What a good website costs, and why

Ask three companies for a website quote and you may get three very different numbers. That does not always mean someone is cheating you. Websites vary a lot, and the price follows the work involved.

What pushes the price up or down

• Size. Five pages take less time than fifty.
• Features. A contact form is simple. An online shop with mobile money payments, a login area or a booking system takes much longer.
• Design. A design made around your brand costs more than adjusting a ready-made template.
• Content. Someone has to write the text and supply the photos. If you provide them, the price drops.
• Connections to other systems. Linking to your accounts, your payment provider or your records adds work.

Costs that come after launch

A domain name and hosting are paid to other companies and renew every year. Updates, security checks and backups also take time. Ask whether these are included, and what they cost each month or year.

Why very low prices deserve a second look

A very low price can be honest, for a small site built from a template. It can also hide a lot: no mobile version, no backups, no help when something breaks, or a site that you cannot move to another company. The price on the quote is only part of what you will pay.

Questions to ask before you choose

1. What exactly is included, page by page and feature by feature?
2. Who owns the website and the domain once it is finished?
3. What happens if something breaks after launch, and who fixes it?
4. How many rounds of changes are included?
5. What will I pay each year to keep it running?
6. How and when do I pay?

A good supplier answers these clearly and writes the answers into the quote. Our own approximate ranges are on the pricing page, and you can ask for a quote for your own project.