Anyone comparing website offers is usually comparing numbers that do not mean the same thing. This overview sorts the three usual routes — and names the line items that actually make offers comparable.
Site builder: from around 10 € a month
Wix, Jimdo, Squarespace and similar providers cost little per month and are quick to set up. You pay with time and lock-in: the site cannot be taken elsewhere, the templates resemble one another, and every extra feature raises the plan. For a business card on the web that is enough. For a page meant to bring in inquiries, it usually lacks the guidance towards contact and the speed.
Do the honest maths: 15 € a month is 540 € after three years — plus the hours you put in yourself.
Freelancers and small studios: roughly 200 to 2,000 €
Here you get a custom layout, one person to talk to, and a site that belongs to you. The range is wide because the scope differs: a landing page, a multi-page company site, possibly text and photography on top.
At BNK Web the landing page is 199 €, the multi-page website 299 € with up to ten pages, each further page 20 €. Maintenance is optional at 30 € a month.
Agency: from around 5,000 €
An agency brings a team: concept, design, copy, photo production, development, rounds of review. That is more expensive and in many cases right — for a new brand, several locations, a shop, or connections to other systems. For a five-page tradesperson site it is usually more than the job calls for.
The line items every offer should list
- the number of pages and what gets built on them
- design: custom or based on a template
- the mobile build and which devices are tested
- the form, including notifications and spam protection
- SSL, technical SEO, the Google listing
- legal notice and privacy policy
- who owns the domain, the hosting and the access
- what a later change costs and how quickly it happens
An offer that names these eight points can be compared with any other. One that names only a total cannot.
A price says little until it says what gets built for it.
Do not forget the running costs
Hosting is around 9 € a month, a .de domain about 1 € a month. Depending on what you want, maintenance comes on top. These amounts are small, but they belong in the calculation — and they should be in your name, not your provider's.