How Much Does a Business Website Cost?

If you've asked three web designers for a quote, you probably got three numbers that look nothing alike. That doesn't mean anyone is trying to rip you off — it means "a website" describes completely different products. Here's how to read a quote properly and compare like with like.

What actually drives the price?

• The number of pages and the amount of content. A one-page site and a twelve-page site are two different projects, even if both are called a "business website."
• Who writes the content. This is the item most businesses ignore at the quote stage — and then the project stalls on it for two months. Professional copywriting costs money; writing it yourself costs time.
• Custom design vs. a template. A ready-made template is cheap and fast. A unique design that fits your branding costs more and looks different.
• Features. A contact form is one thing. A client login, payments, appointment booking or a product catalog is a whole other world.
• Accessibility and privacy. Many countries expect business websites to be usable by people with disabilities and to explain how they handle personal data — think GDPR in Europe, or the website accessibility lawsuits brought under the ADA in the US. The cheapest quote often leaves these out.
• Who builds it, and where. Rates vary enormously between countries, and between freelancers and agencies — part of the reason quotes for the same site can be so far apart.

What does a website cost after launch?

A website isn't entirely a one-off expense. There are a few recurring costs worth budgeting for in advance, so they don't take you by surprise:

• Domain — a fixed yearly fee, usually around $10–$25 for a .com. Make sure it's registered in your name, not in the name of whoever built the site.
• Hosting — varies a lot by solution. A lightweight site can be hosted very cheaply; website builders bundle hosting into their monthly subscription.
• Maintenance and updates — content changes, additions and fixes. Paid by the hour or as a monthly retainer.
• Marketing — a website alone doesn't generate traffic. You either invest in paid ads or in content over time. Both cost something.

Website builder or web designer?

Builders like Wix, Squarespace or Shopify let you make a site yourself for a monthly subscription, and for a simple site they're a reasonable choice if you have the time and an eye for design. What you really pay with is your time — writing the copy, choosing images, setting up forms and tracking — and the result tends to look like the template it came from. A designer costs more up front, but you're paying for the thinking: the structure, copy that turns visitors into enquiries, and a site built around how your customers decide.

Red flags in a website quote

1. 1The domain is registered in the supplier's name. That means you don't really own your own address. Always ask for it to be registered in your name.
2. 2No set number of revision rounds. Without an agreed number up front, it turns into an argument later — for both sides.
3. 3"SEO included" with no explanation of what that means. A sound technical foundation is part of building a website. Ongoing search engine optimization is a separate service altogether.
4. 4No analytics. A website without analytics connected is a website you can't tell is working.

What to ask before you compare prices at all

A more important question than "how much does it cost?" is "what does the website need to do?" A website that gives the business credibility when a customer checks you out before a meeting is one project. A website that's meant to be your main source of leads is another, and worth investing more in. And if the goal is to serve a paid campaign, what you need may be a landing page instead, at a much lower cost. We explain the difference in Landing page vs. website.