How Much Does a Showcase Website Cost?

1. Price ranges by website type

The price of a business website depends first and foremost on the creation method chosen. Here are the three main categories in the market, with price ranges observed in France in 2026.

Template / DIY site: EUR 500 - 2,000

This is the most economical solution. You start with a pre-built template on a platform like Wix, Squarespace, or WordPress.com, and adapt it to your brand guidelines. The result is a functional website, launched in 1 to 3 weeks.

Who is it for? Freelancers, micro-enterprises, and associations that need a quick and affordable online presence. If your main goal is to exist on Google with your contact details and hours, this solution may be sufficient.

Customized WordPress site: EUR 2,000 - 8,000

The mid-range option. A developer or agency builds a WordPress site with a customized theme, advanced features, and a deeper focus on natural search engine optimization (SEO). The execution time is 3 to 8 weeks.

At this budget level, you get a website that truly reflects your business, with a thoughtful structure, SEO-optimized pages, and features like a blog, testimonials section, or appointment booking module.

Who is it for? SMEs and mid-market companies that want a professional website capable of generating leads. This is the most common choice for service companies, consulting firms, and tradespeople looking for real local visibility.

Custom-built site: EUR 8,000 - 30,000+

The premium option. Every pixel is designed for your brand, every feature is developed specifically for your needs. Development takes 2 to 4 months, with a structured process: UX wireframing, graphic design, development, testing, and production launch.

A custom website is justified when your business website is a real commercial tool: online quote configurator, client portal, complex booking system, or when your brand positioning demands unique design and user experience.

Who is it for? Businesses where the website is a major acquisition channel, brands with a strong identity, and companies with specific functional needs that can't be covered by a standard CMS.

2. The 7 factors that affect website pricing

You've received three quotes for the same project: EUR 1,500, EUR 5,000, and EUR 12,000. How to explain such gaps? Here are the seven factors that drive business website pricing.

1. Number of pages

This is the most obvious factor. A 5-page site mechanically costs less than a 20-page site. Budget on average EUR 200 to 600 per additional page depending on customization level. Complex pages (interactive pricing page, filtered portfolio, custom landing pages) cost more than standard pages.

2. Design complexity

A simple, effective design based on existing brand guidelines is significantly less costly than a complete graphic creation with art direction, mood boards, iterations, and custom animations. The UX webdesign phase can represent 20 to 40% of the total project budget.

3. Features

A basic contact form costs almost nothing. An appointment booking system connected to your calendar, live chat, quote configurator, or client portal with document management: each feature adds technical complexity and thus budget.

4. SEO optimization

There's a huge difference between a "SEO-compatible" site and a site truly optimized for natural search. The first has title tags and meta descriptions filled in. The second has keyword strategy, content architecture designed for internal linking, structured data (schema.org), optimized loading time, and content written to convert.

Serious SEO work represents EUR 1,000 to 4,000 additional depending on depth. It's an investment that pays for itself within months through organic traffic.

5. Responsive design

In 2026, a non-responsive website is a dead website. More than 60% of web traffic in France comes from mobile devices. All serious providers include responsive design in their offering, but quality varies. An "auto" responsive via a CSS framework is nothing like a mobile adaptation designed screen-by-screen with components specific to touch interaction.

6. Content writing

Content is often the forgotten element in web quotes. If the provider writes the texts (or oversees their SEO-optimized writing), this represents an additional line item of EUR 1,000 to 3,000 for a 5 to 10 page site. If you provide the content yourself, this cost disappears but the risk of non-optimized text increases.

7. Service provider chosen

A freelancer charges between EUR 300 and 600 per day. A typical web agency between EUR 500 and 1,000 per day. A premium agency between EUR 800 and 1,500 per day. For the same specifications, the price gap can range from one to three times, without the final quality necessarily being proportional to the rate.

3. The hidden costs nobody mentions

The price of creating a business website is just the tip of the iceberg. Here are the recurring and one-time expenses that most providers "forget" to mention in their initial quote.

Web hosting

Your website needs a server to be accessible online. Budget between EUR 5 and 50 per month depending on the solution: shared hosting (OVH, Infomaniak) costs EUR 5 to 15/month, managed hosting (WP Engine, Kinsta) between EUR 20 and 50/month. Cloud solutions (Heroku, Vercel, Render) range from EUR 10 to 30/month for a standard business site.

Domain name

Your website address (your-company.fr) costs between EUR 10 and 30 per year for a standard extension (.fr, .com). Some premium extensions (.tech, .ai, .io) can cost EUR 30 to 80/year. It's modest but recurring.

SSL certificate

The green lock in the address bar (HTTPS) is essential for visitor trust and SEO. Good news: most hosts include a free SSL certificate (Let's Encrypt). If your provider charges for SSL separately, that's a red flag.

Maintenance and updates

A WordPress site requires regular updates: WordPress core, theme, plugins, PHP version. Without maintenance, your site becomes vulnerable to security flaws and risks crashes. Budget between EUR 50 and 300 per month for a maintenance contract, or EUR 500 to 2,000 per year for occasional interventions.

Content creation

A site without quality content doesn't convert. Budget between EUR 100 and 400 per page for professional SEO-optimized writing. For an 8-page site, that's EUR 800 to 3,200 that most quotes don't include. Add EUR 200 to 500 for professional photos if you don't have a stock image library.

Continuous SEO

SEO optimization at launch is essential, but SEO is a marathon, not a sprint. To maintain and improve your rankings, budget EUR 300 to 1,500 per month for ongoing SEO support (content creation, link building, technical optimization).

Tools and licenses

Premium themes (EUR 50 to 200), paid plugins (EUR 30 to 200/year each), analytics tools (Google Analytics is free, but advanced tools like Semrush or Ahrefs cost EUR 100 to 400/month). These costs add up: budget EUR 200 to 800 per year in licenses.

Overall, the annual cost of ownership of a business website is between EUR 1,800 and 7,600 per year, excluding initial creation. A good provider will present these costs from the quote to avoid surprises.

4. Full comparison: template vs WordPress vs custom

To help you choose, here's a detailed comparison of the three main approaches to building a business website, criterion by criterion.

5. How to choose the right solution for your business

Choosing the right solution depends on three main factors: your budget, your business objectives, and your ability to manage the site in-house. Here's a simple decision tree.

If your budget is under EUR 2,000

Choose a template site on a platform like WordPress.com, Wix, or Squarespace. Focus your budget on a good domain name and quality content. The design will be generic, but clear content and logical structure are enough for an initial online presence.

Caution: at this budget level, don't expect a site that generates leads. The goal is to exist online, not to sell.

If your budget is between EUR 2,000 and 8,000

This is the ideal range for a professional business website that generates results. Choose a provider that includes in their quote: custom design, on-page SEO optimization, mobile version, and training so you can manage content independently.

At this budget, demand a site that follows best practices for web performance (Core Web Vitals) and accessibility. These are Google ranking factors that directly impact your visibility.

If your budget exceeds EUR 8,000

You have the means for a custom site with optimal user experience. Invest in a UX wireframing phase before any development: user testing on wireframes costs a few hundred euros and prevents thousands in development rework.

If you're considering adding an online store down the road, plan an extensible architecture now. A well-designed site can evolve into an e-commerce platform without rebuilding from scratch.

Common mistakes to avoid

6. JAIKIN's approach to building business websites

At JAIKIN, we build business websites for SMEs and mid-market companies with a simple philosophy: every euro invested must generate measurable return. No "beautiful but useless" sites, no superfluous features. A site that converts.

SEO-native: search optimization is built in from the start

Most web agencies add SEO as an afterthought, after design and development. At JAIKIN, natural search strategy drives site architecture: site structure, URL structure, internal linking, structured data—everything is designed for SEO from day one.

The result: our clients start receiving qualified organic traffic within 2 to 3 months of launch, where most sites take 6 to 12 months to rank.

Optimized performance: fast sites that convert

A site that takes more than 3 seconds to load loses 53% of mobile visitors (source: Google). We optimize every technical aspect: compressed images, minified code, smart caching, hosting suited to traffic. All our sites achieve a Google PageSpeed score above 90/100.

Conversion-focused design: every element has a purpose

Our UX webdesign teams design each page with a clear conversion goal: contact form, phone call, appointment booking. User journeys are tested and optimized to maximize conversion rates.

Total transparency: detailed quote, no hidden costs

Every JAIKIN quote details all line items: design, development, content, SEO, hosting, maintenance. We include total cost of ownership over 12 months so you can objectively compare with other providers. If a line item isn't justified, we remove it.

7. Frequently asked questions

Sources and references