How Much Does a Website Cost? What Actually Drives the Price
By eLeopards Team · 8 Sept 2026 · 5 min read
There is no single price for a website, because 'a website' can mean a five-page brochure or a custom platform with payments and logins. What matters is understanding what drives the number so you can compare quotes fairly.
The five things that move the price
- Number and type of pages: a 5-page site and a 50-page site are different jobs.
- Custom design versus a template: bespoke design takes more design and development time.
- Functionality: booking, payments, member logins, search and integrations all add build time.
- Content: who writes the copy, sources the photos and produces the video?
- Ongoing needs: hosting, maintenance, SEO and updates after launch.
Fixed price versus hourly
Hourly billing is hard to budget for because the total depends on how long things take. A fixed-price quote, based on a written scope, tells you the total before work starts. The trade-off is that changes outside the scope are quoted separately, which is fair to both sides.
Why the cheapest quote is rarely the cheapest outcome
A very low quote often leaves out things you will need later: mobile testing, basic SEO setup, analytics, a way for your team to edit content, or any support after launch. Ask every agency the same questions so you are comparing like with like.
What to send an agency to get an accurate quote
- Your goal: more enquiries, online sales, bookings, credibility?
- A list of the pages and features you think you need.
- Two or three sites you like and what you like about them.
- Your timeline and whether content is ready.
The short version
Decide what the site has to achieve, list the pages and features that support that, and ask for a fixed-price, scoped quote. At eLeopards we quote this way, so you know the cost before we start.
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