In short
The price of building a website depends mostly on the number of pages, the features (booking, shop), the design and what is included after launch. To give you a benchmark, during its launch Orbitoile displays €590 for a showcase site, €890 with online booking and €1,190 for an online shop, then about €15 per year for the domain name. Always compare the cost over several years, not just the starting price.
Why the price of building a website varies so much
A website is not a standard product: it is working time, and that time depends on your needs. A four-page site on an existing template and a custom site with booking and city pages have nothing in common, even if they carry the same name on a quote.
Comparing two prices therefore only makes sense for equal content. That is why a serious quote lists precisely the pages, the features and what is included.
The six elements that make up the price of building a website
1. The number of pages and their content
Each page needs structure, layout and texts. Who writes the texts and provides the photos changes the workload a lot.
2. The design: template or custom
A ready-made template costs less to set up. A custom design takes more time, but looks like you and will not be shared by hundreds of other sites.
3. The features
Online booking, shop, English version, customer area, contact assistant: each feature adds development and testing.
4. SEO
The basics (headings, descriptions, markup, speed) should always be included. More advanced work, such as pages by geographic area or guides, represents extra time.
5. The technology
A WordPress site needs regular updates of its plugins. A custom-coded static site, like this one, needs far fewer. This choice weighs on the maintenance cost in the following years.
6. The support
Handover, number of planned changes, follow-up after launch: check what the quote includes, as this is often where the gaps hide.
The costs that recur every year
- The domain name: most often between a few euros and about twenty euros per year for a .fr, depending on the registrar.
- Hosting: it can be free for a static site, and paid for a WordPress site, from a few euros a month to more depending on needs.
- Maintenance: updates, backups and security, especially for a WordPress site.
- Content: the time or budget devoted to keeping the site alive.
A worked example: the cost of a site over three years
Two offers for a comparable showcase site show why the price of building a website is not enough to compare two offers. The first is paid once. The second adds a monthly fee: this is a common formula, seen in October 2026 at a Lyon provider.
| Item | Site paid once | Site with monthly fee |
|---|---|---|
| Creation | 590 € | 690 € |
| Each year | €15 for the domain name | €468 (€39 per month) |
| Total over 1 year | 605 € | 1 158 € |
| Total over 3 years | 635 € | 2 094 € |
| Total over 5 years | 665 € | 3 030 € |
Over three years, the gap reaches €1,459. This calculation has a limit: a monthly fee often includes hosting, maintenance and sometimes a few changes. Before comparing, ask what exactly it contains and whether you remain the owner of the site at the end. The question about the subscription, on the home page, details what remains to be paid after launch.
Traps to avoid before signing
- The domain name in the provider’s name: in case of disagreement, you risk losing your address.
- A subscription without ownership: you pay every month without ever owning your site.
- A site you cannot take away: ask whether you will be able to take your files with you.
- A quote with no list of pages: impossible to know what you are buying.
- Forgotten obligations: legal notices, personal data information and cookies.
Questions to ask a provider
- Will the domain name and the site files be in my name?
- What exactly is included: pages, texts, photos, features?
- How many changes are planned before launch?
- Will the site be fast and suited to phones?
- Who takes care of the legal notices and personal data?
- What happens after launch, and at what cost?
How I price a site
During Orbitoile’s launch period, the starting prices are displayed on the home page: €590 for a showcase site, €890 with online booking, €1,190 for an online shop. The exact price then follows from your need: after a first conversation, I send you a written proposal listing the pages, the features and what is included, so you can compare on equal content. These launch rates are reserved for the first five projects, in exchange for permission to present the site among my projects.
To prepare this conversation, describe your business in two lines in a simple e-mail. The steps to build a site then show you how the project unfolds.
Key takeaway
The price of building a website means nothing without the list of what it includes. Demand a precise list, keep your domain name in your own name and think about the yearly costs before comparing.