Web Development
What decides the cost of a website?
Two websites can look alike and cost very different amounts. These are the parts of a project that move the price, so you can compare quotes with the right questions.
2 min read
Ask five developers what a website costs and you will hear five numbers. Most of that gap comes from a handful of decisions, and once you know them you can read any quote with more confidence.
How many kinds of page
A site with forty pages is not always more work than one with ten. What counts is how many different kinds of page there are. A home page, a product page, a list of products and a contact page are four designs. Adding the hundredth product page costs almost nothing once the first one exists.
Who will change the content
If someone on your team needs to add products, change prices or post updates without calling a developer, the site needs an admin panel. That is a second piece of software with its own screens, logins and checks, and it is often the largest single part of the cost. It also saves money every month after launch, so it is worth deciding on early.
Whether the content is ready
Text, photos and product details take longer to gather than most people expect. When content arrives late, the work stops and starts, and the project runs longer. Having the main pages written and the photos chosen before work begins is one of the simplest ways to keep a budget steady.
What the site connects to
Payments, WhatsApp, email tools, a booking calendar or an existing billing system each need to be connected and tested. Every connection adds work, and some services charge their own fees on top.
A design made for you, or a template
A template is quicker and cheaper and can look good. A design made for your business takes longer because each page is planned around your customers and your content. Both are fair choices. The quote should say clearly which one you are getting.
What happens after launch
Hosting, the domain, backups and small fixes continue after the site is live. Ask what is included, what is charged later, and who you call when something breaks.
Questions to ask with every quote
Which pages and features are included? Will we be able to edit the content ourselves? Who owns the code and the accounts? What will it cost each year after launch? A clear answer to each of these tells you more than the total on its own.
Where we help with this