"How much does a website cost?" That's the question we get the most — and the one 80% of agencies refuse to answer publicly. The result: an opaque market, 1-to-10 ranges on identical scopes, and SME founders who no longer know who to trust. This article is a bit different: we share the real ranges we charge at CodingArt in 2026, how they break down, and how to compare them with the quotes you receive elsewhere.
TL;DR: a professional showcase site of decent quality starts at €4,000, custom e-commerce at €9,000, native mobile app at €12,000. Anything cheaper either uses low-code or hides costs elsewhere (content, maintenance, hosting).
What actually drives the price of a website
Before getting into numbers, understand that a web quote is not just a sum of dev days. It covers five major buckets: design (UX/UI), development, content integration, go-live (hosting, security, performance), and post-launch warranty. Here are the 7 factors that swing the price 10× on a single site type.
- Functional complexity: number of pages, forms, customer area, online payment, multi-language, third-party integrations (CRM, ERP, mobile money).
- Degree of customisation: bought WordPress template (low) vs custom design and dedicated visual identity (high).
- Technology: WordPress / Shopify (fast, cheap) vs modern stack Next.js / Symfony / Spring (better performance but more expensive).
- Performance bar: targeting Lighthouse 90+ and green Core Web Vitals requires more optimisation effort.
- Multilingual: each extra language adds 15-30% to content + testing budget.
- Content inclusion: if you provide copy, photos, video — cheaper. If the agency produces it, add 20-40% to the quote.
- Post-launch SLA: a 30-day warranty is standard; a monthly maintenance contract with 24h support runs €200 to €800/month.
Real 2026 ranges by project type
These ranges reflect what we actually charge clients in France, Belgium, Switzerland, Morocco, Senegal and Ivory Coast. They include design, development, integration of your content (you provide), testing, go-live and a 30-day warranty. Hosting and domain are extra (typically €100 to €300/year).
| Project type | 2026 range | Indicative timeline |
|---|---|---|
| Pro showcase site (5–10 pages) | €4,000 – 8,000 | 3 to 5 weeks |
| Custom corporate site | €8,000 – 20,000 | 5 to 8 weeks |
| Standard e-commerce (WooCommerce, Shopify) | €6,000 – 15,000 | 4 to 7 weeks |
| Custom e-commerce | €15,000 – 50,000 | 8 to 14 weeks |
| Native mobile app (iOS + Android) | €12,000 – 50,000 | 8 to 14 weeks |
| SaaS / business platform | €30,000 – 150,000+ | 3 to 9 months |
| Technical rebuild (same design) | €3,000 – 12,000 | 2 to 5 weeks |
| SEO audit + action plan | €1,500 – 4,000 | 1 to 2 weeks |
Be wary of "€500 showcase site" quotes: at that price, it's almost always a resold template with no SEO, no Core Web Vitals optimisation, no accessibility, on saturated shared hosting. The real cost shows up 6 months later when everything needs rebuilding.
Freelance, offshore agency, EU agency: what to pick?
The freelance vs agency debate is the wrong question. The real one is: what level of risk and continuity are you willing to accept? Here's an honest comparison for the same pro showcase site, 7 pages.
| Profile | Indicative cost | Timeline | Main risks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Junior freelancer (offshore) | €800 – 2,500 | 2 to 8 weeks | Inconsistent availability, no contract, project abandonment, variable quality. |
| Senior freelancer France/Morocco | €3,500 – 7,000 | 4 to 6 weeks | Quality is good but bus factor = 1. If they're sick, everything stops. |
| Offshore Asian agency (low-cost) | €2,000 – 5,000 | 6 to 12 weeks | Time zone, English-only comms, generic design, virtually no post-launch support. |
| Morocco/Tunisia agency (nearshore) | €4,000 – 12,000 | 3 to 8 weeks | Good price/quality balance. Check the stack (WordPress or modern?) and the SLA. |
| Premium France/Belgium agency | €8,000 – 25,000 | 5 to 10 weeks | High cost, sometimes disproportionate for SMEs. Reserve for larger budgets. |
Our position at CodingArt: a nearshore agency based in Agadir with an in-house team (devs, designers, project managers) shipping for Europe and Africa. Pricing aligned with nearshore (€4,000 – 12,000 for a pro showcase), technical expectations aligned with Paris/Brussels (Lighthouse 90+, GDPR-native, EU hosting available). That's the bridge we build.
6 hidden costs that blow up the budget
The initial quote is only part of the real investment. Here's what's usually forgotten — and what you should budget for from day one.
- Content (SEO copy, photos, video, translations): €500 to €5,000 depending on volume. If the agency produces it, add 20-40% to the quote.
- Hosting and domain: €100 to €500/year for standard shared hosting, €1,000 to €5,000/year for serverless cloud (Vercel, AWS).
- Maintenance (security updates, backups, monitoring, small evolutions): €200 to €800/month for a pro site.
- Ongoing SEO (audit, optimisation, link building, monthly content): €800 to €3,000/month for a serious programme.
- Software licences (themes, Premium plugins, CMS subscription, marketing tools): €200 to €2,000/year.
- Post-launch evolutions: plan for 10-20% of the initial budget per year to stay competitive.
How to read a web quote — the 8 checks to run
A good quote is not one single number. It details the deliverables, the responsibilities and the post-launch terms. Here are the 8 things to systematically check before signing.
- Is the technology explicitly named (Next.js, WordPress, Shopify…)? If it's vague, it's suspicious.
- How many design revision cycles are included? (Standard: 2 major + unlimited adjustments on details.)
- Is hosting included for the first year? Which provider, which country, what GDPR posture?
- Is the source code delivered to you or does it stay agency-owned? (Must be delivered.)
- What are the performance commitments (Lighthouse, Core Web Vitals)?
- Is technical SEO included (titles, descriptions, schema.org, sitemap, hreflang)?
- How long is the post-launch warranty (30 days minimum recommended), and what does it cover exactly?
- Is a maintenance contract proposed, at what price, with what SLA (response time)?
How CodingArt builds its quotes
Our method is simple: within 48 hours of your brief you receive a quote structured in functional batches. Each batch has a precise deliverable, a time range and a fixed price. You know exactly what you're paying for and why. For a pro showcase site, the typical breakdown is: 30% UX/UI design, 50% development, 10% content integration and testing, 10% go-live and training. The 30-day warranty is included. You keep the source code and IP.
Want an honest quote within 48h, no strings attached? Fill out our quote form (5 minutes) or reach us directly on WhatsApp. You'll get a personal reply, not a sales pitch.
Frequently asked pricing questions
Can you get a pro site for under €2,000?
For a simple WordPress showcase with a clean template, yes — especially if you provide your own content and accept a less distinctive design. Under €2,000, you accept a few compromises: template over custom design, limited customisation, short warranty. It's viable to bootstrap, but plan for a rebuild within 2-3 years as you scale.
Why are quotes so wildly different?
Three main reasons: (1) technology and degree of customisation, (2) team (junior vs senior, freelance vs agency with quality processes), (3) what's really included (SEO, GDPR, performance, training, warranty). At equal scope and quality, the gap between two serious quotes is rarely more than 30-40%.
What's the ROI of a website for an SME?
For a B2B SME with targeted traffic, a well-built site typically generates 5-20 qualified leads per month, i.e. €30-200K of incremental revenue in year one. A €5,000-15,000 investment pays back in 6-12 months if SEO and sales follow-up are in place. For e-commerce, ROI depends on your product margin and acquisition strategy.
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