Typically, a custom-designed website can cost anywhere from $3,000 to $50,000+ (or higher) for design, build-out and development. Costs are primarily determined by; Type of Project (Simple Brochure Website); Number of Pages; Custom Functionality & Integrations (e.g., integration into other systems). Brochure Websites (simple), designed using Content Management Systems (CMS), generally cost between $3,000-$8,000. Business Websites utilizing CMS generally cost between $8,000-$20,000. E-Commerce Stores may be priced as low as $10,000 or as high as $35,000. Custom Web Applications generally start at prices around $20,000. The cheapest “Option” is often the most expensive over time because it leads to Bloat, Security Gaps, Inevitable Rebuilds of Plugin-heavy platforms.
“How much does a website cost?” Is probably the first thing every business person wants to know. And “it depends,” which is technically true, is usually not very helpful. Here is a straightforward breakdown using real prices, and some real Factors, and without generalities.
The Short Answer: Real Price Ranges by Project Type
| Project Type | Pages | Key Features | Timeline | Price Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simple brochure site | 5–10 | Contact form, basic CMS | 4–6 weeks | $3,000–$8,000 |
| Business website with CMS | 10–25 | Custom layouts, integrations, blog | 6–10 weeks | $8,000–$20,000 |
| E-commerce store (WooCommerce) | 25–100+ | Product catalog, payments, shipping | 8–12 weeks | $10,000–$35,000 |
| Custom web application (Laravel) | Varies | User accounts, dashboards, APIs | 10–16 weeks | $20,000–$50,000+ |
| Mobile app (Flutter) | N/A | iOS + Android, native features | 10–16 weeks | $15,000–$60,000+ |
These are approximate price ranges for developing with an experienced agency. They include the complete process from the initial phase, through design, development, testing and launch support. Prices can range based on geographic location, the size of the agency and how complex the project is; however these numbers give you a realistic expectation of what you might pay in 2026.
Factors that affect what your website will cost:
By understanding what contributes to higher and lower costs as you plan your website you will be able to create an accurate budget and make educated decisions about your trade offs.
Number of pages. As you increase the number of pages there is more design to be done, more content to be developed and more development time. For example, while both have many similarities, the difference between a five page brochure style website and a forty page corporate website are night and day regardless of how they may resemble each other at first glance.
Custom functionality. Any function that goes above just showing content increases the cost. This includes things such as, but not limited to, booking systems, calculators, user accounts, search filters, client portals, etc. All of these items require customized development. For example, a contact form is easy. A multi-step booking system with calendar integration and payment processing is difficult.
E-commerce requirements. Online stores have their own layers of complexity that informational sites do not. These include, but are not limited to, product catalogs, variant management (i.e., sizes and colors), payment gateway integration, shipping calculation, tax compliance, inventory management and order processing. While the number of products can factor into the cost of building out an e-commerce site it is far less important than the type of products you sell and the checkout experience you want.
Content creation. Who develops the text for your site? Who shoots the pictures? Who develops your graphics? If you supply all the content for your site before we begin then that will save us time. However if we develop the copy writing, take your photographs and create your graphics then you would need to allow an additional $2,000 to $5,000 or more depending upon the amount of content being developed.
Integrating third party tools. Each third party tool you integrate with your site (e.g. CRM – hubspot/salesforce, email marketing – mailchimp/active campaign, accounting software, ERP system, etc.) requires our developers spend time integrating those tools with your site.
Setting up SEO. Basic technical SEO (clean URLs, proper heading structure, fast loading time, schema markup) should be built-in to any professional build. A comprehensive SEO strategy including keyword research and content optimization are typically performed as separate engagements.
Why cheap websites are almost always going to be expensive in the end
Cheap websites don’t add up in terms of long term value.
For instance; $500 template from ThemeForest + $1000 freelancer setup = site online. But cheap websites come with plenty of hidden costs. Licenses for plugins can add another $200 to $500 per year. When a template isn’t capable of doing exactly what you want customization will hit a wall. Overuse of plugins will lead to poor performance. Security holes will show themselves as generic templates are typically the most frequently targeted by hackers. By year three, you’ll need to hire an agency ($8k-$15k+) to rebuild from scratch because the template-based site was not able to scale with your business.
What Should a Web Design Proposal Include?
The web design proposal should clearly outline what you’re getting paid for. Look for the following elements in a proposal.
A detailed scope of work. Not just “We’ll build your website,” but a listing of all pages, functionalities, integration, and deliverables. If something isn’t listed within the scope, then it won’t be done.
Timeline with Milestones. Specific dates or weeks assigned to each stage: Discovery, Design, Development, Testing, Launch. The less defined your timeline is; the less defined the outcome.
What’s Included vs. Extra Costs. Are there content writers included in the price? Are stock photos included? Is there an SEO setup charge? Will there be a second round of design revisions included? How many pages are included? Does the design account for mobile devices? Have this written into your contract.
Revision Policy. How many design revision cycles are included? How does a design revision differ from a scope change? Defining how many and what constitutes a revision cycle can reduce frustration for everyone involved.
Support After the Site Goes Live. What happens after the site has been launched? Is there a warranty (or similar) on bugs? How long does the provider offer you assistance prior to needing a maintenance plan?
Recurring Expenses. Recurring monthly expenses include hosting fees, renewals of domains, certificate renewal for SSL certificates, licensing of plugins, and maintenance. It would be wise for your proposal to acknowledge these costs at minimum. We also recommend considering maintenance plans.
Budgeting for Your New Website
If your new website is a central part of your business’ ability to generate revenue — and for nearly every business in 2026, it will be — we recommend spending 5% to 15% of your first-year revenue goal on creating your company’s digital footprint. That money will go towards building the website itself, developing content for the site, setting up basic search engine optimization (SEO), and paying for one year of hosting and maintenance.
Don’t forget that you’ll have recurring costs post-launch. Monthly hosting charges may vary between $20 and $200 per month depending upon your site’s performance needs. Ongoing monthly maintenance costs may range between $50 to $300 per month. Creating and updating content on your site will require an ongoing financial commitment either through hiring someone to write content or doing so yourself. All of these are not discretionary costs — they are simply the cost of maintaining an active investment.
If you don’t have enough budget to fund the entire project upfront, consider using a phased approach. Launch with an MVP (Minimum Viable Product). Your MVP will be comprised of your essential pages which are optimized for converting visitors into customers and feature necessary functions. Once your site begins generating visitor activity and producing some tangible performance metrics, you can begin adding additional features, content, and optimizing those aspects of the site which aren’t meeting their goals. Often times launching a solid MVP and then investing in subsequent phases generates more value than attempting to build everything in one step because the second phase is driven by real data generated from visitors rather than hypotheses.
Want to know exactly what your project would cost? We provide detailed, transparent proposals with no hidden fees. Get a free custom quote →
For the full picture on building a high-converting site, read our Complete Guide to Custom Web Design.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. In fact, we frequently suggest this. As long as the foundational architecture of your simple website has been done correctly, you can grow into new features and content by adding to what was built. The only thing to keep in mind when building an initial simple site is that you build the correct platform(s) for growth. Otherwise, once you decide to add additional capabilities you will essentially have to start again.
Deutrix generally uses fixed price quotes based upon a clearly defined scope. Fixed pricing prevents the cost of a project from going out-of-control; and defines expectations on each side. Hourly billing is usually reserved for either ongoing support or other forms of undefined-scope work.
Projects where only development is needed are very common. If you have completed design files (Sketch, Figma, Adobe XD), the typical cost of development is around 50% to 70% of the total cost of a complete design + development project; depending on how complicated the design is, and how many functions need to be developed.
Many agencies like Deutrix offer phased billing tied to milestones such as; a down payment to kick off the project, a second payment after your design files are approved, and then the final payment at launch time. Some large projects can also be set up to allow for monthly payments.
