What makes a website cost more (or less)?

Ask three people for a website and you may get three prices that look like they're for three different things. Usually they are. "A website" can mean a single page or a shop with a thousand products, and the price follows what's actually included.

So instead of a number, here's what makes the number go up or down. Once you know these, quotes start to make sense, and you can compare them properly.

1. How many pages, and how different they are

Five pages that share one layout (home, services, about, gallery, contact) are a lot less work than fifteen pages that each need their own design. More pages isn't the problem by itself; more different kinds of pages is.

2. Who brings the content

Text and photos are often the slowest part of a project. If you already have good photos and know what you want to say, things move fast. If the texts need writing, the photos need taking or the menu needs translating into a second language, that's real work and it should be in the quote.

3. What the site has to do

A site that shows information is one thing. A site that takes bookings, sells products, handles payments, sends invoices or has a members' area is another. Every feature like this adds building, testing and responsibility: when money or personal data is involved, it has to work every time.

4. Custom design or a ready-made template

A template is cheaper and can look fine. A custom design fits your business and stands out, but takes more time. Both are valid; the important thing is knowing which one you're being offered.

5. Languages

A second language isn't just copy and paste. Every page, button, form and email needs its translated version, and search engines need to be told which page is which language.

6. What happens after launch

Websites need hosting, a domain, updates, backups and someone to call when something breaks. Some quotes include this for a period, some charge monthly, some don't mention it at all. Ask.

What you should never pay extra for

These are the baseline of a decent website in 2026, not upgrades:

Works properly on phones.
Loads fast.
Secure (the padlock in the address bar, and kept up to date).
Basic Google setup: page titles, descriptions, a sitemap.
You own your domain and your content.

If any of these shows up as an "extra", be careful.

How to compare quotes

Put them side by side and check: how many pages, who writes the text, which features, how many languages, what's included after launch, and who owns what at the end. A cheaper quote that leaves out half of that isn't cheaper.

If you tell me what you need, I'll send you a fixed price up front, split into a deposit and a final payment, with exactly what's included written down. No surprises.