What does a website cost? This is what the price depends on

What does a website cost? It is the question everyone asks and one that rarely gets a straight answer. That is not because agencies are hiding something, but because the question is like asking what a house costs. A studio flat and a villa are both houses. In this article we do not give a price list, but explain which factors determine the price. That way you can read and compare a quote better.

Why does what a website costs vary so much?

What a website costs varies widely because 'a website' can be anything between a simple presentation and a platform with logins, payments and integrations. Two quotes for 'a new website' can be about completely different products. That is why it makes more sense to look at the components than at the total.

Which factors determine the price?

Six factors together determine most of the price.

Size. A handful of pages or dozens? And how many different kinds of pages? Ten blog articles on the same template cost much less than ten unique pages, each with its own structure.

Design. An adapted template or a custom design? Custom work requires research, web design and revision rounds. It delivers a site that really suits you and sets you apart, but it takes more time.

Functionality. Only displaying information, or also searching, filtering, logging in, booking or paying? Every feature that does something rather than shows something adds work to building and testing.

Integrations. Does the site need to talk to your CRM, your accounting software or your inventory system? System integrations are often valuable, but they require research, building and maintenance.

Content. Do you supply copy and images ready to use, or do they need to be written, photographed or translated? Content is often underestimated and is a major cost item.

Technology. WordPress, Webflow or a custom application each have a different cost profile, both during the build and afterwards. That is the trade-off between no-code and custom development.

What type of website do you need?

The type of website determines the order of magnitude of the costs. A marketing website revolves around conversion: campaigns, landing pages and a team that wants to manage content itself. A corporate website often has more pages, more stakeholders and sometimes multiple languages. A site with a client portal or booking system is really already an application.

It helps to determine in advance which category you are in. Then you compare quotes for the same product.

What ongoing costs does a website have?

A website does not only cost money once, ongoing costs come on top. Think of hosting, which with Webflow is included in the site plan and with other platforms is purchased separately. A domain name. Licences for tools and integrations, such as a form service, a search function or a membership system. And website maintenance: updates, checks and small changes.

Licences in particular add up unnoticed. A site with many separate tools has many separate subscriptions every month. So always ask which recurring costs come with a proposal, not just what the build costs.

What makes a project more expensive than expected?

Projects become more expensive mainly through lack of clarity and changes along the way.

Unclear scope. If it is not clear what needs to be built, more gets built than necessary or work is redone because the direction changes.

Many revision rounds. Every round takes time. If you are still searching after five rounds, you pay for that searching.

Content that keeps shifting. Copy that is rewritten several times, or images that need to be redone, add up in hours and in planning.

Adding things along the way. 'Can we just add this too' is small each time, but large when added up.

Rush. A deadline that forces parallel work or overtime costs extra.

How do you keep costs under control?

Costs stay under control if you start well prepared. Know what the website needs to deliver and who it is for. Make sure content is ready on time. Plan realistically. And give the builder the trust to make choices, so that not every decision becomes a meeting.

Another way is to build in phases. Start with what has the most value and expand later. That way you do not invest up front in features you are not sure will be used.

What should you not save on?

There are four things where saving costs more than it yields.

Design. A dated look costs trust. The first impression determines whether a visitor stays.

Speed. A slow site costs visitors and search visibility. That damage is greater than the saving.

SEO basics. A good structure, clean URLs and good metadata from the start are cheaper than repairing them afterwards.

Mobile. A large share of your visitors come via their phone. If the site does not work well there, you lose them.

How do you get a good price estimate?

You get a good price estimate by explaining what you want to achieve, not what you want to pay. Describe your goals, your target audience, the features you have in mind and which systems need to be connected. The more concrete the question, the sharper the proposal.

Then you know where you stand before you begin. Sometimes it turns out better than expected, sometimes more is needed than you thought. But then you choose consciously. Want to know what your website would cost? Get in touch and tell us what you need.