Every so often, a friend shows up who paid €300 for a website and another who paid €3,000 for something similar. Who's pulling your leg? Well, probably neither, but one is selling you one thing and the other, something quite different.
The five items that make up the price
A local business website is made up of five blocks. If a quote doesn't break them down at least roughly, be suspicious.
- Structure and design: the pages you need, how it's navigated, the overall look. This ranges from a tweaked template to a custom design. The difference is huge.
- Texts and photographs: the developer doesn't write the text, and stock photos are noticeable. If your quote doesn't include either, you'll pay for them separately... or you'll do it yourself.
- Development and launch: domain, hosting, Google listing, forms, legal notices. The boring stuff, but what actually makes the website work.
- Training and adjustments: being taught to edit your website and having it look good on mobile. If this isn't included, get ready for a website that looks mediocre on your client's phone.
- Maintenance: updates, backups, reviews. Some include it in the monthly price; others charge it separately. It's not optional: without maintenance, your website breaks.
How to compare quotes without going crazy
Make a table with those five items and note down what each offer includes. You'll see that the €300 one leaves four boxes empty, and the €3,000 one throws in things you don't need. The fair price isn't the cheapest one; it's the one that covers what your business needs without paying for posturing.
Warning signs
- They charge you for pages you're not sure you need.
- They don't tell you who writes the texts or where the photos come from.
- Maintenance doesn't appear anywhere.
- They promise the website in 48 hours: either it's an unmodified template or they're going to hand you something pre-cooked.
If you don't want to get into a mess, any serious quote revolves around the same items. The difference lies in how they're covered.
Request a free diagnosis at stanvakweb and look at your project with a critical eye before paying. Your website isn't an expense: it's an investment, but only if you know what you're buying.