rights rules to check before you sign a quote.
The short answer
Website prices for California businesses
For a small business in California, a website of up to 5 pages on a premium WordPress theme starts at $799 with us and takes about 15 days. A custom-coded site of up to 8 pages, built in Astro, Next.js or React, starts at $1,999 and takes about 4 weeks. Fixing an existing site starts at $249, and looking after it costs $49 a month. Before you compare quotes, ask each studio to list custom work apart from any theme or plugin licenses, because California's sales tax law treats them differently.
- 01 · Basic Website
- $799
- 02 · Business Website
- $1,999
- 03 · Website Fix & Speed-up
- $249
- 04 · Website Care Plan
- $49
Our usual starting prices in USD. You get a written quote before any work starts, and the price we agree is the price you pay.
Official figures · California
California in numbers
Figures from California's own agencies that change what a website should include, and what it can cost you to get it wrong.
- Small businesses in California
- 4.3 million
- The state's small business office counts 4.3 million small businesses in its report covering fiscal years 2021–22 to 2024–25, over 99.8% of all California businesses. Expect a crowded local search market, so a fast site with clear service pages matters more than decoration.
- Official source California Office of the Small Business Advocate · CalOSBA Annual Report FY 2021/22–2024/25
- Statewide sales and use tax rate
- 7.25%
- This is California's statewide rate, as listed with the rates in effect from October 1, 2026; your city or county rate can be higher. Whether it applies to a website depends on what the quote contains, so check your local rate on the CDTFA site if any line is taxable.
- Official source CDTFA · California City & County Sales & Use Tax Rates
- CCPA revenue threshold
- $26.625 million
- Since January 1, 2025, a for-profit business with gross annual revenue at or above this amount in the prior calendar year is covered by the CCPA. If you are covered, privacy links and opt-out handling belong in the website brief.
- Official source California Privacy Protection Agency · CCPA Updates (CPI adjustment)
- CCPA fine per violation
- $2,663
- From January 1, 2025, administrative fines are up to $2,663 per violation or $7,988 per intentional violation. A missing opt-out link repeated across many visitors is the kind of gap worth fixing at build time.
- Official source California Privacy Protection Agency · CCPA Updates (CPI adjustment)
- Minimum Unruh Act damages
- $4,000
- California's Civil Rights Department says a business that violates the Unruh Civil Rights Act faces no less than $4,000 in statutory damages for each offense. Disability is one of the protected grounds, so accessibility testing is worth paying for.
- Official source California Civil Rights Department · Discrimination at Business Establishments
Only in California
California rules to check before you buy a website
These are California's own rules, on top of the federal ones in our US guide. They are pointers for your questions, not legal or tax advice.
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§1
Custom web work and sales tax
California's Revenue and Taxation Code section 6010.9 says the design, development and writing of a custom computer program, one prepared to the customer's special order, is not a "sale" for sales tax, but a prewritten ("canned") program held for general or repeated sale is not custom. A website quote can mix both, for example custom code plus paid theme or plugin licenses. Ask each studio to show custom work and licenses on separate lines, and check with the CDTFA if you are unsure.
Official source CDTFA · Business Taxes Law Guide, Revenue and Taxation Code § 6010.9 -
§2
Who the CCPA covers
The California Consumer Privacy Act applies to a for-profit business that collects consumers' personal information, does business in California and meets one threshold: gross annual revenue of $26.625 million or more in the prior calendar year (from January 1, 2025), buying, selling or sharing the personal information of 100,000 or more California residents or households, or earning 50% or more of its annual revenue from selling or sharing it. Check which side of these lines you are on before you write the brief.
Official source California Privacy Protection Agency · Frequently Asked Questions -
§3
What a CCPA-covered website must show
The California Privacy Protection Agency says covered businesses must link their privacy policy using the word "privacy" on the homepage, in most cases show a link such as "Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information" or "Your Privacy Choices" in the header or footer, and honor opt-out preference signals such as Global Privacy Control. If you are covered, ask the studio how the cookie banner, analytics and ad tags will respect these choices.
Official source California Privacy Protection Agency · Frequently Asked Questions -
§4
The Unruh Civil Rights Act and accessibility
The Unruh Civil Rights Act applies to "all business establishments of every kind whatsoever" in California and lists mental and physical disability among its protected grounds; the Civil Rights Department says remedies include no less than $4,000 in statutory damages. Ask any studio which accessibility standard it builds and tests to, such as WCAG 2.2 AA, and have that written into the quote.
Official source California Civil Rights Department · Discrimination at Business Establishments -
§5
Free advice from state-funded centers
California's Office of the Small Business Advocate has run the Capital Infusion Program, which gave the state's Small Business Development Centers $3 million a year from 2021–22 to 2024–25 for technical assistance, capital readiness and access-to-finance counseling. Funding changes from year to year, so check what your nearest center offers now before you budget for a new site.
Official source California Office of the Small Business Advocate · CalOSBA Annual Report FY 2021/22–2024/25
This is a builder's checklist, not legal or regulatory advice. Guidance changes, so check your regulator's current pages; we build the pages it asks for and make them easy for you to keep up to date.
What moves the price
Six things that decide the cost
Storvexa Your quote, line by line
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01
Pages and content
Five pages cost less than twenty. Writing the copy, finding photos and moving content from an old site all take time, so say up front who supplies them.
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02
Theme or custom code
A premium WordPress theme is the quickest and cheapest route. A site written in our own code costs more, loads faster and has no page-builder plugins to keep updating.
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03
What the site has to do
A contact form is simple. Online booking, payments, client logins or a shop each add work, because each has to be built, tested and kept safe.
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04
Languages and markets
Every extra language means translated pages and its own search setup. Prices in more than one currency add a little more.
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05
Connections to your tools
Linking the site to a CRM, a booking calendar, an accounting tool or a payment provider is quoted per connection, after we have seen what the tool allows.
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06
Speed and search work
Basic Google setup comes with every site. Full on-page SEO, a Google Business Profile and analytics come with the custom-coded package.
Total In your written quote, before any work starts
FAQ · 06
Questions from California businesses
Asked before anyone asks for a quote.
Ask us anything elseWebsite cost by place
Other state and regional guides
Get a written quote for your California business
Tell us what your business needs. You get a fixed, written quote in US dollars, a call in Pacific time if you want one, and custom work and any licenses listed on separate lines.