How Much Does a Website Cost, and When Should You Hire Professionals?

Ask most web developers “How much does a website cost?” and you’ll hear “It depends.” That’s true, but it doesn’t help you decide. So in this article we’ll be specific: what the different options cost, what drives the price, and when hiring professionals simply isn’t worth it yet.

Three ways to get a website

These are rough figures. The final price always depends on the scope of the project.

What affects the price

• Number of pages. A one-page landing page costs far less than a site with ten subpages.
• Branding. If you already have a logo, colors and fonts, there’s less work. If they need to be designed, the price goes up.
• Languages. Every extra language means more work on content, translation and SEO.
• Features. Online booking, a blog or the ability to edit content yourself all require extra development.
• Online shop. Here the number of products, payment methods, shipping and accounting integration all count. More on our e-commerce development page.
• Content. If you prepare texts and photos yourself, you save money. If we prepare them, it’s part of the price.

You can see everything we include in every website on our web development page. And you can estimate the cost of your own project in two minutes with our website cost calculator.

When it’s better to build it yourself

We’ll say this openly, even though building websites is what we do: sometimes you don’t need us.

Build it yourself if:

• you’re still testing an idea and don’t know whether there’s enough demand,
• you don’t have regular clients yet and every euro counts,
• your hourly rate is low and you have time to learn a new tool,
• you only need a simple presentation: who you are, what you offer and how to reach you.

At this stage, what matters most is checking whether people actually want what you’re offering. A simple site on Wix or a similar tool is perfectly enough for that. Once the idea takes off, you can always upgrade.

When it pays to hire professionals

Once the business is running, the math flips. Hiring professionals pays off if:

• you have clients and little time, because every hour spent fiddling with your website is an hour not spent on your business,
• your site needs to bring in new clients, meaning it must be fast, visible on Google and clear at first glance,
• you need booking, an online shop or integrations with other systems,
• first impressions are critical, for example in law, real estate or healthcare,
• you’ve already tried building it yourself and aren’t happy with the result.

Simple math: what is your hour worth?

A beginner usually spends 30 to 50 hours on a decent website: learning the tool, writing texts, choosing images, fixing the mobile version.

• If your hour is worth €15, that’s €450–750 of your time. Doing it yourself makes sense.
• If your hour is worth €50, that’s €1,500–2,500 of your time. That’s often more than a professional site, and the result is usually weaker.

Then there’s the hidden cost: a website that doesn’t bring in inquiries costs you every month it’s online.

What to look for when choosing a provider

• References. Look at real projects, not just nice screenshots. You can see our work in our portfolio.
• A fixed price up front. Scope and price should be clear before work starts.
• Ownership. The domain and the website must be yours.
• Content editing. Check whether you’ll be able to change texts and images yourself.
• Support after launch. A good provider doesn’t disappear after go-live.

Conclusion

If you’re testing an idea on a limited budget, build the site yourself and put the money into validating the idea. Once the business is running and your time is valuable, hiring professionals quickly pays for itself.

Curious what your website would cost? Get a rough estimate in two minutes, with no sign-up and no obligation.