What does a custom website actually cost to build?
A custom-coded website costs from $500 for a 5-page build and scales up with page count and complexity. A simple brochure site with a handful of pages sits at the low end. A larger marketing site with more pages, custom sections, and tighter design work runs higher and takes 7 to 10 business days instead of about a week. The word custom matters here. We are not dragging a template around. We code the site to your brief, which is why it looks sharp on mobile and does not collapse the moment a client asks for something slightly off-menu. When you price a resale, start from our build cost, add your design direction and project management, and set the client number from there. You keep the margin. We stay invisible.
What makes one website cost more than another?
Three factors move a website's price more than anything else: the number of pages, the amount of custom functionality, and who handles copy and strategy. Pages are the simplest lever. A 5-page site costs less than a 15-page site because there is less to design, code, and test. Custom functionality is the bigger multiplier. A standard page is cheap. A page that pulls data, gates content, or connects to another system is real engineering and is quoted accordingly. The third factor is content. A site where you hand us finished copy and a clear brief moves fast. A site where direction is still being figured out mid-build takes longer and risks burning your revision rounds. Tighten the brief before the build starts and the price stays predictable.
How should website copywriting factor into your price?
Website copywriting is an agency labor cost you price into the client number, not something you pay us for. We build the site around the copy you provide. That means the words, the messaging, and the voice are yours to produce or outsource, and you bill your client for that work at whatever rate your market supports. When you quote a client, treat copywriting pricing as a separate line from the build. A tight, finished copy deck handed to us on brief approval keeps the project on schedule, because our two included revision rounds are meant for design and build refinements, not for rewriting pages as the client changes their mind. Price the writing as your expertise. We turn it into a shipped site.
Where does website strategy fit in the cost?
Website strategy is the agency's billable work and sits on top of the build cost, not inside it. The sitemap, the conversion goals, the funnel logic, and the positioning are what you charge your client for as strategic consulting, and they are a big part of why a client pays agency rates instead of buying a template themselves. We take your strategy as the brief and build to it. We are the backend build team, not the strategist on the account. That split is deliberate. You own the client relationship and the thinking. We own the code and the delivery. When you package a quote, bill strategy and planning as your own line, then layer the build cost beneath it, and the client sees one clean number from your agency.
How much does a custom web app or CRM cost versus a standard site?
Custom builds like an internal tool, a booking system, or a niche industry site cost more than a standard website because they are engineered to spec, not assembled from pages. We quote these per project rather than off a page count, and they take two to three weeks to deliver. Examples include a lightweight CRM, a booking or intake system, a business intelligence dashboard, or a custom tool built for a specific workflow. Payment on these splits 50% upfront on brief approval and 50% on staging approval before anything goes to production, so you and your client see the real thing working before the final payment. The build lands under your agency's brand, same as a website. Price it as a premium service, because custom development is where agency margins get interesting.
What ongoing costs come after the site launches?
After launch, a website needs hosting and maintenance, which we offer on month-to-month care plans starting at $29 per month for hosting only. Lite Care runs $97 per month and Pro runs $297 per month, all cancelable with 30 days' notice. These are recurring costs you can mark up and resell as a care retainer, turning a one-time build into monthly revenue under your brand. The site itself belongs to your client, through you. We host on managed infrastructure or hand the files off, and nothing is ever held hostage. When you price a project, pitch the care plan alongside the build so the client budgets for upkeep from day one and you lock in a predictable monthly margin on top of the build fee.