How much does a website cost in 2026: what really drives the quote

"How much does a website cost?" is the first question people ask, and also the hardest to answer in one line. Not because anything is being hidden, but because "website" can mean very different things: a presentation page, a company site with ten sections, an online shop, a platform with a private area. In this guide I give you the indicative ranges I use and, above all, explain what really changes the price, so you can read a quote with more confidence.

The indicative ranges

These are very indicative figures, in euros, and not an offer: the final figure always depends on the project.

• Showcase website: from €500 to €1,000. A few pages, a clear presentation of the business and a contact form.
• Basic WordPress site: from €1,000 to €2,000. More pages, content you can manage yourself, a structure designed to grow.
• WordPress e-commerce with WooCommerce: from €1,500 to €2,500. Catalogue, cart, payments and order management.
• Custom sites, apps and management systems: too different from one another to give a generic figure. They need to be assessed case by case, after a chat.

For everything else, such as integrations, artificial intelligence, hosting or accessibility, there is no standard figure: it depends on what is needed.

What pushes the price up or down

1. How many pages and of what kind

Five pages with clear copy cost less than fifty pages with listings, filters and content in several languages. It also matters how different they are from each other: every new page template is extra work.

2. The design

A ready starting design (for example a Figma file) reduces the design work. A design to be created, with several proposals and revisions, increases it. The degree of originality matters too: a sober layout costs less than one rich in animations.

3. The features

A contact form is simple. A private area, a booking system, a quote calculator or a map with search are real development jobs.

4. More languages

A multilingual site is not the sum of two sites, but it needs structure, translations and attention to SEO for each language. The cost grows, but less than doubling.

5. The online shop

Catalogue, product variants, shipping, taxes, payments, automatic emails: each choice adds work. It also depends on how many products there are and how the data arrives (by hand or from a management system).

6. Integrations

Connecting the site to a management system, a CRM or an invoicing service is a part of the project in itself. I talk about it in How to integrate your management system, e-commerce and invoicing.

7. Speed and SEO

A site that is born fast and well structured needs more care at the start, but costs less than later remedies. A slow site to fix afterwards is extra work.

8. The content

Copy, photos and videos are often the most neglected part. If they are not ready, the project slows down; if they have to be produced, they cost extra.

9. Support after launch

The work does not end when the site goes live. In my complete projects 30 days of support are included; afterwards, regular maintenance keeps the site updated, secure and fast.

Costs that are not in the development quote

When you do the sums, remember the recurring costs:

• domain, to be renewed every year;
• hosting, whose cost depends on traffic and the site's needs;
• licences for any plugins or external services;
• maintenance, even just for updates and backups.

How to read a quote

When you receive a quote, check these points before looking at the total.

• What is included? Number of pages, revisions, smartphone version, basic SEO.
• Who owns everything? Domain, hosting and access should be in your name.
• What happens after delivery? Support, training, response times.
• How will we proceed? Online previews during the work, stated timing, clear phases.
• Is the price fixed or daily-rate? Both formulas are legitimate, but you need to know which one was chosen.

Be wary of quotes that are just a figure, with no description of what will be done.

Indicative timing

Time influences cost and vice versa. A polished site usually takes 2 to 4 weeks; an app with a private area takes longer. Often a first version arrives early, and then it is refined.

Three typical situations, without invented numbers

To make the reasoning concrete, here is how the quote's set-up changes in three cases.

A professional who wants to present themselves online. A few pages (about me, services, contact), copy already prepared, no special features. The work is mostly about set-up and attention to detail: it falls within the showcase-site range. What raises the cost is usually wanting a highly customised design or more languages.

A company with several services and a blog. More pages, content to update often, SEO tools and a comfortable dashboard for whoever writes. It falls within the WordPress-site range. The cost grows with the number of different page templates and with extra features, such as advanced forms or private areas.

A business that wants to sell online. Catalogue, cart, payments, shipping, automatic emails. It falls within the e-commerce range, but here the number of products, the variants and the connections with management system and warehouse weigh a lot. If the flows are unusual, it is worth assessing case by case.

How to keep spending under control without cutting quality

• Start from a first version. Publish what you really need and add the rest later, based on use.
• Prepare the content first. Copy and images ready at the start shorten timelines and reduce revisions.
• Decide priorities. List the essential features, the useful ones and the "nice to have" ones. The last ones can wait.
• One person deciding for the company. Too many different opinions lengthen timelines and push up the cost.
• Ask for support from the start. A site neglected after delivery needs more expensive interventions.

The right questions to ask before signing

1. Can I see similar work to what I need?
2. How involved am I during development and when do I see previews?
3. Who owns domain, hosting and code at the end?
4. What happens if I want to change something once work has started?
5. How are changes not foreseen in the quote handled?

Why entrust it to me

I have been developing websites since 1999, with more than 300 projects delivered, and I have worked as an external developer with about 30 agencies. I work from Rome and remotely.

My method is simple: we get to know each other in a chat of about 20 minutes, no strings attached, then you receive a clear proposal and a written, free quote, fixed-price or daily-rate. I develop in stages, with online previews every week, so you see what you are paying for as it takes shape. If you want to know how much your site would cost, tell me what you need. You will find the details in Website creation.