What does a website cost? I get asked this in Fuerstenfeldbruck almost every week, and honestly, the standard answer — "it depends" — is the most annoying thing a client can hear. So let's do it differently. Between a 300-euro website builder and a 15,000-euro agency site lies a grey zone where small businesses and the self-employed have almost nothing to orient by. And that gap is exactly what dodgy providers exploit. This article lays open what each price bracket really delivers, where the running costs hide, and why the hourly rate tells you far less than the scope.
Why does the price of a website tell you so little?
Because "website" can mean anything. A single landing page is a very different thing from a company site with five subpages, a contact form, a local SEO setup and privacy-compliant cookie management. The same price can be quoted for both. So the first honest rule is this: never ask for the price, ask for the scope. Anyone who names you a number without first spending ten minutes talking about your business is selling you a template, not a solution.
The three real price brackets (and what they deliver)
Let's get concrete. There are roughly three ways to get a website, and each has an honest use case.
- Website builder (Wix, Jimdo, Squarespace), 10 to 40 euros a month: you build it yourself. Good for the club, the side hustle, the quick business card. The catch is your time. Two weekends in the editor disappear fast, and the site often ends up looking like a thousand others.
- Freelancer or small agency, 1,500 to 5,000 euros one-off: this is usually where a small business gets the best value. Custom design, a clean SEO foundation, legal texts built in — and you own the site.
- Large agency, from 8,000 euros upwards: makes sense for shops, booking systems, multilingual sites or complex tech. For a trades business with five pages, it's overkill.
The most expensive mistake isn't paying too much. It's ending up in the wrong bracket.
Where do the running costs of a website hide?
The one-off price is rarely the problem. The recurring items are. And they surprisingly often don't appear in the quote. Count on these line items, no matter who builds the site:
- Hosting and domain: 5 to 20 euros a month for a normal small-business site. Transparent with a serious provider, buried in the package price with others.
- Maintenance and updates: if WordPress is involved, plugins and the core need regular care. Ignore it and sooner or later you have a security hole. Whether a contract is worth it or self-maintenance is enough, we worked through in our honest breakdown of maintenance contracts.
- Licences: premium themes, form plugins, image rights. Small amounts that add up.
A cleanly built vanilla setup, without plugin sprawl, noticeably lowers exactly these running costs. Fewer moving parts, fewer things that can break.
The rented-website trap: a sum that hurts
Now the story that still sticks with me. A client from the area around Bruck came to us last year because his site was slow. In conversation it turned out he'd been paying 89 euros a month for three years to a provider for a "rented website". Sounds harmless. Let's do the maths. 89 euros times 36 months is 3,204 euros. For a plain five-page site he didn't even own at the end. No access to the code, no domain in his name, and when he wanted to switch he was left empty-handed. He'd rented for three years what he could have bought outright for half.
Rental models aren't evil by default. For some, the low entry price fits. But add up the full term before you sign. And check one line in the contract: who owns the site at the end? If the answer is "we do", you know enough.
A realistic example: a small business in Fuerstenfeldbruck
Let's make it tangible. A typical job, the kind that often lands with us: a local service provider, a trades business or a practice, in the west of Munich. The need is modest and still complete.
- Five pages (Home, Services, About, References, Contact)
- Contact form with privacy-compliant delivery
- Local SEO for Fuerstenfeldbruck, Olching, Germering and the surrounding area
- Google Business linking and structured data
- Legal texts, cookie solution, mobile optimisation
Realistic range: roughly 2,000 to 3,500 euros one-off, depending on how much text there is and whether photos already exist. Recurring, around 10 to 15 euros a month for hosting and domain. No forced subscription, no rental model — the site belongs to the client. After two years a business like this sits well below the person renting in the story, and it has more control. How a project like this actually runs, we show in our post on how we build a small-business website in ten days.
How do you recognise a fair quote?
A good quote is boring to read, because everything is in it. Watch for these points:
- The scope is itemised, not just a single total.
- Running costs are listed separately and named clearly.
- It says in black and white that you own the domain and the site.
- No pressure, no artificial scarcity, no "today only".
Clean web design and a solid SEO foundation cost money, that's true. But they cost once, not forever. And they pay back when the site brings enquiries instead of just running costs.
Frequently asked questions
What does a simple website for a small business cost?
For a five-page site with a contact form and local SEO, the realistic range is around 2,000 to 3,500 euros one-off, plus roughly 10 to 15 euros a month for hosting and domain. Website builders are cheaper, but they cost you your time.
Is a rented website cheaper than buying one?
Short term yes, long term almost never. At 89 euros a month you pay over 3,200 euros in three years and still don't own the site. Always add up the full term before you sign a subscription.
What running costs should I expect?
Hosting and domain, possibly maintenance and updates, plus licences for themes or plugins. A lean setup without plugin sprawl keeps these items low.
Got a quote on the table and not sure the price is right? Send it to us. We offer a free website check and a 30-minute audit, where we tell you honestly what your site costs and what it should cost. No sales pressure. Get in touch here.