Generally, it cost you nothing much ($0) to a bit much ($1500+), but that totally depends on you, the choices you make to build your website will determine the cost of it.
Let’s start with the basic necessities of a website. Whatever website you want to build, there are some basic requirements for every website i.e. Domain Name & Hosting.
Though most people prefer to have their own brand name or self-name for their website and they purchase that Domain Name without getting worried about the money, coz it’s worth to them. On the other hand, if you don’t have that money right now or don’t want to spend too early in this new thing, then what is good for you right now is to go with a subdomain with any of these websites named WORDPRESS.COM, WIX.COM, WEEBLY.COM or BLOGGER.COM. These sites provide free subdomain, free hosting and free tools to edit and manage your website, and for example, if you choose WORDPRESS.COM then your website URL will look like this “your_choosen_name.WORDPRESS.COM”. These sites will give you several designs to choose for your new website with many fancy options like the image slider, video player, audio player, contact form, newsletter, analytics, and many other cool features.
Though you get most of it for free, there are several drawbacks in hosting your website on these sites. The major drawback is that you never own your website. Yes, it is clear in their terms and conditions that the subdomain you’ll get from these websites is their property which you use in a limited access and boundaries and can never own it, yet you can choose to transfer the website on your own domain later, but you have to host it onto their servers only and have to purchase their monthly or annual hosting plans. Plus they will put their own ads on your website wherever they want and you can’t do anything in that. So, if you are not planning to be on a free subdomain for long, then it is a good shot for you right now else you’ll pay it later to them. If you have chosen subdomain over your own Domain Name, you can quit reading here, as your all purposes are fulfilled… or if you are going with your own Domain Name, let’s continue reading.
After choosing between domain and subdomain next big thing is the Hosting. So, hosting is a space on the internet where all your files and code will be available to the world. Hosting generally cost more than domain and its price depends on the type of hosting you select for your website. If we stick to our current situation then, for a 5-page website you don’t need much space and resources. I would suggest you go with a shared hosting plan on GoDaddy that will cost you around $40 – $50 annually.
Finally, after purchasing all basic necessities this is the time to upload all the HTML & CSS files to the server and let the whole world see your amazing website. But, if your website is not ready yet and you are familiar with HTML & CSS and can design your website yourself and don’t need any individual or company to build your website for you, you can quit reading here… but if you need someone to do that for you, let’s continue reading.
So, here I assume that you don’t know anything about coding and designing a web page in HTML & CSS and doesn’t even want to know, going with this fact, the only choice you will be left with is to hire an individual (web developer/designer) or make a contract with any local web designing company to build the website for you.
If you can spend a good money on designing your website, I probably suggest you go with any local web designing company in your city instead of hiring an individual, coz they’ll give you really good work in return and it’s worth paying more for good work which doesn’t collapse later. But, if you want to spend less money, you’d probably go for any individual (web developer/designer) in your area or you can use many popular freelancing platforms like Up-Work, Freelancer and Fiverr. There are so many individuals and small companies on these websites from all around the world, who would love to bid on your job post as less as they can, coz there is throat cutting competition on these websites. Be aware of choosing the right person for building your website, as there are many people on these freelancing platforms who don’t know how to code and many people complain they got shit of their money and sometimes they just left you in the middle and you can’t do anything in that.
Hope you’d got the idea that it totally depends on your choice. Let me know your views in comments.