The question “how much does a website cost?” is legitimate. The answer “it depends” is frustrating but correct. This article breaks down real cost ranges, explains what determines them, and — above all — helps you understand what you are buying at each price level.
The Problem with Quotes Without Context
You receive three quotes: €2,000, €12,000, €45,000. All three for “a professional website for my company”. How is this difference possible?
The answer is that you are not comparing the same product. You are comparing three radically different approaches to the same word — “website” — that hide enormous differences in architecture, process, quality, and value over time.
Price Ranges and What They Really Include
€1,000–4,000 Range: The Template Site
At this price, you are typically buying:
- A WordPress theme or a visual builder (Elementor, Divi, WP Bakery)
- Superficial customization of the template (colors, logo, texts)
- No preliminary strategic analysis
- Mediocre performance (visual builders generate heavy code)
- Basic technical SEO, often configured with generic plugins
- Minimal or no post-delivery guarantee
When it’s okay: for a local business with minimal needs, a temporary landing page, or as a bridge solution while planning something structured.
Main risk: the real cost emerges over time — paid plugins, neglected security, degrading performance, impossibility to add features without starting from scratch.
€5,000–15,000 Range: The Structured Site
At this price, you are typically buying:
- An analysis and strategy phase (at least partial)
- Custom or semi-custom design, not an unrecognizable template
- Development on a correctly configured CMS (WordPress, Webflow, or headless)
- Careful technical SEO (URL structure, sitemap, schema markup, performance)
- Testing on real devices and browsers
- Training for autonomous content management
- Contractually defined post-launch support
When it makes sense: for the vast majority of SMEs that want a site working as a business tool, not as a static business card.
€15,000–50,000 Range: The Complex Digital Project
At this price, you are typically buying:
- In-depth discovery (competitor analysis, user research, flow mapping)
- Custom architecture designed to scale
- Complete design system
- Development on modern stack (Next.js, headless frameworks, API integrations)
- E-commerce with custom logic, configurators, quoting systems
- Integrations with CRM, ERP, marketing tools
- Optimized performance (Core Web Vitals, CDN, advanced caching)
- Structured QA
When it makes sense: for e-commerce with a complex catalog, customer portals, web applications with specific business logic, companies making online a primary acquisition channel.
€50,000+ Range: Platforms and Digital Products
SaaS applications, marketplaces, enterprise platforms, digital products with millions of users. Separate budgets for discovery, design, development, testing, infrastructure, security.
The Hidden Costs Nobody Tells You About
Hosting and infrastructure: from €10/month (shared, not suitable for anything serious) to €200–500/month (VPS or cloud configured for performance and reliability).
Domain and certificates: marginal (€10–30/year) but to be considered.
Plugins and software licenses: a “professional” WordPress site may require €500–2,000/year in premium plugins.
Maintenance: security updates, backups, monitoring. Estimate 15–20% of the initial cost annually.
Content: texts, professional photography, video. Often not included in the developer’s quote. A professional photoshoot is worth €500–2,000; professional copywriting for an average site is worth €1,000–5,000.
Ongoing SEO: a technically optimized site doesn’t rank itself. A continuous SEO strategy has separate costs.
How to Evaluate a Quote
Don’t compare the total price. Compare what is included in each item.
Questions to ask any agency:
- Is a discovery/analysis phase included? How many hours?
- Is the design custom or template-based?
- What performance metrics are guaranteed at launch?
- How is post-launch maintenance structured?
- Does the source code remain my property?
- What happens if I need changes 12 months after launch?
A quote that does not answer these questions is not a quote: it’s a vague promise.
The Real Parameter: ROI, Not Price
The right question is not “how much does the site cost?” but “how much is it worth to my company to have a site that works?”.
If your digital channel brings 10 qualified leads per month with an average value of €3,000 each, the difference between a 2% and a 4% conversion rate is worth €30,000/year. In this context, the difference between a €5,000 site and a €20,000 site becomes irrelevant if the latter converts twice as much.
Start from the estimation of value, not from the minimum acceptable budget.
Marfcode offers a free preliminary analysis to define the appropriate scope and budget for your project.
→ Request a free project analysis
Related article: Web and Mobile Development for SMEs: complete guide | Astro and Directus: headless architecture for high-performance sites
