What does it cost to have a website made in 2026?

A website is more than a few pages in your brand colors. Cost depends on decisions: design, tech, content, features and upkeep. Below are realistic price ranges per project type, what drives cost, and a practical checklist to compare quotes.

What drives the price

Short answer: hours × hourly rate + licenses + hosting + possible transaction fees.

Key drivers:

• Scope and complexity. A small brochure site needs fewer hours than a site with accounting integrations or a member portal.
• Technology. A custom React/Laravel app costs more than a WordPress site built from a premium theme. Ongoing maintenance and security differ.
• Design and UX. Custom design and user research add time. Nielsen Norman Group’s heuristics help prioritise usability work: https://www.nngroup.com/articles/ten-usability-heuristics/.
• Performance and SEO. Improving page speed and Core Web Vitals takes developer time and affects ranking and conversion. Read the Core Web Vitals overview: https://web.dev/articles/vitals.
• Content and migration. If the agency produces or migrates content, that’s billed by the hour.
• Integrations. Payment gateways, shipping, CRM and other API work add per-integration cost.
• Security and backups. Essential for CMS sites; maintenance costs rise when security measures are included (see WordPress backup guidance: https://developer.wordpress.org/advanced-administration/security/backup/).

Not every site needs all items above. But skimping on architecture or security usually costs more later.

Indicative price ranges (2026) — by project type

This table is indicative. Every project differs.

Note: lower bounds typically use templates and limited support. Higher bounds include integrations, custom logic, and SLAs.

How to compare quotes — practical checklist

1. Scope and deliverables

• Is the scope explicit? Pages, forms, integrations, migration, training?

1. Rates and estimated hours

• Is the hourly rate shown? Ask for hours per phase.

1. Technology and hosting

• Which stack will they use? Is hosting included? Any third‑party license costs?

1. Maintenance and SLA

• What’s included in maintenance? Response times? Costs for incidents?

1. SEO and performance

• Are basic SEO and performance optimisations included? Performance work impacts Core Web Vitals and user metrics (see https://web.dev/articles/vitals).

1. Security and backups

• What protections and backup procedures are in place? Ask for the backup/restore plan (see https://developer.wordpress.org/advanced-administration/security/backup/).

1. Ownership and source code

• Who owns the code and content? Are theme/component licenses transferable?

1. Payment and delivery terms

• What are the milestones and payment schedule?

Ask vendors to break costs per phase (design, build, test, launch, support). If a quote lacks phase breakdown, comparison is harder.

Recurring costs to expect

• Hosting and CDN: €5–€200/month depending on traffic and performance needs.
• Domain: €10–€50/year.
• SSL: often included; otherwise up to €100/year.
• Maintenance/support: €50–€500/month (from basic updates to full SLA).
• Subscriptions/licenses: €0–€2,000+/year (payment gateways, marketing tools, PIM).

For WordPress, a basic upgrade/backup package sits around €50–€150/month. Managed solutions with security and fast support cost more.

Tips to control costs

• Prioritise features. Build an MVP and add features in phases.
• Provide content yourself or hire a separate copywriter (typical rates vary).
• Use templates where they make sense, but invest in custom UX for conversion-critical pages.
• Ask about reusing components and libraries. Reuse lowers hours and risk.
• Check for test automation. Automated tests reduce bugs and lower post-launch costs.

Short action plan before you request quotes

1. Write a short brief with goals and primary users (2–3 pages). 2. List must‑have vs nice‑to‑have features. 3. Set a rough deadline and budget band. 4. Request 3 quotes with identical scope. 5. Compare using the checklist above.

One realistic caveat: a very cheap quote plus vague scope is almost always more expensive in the long run. Clarity and acceptance criteria prevent scope creep.

DevCru is a senior-led web and app development agency from the Netherlands. If you want an approximate cost for your project, start with our page about website-laten-maken-kosten and see our services on website laten maken. Ready for a tailored quote? Request one via /quote.

Sources for UX, performance and maintenance:

• Core Web Vitals: https://web.dev/articles/vitals
• Responsive design basics: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Learn/CSS/CSS_layout/Responsive_Design
• Nielsen Norman Group: 10 Usability Heuristics: https://www.nngroup.com/articles/ten-usability-heuristics/
• WordPress backups: https://developer.wordpress.org/advanced-administration/security/backup/