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How much does a business website cost in India?
Ask five people what a business website costs in India and you will hear five answers, from a few thousand rupees to a few lakhs. All of them can be right, because they are describing different things. This guide breaks the price into its parts, so you can compare quotes properly and know what you are paying for.
The short answer
A website has two kinds of cost: what you pay once to have it built, and what you pay every year to keep it running. Most disappointment comes from comparing only the first number.
A site that is cheap to build can be expensive to own if every small change is billed. A “free” builder is not free once you count the yearly plan and your own evenings. So before you compare prices, write down both numbers for each option, and what each one includes.
The five things you are paying for
1. The domain name
This is your address: yourbusiness.in or yourbusiness.com. It is rented by the year from a registrar. Common endings such as .in and .com usually cost somewhere between a few hundred and about fifteen hundred rupees a year. First-year offers are often cheaper than the renewal, so check the renewal price, and make sure the domain is registered in your name with your email address, not the developer's.
2. Hosting
Hosting is the computer your website lives on. It is also billed by the year. The price depends on the kind of hosting and how much traffic it can take. A security certificate (the padlock in the browser) should come with it; free certificates are widely available, so a separate charge for a basic one is worth questioning.
3. Design and build
This is normally the largest one-time cost, and the one that varies most. Fitting your logo into a ready-made template is quick. Designing pages around your business, on a phone screen first, takes real time.
4. Content
Someone has to write the words and take the photos. This is the part owners most often forget, and the part that most often delays a launch. If you want the provider to write and photograph for you, expect that to be priced.
5. Upkeep
Software updates, security, backups, and the small changes every business needs: a new price, a new photo, a notice. This is where the different routes differ most, and where the yearly cost hides.
Four ways to get a website, and how each charges
| Route | You pay once | You pay every year | Who makes changes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Do-it-yourself builder | Little or nothing | A subscription plan, plus the domain | You, in the builder's editor |
| Freelancer | A build fee | Domain and hosting; changes are often billed separately | The freelancer, when available |
| Agency | A larger build fee | Hosting and often an annual maintenance contract | The agency, under the contract |
| Managed service | Included in the yearly plan | One yearly plan covering the build, hosting, upkeep and support | You, through a dashboard |
A do-it-yourself builder costs the least in rupees and the most in time. It suits you if your needs are simple and you enjoy this kind of work. Check which features sit on higher plans before you start.
A freelancer can be excellent value. Quality varies widely, so look at sites they have built and ask those owners how changes are handled. The common risk is that the person becomes unavailable a year later.
An agency brings a team: design, development and often content. It suits larger or unusual projects. Ask what the maintenance contract covers and what counts as a chargeable change.
A managed service builds the site for you and then gives you the tools to run it. You pay one yearly fee that replaces a separate build cost, hosting, maintenance and change requests. This comparison of static and managed websites explains the difference in more detail.
What moves the price up or down
- How many pages and sections. A five-page site is not a fifty-page site.
- Template or custom design. A design made for your business costs more than a template with your colours.
- Special features. Booking enquiries, a product catalogue, a quotation form or a notice board each add work.
- Online payments. A store with a cart and checkout is a much larger project than a website that takes enquiries.
- More than one language. Each language is more content to write and check.
- How ready your content is. Good photos and clear text from you make everything faster.
The costs people forget to ask about
- Renewals. Who renews the domain and hosting, and at what price, from the second year?
- Changes. Is there a charge each time you want to update something?
- Licences. Some sites depend on paid themes or plug-ins that renew yearly.
- Email. Addresses like info@yourbusiness.in are usually a separate service.
- GST. Many quotes are written before tax.
- Leaving. If you stop, do you keep your domain and your content?
Seven questions to ask before you accept a quote
- What exactly is included in the build: how many pages, which features?
- What do I pay each year, and what does it cover?
- Whose name is the domain registered in?
- How do I change something on the site, and does it cost anything?
- Is the site designed for phones first?
- Who owns the content, and can I have a copy if I leave?
- Is the price in writing, with GST shown?
A provider who answers all seven plainly is worth more than one who is cheaper and vague.
How Creatin Web prices a website
We are a managed service. You pay one yearly plan, priced by the modules you choose, that covers designing and building the site, your domain, hosting, maintenance, support, the dashboard and the mobile app. There is no setup fee. Day-to-day changes are yours to make, so there is no bill for changing a price or adding a photo.
Both amounts are set out in a written quotation before you pay anything. The pricing page explains what affects them, and a free consultation gets you a figure for your own business.