The Short Answer
| Type | Price Range | Timeline |
|---|---|---|
| Landing page | $499–$1,500 | 3–5 days |
| Business website (5–10 pages) | $1,500–$5,000 | 1–3 weeks |
| E-commerce store | $3,000–$15,000 | 3–6 weeks |
| Custom web application | $10,000–$50,000+ | 2–6 months |
But those numbers mean nothing without context. Let’s break down what actually drives the cost.
What Makes a Website Expensive
1. Custom Design vs. Template
A template-based site costs less upfront but limits your ability to stand out. Custom design means a designer creates layouts specifically for your brand, audience, and goals.
- Template customization: $500–$2,000
- Custom design (from scratch): $2,000–$10,000
2. Number of Pages & Complexity
A 5-page brochure site is straightforward. A 50-page site with dynamic content, user accounts, and integrations is a different project entirely.
Each page with unique layouts, interactions, or data requirements adds development time.
3. Content Management
Do you need to update content yourself? A CMS (Content Management System) adds setup time but saves you money long-term since you won’t need a developer for every text change.
4. Integrations
Every external service connection adds complexity:
- Payment processing (Stripe, PayPal)
- CRM sync (HubSpot, Zoho)
- Email marketing (Mailchimp, Brevo)
- Booking systems
- Chat widgets
- Analytics & tracking
5. SEO & Performance
A site that ranks on Google needs:
- Proper technical SEO setup
- Schema markup
- Fast page loads (Core Web Vitals)
- Mobile optimization
- Content strategy
This is often skipped in cheap builds and costs more to fix later.
The Hidden Costs Nobody Mentions
Hosting
- Shared hosting: $5–$30/month
- Cloud hosting (Cloudflare, Vercel, AWS): $0–$50/month
- Managed WordPress: $30–$100/month
Domain
.comdomain: $10–$15/year- Premium domains: $100–$10,000+
SSL Certificate
- Free with most modern hosting (Cloudflare, Let’s Encrypt)
- Paid EV certificates: $100–$300/year (rarely needed)
Maintenance
- Security updates, backups, monitoring: $50–$200/month
- Or do it yourself for free if you’re technical
Content
- Professional copywriting: $100–$500 per page
- Photography: $500–$2,000 for a shoot
- Stock photos: $0–$30 each
How to Get the Best Value
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Start with a clear scope. Know exactly what pages you need, what features are essential, and what can wait for phase 2.
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Get fixed-price quotes. Hourly billing incentivizes slow work. Fixed pricing means the developer is motivated to be efficient.
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Prioritize performance. A fast site converts better and ranks higher. Don’t sacrifice speed for flashy animations nobody asked for.
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Own your code. Make sure you get the source code and can move to a different developer if needed. Avoid platform lock-in.
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Plan for growth. Build on a stack that lets you add features without rebuilding everything. Modern frameworks (Astro, Next.js) scale well.
Red Flags in Website Quotes
- No fixed price — “We’ll bill hourly and estimate 40–60 hours” means your budget is a suggestion
- No timeline — If they can’t commit to a delivery date, they’re juggling too many projects
- Monthly fees for basic sites — A static site shouldn’t cost $99/month to host
- “Proprietary platform” — You can’t leave without rebuilding from scratch
- No mention of SEO — If they’re not thinking about search from day one, you’ll pay to fix it later
Our Approach
At Wyrestack, we give you:
- Fixed pricing (quoted before work starts)
- 7–14 day delivery for most projects
- Full source code ownership
- SEO-first architecture
- 30 days post-launch support
Ready to get a real quote? Tell us about your project and we’ll respond within 24 hours with a clear plan and fixed price.