A law firm website costs anywhere from about $17 a month on a DIY builder to $40,000 or more for a large-firm agency build. For most solo and small firms the realistic range is $1,000 to $9,000 over three years on a published-price platform, or roughly $3,000 to $25,000 up front for an agency design plus hosting. Every price below comes from the vendor’s own pricing page, read on November 14, 2026, and vendors that do not publish prices are marked “quote only.”
Short answer: Legal-specific website platforms publish prices from $82.50 a month (Justia, billed annually) to $1,249 a month (LawLytics Elite). Law firm web design agencies that publish prices start at $2,950 (The Modern Firm), about $3,000 for a first year (PaperStreet Essentials) and $40,000 for enterprise builds. FindLaw, Scorpion and Clio’s website builder are quote only.
How much does a law firm website cost in 2026?
Most cost guides you will find quote ranges from agencies with no named product behind them. This table does the opposite: each tier lists real vendors and the price they publish themselves. “Year 1” is what you pay in the first twelve months before content, photography or ads.
| Tier | Named example (published price) | Typical year 1 outlay | Who does the work | Best fit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DIY website builder | Squarespace Basic $19/mo, Core $29/mo billed annually; Wix Light $17/mo, Business $39/mo yearly; WordPress.com Business $25/mo billed annually | $204 to $468 in platform fees | You write, design and maintain it | New solo with time and a modest practice-area list |
| AI or done-for-you builder | B12 Website $20/mo yearly; Professional $169/mo yearly plus optional $1,999 setup | $240 to $4,027 | Software or B12’s team builds, you approve | Solo who wants intake and eSignature in one bill |
| Legal-specific platform | Justia from $82.50/mo paid annually; LawLytics Starter $99/mo, Growth $249/mo billed annually | $990 to $2,988 | Vendor hosts and supports, you or they add content | Solo or small firm that wants legal templates and support |
| Agency template or semi-custom | PaperStreet Essentials “around $3,000” total first year; The Modern Firm Simple from $2,950, Guided from $7,500 | $2,950 to $9,500+ | Agency designs, you supply or buy content | Small firm that needs a credible site fast |
| Custom agency build | PaperStreet Plus from $9,500, Custom $15,000 to $25,000+; The Modern Firm Custom from $17,500 | $9,500 to $25,000+ plus hosting | Agency brands, designs, often writes | Competitive practice areas, multi-attorney firms |
| Enterprise | PaperStreet Enterprise from $40,000 | $40,000+ | Agency team plus your marketing staff | Large firms with many attorneys, offices and practice areas |
| Bundled marketing vendors | FindLaw, Scorpion, Clio website builder (included only in the Elite plan) | Quote only | Vendor | Firms that want website and marketing on one contract |
Two notes on the agency rows. PaperStreet’s pricing page puts Custom at “starting at $15,000,” while its November 2025 pricing article says custom packages start at $18,000, so ask which number applies to your quote. And agency build prices usually exclude hosting: on WordPress, managed hosting such as WP Engine Essential is listed at $28 a month billed annually ($336) as first-year pricing for new customers.
Lawyer website cost per month: every published plan we could find
If you searched “lawyer website cost per month,” you are probably comparing subscription platforms. These are the plans whose prices are public. Monthly prices are the pay-monthly rate; “annual” is the per-month equivalent when billed yearly.
| Vendor and plan | Monthly billing | Annual billing (per month) | What the price covers | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wix Light / Core / Business | Not shown | $17 / $29 / $39 | Hosting, custom domain, free domain for 1 year on most yearly plans. Wix notes prices vary by location. | Nov 14, 2026 |
| Squarespace Basic / Core | $25 / $39 | $19 / $29 | Hosting, 1 year free domain on annual plans, lead capture tools on Core | Nov 14, 2026 |
| WordPress.com Business | $40 | $25 first year, then auto-renews at $28 | Managed WordPress, plugins, 50 GB storage | Nov 14, 2026 |
| B12 Website | $24 | $20 | AI-built site, custom domain free for year 1, invoicing | Nov 14, 2026 |
| B12 Website + Client Engagement | $78 | $67 | Adds client intake, contracts and eSignature, email marketing | Nov 14, 2026 |
| B12 Professional / Advanced | $199 / $399 | $169 / $339 | Done-for-you build with optional (Professional) or required (Advanced) $1,999 setup; extra design or copy work $75/hour | Nov 14, 2026 |
| Justia law firm websites | Not shown | From $82.50 | Exact price shown through Justia’s “Discover Your Price” calculator | Nov 9, 2026 (archived copy) |
| LawLytics Starter | $99 (month to month only) | n/a | Up to 10 pages, 14-day free trial | Nov 14, 2026 |
| LawLytics Growth / Pro / Elite | n/a | $249 / $499 / $1,249 | Up to 100 / 1,000 / 3,000 pages; one-year commitment; site import fee from $449 (waived during or within 90 days of the trial) | Nov 14, 2026 |
| Clio Elite (website builder included) | Quote only. Clio plans start at $49 per user per month, but the website builder is “Not included” on Starter, Core and Signature. | Website builder plus Clio Grow intake | Nov 14, 2026 | |
| FindLaw | Quote only (“Request a quote”) | Website design and hosting | Nov 14, 2026 | |
| Scorpion | Quote only | Website plus marketing services | Nov 14, 2026 | |
The pattern is clear: general builders sit between $17 and $40 a month, legal platforms between $82.50 and $1,249, and the bundled legal marketing vendors do not publish a number. When a vendor will not publish a price, ask for the monthly fee, the term length and the exit terms in writing before the demo ends.
Law firm website design cost: what you actually pay over three years
Sticker prices hide the real comparison. A $2,950 design and a $99-a-month platform are not the same product, and the only fair way to compare them is total cost over the life of the site. This is the cost model we built from the published prices above. It covers platform and build fees only, not content writing, photography or advertising.
| Option | Math (published prices) | 3-year total | What is not included |
|---|---|---|---|
| WordPress.com Business | $25 x 12 in year 1 + $28 x 24 at renewal | $972 | Design, writing, premium theme if bought |
| Squarespace Core (annual) | $29 x 36 | $1,044 | Domain renewal after year 1, design time |
| B12 Website + Client Engagement (annual) | $67 x 36 | $2,412 | Payment processing (2.9% + 30 cents per card transaction) |
| Justia (lowest published tier) | $82.50 x 36 | $2,970 | Higher tiers for larger firms (calculator) |
| LawLytics Starter (month to month) | $99 x 36 | $3,564 | Import fee from $449 if migrating outside the waiver window |
| B12 Professional + done-for-you setup | $169 x 36 + $1,999 | $8,083 | Changes beyond support at $75/hour |
| LawLytics Growth (annual) | $249 x 36 | $8,964 | Ads, outside SEO help |
| The Modern Firm Simple + WP Engine Essential | $2,950 build + $336 hosting in year 1 | $3,286 + years 2 and 3 hosting (renewal price not published) | Content (Simple assumes your content is ready) |
| PaperStreet Essentials | “Around $3,000” total first year incl. hosting, support, platform | $3,000 + years 2 and 3 (quote only) | Content if you do not bring your own |
| PaperStreet Custom | $15,000 to $25,000+ build | $15,000+ plus hosting (quote only) | Hosting and ongoing support terms |
How to use this model on your own quotes:
- Write down the build fee (one time).
- Add the monthly fee times 36. If year 1 is a discount, use the renewal price for months 13 to 36.
- Add any setup, import or migration fee.
- Add content: either your own hours at your effective hourly rate or the writer’s quote.
- Divide the total by 36. That is your real monthly cost, and it is the number to compare across vendors.
Worked example: an agency quotes a $4,500 build plus $150 a month for hosting and care. That is $4,500 + ($150 x 36) = $9,900 over three years, or $275 a month. LawLytics Growth at $249 a month billed annually ($8,964) costs less over the same period and includes hosting, but you are renting the platform rather than owning a WordPress site. Neither is automatically better. The point is to compare the same 36 months.
Is $1,000 a good price for a website?
For a law firm, $1,000 is a fair price for a platform subscription, not for a designed website. Here is what $1,000 buys at published prices:
- About four years of Squarespace Basic on annual billing ($19 x 12 = $228 a year), with the design and writing done by you.
- About one year of Justia at its lowest published tier ($82.50 x 12 = $990).
- Ten months of LawLytics Starter at $99 a month, up to 10 pages.
- Not quite half of B12’s $1,999 done-for-you setup fee, before the monthly plan.
It does not buy an agency build from any law firm agency that publishes prices: the lowest published agency starting points we found were $2,950 at The Modern Firm and “around $3,000” for a PaperStreet Essentials first year. If someone offers a complete custom law firm website for $1,000, ask who owns the site, who writes the practice-area pages, and what the hosting fee is after launch. Watch for a low build fee paired with a long monthly contract: The Modern Firm’s own pricing guide notes that many law firm agencies lock clients into one to three year contracts and build on proprietary software clients cannot move.
How much does it cost to pay someone to design a website?
There are three common pricing models, and each produces a very different bill for the same 15-page law firm site:
| Model | Published reference point | What a 15-page site looks like |
|---|---|---|
| Hourly | BLS: median pay for web developers and digital designers was $47.85 an hour ($99,520 a year) in May 2025. That is an employee wage, not a freelance rate, which is usually higher to cover overhead. B12 bills extra design or copy work at $75 an hour. | PaperStreet’s pricing article uses the example of 60 to 70 hours at $50 an hour, a $3,000 to $3,500 budget |
| Per page | PaperStreet describes page rates of $100, $150 or $200 a page (it does not use this model itself) | 15 pages x $150 = $2,250 for design, before writing |
| Flat project | The Modern Firm from $2,950 / $7,500 / $17,500; PaperStreet from about $3,000 / $9,500 / $15,000 / $40,000 | Usually a fixed scope with a set number of revision rounds |
The hourly route only saves money if you arrive with written pages, photos and a sitemap. Without them, the designer’s hours go into waiting and rework, and the “cheap” option drifts toward agency pricing.
What the ethics rules add to a law firm website budget
Law firm sites carry costs a general small-business site does not: someone has to check the copy against your state’s advertising rules, and your contact form has to handle prospective client information correctly. Budget review time for both.
Every page must pass Rule 7.1
ABA Model Rule 7.1 says a lawyer “shall not make a false or misleading communication about the lawyer or the lawyer’s services,” including statements that omit a fact needed to keep them from being misleading. Model Rule 7.2(d) adds that any communication under the rule must include the name and contact information of at least one lawyer or firm responsible for its content. Rule 7.2(c) also bars stating or implying you are a certified specialist unless an approved or ABA-accredited organization certified you and the page names it, so check bio and practice pages written by an agency.
Some states charge to file website content
- Texas: Rule 7.04 requires filing advertisements with the Advertising Review Committee within 10 days of dissemination. Under Rule 7.05(b), as quoted by the Texas Center for Legal Ethics, website content is exempt “except the contents of the website homepage,” unless that content is otherwise exempt. The State Bar of Texas lists the application fee at $100, and an unfiled, non-exempt ad can draw a $250 fine plus a $100 review fee.
- Florida: the Florida Bar’s website checklist says a lawyer’s own website, social pages and video channels do not need to be filed unless posts or videos are sponsored, boosted or promoted, but they must still comply with the rules. If you boost a post, the Florida Bar filing fee is $250 per timely filed ad and $750 if late, effective July 1, 2026.
Your contact form creates Rule 1.18 duties
Under Model Rule 1.18, a person who consults a lawyer about possibly forming a client relationship is a prospective client, and the lawyer may not use or reveal what that person shared even if no engagement follows. Wisconsin’s Formal Ethics Opinion EF-11-03, which relies on ABA Formal Opinion 10-457 on lawyer websites, says website disclaimers need two separate, clear warnings: no lawyer-client relationship is formed, and the communication is not confidential. It adds that the warnings should be short and easy for a layperson to understand.
The ABA’s 2023 Websites and Marketing TechReport found only about one third of respondents said their firm’s web forms carried such disclaimers. Another third did not know. Here is a short form notice built on the two warnings EF-11-03 describes. Adapt it to your state and have your ethics counsel approve it:
Before you submit: Sending this form does not make you our client. We have not agreed to represent you, so please do not include confidential details about your matter yet. We will first check for conflicts of interest and then contact you to discuss whether we can help.
Put it directly above the submit button, not in the footer. A form that only asks for name, phone, email and matter type keeps you out of most Rule 1.18 problems, because the visitor never types the sensitive facts into the form.
What other firms actually have (and who runs the site)
The ABA 2024 Practice Management TechReport found 90% of responding firms have a website, down from 94% in 2022. Size is the dividing line: 70% of solos have one, compared with 91% of firms with 2 to 9 attorneys, 98% of firms with 10 to 49 and 100% of firms with 100 or more.
The bigger cost question for small firms is time. In the 2024 Solo and Small Firm TechReport, 76% of solo attorneys and 63% of small-firm attorneys personally manage and create content for their firm’s website. The 2023 report found 72% of solos with websites write their own content, only 44% of respondents said their site used SSL (48% did not know), and 74% said their site was mobile friendly. If you do not know whether your own site passes those two checks, ask your current vendor in writing before paying for a redesign; the fix may be a hosting or theme change rather than a new site.
I would add one opinion here: for a solo, the cost that matters most is not the build fee but the hours you spend writing pages instead of billing. If your effective rate is $250 an hour and you spend 40 hours writing a site, that is $10,000 of time, which often makes a $3,000 template plus a paid writer the cheaper choice.
Copy-ready law firm website RFP and scope checklist
Send this to every vendor and require a written answer to each line. Each item has a pass condition. A vendor that cannot pass items 1 to 4 is not comparable on price, because you cannot see what you are buying.
- Total 36-month cost. Pass: build fee, monthly fee, renewal price, setup or import fees and payment processing fees, all in writing.
- Contract term and exit. Pass: the term length is stated and you can cancel with a defined notice period and a defined final bill.
- Ownership and portability. Pass: you own the domain in your firm’s registrar account, and the vendor states in writing whether you can export the site (theme, content, images) or only the text. The Modern Firm’s pricing guide warns that some vendors build on a proprietary layer clients cannot migrate.
- Page count and page purpose. Pass: the proposal lists every page by name (home, attorney bios, each practice area, each location, contact, fees, FAQ) and who writes each one.
- Content. Pass: states whether copywriting is included, how many words per page, and who checks it against Rule 7.1 and your state’s rules.
- State advertising filing. Pass: the vendor knows whether your state requires filing (for example the Texas homepage rule) and who pays the fee.
- Intake form. Pass: the form shows a two-warning notice above the submit button, limits fields to what you need for a conflict check, and sends submissions somewhere secure.
- Hosting, SSL, backups, updates. Pass: named host, SSL included, backup frequency stated, who applies plugin or platform updates and how fast.
- Speed and mobile. Pass: the vendor agrees to share a mobile PageSpeed report at launch.
- Tracking. Pass: calls and form fills are tracked by source so you can tell which channel produced each consultation.
- Revisions and timeline. Pass: rounds of revisions and a launch date range are written into the scope.
- Change rates after launch. Pass: an hourly or per-request rate is published (for example, B12 lists $75 an hour).
If the site is meant to win cases from search, the build is only the start: plan the practice-area and location pages with your SEO for law firms strategy before the sitemap is final, not after launch. For the ongoing side, our guide to how much SEO costs lays out monthly retainers by model.
Which tier fits your firm
| If your situation is… | Start with | Published starting price |
|---|---|---|
| New solo, referral-driven, under 10 pages needed | Squarespace or Wix template, or LawLytics Starter | $17 to $99 a month |
| Solo who wants intake, eSignature and invoicing on the site | B12 Website + Client Engagement | $67 a month billed yearly |
| Small firm that needs a credible, fast launch | Agency template (PaperStreet Essentials, The Modern Firm Simple) | About $3,000 / $2,950 |
| Competitive practice area (personal injury, family, criminal defense) in a metro market | Semi-custom or custom agency build plus a content plan | $7,500 to $25,000+ |
| Already on Clio and want intake in the same system | Ask Clio for Elite pricing | Quote only |
| Want website and ads on one contract | FindLaw or Scorpion, after checking term and ownership | Quote only |
Budget for the site in the context of everything else that brings cases in. If you are still deciding how to split money between the website, search and referrals, start with small law firm marketing on a limited budget, and if paid search is in the plan, read Google Ads for lawyers before you build landing pages. When you are comparing agencies, how to choose a law firm marketing agency covers contract terms in more depth.
Two questions lawyers ask next
What is the 80/20 rule for lawyers?
The 80/20 rule, or Pareto principle, is the heuristic that a small share of inputs produces most of the results. Legal Tech Monitor describes applying it to law firm marketing by focusing on the 20% of clients that generate 80% of revenue and the 20% of marketing efforts that generate 80% of results. It is a rule of thumb, not a measured law firm statistic. On a website, the practical version is to spend first on the few pages that produce consultations (home, your top practice areas, attorney bios, contact) and add the long tail later.
What percent of lawyers make $500,000 a year?
The BLS does not publish that exact share. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a median lawyer wage of $159,670 in May 2025, with the highest 10% earning more than $351,600. Because $500,000 is well above that top-decile threshold, fewer than 10% of lawyers in the BLS wage data earn $500,000 or more. For website budgeting, the useful number is your own revenue per case, not the profession’s average.
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Frequently asked questions
How much does a law firm website cost?
Published prices run from $17 a month on Wix Light to $1,249 a month on LawLytics Elite, both billed annually. Law firm agencies that publish prices start at $2,950 (The Modern Firm Simple) and about $3,000 for a PaperStreet Essentials first year, with custom builds from $9,500 to $25,000 and enterprise projects from $40,000. FindLaw, Scorpion and Clio's website builder are quote only.
How much does a law firm website cost in 2026?
Based on vendor pricing pages read in November 2026, a solo or small firm will typically spend $1,000 to $9,000 over three years on a subscription platform, or $2,950 to $25,000 up front for an agency design plus hosting. Compare options on a 36-month total: build fee, monthly fee at renewal price, setup or import fees and your content costs.
What is a lawyer website cost per month?
General builders cost $17 to $40 a month: Wix Light $17, Squarespace Core $29 and WordPress.com Business $25 in year one, all billed annually. Legal platforms cost more: Justia from $82.50 billed annually, LawLytics Starter $99 month to month and Growth $249 billed annually, B12 with intake and eSignature $67 billed yearly. Bundled legal marketing vendors do not publish monthly prices.
Is $1000 a good price for a website?
For a law firm, $1,000 is a reasonable budget for a year of platform fees, not for a designed site. It covers about four years of Squarespace Basic on annual billing, one year of Justia's lowest published tier or ten months of LawLytics Starter. No law firm agency we found publishes a build price that low; the lowest published starting points were $2,950 and about $3,000.
How much does it cost to design a law firm website?
Agencies that publish law firm design prices start at $2,950 (The Modern Firm Simple), $7,500 (Guided) and $17,500 (Custom). PaperStreet lists Essentials at around $3,000 for the first year including hosting, Plus from $9,500, Custom from $15,000 to over $25,000 and Enterprise from $40,000. Hosting, content writing and ongoing changes are often priced separately.
What is the 80/20 rule for lawyers?
It is the Pareto principle applied to a practice: a small share of clients, matters or marketing efforts produces most of the revenue or results. Legal Tech Monitor describes using it to focus on the 20% of clients and marketing efforts that generate 80% of results. It is a rule of thumb, not a measured statistic. For a website, build the few pages that produce consultations first.
What percent of lawyers make $500,000 a year?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish that exact share. It reports a median lawyer wage of $159,670 in May 2025 and says the highest 10% earned more than $351,600. Since $500,000 is above that top-decile threshold, fewer than 10% of lawyers in the BLS wage data earn $500,000 or more.
Practice economics benchmarks