THE TACTIC

Many small businesses keep their prices off their website. The reasons sound sensible: every project is different, you don’t want to scare people off, you’d rather explain your value on a call first. So every inquiry turns into a conversation, and a fair number of those conversations end the same way. Twenty minutes in, you mention a number, and there’s a pause. Their budget was a fraction of it. You both just spent half an hour learning something a single line on your website could have told them.

A “starting at” price doesn’t commit you to a fixed rate. It gives people a realistic sense of where things begin, so the ones who reach out already know you’re in their range.

Why it works

Most buyers go looking for prices before they contact anyone. When they can’t find them, some assume you’re expensive and move on, and others reach out with a budget that’s nowhere near what you charge. A starting price fixes both. The people who could afford you aren’t scared off by guessing, and the ones who can’t, quietly leave without taking up your time.

It also changes the first conversation. When someone books a call after seeing “starting at $2,500,” the question isn’t whether they can afford you. It’s which version of the work they need. That’s a much better conversation to be having, and it gets to a decision much faster.

How to run it

Use your honest minimum. Look at the smallest real projects you’ve done in each service over the past year. The starting price is roughly what the simplest version costs, not a teaser number you’d never actually accept.

Add one line of context. Next to the price, say what drives it up. “Starting at $2,500. Most projects land between $3,000 and $6,000, depending on the number of pages and how much content you already have.” This sets expectations without needing a detailed price list.

Put it near the call to action. The price should sit right beside the “Book a call” or “Get in touch” button, not on a separate page someone has to hunt for.

Mention it in your inquiry replies. If someone contacts you without having seen it, include the same line in your first reply: “Just so you have it upfront, projects like this start at $X.” It saves both of you from a call that doesn’t fit.

The mistake most people make

Setting the starting price too low to look approachable. If almost nobody actually pays that number, you’ll attract leads expecting it and disappoint them on the call, which is the exact problem you were trying to avoid. Keep it honest.

The other mistake is worrying it’ll drive away good clients. In practice, the ones who leave because of a fair starting price are the ones who would have left at the end of the call anyway. You’ve just saved the call.