How Much Should a Web Design Company Charge?
A website built by a design company is priced around two main components: the labor required to build it and the value of its design. Development labor has a market rate. Without AI, I would already consider NT$5,000–10,000 per static page expensive. With AI, the production cost might be under NT$100, although there is no settled answer to what the service should cost. Design value is more subjective. Good design has an artistic value, and pricing depends on the person providing it: a few hundred dollars can seem expensive for one designer, while several million can be acceptable for another. To discuss reasonable pricing, it helps to separate these two components.
A price comparison of different ways to build a business website
The following table is a starting point, not a definitive statement of market prices. The provider’s experience, additional requirements and special design work can all change the quote. All figures are in New Taiwan dollars (NT$).
| Approach | Page design and development | Platform, hosting and maintenance | Marketing costs | Annual cost and notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DIY website builder | Design the pages yourself; available administration features depend on the platform. | Domain: about 1,000/year Hosting: 6,000–10,000/year Platform: 10,000–30,000/year | Manage it yourself or hire a specialist; costs vary. | About 17,000–41,000/year. Limited expansion options and platform restrictions. |
| DIY WordPress | Design it yourself, with many plugins available to extend the back end. | Domain: about 1,000/year Hosting: 6,000–10,000/year | Manage it yourself or hire a specialist; costs vary. | About 7,000–11,000/year. The least expensive option, but the most time-consuming; paid plugins may add costs. |
| Build it yourself with AI | AI helps create layouts, copy or code. | Domain: about 1,000/year Hosting: 6,000–10,000/year AI subscription: 600/month | AI can help with many functions, but you need marketing knowledge to use it effectively. | About 15,000–20,000/year. Flexible, but you need to understand both AI and marketing. |
| Freelancer: template-based | Hire someone to carry out one of the approaches above. About 10,000–50,000, depending on their skill. | Domain: about 1,000/year Hosting: 6,000–10,000/year | Manage it yourself or hire a specialist; costs vary. | About 7,000–11,000/year, plus a one-time service fee. |
| Freelancer: individual design | Built with AI, with more design work. About 30,000–100,000, depending on their skill. | Domain: about 1,000/year Hosting: 6,000–10,000/year | Manage it yourself or hire a specialist; costs vary. | About 7,000–11,000/year, plus a one-time service fee. |
| Design agency: template-based | Common full-site packages; additional pages may be quoted separately. Commonly about 10,000–80,000. | Domain: about 1,000/year Hosting: 6,000–10,000/year Annual service fee: 10,000–20,000 | Often bundled into the service. About 20,000–100,000/year. | About 37,000–130,000/year, plus setup costs and charges for subsequent changes. |
| Design agency: fully custom | Quoted according to brand, layout and interaction requirements. Usually 80,000–300,000. | Domain: about 1,000/year Hosting: 6,000–10,000/year Annual service fee: 50,000–100,000 | Often bundled into the service. About 50,000–100,000/year. | About 110,000–220,000/year, plus setup costs and charges for subsequent changes. |
Working with a design agency can save you a great deal of effort. However, the added expense may exceed the cost of working with an independent developer. Now that AI is widely available, many independent developers can handle numerous projects on their own and charge substantially less than before. If you speak to several providers and ask questions, I believe you can find an affordable option with good service.
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