How Much Does a Website Cost? A Plain-English Guide

The short answer

It depends on four things: how many pages you need, whether the design is a template or made for you, whether you sell online, and what the site has to do once people land on it. A one-page site for a home business and an online shop with delivery slots are different jobs, even if both are called "a website".

What changes the price

1. Pages and words

Every page needs a layout and someone to write it. A home page, services, about and contact is a common starting point. Ten service pages, each written for Google, is a bigger job.

2. Template or made for you

A template is cheaper and faster, but you look like everyone else who bought it. A design made for your business costs more and is easier to make memorable. Both can work. Ask which one you are getting.

3. Selling online

A shop needs products, payments, delivery or collection rules, order emails and stock. Each product needs photos and words. This is usually the biggest jump in price.

4. What the site does after someone lands

A booking calendar, a WhatsApp button, review requests, forms that reach the right person. These are what turn visitors into customers, and they are often left out of cheap quotes.

5. Who writes the words and takes the photos

If you provide them, the price drops. If the designer writes the copy and sources the photos, it rises. Real photos of your team and work beat stock photos almost every time.

The costs people forget

• Domain name. Paid every year. Make sure it is registered in your name.
• Hosting. Where the site lives. Paid monthly or yearly.
• Care and updates. WordPress sites need regular updates and backups, or they slow down and get hacked.
• Changes after launch. New prices, new photos, a new service. Ask how these are charged.
• Ads, if you run them. The ad budget is paid to Google or Meta, on top of any management fee.

Six questions to ask any web designer

1. Do I own the domain and the website if we stop working together?
2. Where is it hosted, and what does that cost each year?
3. How fast does it load on a phone? Can you show me a site you built?
4. When someone fills in the form, where does the enquiry go?
5. Is this a fixed price, and what is not included?
6. What does monthly care include, and can I stop it?

A good designer answers all six without hesitating. If the answers are vague, the cheap quote will not stay cheap.

What we charge

Custom websites with us start from a fixed quote after a free 30-minute call. You know the full price before any work starts.