The Short Answer
It depends. But here's the realistic range:
| Type | Cost Range | Timeline |
|---|---|---|
| Template/DIY (Wix, Squarespace) | $0–$500/year | 1–7 days |
| Freelancer (basic site) | $1,000–$5,000 | 2–4 weeks |
| Professional agency (custom) | $5,000–$50,000 | 4–12 weeks |
| Enterprise/complex platform | $50,000–$500,000+ | 3–12 months |
What Affects the Price?
1. Design Complexity
- Template-based: $0–$500 — You're customizing someone else's design
- Custom design (Figma → code): $2,000–$15,000 — Unique to your brand
- Design system + brand identity: $10,000–$30,000+ — Complete visual language
2. Number of Pages
- Landing page (1 page): $500–$3,000
- Small business site (5–10 pages): $2,000–$10,000
- Content-heavy site (20+ pages): $5,000–$25,000
- E-commerce (50+ products): $5,000–$50,000+
3. Functionality
Each feature adds cost:
- Contact form: $100–$500
- Blog/CMS: $500–$2,000
- E-commerce: $2,000–$20,000+
- User authentication: $1,000–$5,000
- Custom dashboard: $5,000–$30,000
- API integrations: $500–$5,000 each
- Search functionality: $500–$3,000
4. Technology Stack
- WordPress: Lower development cost, higher maintenance
- Webflow: Medium cost, visual development, lower maintenance
- Next.js/React (custom): Higher development cost, maximum flexibility and performance
- Shopify: E-commerce focused, $29–$299/month + development
5. Content Creation
Often overlooked in budgeting:
- Copywriting: $500–$5,000
- Photography: $500–$3,000
- Illustrations/graphics: $500–$5,000
- Video production: $1,000–$20,000+
The Hidden Costs
Hosting & Domain
- Domain: $10–$50/year
- Shared hosting: $5–$30/month
- VPS/cloud: $20–$100/month
- Vercel/Netlify (Jamstack): Free tier available, $20/month for pro
Maintenance
Websites aren't "set and forget":
- Security updates: Critical, ongoing
- Content updates: $50–$200/month or DIY with CMS
- Performance monitoring: Free (Vercel Analytics) to $50+/month
- SSL certificate: Free with Let's Encrypt or hosting provider
- Annual maintenance budget: 15–20% of initial build cost
SEO
A beautiful website nobody finds is useless:
- Basic SEO setup: $500–$2,000 (meta tags, sitemaps, schema markup)
- Ongoing SEO: $500–$5,000/month
- Content marketing: $1,000–$10,000/month
How to Get the Best Value
- Define your goals first — What should the website actually do?
- Start with MVP — Launch with core features, add more later
- Invest in design — A well-designed simple site beats a complex ugly one
- Choose the right partner — Cheapest isn't best, most expensive isn't either
- Plan for maintenance — Budget for ongoing costs from day one
- Get a detailed proposal — Any professional will itemize costs
Red Flags When Hiring
- No portfolio or case studies
- No clear process or timeline
- Price significantly below market rate
- No mention of mobile responsiveness
- No discussion of SEO basics
- Asking for full payment upfront
- No post-launch support plan
"The cost of a website is not what you pay to build it. It's what you lose by not having the right one."