Back in the early days of my career (2010-ish), it wasn’t unheard of for bigger companies to spend well into six figures on their website. For an enterprise site I was working on, we built separate experiences for desktop, BlackBerry devices (remember those?), early iPhones, and then Android devices. “Custom-coded” wasn’t a catchphrase because EVERY website was custom-coded by developers who could probably hack the Pentagon if they really wanted to.
How times have changed.
If you have a website project on your horizon, I hope this post helps give you a sense for how to set your budget, whether you’re working with a studio like us, a larger agency… or your nephew.
I used AI to help me generate this table that shows some of the progression of website costs (worthy disclaimer: these numbers are intended only to illustrate typical ranges for the sake of your budget planning):
| Era | Typical small business brochure site | Typical e-commerce site | What clients were paying for | Where most of the dollars went |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010–2013 | $5,000–20,000 | $15,000–50,000+ | Custom development, browser compatibility, responsive design, CMS implementation | Technical expertise |
| 2014–2018 | $4,000–18,000 | $10,000–40,000 | Theme customization, UX, mobile-first design, branding, content strategy | Flexible platforms |
| 2019–2022 | $4,000–15,000 | $8,000–30,000 | Faster production, integrations, SEO, conversion optimization, user experience | Better customer experiences |
| 2023–2026 | $3,000–10,000 | $8,000–35,000+ | Strategy, messaging, customer research, AI-assisted production, optimization | Leading strategic business decisions and building a durable asset |
Are you seeing the shift? Fifteen years ago, clients primarily needed someone who could build a website. Today, almost anyone can put up a page that lives on a domain. The challenge is deciding what to build, why you’re building it, how it helps your business grow, and making it thoughtful and durable enough to evolve along with you for the next 3-10 years.
Think of your website like a house: The foundation should last a long time, but you might repaint the walls, rearrange the furniture, even renovate the kitchen. But you shouldn’t have to rebuild the foundation every three years. A good website is actually designed for change!
A brief history of web development:
The glory days of developers
In the early days, a developer would hand-code HTML, CSS, and JavaScript or build a custom WordPress theme from pixel-perfect design comps. A typical five-page brochure website could easily take 80–150 hours… and that was just to code it. Need to change a headline? Submit a ticket and we’ll get back to you in a couple days once a developer gets through his backlog. Clients largely worked in-house or hired agencies because they had team of people who together could tackle:
- HTML/CSS
- PHP
- WordPress
- databases
- hosting
- browser compatibility
- responsive design
The template rush
As WordPress matured, thousands of more-or-less quality themes became available. Instead of building every page from scratch, designers could customize a working foundation. While that meant lower costs, faster turnarounds, and easier editing, customizations still required a fair amount of development work. The biggest advantage: Clients finally gained the ability to edit much of their own content.
Visual builders democratized website building (for better or for worse)
Suddenly lots of people could build websites, thanks to tools like Elementor, Divi, Beaver Builder, Squarespace, and Wix — and we’re talking in hours instead of days. Similarly, Shopify matured into a robust ecommerce platform that eliminated much of the custom development small businesses previously needed. A feature that once required weeks of custom development (like recurring subscriptions) could now be enabled with a plugin or app.
This is when assumptions that websites should be “cheap” because the software looked easy started taking hold. Because building got faster, expectations exploded. Suddenly every website was expected to be:
- mobile-first
- optimized for Google
- lightning fast
- accessible
- connected to email marketing
- integrated with analytics
- conversion-focused
- easy to update
… but now that designers weren’t typically coders, so their skills had to expand to catch up to expectations, or multiple contractors were brought in, often leading to disjointed efforts and disconnected teams.
…And now, AI ushers in a new era
In 2026, AI is an amazing tool for:
- first-draft copy
- coding assistance
- image generation
- research
- SEO ideas
- brainstorming
- editing
- prototyping
It can save a tremendous amount of production time and help website designers punch above their weight, HOWEVER it doesn’t replace:
- strategy
- understanding your audience
- prioritizing business goals
- creating a coherent brand
- making judgment calls
- interviewing stakeholders
- knowing when AI is wrong
- synthesizing everything into a solution
I would argue that in many ways, AI has served to shift the value further upstream. Businesses and entrepreneurs increasingly need someone who can ask the right questions, make informed decisions, and connect all the pieces vs. teams (or tools) who perform / produce assets quickly.
Website pricing outlook in 2026
I see the market splitting into three tiers:
1. DIY / AI
A business can build a website themselves using AI and templates in a day. And I’ll grant it: This can be a great option for side projects and early startups who just need to get proof of existence up in the digital realm.
Cost = $0-500
2. Production partners
A greener creative can assemble a polished site using AI-driven tools and templates. This can work well for brands who already have clear messaging, branding, and direction.
Cost = $1K–5K
3. Strategic creative partner
The brand and the partner understand a website is just table stakes. The engagement is about:
- messaging
- positioning
- customer research
- brand clarity
- content strategy
- user experience
- SEO planning
- conversion optimization
- technical implementation
- ongoing refinements
Cost = $5K–20K+
Strategic creative partners are dedicated to helping clients solve the right business problems before the DNS even resolves. Clients understand that they’re investing in positioning, messaging, customer research, content strategy, user experience, SEO, and the judgment that ties it all together and saves them money in the long run.
So how do you set your budget?
In 2026, you’re no longer paying someone primarily to build a website. You’re paying them to reach the right people with the right message in a way that doesn’t feel like you ignored your customers, turned off your brain, and asked AI to do it. When arriving at your budget, consider the following:
- How much you’d pay a sales & marketing team member
- How many sales it enables for you
- How long you expect it to last
All-in, your budget should land somewhere between what you can realistically afford today and what the website is likely to earn back over the next several years.
You should expect your website to earn its keep… build (and hire) accordingly!
If you have a project you’re looking to bring to life, our team specializes in websites and launches and growth strategy. Reach out anytime and we can help give you a ballpark budget and / or work up a full proposal that syncs with your goals.