Ask three providers to quote “a website” and you’ll probably get three very different numbers. It isn’t always someone trying to overcharge you: most of the time they are quoting different things under the same name. This guide helps you understand what sits behind the price and compare proposals with confidence.
Why there is no single price
A website is closer to a home remodel than to an off-the-shelf product. Two sites can look alike on the home page and be completely different underneath: one may be a template with your colors, the other a build designed to be found on Google, load fast on phones and send you customers through WhatsApp or your contact form. The price depends mainly on five things.
1. How many sections, and how different they are
A single-section page doesn’t cost the same as a site with a home page, an about page, one page per service, FAQs and a contact page. Each distinct page type also needs its own design; pages that share a structure (for example, six services with the same layout) are more efficient to produce.
2. Custom design or template
A template is cheaper up front, but your site will look like many others and usually carries extra code that slows it down. A custom design starts from your brand and from what your customers need, and lets you see the proposal before any code is written.
3. Special features
Spam-protected forms, online booking, a catalog, a store with payments, a customer area, a connection to your back-office system or a CRM. Each feature adds development and testing work and, sometimes, the cost of third-party services.
4. Languages
A bilingual site isn’t just translated text: both versions have to be set up so that Google shows the right one to each person. If you sell, or want to sell, in more than one market, it pays to do this properly from day one.
5. Content: copy and photos
If you already have clear copy and good-quality photos, the project moves faster. If text has to be written, information organized or photos taken, that is part of the budget too (and it’s usually what delays a project the most).
What any serious quote should include
Rather than the total price, compare what’s included. A good proposal should state in writing:
- Scope: how many pages, which sections and which features.
- Mobile-first design, not just “it shows up” on a phone.
- Basic technical SEO: titles, descriptions, sitemap, structured data and Google Search Console setup.
- Measurement: Google Analytics 4 configured, with leads (form, WhatsApp, calls) tracked as conversions.
- Legal pages: privacy notice and cookie policy, required in most countries if your site collects personal data.
- A timeline by stage and how many rounds of changes are included.
- Who owns everything: the domain, the code and the accounts should be in your name.
Watch out for the domain. If the provider registers your domain in their own name, you depend on them forever. Make sure the domain and your Google accounts (Analytics, Search Console, Business Profile) are registered to your business.
The costs you don’t see in the first quote
The build is only part of the cost. Ask about recurring expenses too:
- Domain (yearly renewal).
- Hosting and security certificate (HTTPS).
- Email on your domain, if you need it.
- Maintenance: updates, backups, security checks and small changes.
- Licenses for templates, plugins or external services, if the site depends on them.
A cheap site that relies on many paid plugins, or that nobody keeps updated, can turn expensive within a year or two. That’s why you should compare the total cost, not just the first payment.
Red flags
- They give you a price without asking anything about your business.
- There’s no written proposal, or it only says “professional website”.
- Nobody mentions who will own the domain or the site.
- They promise “first place on Google” in a short time. Nobody can guarantee that.
- They can’t show you real sites they’ve built that are still online.
How to request a quote you can actually compare
Before asking for prices, have this ready:
- What your business does and who your ideal customer is.
- What you want visitors to do: call you, message you, buy, book.
- Which sections you have in mind and which languages you need.
- Two or three sites you like (in your industry or not) and why.
- Whether you already have a logo, copy and photos.
With that, any serious provider can give you a clear proposal, and you can compare apples to apples.
In short
The price of a website depends on its scope, design, features, languages and content. Instead of looking for the lowest number, look for the proposal that best explains what you get, what it will cost to maintain and how it will help you win customers. At LEXATEK we always deliver a written proposal with scope, timeline and an itemized cost. Take a look at our web design service.