The honest answer is: it depends. So that you can still estimate what to expect, I explain here which factors determine the price and how you get a quote you can rely on.
What determines the price
- Scope: a single page is quicker to build than a site with many subpages, for example a separate page for each service.
- Design: a custom design takes more time than an adapted template, but fits your business exactly.
- Features: online booking, an online shop, a chatbot, multiple languages or animations come on top of the website itself.
- Copy and images: do they already exist, or do they still need to be created?
- Support: hosting, maintenance and changes after launch are ongoing services and are usually added monthly.
Why a fixed price makes sense
With hourly billing you don’t know in advance what the final invoice will say. With a fixed price, the scope is described in writing beforehand. If something new comes up during the project, it is discussed as a change before it is implemented.
How to get a quote
In the free intro call we clarify what your website should achieve, which pages and features are needed and what already exists. Afterwards you get a fixed-price quote that states exactly what is included.
What to expect with me
To give you a sense of scale: my websites start at €999 for a simple one-pager, and a business website with several pages starts at €4,490. Hosting and maintenance cost from €79 a month. All packages, add-ons such as a shop or online booking, and maintenance are on the Pricing page.
One-off and ongoing costs
A website has two kinds of costs: building it, which you pay once, and running it, which continues every month or year. A serious quote lists both separately so you know what to expect after launch.
- Domain: your website’s address, usually an annual fee with the provider.
- Hosting: the server space your website runs on.
- Maintenance and changes: updates, security and small adjustments, often as a monthly plan.
- Licences: for example for fonts, images or extensions if they are not free to use.
- For online shops: fees for the shop system and payment providers.
Website builder, template or custom design
- Website builder: you build it yourself with an online tool. Cheap to start with, but it costs your time and the options are limited.
- Adapted template: a ready-made design is filled with your content. Faster, but it often looks like many other sites.
- Custom design: structure, copy and design are created for your business. It takes more time but fits your customers and your offer exactly.
Which option fits depends less on budget alone than on what the website needs to achieve. A site that should bring in enquiries regularly justifies a different investment than a simple online business card.
Where you can save and where you shouldn’t
- You can save by preparing copy, images and logo, starting with a smaller scope and expanding later, and leaving out features your customers won’t use.
- You shouldn’t save on the mobile experience, fast loading, clear copy and the legally required pages such as the legal notice and privacy policy.
Why quotes vary so much
Anyone who collects several quotes is often surprised by large differences. Usually that is not down to inflated prices but to different things being offered. A cheap quote may contain a template without copy and without the technical foundations for Google, a more expensive one a custom design, copy, images and support. Quotes can only be compared once it is clear what each includes. The post Finding the right web designer lists questions that help.
What is often forgotten
- Copy: who writes it, and how much of your own time does it take?
- Images: are there your own photos, or do they need to be taken?
- Legal pages such as the legal notice and privacy policy.
- Redirects from the old website, so existing visibility on Google is kept.
- A handover session so you can change content yourself later.
- Running costs after launch.
Your own time counts too
Besides the price, a website also costs your time: for conversations, material, feedback and approval. With a website builder this share is especially large, because you handle design, copy and technology yourself. Whether that pays off is covered in the post Website builder or web designer?. Even with a commissioned website, the timeline depends heavily on how quickly material and feedback arrive; more in the post How long does a website take?.
Cost in relation to benefit
A website is not an end in itself. Whether the investment pays off shows in what it does for your business: enquiries, bookings, fewer phone calls, a better first impression or job applications. Think about what an additional order is worth to you. That helps put the price in context instead of just looking at the figure in the quote.
Planning in stages
Not everything has to be finished at once. A solid first version with the most important pages is often better than a big project that never gets done. More pages, languages or features such as online booking can be added later once the foundation is right.
What to check in a quote
- Which pages and features are included, and is it in writing?
- How many feedback rounds are planned?
- Who provides copy and images, and what does it cost if they still need to be created?
- Do the domain, content and logins belong to you after launch?
- Are ongoing costs for hosting and maintenance listed separately?
What to prepare for the intro call
- Your current website, if you have one, and what bothers you about it.
- Two or three websites you like, also from other industries.
- What visitors should do on the website: call, enquire, book an appointment or buy.
- A rough timeframe and budget range. This helps to suggest the right scope.
Are there hidden costs?
Not with a good quote. Ask specifically about running costs, licences and the price of later changes. Anything not in the quote should be discussed before work starts.
Can I split the payment?
Whether and how payment is split, for example into instalments, is set out in the quote. If it isn't mentioned, ask.
Is an elaborate website worth it for a small business?
What matters is not the effort but whether the scope fits. A small business rarely needs many pages, but it does need a site that is clear, loads fast and brings enquiries. Better small and good than big and half-finished.
Be careful with very low flat rates: they often leave out copy, a custom design or the technical foundations for Google, or charge extra for them later.
