Ask ten web designers and you will get ten different prices. That is not because the work is mysterious. It is because “a website” can mean anything from one page with a phone number to an online store with 300 products. Here is how to think about the price, so you can compare quotes properly.
The three things you pay for
1. The build. A one-time price for design, writing and setting everything up. For a small business it usually falls into three groups:
- A landing page. One page that explains what you do, shows your work and makes it easy to call or write. Good for a new business, a single service or an ad campaign. With us it starts at $579.
- A business site. Several pages: services, about, prices, reviews, contact, often a blog. This is what most established businesses need. With us it is $1,150.
- An online store. Products, cart, payments, shipping and tax rules. The price depends heavily on how many products you have and how you ship, so it is always quoted individually.
2. Running costs. The domain (your address, about $15 a year) and hosting (where the site lives). Hosting can be free if the site is built the right way: ours run on a free Cloudflare account in your name.
3. Looking after it. Edits, updates, backups, keeping Google up to date. You can do it yourself, pay someone by the hour, or use a monthly plan.
What makes the price go up
- Writing. If you have to write every word yourself, the site is cheaper on paper but costs you weeks. If the designer writes the texts, it costs more and is usually much better.
- Number of pages. Every service, city or product page is work. Ten thin pages are worse than five good ones.
- Custom features. Booking, calculators, member areas, integrations with your CRM.
- Languages. A properly translated second language is almost a second site.
- Revisions. “Unlimited revisions” sounds nice, but it is usually priced in somewhere.
The costs people forget
The build is a one-time payment. What surprises owners is everything that comes after:
- Builder subscriptions. Wix and Squarespace charge every month, and prices keep going up. Apps for booking or forms are often extra.
- Your own time. An hour a week of fiddling with the site is 50 hours a year. That time has a price.
- Lost customers. A slow or outdated site does not send you a bill. It just quietly sends people to a competitor.
How to compare quotes
Ask every designer the same five questions:
- Who owns the domain, the code and the accounts?
- Who writes the texts?
- What exactly happens after launch, and what does it cost per month?
- How do edits work and how fast are they done?
- Can I leave, and what do I take with me?
If the answers are vague, the price is not really the price.
A quick way to see your own number
Our price calculator shows every payment for the site you pick, the optional monthly plan and any automations, in your currency. No email needed.