The short answer
From our project experience, a professional website for an SME in the Stuttgart region usually costs €4,000 to €15,000. A typical project with 8 pages, its own design and its own copy is usually €6,000 to €9,000. Website builders are available from a few €100. Online shops and enterprise projects start at around €15,000. On top come ongoing costs for hosting and maintenance.
All prices in this article come from our own projects and quotes. They're not a market study. Other agencies calculate differently, and that's fine. The ranges help you put a quote into perspective.
Which price classes are there?
| Class | Price range | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Website-builder template | from a few €100 | Ready-made design, hardly any customisation, no copywriting of your own |
| Solid SME project | €4,000 – €15,000 | Individual design, 5–12 pages, your own copywriting, a clean CMS |
| Enterprise / shop | from €15,000 | E-commerce, multiple languages, custom development, complex integrations |
Most regional SMEs end up in the middle class. That applies to a new build just as much as to a relaunch. Where you land within the range depends mainly on four cost drivers.
What drives the price up?
Functions, not page count
A landing page with a form costs fundamentally differently from a booking flow with a calendar, filters or calculators. It isn't the number of pages that drives the price. It's the logic behind them. Ten similar service pages are often cheaper than one page with a configurator.
Your own copy
Copy that sells rather than just describes needs someone who can do both. This item is often underestimated. But it decides whether a page informs or convinces. If you supply copy yourself, you save money here. In return it usually takes more feedback rounds.
Your own photos and videos
Stock images are quick, but they often show up at competitors too. Your own photos cost more. In return your site looks like you and not like a template.
CMS and training
The more you want to change yourself after launch, the more effort goes into the content management system up front. That includes permissions, templates and training. A simple, well-explained CMS is often more valuable than a powerful one nobody on the team operates.
Several languages
Every additional language is more than a translation. Copy has to be adapted, pages maintained and search engines told about the language versions. That's why multilingual projects usually sit in the upper class.
Interfaces to other systems
Should the form write enquiries straight into the CRM? Should a booking system or inventory management be connected? Every interface needs planning, testing and later maintenance. So clarify early which systems really have to be connected and which can wait.
Legal requirements
Cookie banners and accessibility take time in concept and implementation. Under German law (§ 25 TDDDG) you generally need consent for cookies and similar technologies that aren't strictly necessary [1]. Since 28 June 2025 the German Accessibility Strengthening Act (BFSG) has also applied to certain online offers for consumers, such as online shops [2]. Micro-enterprises that offer services are exempt. If in doubt, clarify with a lawyer whether the BFSG affects you. This is not legal advice.
Why do quotes differ so much?
If you get three quotes, you often get three completely different figures. That's rarely a rip-off. Usually there's a different scope of work behind it.
- What's in the quote. One provider only charges for design and technology. Another writes the copy, takes photos and sets up SEO.
- Who does the work. A freelancer has lower fixed costs, but also less cover. An agency brings several roles: concept, design, copy, technology.
- Template or custom design. An adapted theme is finished sooner. A custom design fits your brand and your customers more precisely.
- What happens after launch. Some quotes include training and a month of support. Others end with the handover.
So lay the quotes side by side and mark which item is missing where. Only then compare prices. The questions for this are further down.
Does a relaunch cost less than a new build?
Not automatically. A relaunch saves work if good copy and images already exist. But it also costs extra. Existing content has to be reviewed and transferred. Every old URL needs a redirect to the matching new page, so rankings aren't lost.
In our experience a relaunch therefore lands in the same range as a new build. An old site with many subpages and blog articles makes the move more complex. A small business-card site is quickly transferred.
How is an 8-page project made up?
For a typical 8-page project with its own design, its own copy and a standard CMS, our quotes are usually between €6,000 and €9,000. Your own photos and the number of design rounds tip the balance. This is how the budget splits in our experience. The euro column is a worked example for a €7,500 quote.
| Item | Share | At €7,500 |
|---|---|---|
| Concept & strategy | approx. 10–15 % | €750–1,125 |
| Design | approx. 25–30 % | €1,875–2,250 |
| Development & CMS setup | approx. 30–35 % | €2,250–2,625 |
| Copywriting & content | approx. 15–20 % | €1,125–1,500 |
| SEO setup & launch | approx. 5–10 % | €375–750 |
If a quote is far outside this split, ask. If the concept item is missing entirely, for example, design often starts straight away without clarifying goal and target group. A project like this with 5–12 pages and no shop is live with us in 4 weeks, counted from the completed briefing. Shops or several languages take longer.
Which costs come on top after launch?
The project quote is usually only part of the truth. These items are often overlooked:
- Hosting and domain. Server, backups and SSL certificate keep running every month.
- Maintenance and updates. A CMS with plugins needs regular security updates. Without a contract, every little thing is negotiated separately.
- Changes after launch. New pages, new offers, new images. Clarify in advance what an hourly rate or a package costs.
- Licences. Premium plugins, fonts or image libraries often cost annually. Some website builders only reveal this after launch.
- Content upkeep. Prices, team photos and references go stale. Someone has to keep them current, internally or externally.
A quote that mentions none of these points is incomplete. Or it quietly shifts the costs to later.
When is a website builder enough?
A website builder isn't a bad choice. It just suits other goals. In our experience it's enough in these cases:
- You're testing a new business idea and first want to see whether there's demand.
- The website is a pure business card. Customers come almost only through referrals.
- You have the time and inclination to maintain copy and images yourself.
As soon as the website is supposed to bring enquiries, a template hits its limits. The design is interchangeable, and the structure isn't tailored to your target group. How you can tell it's time for more is in the 7 signs your website needs an update.
How do you compare two quotes?
The final price alone says little. What matters is what's behind it. Ask every provider these questions:
- Are concept, design, development, copy and SEO setup listed as separate items?
- How many design and correction rounds are included?
- Who writes the copy, and who supplies the images?
- Which CMS is used, and does the website belong to you in the end?
- Are redirects, Search Console and sitemap included at launch?
- What do hosting, maintenance and changes after launch cost?
- How are the cookie banner and accessibility handled?
A conspicuously cheap flat-rate quote without this breakdown almost always means one of two things. Either there's a template behind it, or extra charges will come later. What else to look for when choosing an agency is in the article Hiring an agency.
How do you save without it getting worse?
- Start small. Five strong pages at launch, more pages in a second phase.
- Supply draft copy yourself. Bullet points on services, prices and typical customer questions save research time.
- Bundle feedback. One person collects all feedback in the team and passes it on in one go.
- Check what you already have. Good photos of your own or an existing logo don't have to be created again.
- Settle the basics first. Goal, target group and responsibilities before the kickoff save the most expensive loops. The website project checklist helps with this.
More important than the exact figure is the structure behind it. In our experience, a quote that openly breaks down what you're paying for is a better sign of quality than the final price.