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Same request,
quotes that differ several times over.
You ask three companies, get three very different numbers, and all three say theirs is fair. Usually nobody is cheating you — the three of them are simply pricing different things. This piece takes the gap apart so you know what you are paying for.
To be clear: this piece quotes no prices
We do not put numbers in articles. The reason is simple: a five-page brochure site and a site with booking, an admin panel and three languages are different amounts of work by a wide margin, so the quotes differ by a wide margin too. A figure in an article would be made up — and worse, you would then measure real quotes against it and judge them wrongly.
If you want a real range, describe what you actually need and any shop can give you one, us included. What this piece solves is the other half: knowing which things to describe, and how to read the quotes that come back.
The six variables behind the price
Almost every price gap resolves into these six. Think them through before you ask, and the quotes get far more accurate.
Page count — and whether the pages share a mould
Five pages and twenty pages obviously differ, but what matters more is whether they look alike. Twenty product pages built from one layout is far less work than five individually designed pages. Saying "how many different-looking pages" is more useful than "how many pages".
Who writes the words and who shoots the photos
The most commonly skipped item, and the one that most often turns into an argument halfway through. Are you supplying the text, or is the shop drafting it? Are photos existing ones or does someone need to shoot them? Cheap-looking quotes often assume you provide everything — and most businesses do not have it ready.
Whether you need features, and which ones
A site that only presents information and a site that takes bookings, payments, or lets you list products yourself are different engineering jobs. Especially "I want to edit it myself": that requires an admin panel, and an admin panel is a whole system to build and maintain.
How many languages
A trilingual site is not one site translated three times. Each language needs its own URLs, its own metadata, its own search work, plus logic for which language a first-time visitor sees. The translation itself is the cheapest part of it.
New build or rebuild
If the old site ranks, every old address has to be redirected one by one — invisible on a quote and impossible to skip. A quote that skips it looks cheaper, and the cost shows up as rankings dropping on launch day. That cost never appears on the quote sheet.
What happens after launch
The biggest dividing line. "Built and handed over" and "built, then someone keeps watching rankings, updating content and fixing problems" are two different businesses. Comparing those two quotes directly is comparing a one-off purchase to an ongoing service.
The two most often left out are the second and the sixth — who supplies content, and who looks after it afterwards. Leave those unstated and the numbers on the quotes cannot be compared, because they are not prices for the same thing.
How to describe the job so quotes become comparable
No need for technical language. Cover the following in plain words, send the same paragraph to three shops, and the quotes that come back can actually be compared.
What your business does and who your customers are
One sentence. It sets the direction of the whole site and tells you whether the shop has done anything like it.
What you want visitors to do on the site
Call you, fill in a form, order online, or come to the shop afterwards? Getting this one clear is worth a hundred times more than saying "I want a nice website".
What content you can supply and what you need help with
Text, photos, logo, opening details — go through them. If you are unsure, say so, and ask the shop to state in the quote whether it is included.
Whether you need to edit it yourself, and which parts
Some owners only ever change opening hours; some add new products daily. Those two place very different demands on an admin panel.
Whether you already have a site, and whether it ranks
Always mention an existing site and give the address. It decides whether URL migration is needed, and whether a chunk of hidden work sits inside the quote.
Quoting styles that deserve a follow-up question
None of these is automatically a problem. The point is to ask — the answer to the follow-up is what tells you something.
A number arrives before any questions do
Nobody asked what your business is, how many languages, whether an old site exists — and a price appeared anyway. Based on what? Usually a low number to hold your attention, with details renegotiated after signing.
The quote is one line saying "website"
One line tells you nothing about what is included. At minimum it should separate design, build, content and post-launch service. If it cannot be separated, no dispute about any of them can be settled later.
Priced per page without asking how complex pages are
"X per page" sounds clear, but it ignores the single biggest driver of workload — how many distinct layouts there are. This style tends to turn into change orders halfway through.
Nothing about after launch
A quote that covers delivery and never mentions who watches rankings or updates content usually means the day it launches is the day service ends. That can be fine — you just need to know that is what you bought.
Domain and accounts in the shop’s name
Strictly not a price question, but more important than price. Before signing, ask whose name the domain, hosting, Google Business Profile and ad accounts sit under. Anyone who cannot answer plainly makes switching painful later.
What cheap costs you, and what expensive buys you
A very low quote is rarely charity; usually several items are not counted — you supply all content, nobody looks after it afterwards, old addresses are not migrated, or an off-the-shelf template gets a colour change. All of that is acceptable, provided you know that is what you are buying.
A high quote is not automatically a rip-off either. Admin panels, multiple languages and someone watching it long term genuinely cost more. The only question is whether you need those things. A small shop that just needs the phone to ring does not need a product-listing back end.
The one to avoid is the third kind — mid-range, with nobody stating what is inside. That usually ends badly for both sides: you feel something was missed, and the shop says it was never included.
Questions this article gets
A template is much cheaper. Is that fine?
It can be, depending on the job. A shop that only needs people to find its address, phone and menu is well served by a template site, and spending more would be waste.
Two things to watch: template sites often start at a disadvantage in search, because the structure was not designed around your business; and heavily modified templates frequently end up costing more than a build would have. If you intend to take ranking seriously, do that maths early.
Why is a trilingual site not three times a single-language one?
Because translation is the cheapest part. The real work is each language having its own URLs, metadata and search work, plus deciding which language a first-time visitor lands on. The flip side is that because the structure is shared, three languages usually cost well under three times.
Can I build part of it now and add more later?
Yes, and usually that is the better deal — build the part that brings customers first, then add once you see results. The condition is that the initial structure leaves room. Saying up front what might be added later costs far less than tearing something down to add it.
What "invisible" items should a quote cover?
At least these four: who pays for domain and hosting in year one, how long small fixes stay free after launch, whether old-URL migration is included, and whether every account is handed into your name at delivery. Leave those out and each becomes an argument later.
Can you give me a rough figure?
Yes, once you have covered the items above. Send us what the business does and what you want visitors to do, and we will give a range plus what it does and does not include. If we are not a fit we will say so.
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