How much does a website cost in 2026?

"How much does a website cost?" That's almost certainly one of the first questions you've typed into Google. The answer you'll get depends entirely on who's answering. An agency will say €5,000. A Wix ad will say €0. The truth sits somewhere in between — and it's worth understanding why.

1. The 4 main cost categories

A website budget breaks down into four distinct categories — and you won't always need all four.

Design & build

Someone has to create the pages, structure, and visual identity. This is where most of the cost lives.

Hosting

The server where your site lives. Between €5/month (shared) and €50+/month (dedicated).

Domain name

Your .com or .fr address. Roughly €10–15/year.

Maintenance

Updates, security, backups. Often forgotten but crucial — especially with WordPress.

2. Full comparison: DIY vs template vs freelance vs agency

Option	Cost	Quality	SEO
Wix / Squarespace (DIY)	€0–30/month	⭐⭐	⭐⭐
WordPress + template	€200–800	⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐
Freelance (custom)	€490–2,000	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Web agency	€3,000–15,000	⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐

3. What actually drives the price

Three main factors inflate a website price:

Number of pages. A 1-page showcase costs much less than a 10-page site with a blog.
Custom functionality. Booking system, e-commerce, customer area — each adds complexity.
Brand identity. Starting from scratch with no logo, no colours, no defined tone takes more time than working from an existing brief.

4. What costs nothing (contrary to popular belief)

SEO. Not the expensive "SEO agency" kind — but technical SEO. A well-built site (clean structure, fast loading, Schema.org markup, sitemap) ranks better than a badly-built site regardless of how much was spent on "SEO work."

A €490 site from me comes with better technical SEO than most €3,000 WordPress sites built with Elementor. Performance matters more than budget.

5. Hidden costs to watch out for

⚠️ The true cost of "cheap" options

• WordPress hosting: €5–20/month × 12 = €60–240/year, forever
• Premium plugins: often €50–200/year each
• Developer to fix updates that break the site: €100–300 per incident
• Lost clients from a slow, outdated site: immeasurable

6. So, what should you budget?

For a small business, craftsperson, or freelancer, here's the honest breakdown:

€490 — 1–3 page custom site, contact form, basic SEO. Enough to get started and look professional.
€1,290 — 4–8 pages, blog, advanced SEO, everything a growing business needs.
€1,990+ — booking, e-commerce, or any complex custom requirement.

All of these include 1 year of hosting, domain, SSL, and maintenance. No hidden recurring fees.

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