When a business owner asks 'what does a website redesign cost?', the honest answer is: anywhere from €2,000 to €50,000. Both ends of that range are defensible. The variance is not arbitrary — it reflects very different things being built.
This post breaks down what drives website redesign costs, what you should expect to pay for different types of projects, and the hidden costs most agencies won't tell you about upfront.
What You're Actually Paying For
A website redesign involves several distinct workstreams. Agencies bundle these differently, which is why comparing quotes is so confusing. Here's what the line items actually represent:
| Component | What it involves | Typical range |
|---|---|---|
| Design | Visual identity, layout, UX research | €1,500–€8,000 |
| Development | Building the site, CMS setup, integrations | €3,000–€20,000 |
| Content | Copywriting, photography, video | €1,000–€10,000 |
| SEO migration | Redirects, meta data, technical SEO handover | €500–€3,000 |
| Testing & launch | QA, staging environment, deployment | Often included |
The range within each component is wide because it depends on the size of the site, the seniority of the team, and whether the agency is doing the work in-house or outsourcing it.
Price Ranges by Project Type
Rather than quoting a single number, it helps to understand what category of project you're commissioning. Three main types:
Template Refresh: €2,000–€6,000
A new design applied to your existing CMS. The structure and content stay roughly the same; you get a visual update without rearchitecting anything. Works well if your site is fast, secure, and your content is solid. Doesn't work if performance or lead generation is the problem — those are structural issues that a new coat of paint won't fix.
CMS-Based Rebuild: €5,000–€18,000
A full rebuild on WordPress, Webflow, or a similar platform. New structure, new design, content migration. Most agencies sell this for SME projects. The result depends heavily on which theme and plugins are chosen — those choices directly affect speed, security, and long-term maintenance costs.
Custom Framework Build: €15,000–€40,000+
A site built on a modern framework (Next.js, Astro, Nuxt) without a heavy CMS layer. Faster, more secure, lower ongoing maintenance cost. Higher upfront investment. The right choice when performance is a business priority or when you need custom functionality that CMS plugins can't handle reliably.
What Actually Drives the Price Up
Four factors have the biggest impact on cost, regardless of which project type you choose:
- Page count: A 10-page site costs significantly less than a 50-page site. Each page requires design time, development time, and content.
- Custom functionality: Contact forms are inexpensive. Booking systems, configurators, and API integrations are not.
- Content production: If you need copywriting and professional photography, add at least €2,000–€6,000 to any quote.
- Technology choice: A hand-coded Next.js site costs more to build than a WordPress theme — but often less to own over three years.
The Hidden Costs Most Agencies Skip
The quoted price is rarely the total cost of ownership. Before signing, ask specifically about these:
- Hosting: Budget €20–€200/month depending on the solution. Some agencies lock you into their own hosting with limited flexibility.
- Ongoing maintenance: WordPress sites need regular updates, security patches, and plugin management. Budget €100–€300/month or accept the risk yourself.
- SEO migration: If redirects are handled badly, you lose existing search rankings. This is a technical task that adds cost but pays for itself within months.
- Post-launch changes: Ask what it costs to add a page or update a section after launch. Some agencies charge €150–€500 for minor edits.
A project quoted at €8,000 can easily become €14,000 over the first year once hosting, maintenance, and post-launch changes are counted. The best agencies make this clear upfront.
Why the Same Brief Gets Very Different Quotes
Two agencies looking at the same brief might quote €7,000 and €22,000. Both might be fair. The difference usually comes down to:
- Technology choices (template vs custom framework)
- Seniority of the team working on the project
- Whether content and SEO migration are included in scope
- Agency overheads and the type of clients they typically work with
Cheaper is not automatically wrong. Expensive is not automatically right. The right question is: what is the total cost of ownership over three years, including maintenance, hosting, and the changes your business will need to make?
How Long Does a Website Redesign Take?
| Project type | Typical timeline |
|---|---|
| Template refresh | 2–4 weeks |
| CMS-based rebuild | 6–12 weeks |
| Custom framework build | 8–16 weeks |
Timelines stretch for predictable reasons: content arrives late (the most common cause), feedback rounds multiply, or scope expands mid-project. A clear brief and a defined approval process are more valuable than any timeline estimate.
Getting Value From Your Budget
The most expensive website is the one you rebuild twice in three years because the first version didn't address the real problem.
- Under €5,000: A well-configured template on fast hosting will outperform a cheap custom build at this budget. Prioritise hosting quality and content.
- €5,000–€15,000: Focus budget on development and content quality. Skip expensive photography if needed; invest in copy.
- €15,000+: Invest in custom development. A well-built site in this range should last 5+ years with minimal maintenance intervention.
Whatever the budget: insist on fast hosting, verify performance before final payment (run a PageSpeed test on the live site), confirm proper redirects from old URLs are in place, and get clear documentation of what was built and how to maintain it.
Platform Choice: The Highest-Leverage Decision
If speed and long-term cost matter to your business, the platform decision is the single most important choice you make. WordPress and Webflow can produce excellent sites — or mediocre ones. Modern frameworks like Next.js are harder to find agencies for, but the performance ceiling is higher and the maintenance overhead significantly lower.
If you're already planning a redesign, ask yourself: is this the moment to modernise the architecture, not just the visual layer? The upfront cost is higher, but the business case often holds up over 3–5 years.
Not Sure What Your Site Actually Needs?
We run a free website analysis for business owners considering a redesign. You get a clear picture of where your current site stands — performance, security, and lead generation — and an honest recommendation on what type of project would actually move the needle.
No sales pressure. No jargon. Just a clear answer. [Request your free website analysis →](/analyze)
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