Saizul Amin
From the XBD team: XBD (Xplore Brand Differently) is a digital growth agency in Dhaka working on SEO, websites, social media, design, branding and video for brands in Bangladesh, the UK and the USA. This guide is based on how we work with clients day to day. Last reviewed: October 2026.
“How much does a website cost?” has no single answer, because the question hides several others: what kind of website, how it should look, what it must do and who will look after it. Quotes for the same brief can differ several-fold, and the cheapest is not always the bargain it looks like. This guide explains what you are really paying for so you can compare options with confidence.
The three ways to get a website
| Option | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| DIY website builder (Wix, Squarespace and similar) | Very small sites, tight budgets, simple needs | Your time; limited SEO and design control; recurring subscription; harder to move later |
| Freelancer | Small to medium sites with a clear brief | Availability, single point of failure, quality varies widely; check recent work and references |
| Agency / studio | Business-critical sites, ongoing growth, multiple skills needed (design, development, SEO, content) | Higher price; ask who actually does the work and what happens after launch |
What drives the price
1. The type of website
A one-page landing page, a five-page company site, an online shop and a custom web application are different projects. An e-commerce store needs product management, checkout, payments, shipping rules and tax settings, which is why it costs more than a brochure site.
2. Design: template or custom
A well-chosen template, customised to your brand, is a smart way to launch quickly. A fully custom design, with its own layouts and illustration, takes more strategy and design time. Neither is “better”; it depends on how much your brand needs to stand out.
3. Number of pages and who writes the content
More pages mean more design, build and testing work. Writing, photography and video are separate jobs: if you supply them, the price drops; if the studio creates them, it rises. Good copy is often the difference between a site that looks nice and one that wins customers.
4. Functionality
Contact forms are simple. Booking systems, online payments, member areas, multilingual versions, calculators or donation modules add development and testing. Each feature should justify its cost by the business result it brings.
5. Integrations
Connecting to payment gateways (for example Stripe and PayPal), CRMs, email tools, accounting software or other systems takes careful work and ongoing maintenance.
6. SEO, speed and quality
Proper technical SEO, performance optimisation (see Google’s Core Web Vitals), accessibility and security hardening are part of a professional build. A site that is cheap because these were skipped costs more later.
Costs after launch (the part many quotes leave out)
- Domain name: renewed every year.
- Hosting: from basic shared hosting to managed or VPS hosting for busier sites.
- SSL certificate: usually free (Let’s Encrypt) but needs setting up.
- Premium themes or plugins: often annual licences.
- Maintenance: updates, security, backups, uptime monitoring and fixes.
- Content and marketing: new pages, articles, photography, SEO and ads.
- Business email and tools you connect.
A useful rule: plan a yearly running budget in addition to the build, and ask who is responsible for each item.
What a good quote includes
- Scope in plain words: the pages, features and integrations being built.
- What you provide vs what they provide: text, images, logo, product data.
- Design process and revisions: how many rounds are included.
- SEO and performance basics: titles, descriptions, speed, mobile, analytics, sitemap.
- Timeline and milestones with payment stages.
- Ownership: you own the domain, hosting account, code and content.
- Launch checklist and training, and what support is included after launch.
Red flags in quotes
- A very low price with a vague scope. Extras appear later.
- The studio registers the domain or hosting in its name, not yours.
- No mention of SEO, speed, security or backups.
- Pressure to decide today.
- No examples of live sites similar to yours.
- Guaranteed #1 Google rankings.
How to get a better result for your budget
- Start with goals, not pages: more enquiries, online sales, bookings, credibility.
- Launch lean, then grow. Build the pages and features that matter first; add the rest from real data.
- Prepare your content (text, photos, logo) before the project starts; delays there cost money.
- Use proven platforms such as WordPress, so you are never locked in.
- Compare like for like: ask each provider to quote the same written scope.
Examples of what different projects involve
| Project | Typical needs |
|---|---|
| Local service business | 5–8 pages, service pages, contact and WhatsApp buttons, local SEO, Google Business Profile link |
| Non-profit with donations | Story and impact pages, donation module, payment gateway integration, receipts and compliance wording |
| Corporate company site | Brand-consistent design, leadership and business-unit pages, news, multilingual or investor sections |
| E-commerce shop | Catalogue, cart and checkout, payments, shipping, product SEO, speed under load |
Get a clear quote from XBD
We design and build fast, SEO-ready WordPress and custom websites: company sites, e-commerce and donation platforms (for example a US non-profit with Stripe and PayPal integration, and a corporate site for a Bangladeshi business group). Websites are scoped after a short discovery call, and you receive an itemised quote.
See our website service, browse projects or tell us about your project.
Frequently asked questions
Why do website quotes vary so much?
Because scope, design depth, content, features and the level of SEO, security and support differ. Two quotes are only comparable if they list the same deliverables.
Is a cheap website worth it?
It can be, for a simple need and if you accept the limits. For a business that depends on its site for leads or sales, quality, speed and SEO usually repay the extra cost.
How long does it take to build a website?
A small site often takes a few weeks; larger sites and shops take longer. Most delays come from content and feedback, not development.
Do I own my website?
You should. Make sure the domain, hosting and code are in your name or transferred to you, and keep the logins.
Do I need ongoing maintenance?
Yes. Updates, backups and security are what keep a site safe and fast. Either budget for it or have a clear plan to do it yourself.
Sources and further reading
How this article was written
This article was written by the XBD team from hands-on client experience. Platform and policy details were checked against the official documentation linked above in October 2026. Tools, policies and prices change, so if you notice anything out of date please email info@x-bd.com and we will correct it.
