In September I was asked to move a Kit Digital website over to WordPress, keeping the same design. When I opened it, I saw that the copy didn't live on the website. It was loaded from the agency's server.
The website had been “free”. If the agency switches that server off, it'll be left empty.
How much does a website cost in 2026?
With me, a service website starts at €1,000 for the self-employed and €1,500 for companies, excl. VAT. These are my published prices:
- Website for the self-employed (home, services, about me, contact and a blog ready to go): from €1,000.
- Website for companies, with more service pages: from €1,500.
- Maintenance: from €120 a month.
All three are excl. VAT and valid as of 14 October 2026.
From there, four things move the price. How many pages it has, who provides the copy and photos, what features it needs and what happens after launch. Integrations (bookings, payments) push the price up. The fixed price goes in the proposal, before we start.
What's included in the price of a website?
Mine include everything the website needs to do its job from day one:
- Architecture built around your client and your goal.
- Design and development in WordPress or custom code, fast and mobile-friendly.
- Technical SEO: structure, metadata, speed and indexing.
- Tested forms, with Google Analytics 4 and Search Console set up.
- Handover training and 30 days of support.
And what matters most: the website, the domain and the hosting are in your name.
If you're comparing quotes, ask for this list point by point. If one quote is cheaper, look for the line it's missing. The nine questions to ask before hiring a web designer show you how to check.
How much does the first year cost, all in?
The design figure is only the first line. This is what you pay in the first year:
| Item | Price | Who pays and whose name it's in |
|---|---|---|
| Design and development | From €1,000 (self-employed) or €1,500 (companies), excl. VAT | You; with me, paid in full (40% on acceptance and 60% on delivery) or in 12 instalments with maintenance |
| .es domain | €5.99 for the first year and €6.99 on renewal, excl. VAT, at OVHcloud (14/10/2026) | You, in your name |
| Hosting | €2.99 a month for the first year and €5.99 a month on renewal, excl. VAT, on the Startup plan in OVHcloud's Business range (14/10/2026) | You, in your name |
| Maintenance | From €120 a month, excl. VAT, with me | Optional, but someone has to do it |
| Copy and photos | Depends on the project | You provide them or they're quoted separately |
| VAT | 21% on all of the above | It's the standard rate under Spain's VAT Act |
A hypothetical example, to give you a ballpark. A self-employed person with the website from €1,000, plus the domain and hosting from the table. And maintenance from €120 a month. In this hypothetical example, the first year comes to at least €2,481.87 excl. VAT (€3,003.06 incl. VAT).
In that example, maintenance (€1,440) costs more than the website. It's the work that keeps it alive every week. That's why it has to be in the quote from the start.
The domain and hosting prices are from one specific provider, checked on 14 October 2026. They change with promotions and from one provider to another. What doesn't change is the rule: both in your name.
How do you pay for a website without draining your cash?
There are two ways, and both are on my website:
- Full payment, split in two: 40% when you accept the proposal and 60% on delivery.
- In 12 instalments: the price of the website is spread over a year and paid together with maintenance.
The second makes sense if you were going to take out maintenance anyway. That way the website isn't left with nobody looking after it a month after launch.
Whichever you choose, ask for it in writing in the proposal. Along with the timeframe, and what I need from you and when.
What I see with my clients
Between 2021 and September 2026 I launched 32 websites, with an average delivery time of 20 days. When someone comes to me with a website built by someone else, the first thing I check is the logins.
28% of the clients who come to me don't have the logins for their domain or their hosting. Without those logins you can't renew the domain or switch hosting on your own.
The Kit Digital website I mentioned at the start is the same problem in a different form. The copy was on someone else's server. Before we could talk about design, it had to be rescued.
And then there's what you don't see. By September 2026 I'd fixed 4 issues by hand across the 11 websites I maintain. Four times someone had to go in and fix something. That's what website maintenance is for.
If you're weighing up a website, start by deciding what it has to do. Which pages your business website needs helps you pin down the scope before you ask for a price.
Before asking for a quote
Two checks that will save you headaches:
- Whose name the domain, the hosting and the website are in. The right answer is “yours, with your own logins”.
- What the price includes, line by line, and what the full first year adds up to, with maintenance and VAT.
If you like, I'll look at your case with you in a Diagnostic Session. It's 30 minutes, free, and I prepare it beforehand by looking at your website and your Google Business Profile.
Sources
- OVHcloud, .es domain (registration €5.99 and renewal €6.99, excl. VAT; checked on 14 October 2026): https://www.ovhcloud.com/es-es/domains/tld/es/
- OVHcloud, web hosting (Startup plan in the Business range, €2.99 a month for the first year and €5.99 a month on renewal, excl. VAT; checked on 14 October 2026): https://www.ovhcloud.com/es-es/web-hosting/
- BOE, Law 37/1992 of 28 December on Value Added Tax, Article 90, standard rate of 21% (consolidated text, last updated 7 October 2026): https://www.boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-1992-28740#a90
- My own data: prices and terms published on auvenico.es (web design and maintenance, valid as of 14 October 2026) and Auve Nico data as of September 2026 (32 websites since 2021, average delivery time, clients without logins and 4 issues across 11 websites under maintenance).
Freelance digital marketing consultant in Seville. I work on the digital presence of professionals and small businesses with one simple principle: your website as your operations hub. Building websites, doing SEO and running social media with my own hands since 2018.
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