A website can cost anything from a few hundred euros for a template site to several thousand for a custom build with multiple languages, bookings or an online store. With us, a custom website starts from €1,000 and an online store from €3,000 on custom Shopify or from €5,000 on your own code, and you get the final amount in writing before work starts, as a fixed price per phase.
The range is wide because very different jobs are sold under the same name. The build price is only part of the story: the real difference between a template site and a custom one shows in what you pay and lose later. You can get a ballpark for your own project in our .
What a website costs by type of project
Template site (WordPress theme, Wix, Squarespace): the lowest upfront cost, usually a few hundred euros. You get a ready-made design with your text and logo.
Custom website: from €1,000 with us. The design and code are made for your business, the site is fast on a phone, and the code is yours.
Online store: from €3,000 with us on custom Shopify, from €5,000 on your own code. The amount grows with the number of products, payment and shipping options, and links to inventory or an ERP. More on our page.
A site with an AI feature, such as an assistant that answers questions from your own documents: AI integrations start from €2,500.
"From" means the minimum for a simpler project of that type, not an average. More languages, integrations or a larger scope cost more.
Template or custom: five differences you won't see in a quote
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On launch day both sites look finished. The differences show over the next year or two: in Google, on your invoices and the moment the site needs to do something new.
1. Speed and Google rankings
According to HTTP Archive's Web Almanac 2025, only 45% of WordPress sites pass Google's Core Web Vitals on mobile, the speed and stability measures Google takes into account in ranking. The reason is simple: a template has to fit thousands of different businesses, so it loads code for features your site never uses, and a page builder adds its own layer on top. A custom site ships only what it needs. Technical SEO (titles, descriptions, structured data, language versions) is built into the code instead of being assembled from plugins.
2. Ownership
Wix's own help centre says a Wix site must run on Wix's servers, so you can't move it to another host. When you stop paying, there is nothing to take with you except the content. With WordPress the problem is different: premium theme and plugin licences are often registered to the agency, so when the agency goes, your updates go with it. With a custom site, the code, domain, hosting and accounts should be in your name from day one, so any team can take the site over.
3. Licences you pay for forever
A serious WordPress site often needs several paid plugins: a page builder, multilingual support, SEO, caching, security, forms and backups. Each one renews every year. Platforms such as Wix and Squarespace charge a subscription instead. Add these up over three to five years and compare the total with the difference in the build price. A custom site has none of these line items, because the features are part of code you own.
4. Security
Patchstack's State of WordPress Security in 2026 report counts 11,334 new vulnerabilities in the WordPress ecosystem during 2025: 91% of them in plugins, and 46% with no fix available when they were disclosed. Every plugin is someone else's code that you have to track and update, and every update needs checking so nothing stops working. A custom site has fewer external dependencies, and the ones it has are documented and maintained as part of the project.
5. Growth
A template can do what its theme and plugins allow. When you need bookings, more languages, a store or a link to your own systems, the template's limits often mean a compromise or a rebuild. A custom site grows by adding features, because it was built for your business from the start.
When a template is enough
If you need a simple site with a few pages, don't plan to grow it, and it isn't your main source of enquiries, a template is a sensible and cheaper choice. Once the site has to bring in enquiries, bookings or sales, the differences above turn into money. A real example: after its new site, Poliklinika dr. Meter recorded 45% more mobile conversions, 30% more visits from Google within three months and a Lighthouse score of 99 out of 100 (Google's tool for measuring page speed and quality).
What a website really costs over three years
The cheapest quote is not always the cheapest website. You see the real price when you add up everything you pay over three years:
Template site: the build, a platform subscription or yearly theme and plugin licences, regular updates, fixes when an update breaks something, and sometimes a rebuild when the site can no longer keep up with the business.
Custom site: the build, hosting, and maintenance when you need it. No licence for the code and no mandatory subscriptions, and new features are added to the existing site.
The gap in the build price is often smaller than it looks. When you compare quotes, compare what you will pay over the next three years too.
What drives the cost of a website
These are the items that change the amount on a quote the most. For each one: what keeps it lower and what pushes it up.
Scope. Lower: a few pages with the same layout. Higher: many different page types (services, projects, blog, careers), each with its own design.
Languages. Lower: one language. Higher: every extra language means translation, separate URLs that Google recognises for each market, and testing that everything works in each language.
Features. Lower: a contact form. Higher: bookings, a store, user accounts, a calculator or advanced search.
Integrations. Lower: a standalone site. Higher: enquiries flow into a CRM, orders into an ERP, contacts into a newsletter tool. Which systems we connect is agreed per project, since each has its own interface and limits.
Content. Lower: texts and photos are ready. Higher: content needs to be written, translated or shot.
Design. Lower: an existing brand identity and a clear structure. Higher: a design from scratch with several rounds of changes.
Moving from an old site. Lower: a new site with no predecessor. Higher: migrating existing content and redirecting old URLs, so you keep the Google rankings the site already has.
Why quotes for the same website differ so much
If you collected three quotes and got three very different amounts, you are usually not comparing the same thing. A quote for a few hundred euros is usually a template with your text and logo. A quote for several thousand usually includes a design for your business, mobile optimisation, technical SEO and someone who answers when something breaks.
Before you decide, ask every agency the same questions:
Who owns the code, the domain and the content after handover?
Whose account are the theme and plugin licences on, if there are any?
What exactly is included: design, copy, translations, photos?
Is technical SEO included, along with redirects from the old site?
What does the site cost after launch: hosting, licences, maintenance?
Is everything paid upfront, or per delivered phase?
A quote with no clear answer to these questions is usually cheap for a reason.
Fixed price or scoped engagement
For a website with a clear scope we agree a fixed price per phase. Each phase, for example design, build and launch, has its own amount and ends with your sign-off before the next one starts. You know the amount before work starts, and it doesn't change unless the scope does.
If you want something that wasn't agreed, it is estimated separately before any work is done: what it costs, how much it delays the project and whether it's worth it. Payment is part upfront and the rest per delivered phase, so you never pay for something that doesn't exist yet.
How much does website maintenance cost
It depends on what maintenance covers. Basic maintenance means security updates, uptime monitoring, backups and small fixes. On a template site part of that work exists because of the plugins themselves, since every plugin update needs checking. We bill maintenance by the time actually spent, with no fixed monthly package.
The site doesn't stop working if you don't take maintenance with us. The code is yours, and any team can take it over.
How to get an exact price for your project
Get a ballpark in the : choose the project type, languages and features to see an estimated range.
Describe the project in the . The engineer who will build it replies in writing, with a scope assessment and an estimated price range.
Before work starts, you get a fixed proposal by phase, stating what is included, what isn't and what you pay after launch.
For the enquiry it helps to have a list of the pages you need, two or three sites you like, the languages, the systems you already use and a rough budget. A rough budget isn't a trap: it lets us propose a scope that actually fits it.
Frequently asked questions about website costs
How much does a simple website cost?
A template site usually costs a few hundred euros. A simple custom website with us starts from €1,000. The amount grows with the number of pages, languages and features.
How much does an online store cost?
From €3,000 with us on custom Shopify, from €5,000 on your own code. The main drivers are the number of products, payment and shipping options, and links to inventory or an ERP.
Is WordPress a bad choice?
No, but it has running costs too. If you choose it, check how many paid plugins the site needs, whose account the licences are on and who updates them. Those items decide what the site really costs you and how secure it is.
Why can't I get an exact price straight away?
Because it would be a made-up number. An online store can mean two hundred products with one payment method, or a catalogue linked to inventory in three languages. We can give a range straight away, and an exact amount once we know the scope, and then it doesn't change.
Can we start small and build on it?
Yes, and for many first projects it's the better path. The condition is that the first version is built to be extended, not thrown away six months later.
If you want to know what your project would cost, or check a ballpark in the first. To see how we build websites, visit our page.
