What actually determines the cost of a website?
· 3 min read
The same site is quoted at wildly different prices. Here is where the difference actually comes from — and which line items you genuinely need.
Ask three agencies what a website costs and you will get three very different numbers. That does not mean someone is overcharging — usually the quotes describe different work. Here is what actually drives the price.
1. Not page count — page TYPE count
People assume the price scales with the number of pages. It does not. A catalogue with 40 products has one product page design, built once. What costs money is the number of distinct layouts: home, service page, article, contact, cart, checkout. Each is separate design and separate testing.
When asking for a quote, ask "how many distinct layouts", not "how many pages".
2. Who writes the content
This is the most common reason two quotes differ, and it is often left unsaid. Are you supplying the copy and photographs, or is the agency producing them?
- If you supply the text, the project is shorter and cheaper.
- If the agency writes it, that is real work and it belongs in the price.
- Photography is always a separate line item. If stock images are acceptable, agree on that up front.
3. Off-the-shelf theme or custom design
Buying a theme and placing your content into it is the cheapest route, and for many businesses it is enough. A custom design means your own colours, your own layout, and a look that separates you from competitors — more expensive and slower.
There is a middle path: a proven structure, coloured and arranged around your brand. For most small and mid-sized businesses this is the right place to land.
4. Does the site do a job, or does it just sit there?
There is a large gap between a brochure site and one that takes money. A site that accepts payment also involves:
- A payment gateway application and bank integration
- Order, refund and shipping flows
- Distance selling terms and pre-sale information
- Stock tracking
Booking systems, forms and member accounts are the same story. The difference between "it looks good" and "it works" is most of the difference in price.
5. One-off project or ongoing service
The work does not stop at delivery. The domain renews yearly, hosting is billed monthly or yearly, security updates arrive, content changes.
Ask this before you sign: when I want to change something, what happens? Can I edit it myself, or do I pay for every change? This single question can double your first-year cost.
6. Timeline
Rush work costs more. Compressing two weeks into five days means other projects get pushed, and that shows up in the price. If you can plan ahead, start early.
What to actually compare
Do not compare the headline number. Compare the answers to four questions:
- Who produces the content?
- Who makes changes after launch, and is it billed?
- Are the domain and hosting included in year one, and what do they cost after?
- Does the site perform a task — payment, forms, bookings — or only present information?
If those four answers are clear, you can genuinely compare two quotes. If they are not, the cheaper quote is usually not cheaper. It is just smaller.