For service-based business owners, there are so many decisions to make — decisions about the services you’ll offer, if or how those services should be packaged together, and what the prices of your services or packages should be. 

In Episode 008, we asked the question: “Are you offering too many services?” to help you to determine if or how your services should be pared down. After all, with more curated offerings, you can more seamlessly guide your prospective client to the service or package best aligned with their needs. In Episode 044, we shared “5 Ways to Super-Charge Your Services Page” to help you showcase your services on your website in an engaging and conversion-focused way. So, in Episode 053, we’re asking “Should you put your pricing on your website?” In this week’s episode, we’re exploring the pros and cons for including — and not including — your pricing on your website.

Should I put my pricing on my website?

Just as we share within each episode: Every small business and every field is unique — and our hope through this week’s episode is to simply explore the pros and cons of including and not including your pricing on your website, so you can make the best decision possible for your small business — or simply experiment with one option or the other to discover what works best!

Yes, you should put your prices on your website. Here are the pros and cons:

The Pros: At With Grace and Gold, we have always listed our prices on our website. For us, listing our prices has been our way of communicating openly with our prospective clients. By listing our prices, we often connect with prospective clients who have already reviewed all the details of our services, pricing, and process — prospective clients who have follow-up questions or are ready to book and begin their design process. Beyond creating openness about your services, we also believe listing your prices can help communicate the value of the services you offer; sharing your prices can help to create a full picture for prospective clients who are new to your business or new to exploring hiring someone in your field. 

The Cons: While putting your prices on your website can communicate the value of the services you offer, if your prices are lower than average in your field, sharing those “low” prices could be perceived as a red flag for a prospective client. Conversely, if your prices are higher than average, sharing those “high” prices could deter prospective clients from reaching out to you and learning more about what makes your services so valuable. If your website, your copywriting, or your content don’t align well with your prices, visitors can make their minds up about what they believe your pricing should be — and can more readily compare and contrast your business with others in your field. By listing your prices, all of the details of your brand and website need to work synergistically to communicate the same message, which can create a lot of pressure for you to get all of those key details “right.”

No, you shouldn’t put your prices on your website.

The Pros: When your prices aren’t listed on your website, you can use your website as a place to showcase all of the amazing value your services have to offer. Then, when a prospective client connects with you to learn more about your services, you can communicate openly with your prospective clients and showcase even more value. When you finally do share your pricing, your prospective client will have already been exposed to the value upon value your services and your client experience have to offer. In other words, when you communicate the value of your services, your pricing may not come as a surprise, because you’ve created such a strong foundation through your client communication and client experience thus far.

The Cons: When your prices aren’t listed on your website, prospective clients may make their own decision about how valuable your services are — without ever connecting with you. For example, if the work you showcase is beautiful, but your prices aren’t listed, your prospective clients may think: “Their work is so beautiful; I’m sure these services are out of my budget.” When your prices aren’t listed on your website, you can run the risk of missing out on connecting with prospective clients personally — and being able to guide them toward the services meant for them.

The Happy Medium

Of course, in the end, there is a happy medium! One happy medium could be to put “Prices starting at _____.” or “Most clients invest _____ in their experience.” With these ‘starting at’ prices, visitors will have a ballpark understanding of your pricing, and can be encouraged to connect with you to discover what their unique investment will be.

We hope today’s episode has equipped you to decide whether — or how — you’ll include your pricing on your website! And, as a reminder, visit withgraceandgold.com/pricing to receive our 5-part guide to confidently raising your prices!

Since 2014, With Grace and Gold has provided brand and web design for creative small business owners. Hire With Grace and Gold or shop With Grace and Gold’s pre-made designs and Showit website templates – and come away with an elevated brand and web design for your small business!