Costs
What affects the cost of a business website
There is no single price for a website, and published price guides disagree widely. Here is what actually moves the cost, and the recurring costs people forget.
Search for what a business website costs and you will find ranges that differ widely. Many of those guides are written by companies that sell websites, so treat their figures as marketing, not measurement. A better question than “what does a website cost?” is “what am I paying for, and what is left out?”
The factors below are the ones that change the price. I give amounts only for my own packages, in Indian rupees, because I cannot responsibly give you a number for someone else’s work.
What moves the price
Number of pages. More pages mean more design, more building and, above all, more content to gather and check. Pages built from the same template cost less than pages that each need their own layout, as long as the content on each is genuinely different.
How custom the design is. A design made for your business takes more time than a ready-made theme with your logo on it. A theme is not wrong; it is a trade of uniqueness for speed.
Who provides the content. If you supply finished text and photographs, the developer builds. If the developer writes or photographs for you, that is separate work and is priced as such.
What the site has to do. A site that presents information is the simplest. Enquiry forms, search, booking, online payments, user accounts and a backend each add design, building and testing, and some add ongoing security responsibility.
Search work. Making a site crawlable and sound is part of a good build (the checklist in comparing website packages shows how to compare what is listed). Researching keywords, planning the page structure around search intent, and setting up measurement is extra work, and it is where packages differ most. Ask exactly what is included and for how long.
Languages. A second language is a second set of content, not a toggle.
Changes and revisions. Every round of changes costs time. A clear number of included rounds, and a price for extra ones, is better than “unlimited”, which in practice means a dispute.
Timeline. A rushed schedule usually costs more, or reduces what is included. If you need a site by a fixed date, say so at the start: what can realistically be finished depends on the page count and on how quickly content and approvals arrive, and that is a conversation about scope, not a number a developer should promise before seeing your material.
Who does the work. A solo developer and a large agency have different overheads. Neither is automatically better; what matters is who actually does the work on your project.
Costs that are not the build
The build is a one-time cost. These come back:
- Domain name, paid to a registrar, normally every year.
- Hosting, paid to a hosting company, monthly or yearly, and the price may change after an introductory period.
- Maintenance, meaning updates, backups, monitoring and fixes. It can be included, optional or something you do yourself; see what a maintenance plan should include.
- Paid tools, such as email, forms or booking software.
- Advertising, if you choose to run it.
At Website Craft Room, package prices cover the build and any SEO work the package names. Domain, hosting, advertising and paid tools are separate, and optional maintenance is quoted on its own, at present ₹3,000 to ₹6,000 per month depending on scope.
An example of scope changing the price
My three packages show how scope moves the price. They are one-time fees in rupees, excluding taxes.
| Package | Price | What the extra money buys |
|---|---|---|
| Essential | ₹19,999 | 20 to 30 pages of frontend only: design, responsive build and sound engineering. No SEO services, GA4, Search Console or tracking setup. |
| Growth | ₹24,999 | A much larger structure of 70 to 100 pages, plus agreed SEO implementation and the first month of SEO. |
| Complete | ₹34,999 | 100 to 200 pages, a more extensive content structure and a broader SEO scope. Not unlimited and not permanent monthly SEO. |
The pricing page has the full list of what each includes. I show this table to explain the reasoning, not to say that these figures apply to other developers.
A three-year view
Compare quotes by what you will have paid after three years, not by the first invoice. Use one line per item and leave the unknown ones blank until you have asked.
| Item | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Website build (one time) | the quote | none | none |
| Domain renewal | first purchase | renewal price | renewal price |
| Hosting, if paid | plan price | plan price after any offer ends | same |
| Maintenance, if you choose a plan | plan price | plan price | plan price |
| Continuing SEO, if you choose it | plan price | plan price | plan price |
| Content or design changes | quoted per change | quoted per change | quoted per change |
A build that costs less but needs a plan to stay safe can cost more by year three than one that costs more and needs nothing monthly. A site with no monthly cost needs someone, usually you, to keep the renewals and logins in order. The point is to see all of it before deciding, not to find one right answer.
How to read a quote
- List what you need: pages, features, content, languages, search work.
- For each quote, mark what is included, what is excluded and what is not mentioned. “Not mentioned” is the dangerous column.
- Add the recurring costs for the first three years, not the first year.
- Ask what a change outside the agreed scope costs, before you need one.
- Only now compare the totals.
A cheaper quote with more in the “not mentioned” column is not cheaper.
Be careful with
- Prices that sound too good. Ask what has been left out or what will be charged later.
- Anyone who gives a price before asking anything about your business. They are quoting for an average site, not yours.
- Promises tied to the price, such as guaranteed rankings or a guaranteed number of enquiries. Nobody controls those outcomes.