Website is an online address for your business. Website increases company's credibility. Research shows that people trust brands having a strong online presence more than others. Customers wants looks for trusthworthy-ness, legitimacy in a company. Having a modern website can easily make an impact. Your website is source of information for your business.
How much it cost business to have a website?
A website can cost anywhere between a 1000$ to 100000$+. Cost of website depends on its complexity and various factors. For example: Having a static website will be cheaper than dynamic one. Adding CMS, Social integrations, maps, etc. will increase the cost.
Informational website for small businesses having 5-10 pages can cost $1000 - $5000. While ecommerce website can cost about $5000 - $50000 or more. Having a database driven website ( also known as web-application) costs $6000 - $70000
Hiring freelancers to do the job will be more economical. You can expect 2-4 times more cheaper than having it built with agency. But the catch is that you have to manage everything. Freelancers are good at what they do but don't have time and energy to interact with others (Content makers, marketing, designers, etc.). If you have time and energy to manage freelancers and have knowledge about technology than it is most econmoical option.
Third option is to use website builders. They cost as low as $0 and can go up $500+ per month. We can design our own website using website builders by dragging and dropping. While this seems best option, the catch is that there isn't much customizability. So unless need a preety simple website, always go for agency or freelancers. There are many website builders like wix, Squarespace, GoDaddy, etc.
To conclude, there are basically 3 options. 1. Choose agency and invest your time and energy else where. 2. Choose freelancers: Perfection but have to waste your time in managing people. 3. Website builders: most economical. But have to invest time in learing those tools and still might not have desired results.