You have probably heard this too many times: “It depends.” While that’s not wrong, it is not helpful either. After working in this industry for 15+ years, helping clients from different industries and budgets, I am writing this to help client understand and plan a budget to hire a web designer or developer.
This article will help you get a better idea of how much you should expect to invest when building a website that aligns with your business goals.
Factors That Drive Website Development Costs
Before we get into specific pricing, let’s understand the factors that every business needs to consider when budgeting for a website. There are lots of options to choose from for building a website and they all seem the same on the surface, which can make it difficult to pick the right one. To help sort through these options, here are the key factors that influence pricing:
1. Project Complexity and Scope
The price of a website definitely depends on the project complexity and scope. The more complex it is, the higher the cost. Complexity includes the research that a web designer needs to put in and the extensive back-and-forth required to understand the business thoroughly. When I work on complex projects like web apps or dashboards, I go in-depth to understand the business processes, strategy, competitors, stakeholders before making a design. This level of engagement often brings clarity to business owners and founders as well, but it requires significant time investment.
2. Expertise and Experience
Most of the time, newcomers or junior designers will charge less compared to seniors. However, while it looks like seniors are expensive, they eventually turn out to be much more value for money in the long run. An experienced designer who can bridge the gap between design and development, understand your business deeply, and avoid costly mistakes will save you time and money over the project lifecycle.
3. Design and Development Complexities
Features like animations and complex graphics matter significantly in pricing. Most clients look for lots of fancy animations and complicated graphics for their websites, even if they might not provide better user experience. They still want to have them, so those kinds of requirements also impact the cost. However, from my experience, prioritizing essential elements and avoiding unnecessary complexity often leads to better results.
4. Geographic Location
The location of the people you’re working with can affect pricing. You can hire a web designer from California or someone from Kathmandu, and the price would be different. But what I’ve learned in the last few years is that a good web designer, no matter where they are, will have standard rates and it won’t make a huge difference. The bottom line is that if you need great people and want to work with quality professionals, the price will not be dramatically different no matter where they’re based.
Three Ways to Hire a Web Developer
1. Hire for Full Project
If you’re building a website for a personal project or a small to medium-sized business, hiring a web developer for a full project is usually the best route. For one-off builds, a project-based approach is more efficient and cost-effective.
Project-based pricing offers predictability with fixed costs ranging from $1,000 to $25,000+ for complete website development
2. Hire on an Hourly Basis
Useful for ongoing updates, tweaks, or undefined scopes. Hourly or monthly hiring models are more suited for agencies or larger, ongoing projects.
Hourly rates typically range from $30-$200 per hour depending on the developer’s experience, location, and specialization
3. Hire Full-Time
Perfect for larger companies or startups with continuous needs. Retainer models provide ongoing support and maintenance for $500-$2,000 monthly, ideal for businesses needing regular updates
Cost of building a website for various business
The cost of building a website can vary significantly depending on the type of business you run, the features you need, and the level of customization you’re looking for. A simple brochure site for a local service business will cost far less than a fully customized e-commerce platform or a SaaS landing page with complex functionality. To give you a clearer idea of what to expect, I’ve broken down typical pricing based on different industries and business types:
1. Ecommerce Store
If you’re thinking about selling products online, you’ll need an ecommerce website. The good news is—you don’t need to build everything from scratch anymore. Platforms like Shopify and WooCommerce make it way easier and cheaper to launch an online store.
From my experience, if you’re just starting out, going custom is not the best idea. I’ve seen a lot of people spend thousands building a fancy custom site, only to realize later they could’ve launched quicker—and cheaper—with a simple template. So, my advice? Start small. Pick a clean, lightweight template (skip the flashy sliders and animations—they just slow things down). Templates usually cost between $59 and $100, and if you hire a pro to help you set it up, customize it a bit, and connect everything, expect to spend around $1,000. That’s a solid, no-stress start.
Now, if you already have a running store or your business is growing fast, you might need something more tailored. Maybe you need special features like advanced filters, better search, or custom integrations. At that stage, custom work makes sense. I’ve worked on stores like these, and the costs usually start from $10,000 and go up depending on how complex your needs are.
One thing I always tell clients: ecommerce isn’t a one-and-done job. I’ve seen so many stores built and then just… left alone. Products get outdated, pages break, and no one notices until sales drop. That’s why I always recommend keeping a developer or designer around—someone who can spend a few hours a month updating things, fixing issues, or just making sure everything runs smoothly. Budget about $500 to $800/month for that kind of ongoing support.
Also, a quick reality check: If you’re looking at big-name websites like GAP or Louis Vuitton and thinking, “I want mine to look like that,” just remember—they have full-time teams working on their websites every day. Your website doesn’t need to compete with them on day one. Focus on building something clean, functional, and easy to use. You can always grow from there.
Do you need help with customization insulation or building a custom website for your photography business. You can contact me as well
2. Photography Portfolio Sites
For photography websites, one of the best approaches is to go with a template solution. This isn’t just for cost reasons—it’s also for time and design factors. Photography websites are pretty straightforward. Most of the website is to showcase the photography and provide contact information, so you don’t need lots of customization.
You can buy a photography website template for $59. However, installing, integrating, and uploading everything isn’t as easy as it sounds, even with tutorials and documentation. It’s better to hire a customization expert, so you can expect to spend $400 to $2,000 depending on how much customization you need.
If you’re planning to sell photographs by adding e-commerce features or want advanced features where photographers can create password-protected albums for clients, these can be pretty advanced. Prepare to spend at least $5,000 and above. But my suggestion would always be to start small if you’re making a website for the first time.
Do you need help with customization insulation or building a custom website for your photography business. You can contact me as well
3. Service-Based Businesses (HVAC, Plumbing, Legal)
For service businesses like HVAC, plumbing, or legal firms, you can definitely start with templates for $59, but customization for these businesses is more complex compared to others. Be prepared to spend at least $1,000 to $3,000. These businesses need features where people can request quotes, multiple pages that display services and service areas, and clear calls to action.
If your business is mature and you already have a website and are looking to upgrade, prepare for at least $5,000 and up. For larger service businesses with complex needs, this can go over $50,000.
Legal firms face particularly competitive markets. I’ve seen law firms spend $100,000 on their websites, but it all depends on where your business stands and what your budget allows. It’s good to start small with a template solution and go custom once you start feeling the need for it. Custom solutions make sense when you have large service offerings and when SEO content becomes a major source of your marketing.
Do you need help with customization insulation or building a custom website for your photography business. You can contact me as well
4. Non-Profit and Charity Organizations
I’ve built more than 30 non-profit and charity websites, and what I’ve found is that every organization is different with very unique requirements. Going with template solutions has always been problematic in these cases.
You can definitely try a template for $59 and hire someone to do customization by spending $400 to $800, but this template will barely fulfill your requirements. In almost every case, it hasn’t been sufficient. For charities, it’s always better to go with a custom solution which will cost at least $3,000 and above.
Non-profits typically want to share reports regularly, add donation features, showcase projects and media coverage, manage team member profiles, and ensure ADA compliance—which is crucial for charity organization websites. Template solutions won’t meet these requirements effectively.
As I discovered working with organizations like Game Changer New York and ADSoN Nepal, non-profits need vibrant, accessible platforms that effectively communicate their impact. The investment in proper design and development pays off through increased engagement from donors and stakeholders.
Read how I help GCNY build their website.
Need help building your charity organization website?
5. SaaS Landing Pages and Marketing Sites
Marketing websites for businesses are important and sensitive. This is something I never recommend going with a template solution for the main landing pages and product/service pages. While you can use templates for blog sections, landing pages have to be custom-built because every service and product is different.
Landing pages are the highest converting factors when it comes to marketing, so compromising on budget for marketing sites is definitely not a good idea. Budget from $5,000 to $30,000. Marketing sites generally contain lots of pages, and each page needs to be crafted with attention to detail and proper call-to-actions that templates can’t provide.
For SaaS products specifically, as your product grows, custom solutions become essential because each feature needs to be explained in a professional, differentiated way. From an SEO standpoint, having multiple pages that explain every feature and product detail is recommended. Don’t just invest in the homepage—give detailed attention to inner pages and blog sections as well.
See how we build a techkraft websites marketing site
6. Events and Conferences
For events and conferences, if you’re organizing a conference or event, you definitely need a website to display speakers, schedules, sponsors, and sell tickets. One of the best approaches is to use Eventbrite or similar platforms that give you all the features you need for conference websites starting at around $129.
There are templates available for WordPress, Webflow, and Wix for $59, but you’ll need to hire a designer or developer to do customization work, which costs $500 to $5,000. As someone who has been in this industry for 15 years, even I get confused when it comes to updating content for events and conferences because of all the configuration needed for tickets and schedules.
If you’re organizing a large conference for 50,000+ people with conferences, music, exhibitions—everything at once—you’ll definitely need a custom solution or mobile app and should prepare to spend at least $100,000.
Give Spiny Events a try
Why Choose a Designer-Developer Combination
It’s always good to hire someone who has knowledge of both web design and development. In most cases, you might hire a web designer, but they’ll just give you a Figma file, and you won’t be able to have a functional website. However, if you hire someone who has skills in both design and development, they’ll give you a complete website.
This dual expertise allows for smoother integration and faster delivery. As someone with both design and development skills, I can effectively bridge the gap between design and coding, making the process more efficient for clients.
For really large websites like AI apps or complex SaaS products, you might not be able to get great results hiring a single freelancer. Instead, you’ll need a team of website designers and developers. I do freelancing for smaller projects and work with a small team when there are complicated websites that need lots of time, effort, and research.
Whether you need help with small business websites, large-scale enterprise solutions, SaaS products, e-commerce stores, or non-profits, the key is finding the right balance between your needs, budget, and long-term goals. Remember, design is a continuous process, and the best websites are those that can evolve with your business.
Final Thoughts
Start small. Build what you need now. Then scale.
Just don’t expect a Louis Vuitton website on a DIY budget. Know your business stage and invest accordingly. If you’re confused or overwhelmed, hire someone who can guide you — it saves time and money in the long run.
I tried to give the tentative cost to build a website, nothing is accurate however it should help you plan the budget to build good website/ Don’t get into a trap if somoen promose you to make website in cheap and eventually you get a low quality websiw hcih will affect your business and give negative impression. Make sure you hire right person or a team for your website project. if you need helkp building website you can contact me as well.