How much does a website cost in 2026?

Number of pages and sections: a company presentation site with five to eight pages (home, about, services, references, contact) is cheaper than a portal with dozens of content types, categories and subpages. Every additional page means additional design, copy and testing.

Design: a ready-made template is the cheapest because someone else already paid the designer — but you share it with thousands of other sites worldwide, possibly including your competition. An original, brand-tailored design costs more because someone sits and thinks about your specific case, but it pays off long-term through trust, recognisability and conversion.

Features: a contact form is basic and cheap; an online store, a booking system, user accounts, multiple languages and integrations (payments, delivery, CRM, accounting) each carry their own development and testing cost. "Just adding a form" is not the same as "adding a system that sends mail, stores data in a database, protects against spam and works on every device".

CMS (content management system): the ability to change text and images yourself takes somewhat more effort up front — someone has to configure fields, permissions and preview — but saves long-term because you don't pay a developer for every small text or price change.

Content: texts and photographs someone has to write and shoot/prepare. If the company has material ready, the saving is significant; if everything must be created from scratch (copywriting, photography), that is a separate cost that often surprises clients.

Instead of a fixed figure (which would be wrong because it depends on the market, the agency and the scope), it is more useful to think in categories matching real needs.

A simple company presentation: a few pages, a ready-made or lightly adapted design, a basic contact form, no CMS or a minimal one. This is the entry point for small companies that need an online presence, not a sales tool.

A corporate site with a CMS: original design, multiple sections (services, blog, references, careers), a CMS for independent editing, basic technical SEO. This is the most common category for companies seriously building a brand that want the site as a sales tool, not just a business card.

An online store or portal: a product catalogue or a large volume of content, user accounts, payments, integrations with warehouse/delivery/accounting, advanced administration. This is a significantly larger investment because it carries business logic, not just information display.

Each next category is a bigger investment, but also delivers more — a store working 24 hours directly generates revenue, while a presentation only informs.

When someone offers a site for a fraction of the usual price, ask yourself what was left out. Most often it is: an unadapted template, no CMS (you pay and wait for every change), non-existent technical SEO, slow hosting infrastructure, or — most dangerously — no support whatsoever after delivery.

We have seen companies pay for a "cheap" site, then realise months later they can't even change a phone number without paying an extra fee to a developer who has meanwhile moved to another project and doesn't answer calls. The cheap initial price there becomes more expensive than an honest offer, just stretched out through time and frustration.

On the other hand, a high price by itself doesn't guarantee quality. Sometimes you pay for the agency's name, a large marketing budget passed on to clients through the price, or needlessly complex technology for a simple problem.

The difference between a fair and an inflated price shows in transparency: a fair offer breaks down exactly what you get — page count, features, CMS, SEO, delivery time, maintenance terms. An inflated offer often gives a lump, unbroken figure without details, with general phrases like "premium" and "exclusive" and no concrete substance behind those words.

Domain: an annual cost, usually small, but it needs planning (registered in the client's name, not the agency's — that matters for ownership).

Hosting: the monthly or annual cost of the server the site "lives" on. Bad, cheap hosting means a slow site and occasional outages.

Email accounts: professional email (name@yourcompany.com) usually comes with hosting or a separate service.

Maintenance and security updates: a site is not a one-off purchase — software and libraries age and need regular updating to stay secure and fast.

Content after launch: new services, news, blog articles — someone has to write and publish them, either internally through the CMS or through an arrangement with the agency.

Define the goal before the design. A site meant to bring inquiries and a site meant to sell online are not the same job, and mixing those two goals in one conversation leads to a confusing offer.

Start from the smallest version that delivers value (the MVP approach), then expand in phases. You don't have to pay for all features at once — it is better to launch something that works and add based on real needs and customer feedback.

Ask to get a CMS and short training — independence from a developer for small text and image changes is the biggest long-term saving of time and money.

Ask specifically about loading speed and the technical SEO foundation. A slow site that can't be found on Google is a cost without return, no matter how "pretty" it is.

Ask for an offer broken down by items and phases, not a lump figure. That way you see exactly what you pay for and can decide together with the contractor what to cut from the first version without harming the goal.

Check who owns the domain, the code and the content after delivery — that must be clearly defined before the start, not after a dispute.

A website's price is not an arbitrary number — it reflects the scope of work, tailored design, features, CMS and support you get. The best way to get a realistic price is a short conversation in which you clearly state what the site should achieve, then ask for an itemised offer you can compare with other options based on concrete items, not just the final number.