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.
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.
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.
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.
