Cost guide
Website & Web App Cost — Build, Redesign, Maintain
What it costs to build, redesign and maintain a website or web app — from a marketing site to a custom platform, with realistic ranges and ongoing costs.
The cost of a website spans a huge range because "website" covers everything from a five-page marketing site to a full custom web application. A professional marketing site costs $5,000–$30,000; a website redesign cost typically falls between $8,000 and $50,000 depending on scope; and a custom web app runs $40,000–$150,000+.
On top of the build, plan for website maintenance cost — hosting, updates, security and small changes — of roughly 15–20% of the build per year. This guide breaks down what you pay for across build, redesign and maintenance, the factors that move each number, and where to invest versus save.
Ready to build? See our custom web application development.
What it costs
By scope| Tier | Typical range | Timeline | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marketing website | $5,000–$30,000 | 3–8 weeks | Custom design, a CMS, a handful of templates and SEO basics. Editable by your team. |
| Website redesign | $8,000–$50,000 | 4–10 weeks | New design system, improved UX and performance, content migration and SEO-safe URL handling. |
| Custom web application | $40,000–$150,000+ | 3–8+ months | Accounts, dashboards, business logic, integrations and a real backend. |
| Ongoing maintenance | ~15–20% of build / year | Ongoing | Hosting, security patches, dependency updates, monitoring and small changes. |
What drives the cost
FactorsCustom design vs template
A bespoke design system costs more than a template but sets you apart and scales. Templates are cheap but limiting.
Unique templates & pages
Each distinct layout needs design and build. Reusable components keep this efficient.
CMS & editability
A headless or traditional CMS lets your team edit content without a developer — worth the upfront cost for most sites.
App functionality
Accounts, dashboards, payments and integrations turn a website into a web app — the biggest cost jump.
Performance & SEO
Core Web Vitals, accessibility and clean, indexable markup take engineering care — and directly affect traffic and conversion.
Content & migration
Writing, media and migrating an existing site's content and URLs without losing SEO adds real, often-underestimated time.
A B2B company replacing an outdated marketing site:
- Design system & key templates: $9,000–$16,000
- Build with a headless CMS: $10,000–$20,000
- Content migration + SEO-safe redirects: $3,000–$7,000
- Performance, accessibility & launch: $3,000–$6,000
Total: roughly $25,000–$45,000 for a fast, editable, SEO-safe redesign — plus about $4,000–$8,000/year to maintain.
How to spend less without cutting value
- Invest in a component system, not one-off pages — it makes every future change cheaper.
- Choose a CMS your team can edit. Paying developers for copy changes adds up fast.
- Protect your SEO on a redesign. Map old URLs to new with 301s — lost rankings cost more than the redesign.
- Don't over-build a marketing site. If you need accounts and logic, that's a web app — budget accordingly.
- Budget for maintenance from the start; unpatched sites become security and cost liabilities.
Frequently asked
How much does a website redesign cost?
A website redesign typically costs $8,000–$50,000 depending on the number of templates, whether the design system is rebuilt, and content migration. A simple refresh can be less; a large site with a new CMS more.
How much does website maintenance cost?
Plan for roughly 15–20% of the build cost per year — covering hosting, security patches, dependency updates, monitoring and small content or feature changes.
What is the difference between a website and a web app?
A website presents content; a web app lets users do things — accounts, dashboards, payments, business logic. Web apps cost more because they need a backend and ongoing engineering.
How much does custom web application development cost?
A custom web application typically costs $40,000–$150,000+, depending on features, integrations and how much bespoke business logic and backend work it requires.
How can I reduce website costs without hurting quality?
Use a reusable component system, pick a CMS your team can edit, avoid over-building a marketing site into an app, and protect SEO on redesigns to avoid costly ranking losses.
Want a real number for your project?
A guide gives you the range — a 2-week Scoping Sprint gives you a fixed quote, a clickable prototype and a technical plan. Credited in full against the build.
