How would I pay for a custom website? There are two pricing/payment strategies  which can be applied to website costing. One way is that you pay for a site to be  "designed and coded" and then pay in  further instalments each time the site  requires updates or revision.  This is a  somewhat old-fashioned way of  proceeding, and there are many reasons  why, for most businesses, this is not the  best solution. A second way is to regard the website as  a continuously renewed service (a little  like a leased vehicle). You pay a fixed  amount per year, for the life of the site,  without ever becoming the owner,  leaving all the technicalities to be taken  care of for you.  In this case the initial  site design is assessed in terms of its  functionality and features, and then a  price is agreed on a yearly review basis.  The service will be flexible in the sense  that reasonable enhancement and  upgrades for the ongoing year are  included in the price.  In this way the  client is able to have a guaranteed  budget, a good upgrade path, and no  worries over limitations, hidden charges,  or unpredictable extra fees.   I prefer to use this second method  (although I am prepared to use the first  in cases where it is appropriate), as this  produces a good and confident  relationship between client and   hosting, design, and maintenance for  one year.   I consider a minimum budget for a  commercial website with some kind of  selling or e-commerce facility to be in  the region of £500-£750 per annum.  Of  course you may want a very simple "flat  page" site which never changes and  never needs ongoing management: in  this case the site may cost as little as  £250 per annum. If you want a reasonably extensive e-  commerce shop with Content  Management System (CMS) and a  database with your own access to site  management facilities the cost is likely  to be £1500-£2000 per annum or more,  however operating your own CMS site  will require less ongoing expenditure  than a simpler static site where you pay  the web designer to make changes on  your behalf.    So in the long run, a design based on a  more sophisticated system might work  out cheaper. The above are just generalised figures,  but they do at least give you an idea of  the level of costs involved.    If you would like to contact me to  discuss your particular requirements I  can give you a closer idea of the cost of  realising your particular internet  ambition. developer, especially as the client gains  an assurance that all the enhancements  and improvements which are necessary  to evolve a website are covered by the  one agreed fee.  This allows everyone  to feel free and able to be constructive  and creative, without worrying over  costs. The important thing to establish is that  there are no hidden extras which only  become apparent after you have started  the project.  This can often be the case,  and I recommend that you become fully  aware of exactly the policy of any web  developer in this respect.   I operate a "no hidden extras" policy  whereby I guarantee that your site will  be fully maintained, and have a  significant upgrade path, all within one  single agreed fee. What will a custom website actually cost? It is obviously going to depend on site  features and size, but I can give you a  general idea of a starting budget.  In  doing this I have to be very generalised,  since websites vary so much, but at  least you will be able to assess to some  extent the affordability of your  prospective project.   Please note that the figures quoted  below are, in accordance with the above  stated policy, "no hidden extras"  estimates which include the cost of   After taking into account increased profits and reduced staff costs, a well designed bespoke website starts to look like a wise step forward.