How much does a website cost? What really changes the price
Two companies ask for “a website” and get very different proposals. It is not magic: six decisions change the work, and you can tell which ones apply to you before you ask for a quote.
Ariadne Studio · 3 min read
In this article 7 sections
Summary
- The price follows the work: number of pages, custom design or a theme, and what the site needs to do.
- Copy, photos and who will update the site also change the quote.
- Send the same list to every studio, so the proposals are comparable.
“How much does a website cost?” is the question we hear most, and the honest answer starts with another question: what kind of website? A page to promote an event and a store with inventory are two different jobs, even if both end in “.com.br”. The price follows the work, and the work depends on a few decisions you can make before asking for a quote.
#1. How many pages, and which ones
The number of pages is the first factor, but not the only one. A services page with three paragraphs and a product page with photos, specs and a quote button take very different amounts of time to design and write. Before asking for a quote, make a simple list: home, about, services, contact, and whatever else your customer needs to see to decide.
#2. Custom design or a ready-made theme
A ready-made theme costs less at first, but your business ends up looking like every other one using the same theme. A custom design starts from your brand and your audience: its own typography, colors and components, designed for phone and desktop. It’s more work, and it’s what makes the site look like your business and not a template.
#3. What the site needs to do
Showing information is one thing. Taking orders, filtering inventory, booking appointments or showing prices that change every week is another. Each feature has a cost to build and sometimes to maintain. Separate what’s essential for launch from what can come in a second phase: many sites start with the basics done well and grow later.
- Informational: pages, photos, contact and map.
- Catalog: products or properties with search and filters.
- Store: cart, payment and shipping.
- System: login, dashboards and integrations.
#4. Who writes the copy and takes the photos
Copy and photos are the part of the site visitors actually read and see. If you already have them, great. If not, you can put the content together with the studio, but that becomes part of the scope. Real photos of your team, your space and your products almost always work better than stock images.
#5. Updates after launch
Who will change the price, post the news or update the opening hours? There are two ways: you edit it yourself in a dashboard, or the studio takes care of it. Both work, but they change what needs to be built. Agree on this in the first conversation, not after the site is live.
#6. Domain, hosting and ongoing care
Beyond the project, a site has costs to stay live: the domain, the hosting and the follow-up after launch, with tweaks, SEO and analytics. Ask what’s included and what’s billed separately, so there are no surprises in month two.
#How to ask for quotes you can compare
Two proposals can only be compared if they answer the same request. Send each studio the same list: the pages, what the site needs to do, whether you have copy and photos, and who will handle updates. Then the difference between the proposals comes down to quality and timeline, not interpretation.
At Ariadne, every project is quoted individually based on that conversation, and you get a fixed scope, timeline and price, in writing, before anything starts.
