How much does a website cost? A practical guide for businesses

What you are really paying for

A website price is mostly time: discovery, design, development, content, testing and launch. Two quotes can differ several times over because they include very different amounts of that work. A cheap quote often means a pre-made theme with your logo dropped in; a higher quote usually includes custom design, proper SEO set-up and testing on real devices.

The six factors that change the price

1. Number of pages and templates. Ten pages built from two templates cost less than ten unique layouts.

2. Custom design vs theme. Custom design takes longer but makes you look different from competitors who use the same theme.

3. Features. Booking, online payments, member logins, calculators, multi-step forms and integrations with your CRM or accounting software add development time.

4. Languages. Each additional language adds translation, layout checks and separate SEO. Right-to-left languages such as Arabic need extra design work.

5. E-commerce. Product catalogues, payment gateways, shipping rules and tax set-up turn a website into an online store, with more testing.

6. Content. If you need copywriting, photography or product data entry, budget for it separately.

One-time cost vs running cost

Plan for the costs after launch too: domain renewal, hosting, SSL, backups, security updates and small content changes. A care plan or support retainer keeps these predictable, and protects the investment you made in the build.

How to set a sensible budget

Start with the result you want, not the page count. A website that brings enquiries needs clear messaging, fast loading, trust signals and easy contact options. List your must-have features, separate them from nice-to-haves, and ask for a phased plan: launch the essentials first and add features once the site is earning.

When comparing quotes, check what each includes: design approval rounds, mobile testing, SEO basics, speed optimisation, training, and who owns the code and domain at the end.

Questions to ask before you sign

Is the price fixed, and what would change it? How many design revisions are included? Who writes the content? Will I be able to edit the site myself? What happens after launch, and what does support cost? Do I own the website, domain and source code?