Introduction: how much does a website cost in 2025?
How much should you invest in a website this year? It sounds like a simple question. In practice, the budget depends on what you want the site to do, when you need it, and how polished you expect the result to be. A small brochure site can be affordable if you keep the scope tight. An online store, a client portal, or a product-like web app requires more time, more testing, and more integrations. This guide is written for non-technical and technical readers alike. We explain terms when they first appear and give you a clear way to estimate a realistic budget, without nasty surprises later.
What actually drives the price
Three levers move the number more than anything else: scope, quality level, and how the work is organized.
Start with scope. It is the list of pages, templates, and features you need on day one. Ten static pages with a contact form are nothing like a catalog of 1,000 products or a signup flow with user roles and permissions.
Then there is quality. That covers design craft, accessibility for all users (contrast, text alternatives, keyboard navigation), mobile experience, and performance. Each of these takes time, but each also pays back in trust, conversion, and fewer support requests.
Finally, delivery method. A senior team costs more per hour, yet makes fewer mistakes, documents decisions, and reduces rework. That often lowers the total and keeps the launch date firm.
Estimating without guesswork
Write down what the site must do on day one. Not next quarter, not after fundraising. Then list “later” items. This single split clarifies a big chunk of the budget and helps everyone make trade-offs with less friction.
Call the first list Release 1. It contains must-have pages, forms, critical journeys, basic SEO, security, and analytics. The second list becomes Release 2 and beyond. That is where you park nice-to-haves, advanced integrations, and automation. You fund Release 1, you outline Release 2, and you ship with confidence.
Where the money goes, explained simply
Discovery and strategy. Before you produce anything, align the goal, audience, and priority journeys. Clarify the few things the site must do to be valuable. This avoids scope creep and “we’ll see later” choices that always become expensive.
UX and UI design. UX is the structure and flow. UI is the final look, components, states, and mobile details. Strong design speeds up development and testing. If you want a premium feel or a bold identity, plan extra time for art direction and a small component library.
Development and integrations. Front end is what people see and interact with. Back end is what processes data and connects systems. Integrations with payment, CRM, inventory, or marketing tools can dominate the effort once you consider edge cases, errors, and security.
Content and starter SEO. Clear copy takes time. So does selecting or creating images that look good and load fast. Starter SEO means page titles, meta descriptions, sensible headings, and an internal linking plan. Good content prep accelerates the build and reduces rework.
Testing and launch. This is where you verify journeys, forms, account flows, mobile layouts, performance, and privacy compliance. Fix issues, publish, and monitor. That discipline prevents customer tickets on day one.
Operations. Hosting, updates, backups, small improvements. This is the insurance policy that keeps the site healthy.
Price ranges for 2025 (useful markers, adjust to your market)
These bands include design, development, and guidance. They vary by region, seniority, and how polished you want the result to be. They do not include ongoing costs.
Single-page or mini brochure
Great for launching an offer, collecting inquiries, and testing a market.
Typical range: €1,500 to €5,000.
Expect a solid layout, an effective form, basic SEO, and a clean mobile view.
Small business brochure, 5–15 pages
Service pages, about, blog, stronger forms, maybe scheduling.
Typical range: €4,000 to €12,000.
Time goes into reusable templates, components, mobile quality, and a simple analytics setup.
Entry-level e-commerce
Twenty to 300 products, payments, taxes, shipping, transactional emails.
Typical range: €8,000 to €40,000 depending on platform (Shopify, WooCommerce, headless) and business rules.
Costs rise with variants, promotions, stock links, and end-to-end testing.
Client portal or business portal
User roles, permissions, dashboards, automation, system integrations.
Typical range: €20,000 to €100,000+.
Discovery, security, and testing are non-negotiable here.
Ongoing costs you should expect
A website is not a one-off purchase. There is a small, regular cost to keep it fast and safe.
- Domain name: €10 to €25 per year.
- Managed hosting for an SMB: €150 to €1,200 per year depending on traffic and redundancy.
- Maintenance and support: €50 to €500 per month based on service level.
- Optional tools: email delivery, CDN (a content delivery network that speeds up loading), analytics, A/B testing. From free to a few hundred euros per month.
In-house, outsourced, or a hybrid team
Doing everything in-house is possible if you have the skills and the time. Outsourcing brings process, speed, and an outside view. The most common path is hybrid. You keep brand and part of the content in-house, and a partner handles UX/UI, development, integrations, and testing. Assign a clear internal owner who can make decisions quickly.
Agency or freelancer, and when each fits
An agency gives you a cross-functional team, process, and continuity. A senior freelancer is fast and effective on a defined scope and a tight timeline. For complex commerce or a portal, a small multi-disciplinary squad is safer on timeline and quality. The right choice depends on the risk you can tolerate. If downtime or failed checkout is costly, bias toward a team that covers design, engineering, and QA.
How to request a quote that protects your budget
A strong proposal describes scope (pages and features), quality expectations (performance, accessibility, responsive behavior), deliverables (design files, code, documentation), the schedule with milestones, and the assumptions. It also spells out what is out of scope and how change requests are handled. Share constraints early. The more you explain, the more accurate the price.
Common pitfalls to avoid: switching tools mid-project without reason, underestimating content work, ignoring mobile performance, skipping privacy and cookie handling, launching without backups or monitoring. Each looks small in isolation. Together, they double the cost.
Lower the bill without lowering quality
You do not need to build everything at once. Sequence well and you spend less for a better outcome.
- Ship in stages. Release something useful quickly, watch how people use it, then improve.
- Reuse components. A light design system and proven UI pieces are faster than inventing every pattern.
- Keep integrations simple at the start. Deep connectors can wait until usage proves the value.
- Prepare content early. Ready copy avoids three rounds of design and development tweaks.
- Test on mobile early. A small fix in week two costs far less than the same fix in week eight.
Redesign without losing your SEO
Changing your URL structure requires a redirect map. It is a table that says “old page → new page.” Without it, you lose traffic and links. For commerce, plan data migration for products, customers, and orders, and run end-to-end tests from click to confirmation email on a staging environment.
Three quick scenarios to find your place
Local micro-business, eight-page brochure. Simple identity, booking widget, light blog. Two weeks for discovery and design, two for build and testing. €4,000 to €7,000.
SMB, brochure with lead generation. Twelve to fifteen pages, contact funnels, analytics, starter SEO, hiring pages. €7,000 to €15,000 depending on accessibility and performance standards.
Niche e-commerce. 120 products, variants, payments, shipping, taxes, cart recovery, stock sync. €18,000 to €35,000 depending on platform and rule complexity.
Measure the return, not only the bill
Pick three to five metrics before you sign: qualified inquiries, conversion rate, mobile load time, support tickets related to the site, non-brand sales or leads. Compare at one, three, and six months post-launch. A site that loads a second faster and produces 20 percent more forms has often “paid back” several optional features already.
FAQ
Can a brochure site launch in three weeks?
Yes, if the scope is clear, content is ready, and decisions are quick. If not, plan five to seven weeks to include feedback cycles.
Why does a “simple” online store go over €20,000?
Payments, taxes, shipping, product variants, security, and transactional emails create many edge cases and tests. It is more work than it looks.
Should we chase perfect performance scores?
Aim for fast, stable pages on mobile. Scores are indicators, not goals by themselves. Real user experience matters more.
Is maintenance mandatory?
Nothing is mandatory, but running without updates or backups increases risk. A small monthly plan prevents urgent and costly fixes.
Can we build on a low-code site builder?
For a brochure site, yes, with limits on performance and customization. For commerce or anything with real business rules, you will want a more robust base in the medium term.
Conclusion
There is no single “right” number. The right budget is the one that serves the outcome you want now without blocking what comes next. Frame the goal, split scope into stages, document choices, and test early. Choose a team that understands your priorities, keep a small operations budget, and measure what matters. Your website turns from a cost center into a working asset that helps every day.
