The cost of a business website is not determined by page count alone. Objectives, content work, custom design, functionality, integrations, accessibility, measurement and post-launch responsibility often matter more. Digitari's typical range for business websites is €1,000–€8,000, but a comparable estimate requires a shared scope.
Price starts with the job the website must do
A lightweight brochure site, a B2B sales site and an integrated web service are different products. Before setting the budget, define whose decision the site should support, what users must be able to do and how success will be measured. Without this, two visually similar proposals may contain very different amounts of strategy, content and implementation work.
Page count becomes useful only when the page types are known. One custom calculator, booking flow or product search can take more work than ten content pages using the same template. Ask proposals to list page types, components, integrations and acceptance criteria.
What makes up the project cost?
A strong proposal exposes both delivery stages and responsibilities. If content, photography or approvals sit with the client, the quoted fee may be low while the internal workload is high. Include your team's time when comparing total cost.
Technology does not automatically make a site good or expensive. Select it based on content management, integrations, available skills, performance, security and maintainability. A standard platform can be sensible for standard needs; custom development is justified when it removes a material constraint or automates valuable work.
| Stage | What should be included | Typical cost driver |
|---|---|---|
| Discovery | Goals, users, structure and measurement | Several business areas or unclear scope |
| Content | Copy, imagery, search demand and migration | Large volumes of new or multilingual content |
| Design | User flows, wireframes and visual system | Many unique page types and components |
| Build | CMS, responsive behaviour, forms and technical SEO | Integrations, user roles or custom logic |
| Quality assurance | Browser, device, accessibility and performance tests | Strict targets and independent audits |
| Launch | Redirects, analytics, training and handover | A large legacy site or complex environment |
Content is often the largest hidden cost
A new design will not fix an unclear offer. Content work includes understanding customer questions, structuring services, writing copy, sourcing imagery, metadata and deciding what to do with old pages. If your team supplies content, still agree guidance, deadlines, editing and final quality ownership.
SEO is not a field added at the end. Information architecture, search intent, internal links, indexability, headings and metadata are built throughout the project. Google emphasises useful, well-organised content and technical access for crawlers.
- who interviews subject-matter experts and writes the first draft
- how many review and approval rounds are included
- whether old articles, images and metadata are migrated
- whether search research and redirect mapping are included
- who maintains content after launch
Budget for ongoing costs too
The project fee covers the build, but the site still needs hosting, a domain, backups, monitoring, security updates and content development. Maintenance for sites delivered by Digitari starts at €250 per year. Exact scope depends on the technology and agreed service level.
The cheapest maintenance is not always the lowest risk. Check response times, restore testing, responsibility for security updates, licence renewals, small-change pricing and the exit process. Your company should control at least the domain, analytics, search tools and agreed source assets.
| Ongoing cost | What to verify |
|---|---|
| Domain and hosting | Contract owner, capacity and service level |
| Maintenance | Updates, monitoring, backups and support channel |
| Licences | CMS, consent, fonts, forms and integrations |
| Content and SEO | Who reviews demand and updates key pages |
| Measurement | Consent management, events and reporting ownership |
Compare total cost, not the final line
Ask suppliers to answer the same scope and make assumptions and exclusions visible. One proposal may include content, accessibility testing and analytics while another covers only the technical build. Compare at least a three-year total: project, licences, maintenance, required follow-up work and internal time.
If procurement is just beginning, use the website buying guide and assess separately how to choose a website partner.
- specific deliverables and work left to the client
- hourly rate or model for change requests
- performance, accessibility and browser acceptance criteria
- ownership of accounts, data, design and code
- maintenance, support and exit terms
A sound budget connects to measurable value
Do not justify payback with a generic promise of higher conversion. Establish the baseline: qualified enquiries, common drop-off points, search visibility and manual work caused by the current solution. Set measurable but realistic targets for the new site.
You can reduce initial investment through phases: publish the most important services and conversion paths first, then add automation and extensions. Phasing works only when the first release has an architecture, content model and ownership setup that support further development.
When you want content, implementation, measurement and maintenance explained as separate, understandable items, explore our website service.
Sources and further reading
Recommendations on content, search, performance and accessibility were checked against official Google and W3C guidance. Digitari's price ranges are resolved from the site's central service-price data.
