How much does a website actually cost?

It's the first question almost everyone asks, and the honest answer is: it depends. But that's not very helpful, so let me break down what actually moves the number.

What you're really paying for

A website price comes down to a few things:

1. How many pages, and how custom. A polished five-page site is a very different job to a fifty-page site with custom layouts on each one.
2. Design. A template you fill in is cheap. A design built around your brand, that nobody else has, takes more time and skill.
3. Functionality. A brochure site is straightforward. Add bookings, payments, logins or a custom database and you're building an application, not a website.
4. Who builds it. A hobbyist, an offshore team, and an experienced local engineer will all quote differently — and you'll get different results.

The trap of the cheapest quote

The cheapest option is rarely the cheapest in the long run. A site that's slow, hard to update, or invisible to Google costs you customers every single day it's live. I've rebuilt plenty of "bargain" websites, and the rebuild almost always costs more than doing it properly the first time.

What good value looks like

You're getting value when your website:

• Loads fast and works perfectly on a phone.
• Shows up when people search for what you do.
• Turns visitors into enquiries instead of just sitting there.
• You own outright — the code, the domain, the lot. No lock-in.

A website isn't a cost to be minimised. Done right, it's one of the hardest-working members of your team.

So, a real number?

Every project is different, which is why I quote each one individually after we've talked — with a clear, fixed price up front and no surprises. Book a free discovery call and I'll give you a straight answer for your specific situation.