What does a website cost?

Start with what the website should do

A website costs the work required to solve a specific problem. A price therefore becomes meaningful once you know which pages, content and features are included. A simple service presentation and a store with product variants can look similar on the home page while requiring very different work behind it.

First write down what visitors should be able to do: contact you, find a relevant service, book a meeting or buy a product. Describe who the site should help as well. A consultancy with a long sales process has different needs from a store where visitors must select a product immediately. That is a better starting point for a proposal than a list of websites you like.

Page count is only part of the scope

A page with a short text and an image is not the same task as one with project stories, filters and several content types. Ask about page types and functionality as well as the total count. That makes it easier to see whether the proposal covers the important parts of your business.

You can divide requests into what must be ready at launch and what can come later. A website can begin with core services and expand with articles, extra languages or another section. Have the approach to later changes written down. A smaller first delivery is only useful if it still solves the problem you are paying to address.

Content and images need an owner

Copy, images and business details need to be ready before the website can be completed. Agree who writes, selects images and approves facts. If you provide the material, ask for a simple content list. If the agency will write or source new images, that work should appear in the proposal.

The same applies to additional languages. Translation also involves buttons, contact details and how services are explained. Agree who reviews each language version. It is easy to underestimate the work when only the visible home page text is counted. Preparation can reduce review rounds, but it requires someone in your business to have the time and responsibility.

Features create work and ongoing costs

A contact option, a booking service and an online store should be assessed separately. Connections to existing systems require a review of available options and access. Ask for a description of what the connection will actually do. The fact that two systems can connect does not tell you which information is transferred or who deals with failures.

External subscriptions can sit outside the setup price. Shopify, for example, describes subscriptions, apps and payment-related charges as different cost categories. Your proposal should distinguish agency work from services you pay for directly. Also ask who owns the accounts and how you retain access if the working relationship changes later.

Agree design and reviews before starting

Design work depends on how much needs to be developed specifically for your business. An existing brand with good images provides a different starting point from a project where the direction and material still need to be found. Explain what you want to keep and which problems the current site has.

Have feedback rounds and approvals described. Collect comments within your business so the agency receives one prioritised response. If new requests emerge, you should see the effect on price and schedule before work continues. That makes a fixed proposal more useful: both parties understand which delivery the fixed price applies to.

Separate launch from the work afterwards

Hosting, maintenance and marketing solve different problems. Agree who helps when content needs changing, a contact option fails or the business adds a service. Ask what ongoing support includes and what requires a new proposal. A monthly fee is difficult to assess without that description.

This also applies to SEO. An organised site and understandable content provide a foundation for search; ongoing content work is a separate activity. Google makes clear that no recipe automatically delivers a first-place ranking. Assess the proposal through the work it describes rather than promises of specific rankings or a particular number of new customers.

How to compare proposals

Compare goals, page types, content responsibilities, features, feedback rounds and handover on the same basis. Record setup, ongoing agency work and external costs separately. Check whether VAT is included. Two proposals can have very different totals if one covers writing and review while the other expects finished material from you.

Send the same short brief to the providers you are considering. Ask them to explain exclusions and assumptions. At LEV Web we start with the problem the site should solve and define the scope before a specific proposal. The pricing overview provides a starting point; describe your needs so we can assess what fits.

Frequently asked questions