How Much Does a Website Cost in 2026? Complete Business Guide

Why website prices vary so dramatically

A client came to us with an €800 budget for an online store with 2,000 products, billing system integration, and automated delivery. Another client paid €900 for a presentation page with 5 sections and a contact form.

Both got what they asked for — but only one got what they needed.

The cost of a website in 2026 isn't calculated by page count or visual complexity. It's calculated by functionality, scalability, chosen technology, and business objective. Understanding these factors lets you make an informed decision — not one based on the lowest price found on a forum.

Types of websites and their real prices in 2026

Landing Page — €300–€800

One page, one goal: conversion. Suitable for ad campaigns, product launches, or point services. A well-built professional landing page can generate a cost per lead 3–5x lower than a full site sent cold via Google Ads.

What's typically included: custom design, lead capture form, mobile version, Google Analytics integration. What's not included: editable CMS, blog, multiple pages.

When it makes sense: testing a new product, running a seasonal campaign, wanting a fast online presence for a specific service.

Presentation Website (Corporate) — €800–€3,000

5–15 pages, full company presentation covering services and team. The most common site type ordered by SMEs. A well-structured corporate website reduces lead qualification time — visitors arriving through the site are already informed about what you do.

Across 12 projects of this type delivered in the past 2 years, we consistently saw sites with clear service structure and real testimonials generate 40% more quote requests compared to sites with generic content.

Price varies based on: number of pages, need for a CMS for independent updates, integrations (Google Maps, live chat, CRM), professional photography included or not.

Catalog Website — €1,500–€5,000

Hundreds or thousands of products/services listed with filtering, search, and detail pages — but without a shopping cart or online payment. Suitable for manufacturers, distributors, or service companies with a large portfolio.

The difference from a presentation site: it requires a database, product management system, and SEO-optimized URL structure. Ignoring these means a catalog that won't appear in Google for any product query.

Online Store (E-commerce) — €2,500–€15,000

Shopping cart, online payments, inventory management, courier integration — a serious e-commerce project doesn't get built in 2 weeks on a €1,000 budget. Any offer below €2,500 for a functional online store raises questions about what's included and what isn't.

Cost breakdown for a mid-sized online store (500–5,000 products): design and UX 25%, back-end development 40%, integrations (payments, courier, ERP) 20%, testing and launch 10%, content and photography 5%.

Factors that increase the price: integration with existing ERP or CRM systems, multi-vendor marketplace, advanced product customization, subscriptions and recurring payments.

Custom Web Platform — €10,000–€50,000+

SaaS, booking platforms, internal management systems, applications with complex business logic. There's no standard price — it's estimated based on a technical audit of requirements. Without a detailed technical brief and a team experienced in enterprise web development, the real cost will always exceed the initial estimate.

What most influences website cost

Technology choice

WordPress with a premium theme: €500–€1,500. Custom WordPress built from scratch: €2,000–€5,000. Next.js or modern framework, headless architecture: €5,000–€20,000. The choice isn't about preference — it's about requirements. A simple presentation site doesn't need headless architecture. A SaaS platform with thousands of concurrent users can't run on WordPress with 40 plugins.

Design: template vs. custom

A purchased template (Themeforest, Envato): €30–€200. Adapted and customized: +€500–€1,000 in labor. Fully custom design created from scratch in Figma: €1,500–€5,000 just for design, before a line of code. Custom design isn't a luxury — it's necessary when your brand needs to visually differentiate or when standard templates don't support the content structure you need.

Content and copywriting

The most underestimated cost in any web project. A website without quality content is like a store with empty shelves. Professional copywriting for a 7-page presentation site: €500–€1,500. Professional product or team photography: €300–€1,000 per session. If you don't budget for these from the start, you'll pay for them later — or launch with Lorem Ipsum and generic stock photos.

Maintenance and hosting

The cost of a website doesn't end at launch. Quality hosting: €10–€80/month depending on traffic and complexity. Monthly maintenance (updates, security, backup, small changes): €50–€300/month. A technically neglected site becomes vulnerable to attacks and slow in Google — both have direct consequences on sales.

The hidden cost nobody mentions: lost opportunity

A cheap website that doesn't convert costs more than an expensive one that brings clients every day. If your site generates 5 quote requests per month and the average client value is €2,000, that's €10,000 monthly potential. A better site that doubles conversion rate adds €10,000/month — not €1,000 extra investment in construction.

That's the real calculation. Not the invoice amount, but the long-term return.

How to choose the right vendor

• Ask for a verifiable portfolio — not screenshots, but live URLs you can test
• Ask who actually does the work — many resellers sell projects outsourced to other countries without saying so
• Check what's included in the price — hosting, maintenance, CMS training, domain, SSL certificate
• Clarify the approval process — how many revision rounds are included, what happens if you're not satisfied
• Request real client references — not testimonials on the site, but actual contacts you can call

See how we work in practice through our case studies — real projects with measurable results.

Limited budget? Here's the correct priority order

If your budget is under €1,500 and you need a functional online presence, here's what truly matters, in order:

1. A landing page or 1–3 page site with a clear message and single CTA
2. Perfect mobile version — 60%+ of your traffic comes from phones
3. Loading speed under 3 seconds
4. Google Analytics 4 installed before launch
5. A contact form that works and sends notifications

The rest — elaborate design, animations, multiple pages — can come in phase two, once you have data about what works and what doesn't.

Conclusion: the right price is the one that delivers ROI

There's no universally correct price for a website in 2026. There's a correct price for your specific objective, your audience, and the market you operate in. A €600 landing page can be the best investment you make this year. A €5,000 corporate site can be a waste if built without a conversion strategy.

Before requesting a quote, do you already know the answer to: what action should a visitor take on the site? If not, even the most expensive website won't help you.