Guide · 2-minute read
What determines the effort behind a website.
Scope, features, content: what makes a website complex and how to recognise a quote you can rely on.
By Manuel Bubori, Studio BUBORILast reviewed
For businesses commissioning a website for the first time in years.
“What does a website cost?” is the most common question in a first conversation. A number without context does not help much: here is what determines the effort behind a website and how to recognise a fair quote.
The short answer
The effort depends above all on three things: scope, features and content.
A compact company website with five to fifteen pages, individually designed and easy to maintain yourself, is a different thing from a larger website with an extended content management system, a careers section or several languages. Special features such as configurators or a connection to your ERP system are a project of their own.
Be careful with very cheap offers: they usually hide an adapted template. For a company that needs to stand out, that is the expensive option, because it delivers exactly the opposite.
If you are looking for the usual market prices, you will find them with sources in What agencies cost.
What really drives the effort
Content. The most underestimated item. If you want the text and images produced for you, allow for that effort. You usually get the better website in return.
Page types. It is not the number of pages alone that drives the effort, but above all the number of different layouts.
Features. Multiple languages, filters, forms. Every feature means concept, implementation and testing.
How do you recognise a fair quote?
It names a fixed price, describes the scope of delivery including revision rounds, and clarifies who owns the files and rights at the end.
Be sceptical of quotes made without a prior conversation, of long minimum contract terms and of the phrase “SEO included” without saying what exactly it covers.
Does it pay off?
For a supplier with five-figure order values, a single additional customer is enough for the website to pay for itself. We are happy to share figures from real projects in person.
The often overlooked second effect: candidates also look at your website before they apply.
In short
- The effort depends on scope, features and content
- Very cheap offers are usually adapted templates
- Most often underestimated: the content
- A fair quote names a fixed price, the scope and the transfer of rights
Frequently asked questions
That depends on the scope: a compact company website is a different thing from one with an extended content management system, a careers section or several languages. A fair quote names a fixed price before the work starts.
Mainly domain and hosting, a small item compared with the website itself. Maintenance contracts are optional.
Four to eight weeks, depending on scope. Delays almost always come from the content.
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In a free 30-minute brand check we go through your situation together. No sales pitch, no obligation.
agent-view
What an answer engine reads from this page
A search engine returns ten links and the human picks. A language model returns one paragraph and names two or three companies in it. That is the difference between being found and being named. This page is built for the second case.
Retrieval
read: /llms.txt · /robots.txt · JSON-LD @graph · this page
answered: That depends on the scope: a compact company website is a different thing from one with an extended content management system, a careers section or several languages. A fair quote names a fixed price before the work starts.
Allowed agents (21)
Anthropic: ClaudeBot · Claude-User · Claude-SearchBot
Perplexity: PerplexityBot · Perplexity-User
Google: Google-Extended · Googlebot
Microsoft: Bingbot
Apple: Applebot-Extended · Applebot
Meta: Meta-WebIndexer · meta-externalfetcher · meta-externalagent
Mistral AI: MistralAI-Index · MistralAI-User · MistralAI-Training
DuckDuckGo: DuckAssistBot
rule: Allow: / · source: https://www.bubori.studio/robots.txt
Entity
url: https://www.bubori.studio/en/guide/website-cost-for-smes
inLanguage: en-GB
alternate: de-DE · https://www.bubori.studio/ratgeber/was-kostet-website-mittelstand
@type: Article
updated: 2026-11-01
Questions this page answers
- How much does a professional website cost for an SME?
- That depends on the scope: a compact company website is a different thing from one with an extended content management system, a careers section or several languages. A fair quote names a fixed price before the work starts.
- What are the running costs of a website?
- Mainly domain and hosting, a small item compared with the website itself. Maintenance contracts are optional.
- How long does a website project take?
- Four to eight weeks, depending on scope. Delays almost always come from the content.
Contact
email: hello@bubori.com
address: Industriestraße 3, 78052 Villingen-Schwenningen, Baden-Württemberg
geo: 48.0916, 8.5046
Machine-readable entry points
sitemap: https://www.bubori.studio/sitemap.xml
JSON-LD: in the head of this page
Ten links leave the choice to the human. One paragraph has already made the choice. A company that does not appear in that answer is not on the list being chosen from.