A business owner once sent me three website proposals and asked which one was fair. The totals were €700, €2,400 and just over €6,000. On the surface, the choice looked like a price comparison. It was not. One supplier expected the client to write, format and upload every word. Another included strategy, copy and a second language. The third was pricing a customer portal that the business had never asked for.
So, how much should a small-business website cost? With Mischka Studio, a focused landing page starts at €600, a business website at €1,200, and a Shopify or WooCommerce store at €2,200. The exact quote depends on the work required to make the site useful, not on a mysterious price per page.
Start with the job the website needs to do
These are our current starting points:
| Starting point | Price | The business job |
|---|---|---|
| Landing page | from €600 | Explain one offer and turn campaign traffic into enquiries |
| Business website | from €1,200 | Present several services and help buyers decide whether to contact you |
| Online store | from €2,200 | Let customers find, order and pay for products online |
A landing page can be a smart first project for one clear offer. It becomes the wrong choice when visitors need to compare six services, read case studies and understand how your company works. In the same way, adding product photos to a business site does not turn it into a store. Payments, delivery rules, product data and order management change the job completely.
You can browse every current figure on our service pricing page. The numbers there are public floors for defined scopes, not automatic quotes produced by a calculator.
What sits inside the €1,200 business website scope
At the starting level, we plan the page structure, create a custom design, set up a content management system and make the site work across phones, tablets and desktop screens. We also include basic analytics and Google Search Console setup, plus training for routine content updates.
That list matters because "website included" can mean almost anything. Ask whether the supplier is creating the structure or waiting for you to provide it. Ask who enters the content, tests the forms and checks the mobile layout. If nobody owns a task in the proposal, it usually lands back on the client.
Four decisions that have the biggest effect on price
1. Ready content or a blank page
Good copy is not decoration added after the design. It determines the page order, headings, calls to action and often the navigation. A client who arrives with approved copy and strong photographs needs less production than one who needs interviews, copywriting, image sourcing and content entry.
2. One market or several
A second language adds more than translated paragraphs. Each page needs a counterpart, metadata, language switching and testing. A company selling in Croatia and Austria may also need different proof, examples or terminology for each audience. That is why a bilingual site has a wider scope even when both versions use the same visual design.
3. Simple forms or connected systems
A contact form collects a message. A booking tool must handle availability, reminders and cancellations. A store may need payment providers, delivery zones, tax rules, product imports and accounting connections. Every system introduces setup and test cases, and somebody needs to own it after launch.
4. A clear decision-maker or a committee
Feedback has a cost when it arrives in five conflicting documents. Projects move faster when one person gathers comments and makes the final call. This is not about limiting collaboration. It is about avoiding three rounds of redesign because the team never agreed on the goal.
Three budgets, three very different projects
A consultant launching one service
The consultant has a finished identity, approved copy and professional photographs. The page needs to explain one programme, answer common objections and collect enquiries. That is a realistic fit for the €600 landing-page starting point.
If the offer itself still needs positioning, the page needs complete copywriting, or appointments must sync with several calendars, we would price those as additional work rather than pretending they fit inside the same number.
A manufacturer preparing for export enquiries
The company needs a home page, company story, capabilities, sector pages, selected projects and contact paths for buyers in two markets. It has technical documents, but they were written for internal use and need turning into clear customer copy.
The €1,200 business-website floor is useful for orientation, but this project sits above the baseline because of the second language and content work. The quote should name those additions, not hide them inside a vague "international website" line.
A retailer opening its first online store
The retailer has a clean spreadsheet of products, agreed delivery methods and a payment provider in mind. A Shopify or WooCommerce build with design, core setup, payment and delivery configuration, initial product structure and training starts at €2,200. A baseline build usually takes six to ten weeks.
Now change the spreadsheet to five thousand inconsistent rows, add three currencies and connect stock to an older business system. The project is no longer comparable.
Plan for costs after launch as well
The build fee is only one part of website ownership. Depending on the project, you may also pay for:
- domain registration and hosting
- plugin, font or software licences
- booking, email or integration subscriptions
- translation, photography, video or stock assets
- maintenance after the agreed support period
Ask who owns each account and whether the charge is monthly, annual or one-off. The domain and core accounts should be accessible to your business. A low first-year price is not much comfort if moving the site later requires rebuilding it.
Seven questions I would ask before accepting a proposal
- Which pages and features are included?
- Who prepares and enters the copy and images?
- How many languages and review rounds are covered?
- Which outside services will I pay for separately?
- Who owns the domain, hosting and software accounts?
- What support is included after launch?
- What would trigger a change in price?
A useful brief can fit on one page
You do not need technical language. Write down the business goal, the services or products the site must cover, the audience, languages, essential features, preferred deadline and material you already have. Our guide to defining your target audience can help if "everyone" is still the current answer.
Then review how we approach web design projects and send us the brief. We can tell you which starting point fits, identify the choices that affect the budget and confirm the complete price in writing before work begins.
A useful website is an operating part of the business. Price it by the job it needs to do, and you are far less likely to pay twice for the same problem.
