Ask three agencies what a website costs and you will get three shrugs and a "it depends." It does depend — but not on anything mysterious. Here is the honest breakdown.
What you are actually paying for
A website price is really four separate things bundled into one number:
- Design — the layout, brand system, and the specific pages you need.
- Build — turning that design into a fast, responsive, accessible site.
- Content — the words and images (you provide them, or the team writes them).
- Care — hosting, security, backups, and edits after launch.
Most sticker shock comes from mixing these up. A cheap template hides the build cost by giving you a worse build. A "custom" quote with no published price hides the margin.
Rough numbers that are actually true
| Site type | Typical pages | Fair one-time build | What it is for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter brochure | 3–5 | $1,500–$3,000 | Get found, look credible |
| Growth site | 6–12 | $3,000–$7,000 | Lead capture, booking, blog |
| Conversion build | 12+ | $7,000–$15,000 | Primary revenue channel |
The number that should scare you is not a high quote — it is a quote with no line items.
The part nobody quotes: care
A site is not a one-time purchase. It needs hosting, SSL renewal, security patches, backups, and someone to make edits. Skipping care is how a $5,000 site becomes an unreachable liability eighteen months later.
At CORE every build ships with a care plan — a flat monthly price that covers all of that plus a quota of hands-on edits. No surprise "maintenance" invoices.
How to not get overcharged
- Ask for the price in writing, broken into design / build / content / care.
- Ask what happens if you leave. You should own the code and the domain.
- Ask who makes edits after launch, and what it costs.
If an agency cannot answer those three questions in plain English, that is your answer.
Want a real number for your project? Our estimate builder gives you a fixed, all-in price in about two minutes — no sales call.
