How much does a professional website cost?

The short answer

A professional website budget needs to cover more than design and development. The number of pages and languages, the content you need to prepare, the features you want and the support required after launch all affect the cost. Start by describing what customers should be able to find and do on the site. Then ask for quotes that include both the initial build and the first year of running it.

A five-page business website may be enough for one company. Another may need booking, document uploads and customer accounts within the same number of pages. Comparing the projects by page count alone would be misleading. The real difference lies in the tasks visitors need to complete and the systems behind those tasks.

This guide is for business owners who want to plan their budget and understand the proposals they receive. It does not offer one price for every business. Instead, it explains what the amount you pay actually covers. If you run a Turkish-speaking business serving the Dutch market, you can use the same framework to account for language, content and ongoing maintenance requirements.

Website prices in the Netherlands by type

These price examples were recorded in September 2026. Check the linked providers for current rates and terms before setting your budget.

The table below combines Trustoo’s ranges for professionally built websites with published subscription prices for two website builders. A builder is billed as a subscription rather than a one-off project, so we list it separately. A multilingual website is not a separate category in the price guides we reviewed. It is usually one of the other types with extra work for each language, which we explain further on.

Use the table to find the right order of magnitude, not to judge a single quote. Two websites in the same row can differ considerably in content, design effort and functionality.

• Trustoo: prices by website and webshop type (in Dutch)
• JouwWeb: plans and prices (in Dutch)
• Shopify: Dutch pricing page

What does a website cost per year?

A website keeps costing money after launch. Trustoo estimates the annual costs at €160 to €1,000 or more, depending on the hosting package and the maintenance you need. It adds €10 to €100 or more per month for extras such as premium plugins, security measures, marketing tools and maintenance packages.

The table shows the main recurring items with Trustoo’s ranges and current examples from Dutch pricing pages. Watch the difference between introductory and regular prices: several providers offer a discount in the first months or the first year.

• TransIP: domain name prices (in Dutch)
• TransIP: web hosting packages (in Dutch)
• Google Workspace: pricing

What belongs in a website budget?

Divide the budget into three categories: initial delivery, ongoing operation and later improvements. Initial delivery includes research, content planning, design, development and testing. Ongoing operation covers the domain name, hosting, licences and maintenance. An additional language or customer portal may become a separate development project later.

This distinction explains why the initial quote does not necessarily represent the total cost. A solution that looks inexpensive may become costly if frequent content changes always require external support. Equally, a more extensive initial build can be unnecessary spending if it includes features nobody uses.

Ask for the deliverables behind each line of the proposal. Rather than accepting “SEO included”, find out which page titles will be prepared, how existing URLs will be preserved and which checks will be carried out. “Maintenance included” should also have a defined duration, scope and responsible party. That makes it possible to compare more than the final figure.

Page count and design scope are different things

Ten service pages might use the same layout. By contrast, a three-page website could require different interactions and content structures on every page. To understand the design effort, count the distinct page layouts as well as the total pages.

For example, the home page, service detail, case study and blog article could be four separate templates. Each needs consideration of mobile layouts, long headings and images. A second service page using an established template may require less design work than the first, but its copy still needs preparation and review.

You do not have to launch every possible page in the first release. Start with the main services, relevant project examples and a working contact route. A structure that accommodates future content may be more useful than adding unfinished pages to the initial budget.

Why does ready-to-use content affect the price?

Website copy does more than fill empty spaces. It explains the service scope, answers customer questions and gives people a reason to get in touch. Working with information a business has already prepared requires different effort from developing content through interviews.

Review your materials before requesting proposals. Are the logo files in a usable format? Do you have permission to use the photographs? Are existing service descriptions current? May you publish the references? The answers help establish how much content work is needed.

If you prepare the content yourself, do not treat that as a free resource. Your team's time is part of the project cost. Allow a realistic schedule for writing, checking and approving copy. Replacing all the text after design has started may require the page layouts to be reconsidered.

How does a second language affect the budget?

Adding a second language involves more than translating the main copy. Page titles, menus, forms, error messages and image descriptions also need appropriate language versions. Check separately whether the service scope is the same in each market.

Consider an English and Dutch website. A short button label in one language may wrap onto another line in the other. The local name for a service may differ. Telephone details, business hours or communication expectations may also vary. Each of these needs editorial and visual review.

Separating translation, localisation and technical language setup in the budget makes the purchase easier to understand. Agree in advance who will approve the translations. Responsibility for updating a bilingual service description continues after delivery whenever the service changes.

Where does custom functionality add cost?

There is an important difference between a simple contact form and a booking system. The latter must show available slots, handle conflicts and notify the right people of changes. If an existing tool will be used, its integration limits and licensing need review.

For customer accounts, file sharing, quote calculators and accounting integrations, business rules matter more than the number of screens. Who can access which information? What happens when data is missing? How should the system behave if the same action is submitted twice? These questions determine the development and testing scope.

Not every individual requirement needs software built from scratch. First assess whether existing tools fit. However, the existence of a ready-made integration does not mean the work is finished. Setup, failure scenarios, permissions and maintenance responsibilities should still appear in the proposal.

How do you calculate the first-year budget?

The following is a budgeting framework, not a price list. Insert the figures from your own proposals and record the currency and tax treatment stated at the time of the quote. For proposals in different currencies, use consistent exchange-rate assumptions for the same comparison date.

Once you have the first-year total, calculate the second year too. Initial setup may not recur, but hosting, licences and maintenance may continue. A budget that covers only launch day leaves the ongoing operation of the website underplanned.

What should you ask when comparing proposals?

Send the same brief to every potential supplier. If one proposal includes copywriting while another expects you to supply the text, the price difference cannot be interpreted fairly. Align the pages, languages, features and acceptance criteria before comparing costs.

Ask what a revision means. Adjusting a colour in an approved design is different from adding a new service section. The number of review rounds, the process for collecting feedback and the approval of scope changes should be documented.

Discuss access at handover separately. Establish who will manage the domain, hosting, content system and analytics accounts. Ask to see a realistic example of the updates your non-technical team will be able to make. Having an administration panel does not automatically make every task easy.

What can wait when the budget is limited?

The priority is for visitors to understand the service and contact you. Complex animations added purely for visual effect, membership areas that will not yet be used and language versions without prepared content can be deferred. Base those decisions on the business objective.

A working form, readable mobile layout and accurate service information should not be treated as optional details. Launching a site that fails to deliver messages undermines the purpose of the investment. Completing the essential customer tasks matters more than maintaining a long feature list.

For example, a new consultancy might begin with a home page, two service pages, a team introduction and contact information. A blog and resource area can develop as recurring customer questions emerge. This is an illustrative phased approach, not a Pixel service package.

How should you assess low and high quotes?

Do not automatically equate a low price with poor quality. A standardised service may meet your needs affordably. However, unclear scope can hide work that becomes apparent later. Understanding what is excluded is just as important as reading what is included.

A high price is not proof of a better outcome either. Ask how the proposed research, bespoke design or integration will benefit your business. Paying for complexity you will not use is not necessarily an investment in the future.

A good proposal explains the decisions in plain language. It connects requirements to solutions, explains why alternatives were rejected and shows how delivery will be checked. With this level of clarity, the budget discussion becomes a way to set project priorities rather than simply negotiate a discount.

Test the budget against an example scope

Imagine a bilingual consultancy commissioning a new website. The team has prepared its logo and service information but has not written its case studies. The first proposal discussion should identify this gap rather than merely count pages. Interviewing people, writing the case studies and securing approval will be a separate content task.

Suppose the same business already uses a booking tool. Linking to that tool may meet the initial need without developing a new booking system. If the business wants a different experience within the website, however, the integration's capabilities need investigation. The budget implications are different from simply adding a button.

For each requirement, record what is ready, what needs to be done and who is responsible. This brings suppliers' assumptions closer together. It also makes it easier to distinguish a genuine scope change from work overlooked at the beginning. The example is intended to connect budgeting to real deliverables, not suggest a particular price.

Explain the scope back before approving the proposal

After reading the proposal, summarise the work in your own words. Which pages will be prepared, who will write the copy and what support will continue after launch? Sharing this summary with the supplier is a simple way to check that both parties understand the same project.

Add any missing requirements at the outset. You might assume your team will regularly add projects, while the proposal covers only fixed pages. Discussing this early allows the editing requirements to be budgeted properly. Discovering the difference at handover requires additional work and time.

Understand which deliverables trigger payments too. Knowing how you will recognise completion at each stage makes budgeting easier. The price becomes more meaningful when scope, acceptance checks and the payment schedule agree. This exercise helps you understand what you are buying, rather than simply find the lowest quote.

• SEO Starter Guide

Plan your website budget around the scope

Begin with a one-page brief. Describe what customers need to do, which content your team will manage and the resources available for the first year. Address unresolved questions one by one during the proposal discussion.

Explore Pixel's web design service and web design pricing page. Share your existing website and brief through our contact page to discuss the scope of your project.

• Website design at Pixel
• Website design pricing
• Contact Pixel