Pricing · 5 min read
Why two agencies quote $800 and $8,000 for the same website
Same brief, three quotes, no explanation. The gap is almost never markup. It is scope, and here is how to see it before you sign anything.
You send the same brief to three agencies. One comes back at $800, one at $3,000, one at $8,000. Nobody explains the gap, and the natural conclusion is that somebody is trying it on.
Usually nobody is. The three quotes are for three genuinely different things that happen to share the word website. Here is what actually sits behind the numbers, from someone who writes these quotes for a living.
The $800 quote is for assembly
At this end, someone buys a theme, drops your logo and text into it, and hands it over. That is a real service and for some businesses it is the right one. What it is not is design or strategy. The layout was decided by whoever built the theme, for a business that is not yours.
What you typically do not get: research into what your customers actually need to see, copy written for you, unique photography or graphics, performance work, or anyone to call in six months. It is a product, not a project.
The $8,000 quote is for a system
At the other end you are paying for the parts that are invisible in a screenshot. Discovery sessions to work out what the site has to achieve. Copywriting. A structure built around how people search for what you sell. Speed work, accessibility, tracking that actually reports something useful, integrations with your booking or CRM tools, and a person accountable for it afterwards.
Whether that is worth it depends entirely on what a customer is worth to you. If one extra client a month covers the difference, the maths is not close.
Where the money actually goes
| Line item | $800 build | $8,000 build |
|---|---|---|
| Design | Bought theme | Designed for your business |
| Copy | You write it | Written and structured for you |
| Pages | 5 to 7 templated | Planned around search and buying intent |
| Speed | Whatever the theme does | Measured and optimised |
| Tracking | Basic or none | Set up and reporting properly |
| Integrations | None | Booking, CRM, payments as needed |
| After launch | On your own | Support and changes agreed |
Four questions that expose the difference
You do not need to be technical to compare quotes properly. Ask all three of them the same four questions and the gap explains itself.
- 1Who writes the copy? If the answer is you, that is not a small detail. Writing your own site is the single most common reason a build stalls for months.
- 2Is the design bought or made? Neither answer is wrong, but you should know which one you are paying for.
- 3What happens after launch, and what does that cost? A site nobody can update is a depreciating asset.
- 4Who owns the code, the domain and the hosting account? The answer should be you, in writing, on all three.
How to work out which one you need
Start from what the site has to do rather than what it should cost. A brochure that proves you exist to people who already found you is a genuinely different job from a site expected to bring in enquiries every week.
- If your work comes from referrals and you just need somewhere credible to point people, the lower end is often enough.
- If you want the site to generate enquiries, you are buying structure, copy and search visibility, not pages.
- If it has to talk to booking, payments or a CRM, you are buying a small piece of software and should price it that way.
- If you are in a competitive local market, the difference between page one and page three is worth more than the entire quote gap.
What we do about it
We publish our numbers rather than making people guess, and we say plainly what each tier includes and excludes. If a cheaper option genuinely fits better, we would rather tell you than sell you something you do not need. Our tiers and what sits inside each one are on the pricing page.
Whoever you end up hiring, get the four answers above in writing before you sign. Quotes that look wildly different usually stop looking that way once everyone is describing the same scope.
Questions people also ask
Is a more expensive website always better?
No. It is better value only if you need what the extra money buys. A referral-led business that needs a credible brochure site is often served perfectly well by a lower tier. The mistake is buying the cheap option while expecting the expensive outcome.
Why do agencies not just publish their prices?
Because scope varies so much that a single number misleads. That said, publishing ranges with what is in and out of each tier is entirely possible, and we do it.
What should I never compromise on, whatever my budget?
Ownership and access. You should own the domain, the hosting account and the code. Also insist on knowing what changing something costs after launch.
How do I compare quotes fairly?
Send every agency the identical brief and ask them to state what is excluded, not just what is included. Exclusions are where the price difference actually lives.
