Should I Put Prices on My Website?
People who cannot find a price mostly leave to look for it elsewhere. Which kind of price suits which service, the rules once a price is shown, and the four places where it belongs on the page.
Mike Lopez
Designs and builds websites and B2B software
On this page
Yes, I think you should put prices on your website for every service whose price you can predict, and show a “from” price or a typical range with what moves it for work which varies, since people who cannot find a price mostly leave to look for it elsewhere, and a quote form on its own reads to many of them as a price they cannot afford. The one rule which I would keep in every case is that a price you show includes everything a customer has to pay, because a lower number with fees added later costs more trust than a higher number stated plainly. When I designed a family dental website concept for my portfolio, the whole approach started from that, with a written price beside every service, the full list on a page of its own and a written plan before any treatment.
This post goes through what visitors do when the price is missing, which kind of price suits which kind of service, the rules which apply once you show one, and where the price should sit on the page.
What visitors do when the price is missing
Nielsen Norman Group’s article on showing prices reports that in its studies “we witness people getting frustrated and leaving sites that don’t show prices”, and that pricing ranks as the information which business customers want most. A later piece on B2B trust adds that sending people to request a quote or contact sales instead adds a step which pushes them to research prices elsewhere, and can make the service look unaffordable or the company look less than open.
The same pattern shows at the other end of a purchase. Baymard Institute’s checkout research finds that 40% of US shoppers who abandoned a checkout left because the extra costs were too high, such as shipping, tax and fees, and another 12% left because they could not see or work out the total cost up front. A service website is not a checkout, but the lesson carries over, since a price which arrives late, or grows on the way, is the moment when people stop.
Match the price to the kind of service
| Kind of service | What to show | An example |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed and repeatable | The full price | A check-up and clean, a consultation, a standard package |
| Varies with size or condition | A “from” price with what moves it | A crown, a treatment by area, a photo shoot by hours |
| Custom each time | A typical range and what decides it, then a quote | A website, a renovation, a consulting project |
Fixed prices
Anything which costs the same for most customers should show its price beside the service, in the same place on every page. On the dental concept, each service card on the home page carries its price, the prices page holds the full list of treatments with a line on what each one includes, and the booking flow keeps a visit summary with the price beside every step, so a family knows the cost before they choose a time. I think it’s really the clearest signal of trust that a clinic can give, because it is the question which most people would otherwise have to phone to ask.
“From” prices
When the price depends on the size of the job, a “from” price tells people where it starts and lets them decide whether to read on, and I would put the two or three things which move it right underneath. The starting figure has to be one which customers can actually pay, and it has to include every mandatory charge. On a clinic group’s treatment pages which I work on, the “Starting from” line in each hero comes from a single price field on that page, and when the field is empty the line disappears and the buttons stay, which is a sensible fallback, but it also means each centre’s price lives in its own place, so I would keep one list of prices which every page reads from and check it after any change.
Quotes for custom work
Some work is different every time, and a quote is the honest answer, but I would still give people something to go on before the form, such as a typical range, what the range depends on and a few worked examples. My own service pages ask for a quote, while the cost guides on this blog, such as custom website cost, set out the ranges and what moves them, which is the middle route for custom work.
The rules once you show a price
In the UK and the US the rules mostly start once a price appears, while the Philippines asks online merchants to show one, so this is a summary for orientation and not legal advice.
- United Kingdom. The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act’s rules on unfair commercial practices apply from 6 April 2025, and the CMA’s price transparency guidance says that traders must give their total prices up front, including mandatory charges. A “from” price is allowed when it includes those charges, and the CMA’s own example is a photography service priced from a set amount.
- United States. The FTC’s rule on unfair or deceptive fees, in force since 12 May 2025, requires the total price only from live-event ticket sellers and short-term lodging. For healthcare, the No Surprises Act requires every licensed or certified provider, dentists included according to CMS, to give uninsured and self-pay patients a good faith estimate before care.
- Philippines. The Internet Transactions Act, Republic Act 11967, asks online merchants to indicate the price of the goods and services which they offer, in line with the Consumer Act’s price tag article, so a business which sells its services online should show their prices.
Where the price should sit on the page
I would put the price in four places. Beside each service in the list, so it reads together with the name, on a prices page which holds the whole list in one table, inside the booking or enquiry flow before people give their details, and as a total before any payment, which is where Baymard’s 12% stopped. The prices page also helps search, since it answers the question which people type, and Google’s local business structured data has a priceRange property for a typical range such as “$$” or a figure, while its product snippets are for pages about a single product.
If you have several locations with different prices, give each location page its own price list and keep the figures in one place behind them, which my post on multi-location website design goes into, and if the next step after the price is a message, a WhatsApp button for your website can carry the service and price into the first line. The dental concept with its prices page and booking flow is in the Fairday case study.
Frequently asked questions
Should I put prices on my website?
Yes, for every service with a predictable price, and a “from” price or a typical range for work which varies, since people who cannot find a price mostly leave to look for it on another site.
Is it better to show prices or say contact us for a quote?
Showing prices, whenever the price is predictable. Keep the quote form for custom work, and put a typical range and what decides the price above it so people know whether to fill it in.
Can I show a “from” price on my website?
Yes, as long as customers can actually buy the service at that price and it includes every mandatory charge, which is also what UK rules ask for since April 2025.
Do I have to show prices on my website by law?
Mostly not, outside some sectors, but the rules apply once you show a price, and in the Philippines the Internet Transactions Act asks online merchants to indicate their prices. I would check your own sector and country, since this is not legal advice.
Where should prices go on a service website?
Beside each service, on a prices page with the full list, inside the booking or enquiry flow before people give their details, and as a total before any payment.
