"How much will a website cost?" is like asking how much a house costs — it depends on what you're building. In India you'll find quotes from ₹5,000 to ₹25 lakh for something called "a website", which makes it hard to know what's fair.
This guide breaks down typical price ranges in India in 2026, what you're paying for at each level, the running costs people forget, and how to get a quote you can actually compare.
The ranges below are rough market ranges to help you plan — not fixed prices or a quote. Your actual cost depends on your scope.
Typical website costs in India (2026)
| Type of website | Typical range | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Basic business website (template, 5–10 pages) | ₹15,000 – ₹50,000 | Local businesses, consultants, clinics |
| Custom-designed business website | ₹50,000 – ₹2,00,000 | Brands that need to stand out, lead generation |
| Shopify online store | ₹40,000 – ₹3,00,000 | D2C brands and retailers selling online |
| Custom e-commerce or headless store | ₹3,00,000 and above | Large catalogues, special features, high traffic |
| Web app, portal or platform | ₹5,00,000 and above | Bookings, B2B portals, dashboards, SaaS |
Basic business website
A professional site built on a quality template or theme: home, about, services, gallery, contact, maybe a blog. You get your branding, a contact form, WhatsApp button, Google Maps location and basic SEO set-up. Ideal if you mainly need to look credible and get enquiries.
Custom-designed business website
Designed from scratch around your brand — custom layouts, illustrations or photography, stronger copywriting, landing pages for each service or location, and better speed and SEO foundations. Worth it when your website has to win leads against competitors.
Shopify online store
Store set-up, a premium or custom theme, product uploads, payment gateway, COD rules, shipping, GST settings and the apps you need. The cost goes up with catalogue size, design customisation, migrations and integrations. (Not sure if Shopify is right for you? Our Shopify store development service explains when it fits.)
Custom or headless e-commerce
For brands that need features a theme can't do — product configurators, subscriptions, complex bundles, B2B pricing — or the fastest possible storefront. More expensive upfront, but built exactly for your business.
The running costs people forget
Building the website is a one-time cost; keeping it running isn't. Budget every year for:
- Domain name — renewed yearly;
.comand.inare common choices. - Hosting — shared hosting for small sites, cloud or VPS hosting for busier ones. (Shopify includes hosting in its plan.)
- Platform plan — Shopify or other SaaS builders charge monthly.
- Apps and plugins — reviews, upsells, forms, backups, security. Small monthly fees add up.
- Business email — such as Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, charged per user.
- SSL certificate — often free today through your host, but check.
- Maintenance — updates, backups, security fixes and small changes, often as a yearly maintenance contract.
- Content and marketing — new pages, blogs, photos and ads to actually bring visitors.
What drives the price up (or down)
- Design — a template costs less than a custom design.
- Number of pages and templates — 8 pages is different from 80.
- Content — will you provide text and photos, or do you need copywriting and a photo shoot?
- Features — bookings, payments, calculators, member logins, multi-language, search, filters.
- Integrations — CRM, WhatsApp, payment gateway, shipping, ERP or accounting software.
- E-commerce scope — catalogue size, variants, migrations from an old store.
- SEO and speed — technical SEO set-up, structured data and performance tuning take time.
- Who builds it — freelancers usually cost less; agencies cost more but bring design, development, testing and support as one team.
Cheap websites can be expensive
A very low quote often means something is missing: a cloned template with no real design, no mobile testing, slow loading, no SEO set-up, or — worst of all — the domain and hosting registered in the developer's name instead of yours. Fixing or rebuilding later costs more than doing it properly once.
Make sure you own: the domain, the hosting or Shopify account, admin logins, and (for custom builds) the code repository.
How to get an accurate, comparable quote
Before you ask for quotes, write down:
- Your goal — enquiries, online sales, bookings, credibility?
- Pages and features you need now, and what can wait for phase two.
- Who provides content — text, photos, product data.
- Integrations — WhatsApp, payment gateway, CRM, shipping.
- Examples of websites you like, and why.
- Your timeline and budget range.
Then ask each agency or freelancer to quote on the same written scope, including running costs for the first year and what's covered after launch.
Shopify, WordPress or custom?
- Shopify — the quickest, most reliable way to start selling online; you pay a monthly plan.
- WordPress — flexible for content-heavy business sites and blogs; needs regular updates and good hosting.
- Custom (for example Next.js) — best for speed, unique features and full control; costs more upfront.
The right choice depends on what your website has to do, not on what's trendy.
Get a clear quote
We build Shopify stores and custom websites for businesses across India — with a written scope, dated milestones and everything registered in your name. Once your site is live, the next step is bringing visitors: start with our digital marketing plan for small businesses.