How much does a website cost? What drives the price

What does the price of a website depend on?

When two quotes are far apart, they are almost always describing two different websites. Only a few items move the price, and it pays to know them before you ask for a figure.

• Type of site: a single presentation page costs far less than a site that handles bookings, payments or a client area.
• Number of pages and content: every extra service, product or language is another page to design, write and optimise.
• Custom design or ready-made template: a layout designed for you takes more hours than an adapted theme.
• Features and integrations: calendar, advanced forms, online payments, a connection to your management software or other services.
• Copy and photos: whether you supply them or they have to be written and shot from scratch.
• SEO setup: page structure, titles and descriptions, speed, connection with Google Business Profile.
• Multilingual: every language adds translation, proofreading and a version that also has to be looked after for search engines.

A rule of thumb: the price grows more with features than with pages. Adding three service pages to a brochure site changes little; adding a booking system with online payment moves the project into another category.

How much does a website cost by type?

Here is how the most common types of site compare, from the lightest project to the most demanding. We don't give figures because, for the same type, the price changes a lot depending on what is included: we set it together after a free first consultation, starting from what you need.

Within each type, the items above make the difference. A brochure site with ready copy and an adapted template stays light; the same site with custom design, each service described on its own page and a photo shoot becomes a much richer project.

Two examples from our work. Studio Colonna24, a dental and aesthetic medicine studio in Naples, has a page for each of its 21 services, a blog, online booking and local SEO: a rich brochure site with extra features. Federica Prestige Stay, on the other hand, has a built-in booking engine, a calendar synced with Airbnb and Booking.com and four languages: that puts it among sites with bookings, with substantial integrations.

Ready-made template or custom design: how much difference does it make?

Platforms with ready-made templates let you start on a small budget: pick a theme, add copy and photos, publish. The limits show up later, when you need a feature the template doesn't offer, when the site is slow because it loads code you don't use, or when you notice it looks like many of your competitors' sites.

A custom site costs more up front because the design and code are made for you. In return you get a lighter site that does better on core Web Vitals, with a recognisable identity and only the features you need.

For example, the site of Claudia Loperto Architetto opens with a full-screen video, has a floor plan that draws itself and pages laid out like drawing boards. With a custom CMS (Content Management System) she adds projects, plans and videos on her own. A result like that doesn't come from a generic template.

Which recurring costs should you budget for?

The quote covers building the site. Then there are yearly costs that are better known from the start, so they don't become a surprise in year two.

• Domain: the site's name, for example yourname.it. It renews every year and is one of the smallest costs of a website.
• Hosting: the server space where the site lives. A brochure site needs only a simple plan; an online shop or a high-traffic portal needs a more powerful one, and so a more expensive one.
• SSL certificate: it makes https and the padlock appear in the browser. It is often included with hosting, but check.
• Maintenance: security updates, backups, small changes, checking that everything works. It can be a yearly fee or billed by the hour.
• Third-party services: fees on online payments, automatic emails or text messages, any subscriptions to connected software.

Ask for these items to be written into the quote with amount and duration. With us, the domain, hosting and credentials are in the client's name from day one: if one day you want to change provider, the site stays yours.

DIY or agency: which is better?

Building the site yourself on a template platform costs little money and a lot of time. It works if you need a simple page, have a few evenings to spare and are fine with a standard result.

The maths changes when the site has to bring in customers. That takes skills DIY usually doesn't cover: pages structured for SEO, copy that answers customers' questions, speed, and a responsive site that works really well on phones, where many customers look for you.

If the budget is tight, a good compromise is to start with a well-made brochure site and add features later. A serious professional sets up the project so that growing doesn't mean starting over.

How to read a website quote

Two quotes with the same total can contain very different things. Before you sign, check that these items are spelled out and, if they're missing, ask for them.

1. What is included: number of pages, languages, features, whether copy and photos are part of it.
2. Whose name the domain is in and who gets the credentials for hosting, the admin panel and email.
3. Whether the site is responsive and how it is tested on phones and tablets.
4. What basic SEO covers: page titles and descriptions, sitemap, speed, connection to Google Search Console.
5. Whether you can edit the content yourself and whether a manual or a short training session is included.
6. Costs from year two: what domain, hosting and maintenance cost after delivery.
7. Timing and revisions: when delivery is planned and how many rounds of changes are included.

If an answer is vague, ask for it in writing. A clear quote protects both sides.

Mistakes to avoid when choosing who builds your site

• Picking the cheapest quote without looking at what's in it: copy, SEO or maintenance are often missing, and you pay for them separately later.
• Leaving the domain in the agency's name: if the relationship ends, you risk losing the site's name and the email addresses tied to it.
• Not having the access credentials: without them, every small change depends on whoever built the site.
• Neglecting the mobile version: a site that is awkward to read on a phone loses you enquiries.
• Forgetting basic SEO: without careful titles, a clear structure and a linked Google Business Profile, the site will struggle to be found.
• Not thinking about who will update the content: if every change needs the agency, costs add up over time.

To work out which range your project falls into, you can start from our page on website development in Milan. The first consultation is free, and its purpose is to define what you need before talking numbers.

Frequently asked questions