Most small businesses treat the website as a one-off project and “marketing” as everything else. But your website is where nearly all your marketing sends people. Here’s how to think about a website marketing budget: how much to spend on marketing overall, how much of it your website deserves, and a simple example you can adapt.
A common starting point
7–8% of revenue on marketing
A widely used rule of thumb for established small businesses. Larger companies averaged 7.7% in 2025, according to Gartner.
Book a callYour website is part of your marketing budget
Ads, social media, Google, a flyer or a recommendation from a friend — almost every route to your business ends on your website. That makes it the place where marketing money either turns into enquiries or quietly leaks away.
If the website doesn’t convince people, every other channel works harder for less. Paying for ads that send visitors to a weak site is paying to watch them leave — I cover the usual reasons in why a website gets visitors but no enquiries.
How much should a small business spend on marketing?
A common rule of thumb is 7–8% of revenue for established small businesses with healthy margins. Businesses that are new or growing fast often spend more for a while; businesses with thin margins usually spend less.
For comparison, Gartner’s 2025 survey of around 400 marketing leaders — mostly at large companies — found marketing budgets averaged 7.7% of company revenue. Treat these numbers as a starting point for your own plan, not a rule you have to follow.
The three parts of a website budget
Building it
The design and build, paid once and then again every few years when the site needs a redesign. A professional website designed and built by me starts at €2,000 — here’s what that includes and what makes it cost more.
Running it
Domain, hosting, licences and maintenance — typically around €100–700 a year for a small business site before paid maintenance. The details are in ongoing website costs.
Bringing people to it
SEO, useful content, your Google Business Profile, ads, social media and email. This is usually the biggest and most flexible part of the budget, because it’s what brings new visitors in month after month.
How to split your budget between the website and everything else
There’s no reliable industry figure for what share of a marketing budget should go to the website, and it changes over time. It’s more useful to think in stages:
- Fix the foundation. If your site is missing, outdated or doesn’t bring in enquiries, put a bigger share into building it properly first.
- Grow the traffic. Once the site converts, move most of the budget to bringing people in, and keep a small, steady amount for improvements.
- Keep it running. Budget the running costs every year, whatever stage you’re in.
A simple website budget example
Take a local business with €200,000 a year in revenue that spends 7% on marketing. That’s about €14,000 a year. In a year with a new website, it might look like this:
Item
Amount
Website build or redesign
Once, every few years
€2,000–4,000
Running costs
Every year
€100–700
Bringing people in
SEO, content, ads, social, email
€9,300–11,900
Total marketing budget
7% of €200,000
€14,000
In the following years, the build cost drops away and almost the whole budget can go into bringing people in. This is an example, not a recommendation — your numbers depend on your margins, your market and how much work your current site needs.
When a new website is a better investment than more ads
Spend on the website first if:
- Your website gets visitors but very few enquiries
- Ads get clicks, but the clicks don’t turn into customers
- The site is slow or awkward on phones
- It no longer describes what you actually do or charge
- You can’t update it yourself, so it’s always out of date
Common website budget mistakes
- Buying ads before the website converts. More visitors to a weak site means more money lost.
- Building a site and spending nothing on traffic. A great website nobody finds won’t bring in work.
- Choosing the cheapest build. Savings on the build are easily lost in missed enquiries.
- Forgetting the running costs. Domain, hosting and updates are small, but they don’t stop.
- Never measuring. Without counting enquiries, you can’t tell what’s working.
How to tell if your website budget is working
You don’t need complex tools. Track three things each month:
- Enquiries — calls, form messages and bookings
- Where they came from — Google, ads, social or word of mouth
- Cost per enquiry — your marketing spend divided by the number of enquiries
Frequently asked questions
How much should a small business spend on a website?
A professional website designed and built by me starts at €2,000, plus running costs of roughly €100–700 a year. On top of that, plan a budget to bring people to the site, such as SEO, content or ads.
What percentage of a marketing budget should go to the website?
There’s no fixed percentage. In a year when you build or fix the website, it takes a bigger share. Once it converts well, most of the budget should go to bringing people in, with a small amount kept for improvements.
Should I spend money on ads or a new website first?
If your current website doesn’t turn visitors into enquiries, fix the website first. Otherwise you pay for every click and lose most of them.
Is a website a marketing expense?
For planning, yes: it’s the base all your other marketing depends on. How it’s treated in your accounts is a question for your accountant.
How often should a website be redesigned?
When it stops doing its job rather than on a fixed schedule: when enquiries drop, it no longer reflects your business, or it works poorly on phones. For many small businesses, that’s every few years.
Plan your website budget with me
On a short call, we can look at your current website, what it should bring in, and how to split your budget between building it and bringing people to it.
Sources: Gartner 2025 CMO Spend Survey, as reported by Marketing Brew and MarTech. The 7–8% figure is a widely used rule of thumb for small businesses, not an official standard.
