# How Much Does a Custom Website Cost in 2026? A custom business card site costs €600–1,000, a company website with CMS from €1,200, a custom online store from €2,000. See what drives the price and what to expect in 2026. **Canonical:** https://spoko.space/blog/how-much-does-a-website-cost/ **Language:** en **Published:** 2026-04-01 **Tags:** web development, pricing, custom website, business website, website cost **Category:** Guide --- A **custom website** for a small business typically costs **between €400 and €4,000 net**, depending on the type of site, feature scope, and whether you choose a freelancer, an agency, or a website builder. Custom development — built from scratch, no off-the-shelf themes — is 30–50% more expensive than a template-based site, but delivers better performance, security, and long-term maintenance cost. Below is a straightforward pricing breakdown by site type — no fluff. All prices reflect **custom web development**, not template-based or DIY builders. --- ## Website Pricing in 2026 | Type | Price (from, net) | Timeline | |---|---|---| | Landing page | €400 | 3–7 days | | Business card site | €600 | 2–3 weeks | | Company website with CMS | €1,200 | 4–6 weeks | | Online store | €2,000 | 6–12 weeks | > Prices reflect freelancer rates for **custom website development**. Agencies typically charge 2–3× more for a similar scope. --- ## What Counts as a Custom Website? A **custom website** is one built from scratch for a specific client, with a bespoke design and functionality — not a reskinned template. The distinction matters for cost: custom development takes more time upfront but delivers: - **Unique design** that reflects your brand, not a variation of themes used by thousands of other businesses - **Lean code** with only the features you actually need — no plugin bloat - **Better performance** (typically 95–100 PageSpeed Insights vs 40–60 for template-based sites) - **Lower maintenance cost** long-term (fewer plugins to update, no security patches for unused features) - **Freedom to customize** without fighting the template's constraints when requirements evolve The trade-off: **higher upfront cost** (30–50% more than a template) and longer timeline. For businesses that plan to run the site for 3+ years, the total cost of ownership is usually lower with custom — especially when you factor in hosting costs (templates with many plugins often require heavier hosting) and developer hours for fighting template limitations later. --- ## Landing Page — from €400 A landing page is a single page focused on one goal: capturing leads, selling a product, or promoting a service. No navigation, no subpages — just content and a CTA button or form. **When it makes sense:** - Running a paid ad campaign (Google Ads, Meta Ads) - Promoting a single product or service - Collecting sign-ups for an event or webinar At this price point, a landing page includes responsive design, a contact form, basic SEO, and Google Analytics integration. --- ## Business Card Site — from €600 A business card site is the classic small business website: up to 5 pages covering home, services, about, contact, and optionally a gallery or testimonials. It's the most common choice for local service providers. **What's included:** - Up to 5 subpages - Custom graphic design - Contact form with reCAPTCHA - SEO optimisation (meta tags, headings, schema markup) - Responsive layout for mobile and tablet - Google Maps and Google Analytics integration **When it makes sense:** - You're a local service provider (salon, mechanic, accountant, clinic) - You need a professional online presence - Customers search for you by business name or service --- ## Company Website with CMS — from €1,200 A full company website with a content management system lets you update text, add posts, and manage images yourself — no developer needed. The right choice when you plan to publish content regularly or have a dozen or more subpages. **What's included:** - Multiple pages and sections - Admin panel for content editing - Company blog - Advanced SEO (breadcrumbs, schema.org, sitemap) - Integrations (GTM, analytics, maps, newsletter, chat) - SSL certificate and first-year hosting (optional) --- ## Online Store — from €2,000 An online store is considerably more complex than a business card site. It needs to handle products, a cart, payments, stock management, invoices, and shipping. The price depends on the number of products, payment gateway integrations (Stripe, PayPal), and any synchronisation with inventory or ERP systems. --- ## What Drives the Cost of a Website? ### 1. Custom design vs template A site built from scratch with a custom graphic design costs more than one based on a ready-made template. The price difference is typically 30–50%, but the difference in quality and uniqueness can be far greater. For what sets memorable sites apart from template clones in 2026 — from bento grids to kinetic typography — see [Modern Website Design Trends 2026](https://spoko.space/blog/modern-website-design-trends/). ### 2. Content management system (CMS) Adding an admin panel so you can edit content yourself adds €250–750 to the cost. It's a one-time expense that saves money later — minor updates don't require calling a developer every time. ### 3. Integrations and extra features Each integration takes additional time. Typical costs: - Contact form with anti-spam protection: included in base price - Booking system integration: +€120–380 - Newsletter (Mailchimp, etc.): +€80–200 - Multilingual support: +€380–1,000 - On-site search: +€120–380 ### 4. Copywriting and photography Many quotes exclude copy and images — the client provides the materials. If you need copywriting or product photography, add €250–1,200 depending on scope. ### 5. Freelancer vs agency vs website builder | | Freelancer | Agency | Builder (Wix, Squarespace) | |---|---|---|---| | Price | €400–4,000 | €1,500–15,000 | €0–50/mo | | Uniqueness | High | High | Low | | Quality | Depends on person | Depends on agency | Low–medium | | Flexibility | High | Medium | Low | | Support | Direct | Via project manager | Self-service | --- ## Hidden Costs to Know About The build price is just the start — a website has ongoing running costs: - **Domain**: €10–30/year (.com, .co.uk, etc.) - **Hosting**: €25–150/year (depends on traffic and site type) - **SSL certificate**: usually included with hosting or free (Let's Encrypt) - **Maintenance and updates**: €0–120/month (if you opt for a support package) - **SEO**: €120–750/month if you want to actively grow in Google WordPress sites require regular plugin and core updates — otherwise they become vulnerable to attacks. Sites built in Astro (like the ones I build) don't have this problem: they generate static HTML and require no ongoing maintenance. --- ## When Does a Cheaper Option Make Sense? Website builders like Wix or Squarespace make sense when: - You're just starting out and testing an idea - You don't need SEO or a custom design - Your budget is genuinely very tight But fair warning: builder sites have poor performance, limited SEO capabilities, and look similar to thousands of other sites. In the long run, it often turns out that investing once in a professional site was cheaper. --- ## Summary — What Budget to Plan For? For a small business, a realistic website budget is: - **Minimum** (simple card site, template): €400–600 - **Sensible** (card site with custom design): €600–1,000 - **Optimal** (company site with CMS): €1,200–2,000 Add roughly €50–120/year for hosting and a domain. If long-term Google rankings matter to you — it's worth investing in an SEO-optimised site from day one. Fixing technical SEO issues after the fact is more expensive than getting it right upfront. --- Need a quote for your business? [Get in touch](https://spoko.space/contact/) — I provide free estimates. I'm based in Poland and work with clients across Europe.