Freelance at €500, web agency at €50,000, Wix platform at €15/month. Website prices vary by a ratio of 1 to 100. This disproportion is not arbitrary – it reflects radically different technical, strategic and commercial realities . Here’s the complete grid to help you understand what you’re paying and what you’ll really get in 2026.
Why prices vary so much
When you ask for the price of a website, you’re really asking several questions at once: the cost of design, development, SEO strategy, editorial content, hosting, maintenance and post-launch support. Each provider includes these elements differently – some include none at all.
So the question isn’t “how much does a website cost?” but “how much does a website that achieves my objective cost?” A €500 site and a €5,000 site don’t have the same objective, not the same lifespan, not the same commercial impact.
“A cheap website costs you twice as much in the long run. The partial redesign at 18 months often costs more than the initial differential between the cheap site and the well-designed site from the start.”
The full rate structure in 2026
Here are the actual market ranges in 2026, by type of service provider and type of project. These figures reflect the French and Andorran market – prices may vary according to location and specialization.
By type of service provider
| Service provider | Fork | Ideal for | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Builder (Wix, Squarespace) | 15 – 60€/month | Minimal presence, zero budget | High |
| Freelance junior (0-2 years) | 500 – 1 500€ | Tight budget, simple project | Medium |
| Freelance expert (5+ years) | 1 500 – 5 000€ | SMEs, structured projects | Low |
| Small agency (1-5 people) | 3 000 – 12 000€ | Medium-sized projects, integrated SEO | Low |
| Medium-sized web agency (5-20 people) | 8 000 – 30 000€ | Established companies, redesign | Low |
| Large agency (20+ pers.) | 20 000 – 150 000€+ | Key accounts, complex projects | Low |
By site type
| Type of site | Budget | Deadline | What’s included |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simple showcase site (5-10 pages) | 1 500 – 3 500€ | 3-5 weeks | Design, development, on-page SEO, go live |
| Premium showcase site (10-20 pages) | 3 500 – 6 000€ | 5-7 weeks | + Semantic cocoon, JSON-LD, Core Web Vitals optimization |
| E-commerce site (WooCommerce) | 2 500 – 6 000€ | 5-8 weeks | Store, shopping tunnel, SEO product sheets, payment |
| Advanced e-commerce site (Shopify) | 4 000 – 12 000€ | 6-10 weeks | + ERP integration, multi-currency, advanced e-commerce SEO |
| Premium custom website | 5 000 – 20 000€ | 8-14 weeks | Custom architecture, advanced animations, complete SEO strategy |
| Complete redesign | 1 500 – 8 000€ | 4-10 weeks | Depending on scope – SEO migration, new design, content |
| Web application / SaaS | 15 000 – 150 000€+ | 3-12 months | Custom development, database, API |
These ranges do not systematically include: content writing (count an additional 800-1,500€), in-depth SEO strategy (600-2,000€), professional photos (500-2,000€) and monthly maintenance (49-150€/month). An incomplete quote often hides these items.
What really justifies the price
SEO integrated right from the design stage
This is the least visible and most impactful price factor. A site designed with a native SEO architecture – semantic cocoon, JSON-LD, optimized Core Web Vitals, structured internal linking – costs 20 to 40% more than a site without an SEO strategy. But it generates organic traffic within the first few weeks instead of remaining invisible for 12 to 18 months.
A site without integrated SEO will require a partial redesign 6 to 12 months after going online to correct the architecture. This redesign cost systematically exceeds the initial price differential.
Technical performance (Core Web Vitals)
Since Google’s Page Experience updates, Core Web Vitals directly influence your ranking. An LCP of more than 2.5 seconds penalizes you, regardless of the quality of your content. Optimizing these metrics – WebP images, critical CSS, deferred JS , high-performance hosting – represents technical work that has to be paid for.
- Generic WordPress template
- No SEO strategy
- Moving score 35-50
- Redesign in 12-18 months
- Total cost 24 months: €2,800+.
- Exclusive design on Figma
- SEO integrated right from the design stage
- 85+ mobile score
- Service life 3-5 years
- Total cost 24 months: €4,700
Content writing
A website without optimized content is a technical skeleton. Google doesn’t rank sites – it ranks pages that best respond to a specific search intent. SEO-native copywriting for a service page represents 4 to 8 hours of work: keyword research, semantic architecture, copywriting, Schema.org markup. This work has a cost that cheap quotes eliminate.
Anticipating hidden costs
Over and above the cost of creation, a website generates recurring costs that few quotes explicitly mention. To avoid unpleasant surprises, here are some details.
| Station | Monthly cost | Annual cost | Mandatory? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Web hosting | 5 – 50€/month | 60 – 600€ | ✅ Yes |
| Domain name | ~€1/month | 10 – 20€ | ✅ Yes |
| SSL certificate | Included or €5-15 | 0 – 180€ | ✅ Yes |
| WordPress maintenance | 49 – €150/month | 588 – 1 800€ | ⚠️ Strongly recommended |
| Premium plugin licenses | 10 – 40€/month | 120 – 480€ | ⚠️ Site-dependent |
| Monthly SEO strategy | 300 – €1,500/month | 3 600 – 18 000€ | 🔵 Optional but impactful |
Each year, budget 10 to 15% of the cost of creating your site for maintenance and optimization. For a site created at €3,500, allow €350 to €525/year to keep it performing, secure and well-positioned.
How to choose the right service provider
Signs of a serious service provider
- He asks questions about your objectives before putting a figure on them.
- His estimate details each workstation separately
- It explicitly mentions SEO and Core Web Vitals
- He can show you references in your sector
- He’s talking about contractual deadlines, not vague estimates.
- Its General Terms and Conditions clearly protect both parties
- It offers a minimum of 30 days post-launch follow-up
Red flags to avoid
- Quote sent in 5 minutes without asking a single question
- Very low prices with no explanation of scope of work
- Portfolio with only resold templates
- No mention of SEO in the quote
- Hosting included without server specification
- Non-contractual lead times, deliverables not defined
Questions to ask before signing
- What is the guaranteed Lighthouse mobile score on delivery?
- Is on-page SEO included or billed as an extra?
- Who writes the page content?
- What happens if the deadline is missed?
- Will my plug-in licenses remain active if I leave?
- Is post-launch follow-up included?
The ideal budget for your situation
Here’s our recommendation based on your profile and objectives.
| Your situation | Recommended budget | Type of site |
|---|---|---|
| Self-employed, start-up | 1 500 – 2 500€ | Simple showcase site, local SEO |
| Local SME (craftsman, doctor, restaurant) | 2 000 – 4 000€ | Premium showcase site, strong local SEO |
| E-commercial beginner | 2 500 – 5 000€ | WooCommerce or Shopify optimized |
| Established company, redesign | 4 000 – 10 000€ | Premium site, complete SEO strategy |
| Competitive sector (real estate, healthcare) | 5 000 – 15 000€ | Advanced SEO architecture, expert content |
| International, multilingual | 8 000 – 25 000€ | Multilingual website, hreflang, international SEO |
Get an accurate estimate
for your project within 24 hours.
Describe your business and your objectives.
Jérémy replies with a detailed proposal, line by line.
