Published on 6 minutes
Ask around what a website costs and you will get numbers between 500 and 25,000 euro for what looks on paper like the same thing. That is confusing, and it is also not surprising: website is a word that can mean anything, from a template with your logo on it to a system wired into your stock and your bookkeeping.
Below we set out which amounts are common in the Netherlands, where the difference comes from and which costs people consistently forget to count.
The three price levels you will meet
Building it yourself: 0 to 400 euro per year
With a template builder you can put something online for the price of a subscription. That works fine if you need a simple calling-card site and have the time to tinker. The cost is not in money but in hours, and the site inevitably resembles the thousands of others using the same template.
A freelancer or small studio: 1,500 to 5,000 euro
This is where most websites for Dutch small businesses sit. You get a design that fits your company, copy that holds up and someone you can call. The spread inside that range comes mostly from the number of pages, whether copy has to be written and whether functionality is involved, such as a quote calculator or a booking system.
A larger agency: 8,000 euro and up
At a larger agency you pay for a team: strategy, design, development, project management. For an organisation with several brands or a complex audience that is worth it. For an installation company with eight staff it is usually paying for overhead you do not need.
Where the price difference actually comes from
- Custom or template. A design from scratch costs more hours than adapting an existing theme, and you see it on every page.
- Copy. Who writes the text is often the biggest hidden difference. Supplying it yourself saves hundreds of euro, but only if you actually do it.
- Functionality. A contact form is standard. A price calculator, a calendar integration or a client portal is construction work.
- Number of pages. Five pages is a different job from forty, especially when they all need their own copy.
- Who carries the maintenance. A lower build price with maintenance on invoice can end up costing more than an all-in monthly fee.
The costs people forget
The build price is rarely the total price. Count these before comparing budgets.
- Domain name: 10 to 20 euro per year.
- Hosting: 60 to 400 euro per year, depending on what the site does.
- SSL certificate: often free with hosting, sometimes billed separately.
- Maintenance and updates: count on a few hours per year, or a monthly fee.
- Photography: good photos of your own work are almost always the best investment in your site.
- Changes after launch: ask the hourly rate upfront, because that question is guaranteed to come.
Subscription or one-off?
More and more builders, ourselves included, offer a monthly fee instead of a lump sum. With us that is 99 euro per month for a website, with no setup fee, including hosting, domain, maintenance and changes. The one-off option starts at 2,500 euro.
Which of the two works out cheaper depends on how long you keep the site and how often you want changes. If little changes and you have the money available, one-off is cheaper over time. If you would rather not invest upfront and want to keep adjusting, a subscription is calmer.
What to ask before you sign
- Is this a fixed price or an estimate?
- Who writes the copy, and is that in the price?
- What does a change after launch cost?
- Who owns the domain, and who owns the site if I leave?
- Do I get access to edit copy myself?
- Who do I contact when something breaks?
A good builder answers those six without hesitating. If a concrete number takes a long time to appear, that is information in itself.