"How much does a website cost?" -- this is the first question I get from every potential client. And the answer, unfortunately, is not a single number. But in this article, I will do everything I can to give you a clear understanding -- concrete prices, real examples from the European market, and tips on how to avoid overpaying.
Over the years, I have built dozens of websites -- from simple business cards to complex e-commerce platforms. Here I share that experience without filters -- with specific numbers from the 2026 market.
The Quick Answer -- If You Are in a Hurry
Website Development Costs in 2026
Landing page (business card): 800 - 2,000 EUR
Business website (5-15 pages): 3,000 - 8,000 EUR
E-commerce website: 5,000 - 20,000 EUR
Custom web application: 10,000 - 30,000+ EUR
Portal / marketplace: 20,000 - 60,000+ EUR
Plus domain (~15 EUR/year), hosting (50-300 EUR/year), maintenance (100-500 EUR/month)
Now let us dive into a detailed analysis of each type so you can make an informed decision.
Landing Page -- 800 to 2,000 EUR
A landing page is a single-page website designed for a specific goal: presenting a service, collecting contacts, or selling a single product. It is the cheapest and fastest way to get online.
What you get for 800-2,000 EUR:
- Professional design, mobile-responsive
- Content integration (text, images)
- Contact form with email notifications
- Basic SEO (meta tags, speed, structure)
- Google Analytics integration
- SSL certificate
Development time: 1-3 weeks.
Real example: I built a landing page for a dental clinic with an online appointment form. Cost: 1,200 EUR, completed in 10 days. In the first 3 months, the website generated 47 new patients -- the investment paid for itself in 2 weeks.
Important: a landing page works best when you have one clear service or product. If you need multiple sections, a blog, or a catalog -- you will need a fuller website.
Business Website -- 3,000 to 8,000 EUR
This is a classic company website with multiple pages: home, about us, services, projects, contact. Often includes a blog and gallery. This is the standard for most small and medium businesses.
| Complexity | Price | Pages | What is Included |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | 3,000 - 4,500 EUR | 5-8 | Design, content integration, contact form, basic SEO |
| Medium | 4,500 - 6,500 EUR | 8-15 | + blog, gallery, animations, multi-language |
| Advanced | 6,500 - 8,000 EUR | 15+ | + CRM integration, client portal, advanced SEO |
Development time: 3-8 weeks.
WordPress vs Custom Website -- What to Choose?
| Criteria | WordPress | Custom (Next.js, React) |
|---|---|---|
| Price | 1,500 - 5,000 EUR | 5,000 - 30,000+ EUR |
| Development time | 2-6 weeks | 4-16 weeks |
| Content management | Easy (visual editor) | Via Headless CMS or custom admin |
| Speed | Medium (depends on plugins) | Very fast (SSR/SSG) |
| Security | Frequent attacks (popular platform) | High (smaller attack surface) |
| Extensibility | Plugins (60,000+) | Unlimited (but requires a developer) |
| SEO | Good (with Yoast/RankMath) | Excellent (full control) |
My Recommendation
Choose WordPress if: budget up to 5,000 EUR, you need a blog, want to edit content yourself, standard design works.
Choose Custom if: you need unique design, specific functionality, high-traffic handling, integrations with other systems, or you are planning a web application.
For a detailed comparison, read our article on WordPress vs Custom Websites.
What Makes Up the Website Price
1. Design (20-30% of Budget)
UI/UX design is not just about making things look pretty. It determines navigation logic, information hierarchy, and conversion optimization. For a simple project, design costs 600-2,000 EUR. For complex ones -- 2,000-5,000 EUR. This is the last place you should cut corners.
2. Frontend Development (25-35% of Budget)
HTML, CSS, JavaScript -- everything the visitor sees and interacts with. Responsive design (mobile adaptation) is not a luxury today but a necessity -- over 70% of users browse on mobile.
3. Backend and Functionality (15-30% of Budget)
Contact forms, content management systems, integration with third-party services (payment systems, CRM, email marketing). More features mean more backend work.
4. Content and SEO (10-20% of Budget)
A website without content is like a store without products. Professional content creation can cost 500-3,000 EUR. Basic SEO optimization adds another 500-2,000 EUR.
5. Testing and Launch (5-10% of Budget)
Testing across browsers and devices, bug fixes, domain connection, hosting configuration, SSL certificate installation.
Hidden Costs -- What Else You Pay For
What Many Developers Do Not Tell You
- Domain: 10-30 EUR/year
- Hosting: 50-300 EUR/year. Cheapest shared hosting from 50 EUR/year. VPS (DigitalOcean, Hetzner) 60-200 EUR/year. Cloud (AWS, Google Cloud) from 100 EUR/year
- SSL certificate: Often free (Let's Encrypt)
- Email accounts: Google Workspace -- 70 EUR/user/year. Zoho Mail -- from 12 EUR/user/year
- Premium plugins/themes: WordPress premium theme 50-80 EUR. SEO plugin (Yoast Pro) 100 EUR/year
- Content creation: Professional photographer 200-500 EUR. Copywriter 300-1,500 EUR. Video 500-3,000 EUR
- Maintenance and support: 100-500 EUR/month -- updates, security checks, content changes, backups
How to Reduce Website Development Costs
8 Ways to Save Without Losing Quality
- Prepare content in advance: Texts, photos, logo -- if you have it all before starting, you save 500-2,000 EUR and 1-3 weeks of time
- Use a ready-made design system: Tailwind CSS, Bootstrap, or a premium WordPress theme instead of custom design -- savings of 1,000-3,000 EUR
- Start with an MVP: Launch with basic features, expand later based on real needs. Savings: 30-50% of initial budget
- Choose the right technology: You do not need React for a business card site. And you do not need WordPress for a complex system
- Prepare a detailed brief: The more precisely you describe what you want, the fewer changes and extra hours. Changes mid-project = +20-50% cost
- Avoid feature creep: "Let us also add this..." -- every additional feature delays the project and increases the price
- Use free tools: Google Analytics, Let's Encrypt SSL, Cloudflare CDN -- all free and professional
- Pay in milestones: Pay per stage -- design, development, launch. This motivates the developer and protects your budget
Real-World Examples
Beauty salon. Landing page with service list, pricing, gallery, and online booking form. Technology: HTML/CSS/JS. Development time: 8 days. Cost: 1,100 EUR. Result: 34 new clients from the website in the first 2 months.
Construction company. 10-page business website with project gallery, certificates section, testimonials, and contact form. WordPress + Elementor. Development time: 4 weeks. Cost: 4,200 EUR. Maintenance: 150 EUR/month. Result: 3x more inquiries through the website than before.
IT consulting firm. Custom website with Next.js, multi-language (EN/DE), blog with 20+ articles, HubSpot CRM integration. Development time: 7 weeks. Cost: 7,500 EUR. Result: organic traffic grew 240% in 6 months thanks to the SEO-optimized blog.
Website Development Trends 2026-2027
AI assistance will reduce part of the cost. AI already helps create content, generate design variants, and write code. Simpler projects should become 10-20% cheaper.
No-code platforms are improving. Framer, Webflow, Wix Studio already allow building professional websites without code. But complex functionality still requires a developer.
Speed becomes critical. Google Core Web Vitals directly impact SEO rankings. A slow website means lower rankings and fewer customers.
Mobile users dominate. Over 75% of users browse on mobile in 2026. Mobile-first design is not a luxury -- it is a necessity.
Our Forecast
Simple website prices will decrease due to AI and no-code tools. But complex, custom project prices will remain stable or rise -- because qualified developers remain in short supply across Europe. Average business website budget in 2027: about 4,000-6,000 EUR.
So, How Much Will Your Website Cost?
- Count the pages -- how many unique pages do you need?
- Do you need a content management system (CMS)?
- Do you need multi-language support?
- Do you need integrations (payments, CRM, email marketing)?
- Do you have content (texts, photos) or does it need to be created?
- Do you need e-commerce functionality?
The more "yes" answers, the higher the price. But there is no need to guess -- simply describe your needs and get an accurate estimate.
Try our project configurator to get a preliminary price in minutes. Or simply write to us -- we will send you a proposal within 24 hours. Free, with no obligations.
If you are looking for more information on related services, I recommend reading about landing page development -- where I describe in detail how to create an effective one-page solution on a small budget.
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