WEBSITES / BUDGET
Small business website cost: how to compare project quotes
How much will your business website cost? At Linx Labs, we quote after defining the work. This guide explains what to put in that scope so you can compare proposals for the same result. It is a planning framework, not a published price list or a market-rate survey.
Price the job, not just the number of pages
Five pages can mean five variations of one layout, or five different workflows. A services page with a contact form is a different job from a booking flow with availability, payment and cancellation rules. Describe what a visitor needs to finish before comparing totals.
We separate initial development, external services and optional ongoing work. The project quote should say who supplies content, how reviews work and what counts as a change to the agreed scope.
Compare three example scopes
These are hypothetical project briefs, not fixed packages or client projects. Each adds a different kind of work rather than simply a larger page count.
- Business presence: home, services, studio and contact pages in one language, supplied copy and images, a working inquiry form and basic search metadata.
- Multilingual business website: the same business content in English and Spanish, maintained translations, language navigation, localized forms and a content editing requirement.
- Online store: product variants, payment and delivery providers, order administration, stock rules and tests for failed payments. Treat this as a commerce project, not an extra contact page.
Ask what changes the estimate
Original interface work, writing, photography and translations should be named separately from development. Existing content can help, but it still needs review and placement. A content editor adds permissions, preview and publishing decisions.
For integrations, identify the exact tool and required data flow. “Connect our CRM” is incomplete until you agree on fields, access, duplicate handling and what happens when the connection fails. For a redesign, budget for URL mapping and a launch transition too.
Plan the cost of keeping the site running
Year-one planning can be expressed as: agreed build + domain and hosting + selected subscriptions or usage + agreed maintenance. Renewal and usage costs depend on the providers and plans you choose; they are not all included automatically in a development quote.
Clarify who owns the accounts, who can publish changes, and who responds if a form stops working. Separate bug correction under the agreed delivery terms from new pages, new features and ongoing content work.
Compare quotes using one acceptance checklist
Ask each proposal to cover the same pages, languages, content responsibilities, integrations and handover. Check the result on a phone, submit a clearly marked test inquiry and verify that the agreed editing flow works.
At Linx Labs, scope, milestones, exclusions and bank-transfer terms are agreed before work begins. If a feature is uncertain, a smaller first phase can make the estimate clearer. Send your current URL and your main customer journey when requesting a quote.
TAKE IT WITH YOU
Your project checklist
- List page types and the main visitor task.
- Assign copy, images and translation responsibilities.
- Name required integrations and their data flows.
- Separate initial build from recurring provider costs.
- Agree on reviews, acceptance and handover.
- Record exclusions, change handling and payment milestones.
Use this checklist as a starting point. Adapt it to your systems and responsibilities; it is not a completed implementation plan.