Website Development Cost in India: 2026 Breakdown by Website Type
"How much does a website cost?" has the same honest answer as "how much does a house cost?": it depends what you're building. A one-page site for a local clinic and an online store with 2,000 products are both "websites", but they are completely different projects.
This guide breaks website development cost in India down by website type, explains which features drive the price, separates one-time costs from the bills that keep coming, and shows you how to compare quotes line by line. We build websites too, so we'll be clear about what we charge as well.
The short answer
Website cost comes from three things:
- The type of website, which sets how many pages, templates and features need to be built.
- Who builds it and how: a template installed and filled in, a custom design on a platform like WordPress or Shopify, or a fully custom build.
- What is included: copywriting, images, SEO setup, analytics, speed work, training and support are often the difference between two quotes that look similar.
Our own published price is ₹15,000 one-time for a conversion-focused landing page. Full websites are quoted after a short scoping call, because page count, content and integrations vary too much for a fixed price to be fair.
Website types and what drives their cost
Photo by sarah b on Unsplash
| Website type |
What it usually includes |
Biggest cost drivers |
| Landing page |
One focused page for a single offer, with an enquiry form |
Copywriting, design quality, form and tracking setup |
| Small business website |
Home, about, services, contact, a few service pages |
Number of unique page designs, content writing, local SEO setup |
| Corporate or multi-service website |
Many service, industry and location pages, blog, careers |
Page templates, content volume, approvals, multilingual content |
| Ecommerce store |
Product catalogue, cart, checkout, payments, shipping |
Number of products, variants, payment and shipping integrations, product photography |
| Web application or portal |
Logins, dashboards, bookings, custom workflows |
Features, user roles, integrations, security and testing |
Landing pages
A landing page does one job: turn visitors from an ad or campaign into enquiries. It costs less than a website because there is only one page, but the parts that matter most (the headline, offer, form and tracking) still need skill. A cheap landing page with no conversion tracking makes it impossible to tell whether your ads are working.
Small business websites
For most service businesses, this is the right starting point. The cost rises with each unique page design. Ten service pages that share one template cost far less than ten pages designed individually. Content is the other big factor: if you supply the text and photos, the build is faster than if the developer has to write and source everything.
Corporate and multi-service websites
These take longer mainly because of content and coordination: more pages, more people approving them, and often more than one language. Build the page templates first, then fill them in, rather than designing every page from scratch.
Ecommerce stores
The platform matters here. A hosted platform such as Shopify charges a monthly subscription and sometimes app fees, but handles hosting and security. A WooCommerce store on WordPress has no platform subscription but needs hosting, updates and maintenance. Either way, payment gateways charge a fee on each transaction, so check each gateway's current rates. Uploading products with good photos and descriptions is often more work than building the store.
Web applications and portals
Anything with user accounts, bookings, dashboards or custom workflows is software, not a brochure site. Cost is driven by features and integrations, and testing matters much more. Start with the smallest version that solves the main problem, then add features once people are using it.
WordPress, Shopify or a custom build?
| Approach |
Upfront cost |
Ongoing cost |
Good for |
Trade-offs |
| WordPress with a theme |
Lower |
Hosting, updates, premium plugins or theme renewals |
Content-heavy sites, blogs, service businesses |
Needs regular updates; too many plugins slow it down |
| Shopify |
Lower to moderate |
Monthly subscription, app fees, transaction fees |
Online stores that want to launch without managing servers |
Less control over some features; recurring platform costs |
| Custom build (for example Next.js) |
Higher |
Hosting and developer time for changes |
Fast sites, custom features, web apps |
Content edits may need a CMS or a developer |
WordPress itself is free, open-source software. The costs come from design, development, hosting, premium themes or plugins, and maintenance.
One-time costs vs recurring costs
A quote for "building the website" rarely includes everything you will pay over the first year.
One-time costs
- Design and development
- Copywriting and page content
- Photography, illustrations or stock images
- SEO setup: page titles, meta descriptions, redirects from any old site, XML sitemap
- Analytics and conversion tracking setup
- Product upload for ecommerce stores
Recurring costs
- Domain name, renewed every year
- Hosting, from shared hosting for small sites to cloud hosting for busy ones
- SSL certificate. Free certificates such as Let's Encrypt are widely supported by hosts, so you shouldn't need to pay extra for basic HTTPS
- Platform subscriptions such as Shopify, and any paid apps or plugins
- Maintenance: updates, backups, security monitoring and small fixes
- Content updates if you pay someone to make changes
- Email for your domain, if it isn't included with hosting
- GST on services, which is generally 18% in India. Check whether quotes include it
What cheap quotes usually leave out
When one quote is far lower than the others, it is usually because something is missing. Ask whether these are included:
- Content. Who writes the text? Placeholder text that never gets replaced is common.
- Mobile design. Most visitors arrive on phones. Every page should be checked on a phone, not just resized.
- Speed. Heavy themes, large images and many plugins make sites slow, and slow sites lose visitors.
- SEO basics. Unique titles and descriptions, clean URLs, headings, and redirects from your old URLs so you don't lose existing rankings.
- Tracking. Google Analytics 4 and conversion events for form submissions, calls and WhatsApp clicks.
- Forms that work. Enquiries delivered reliably to email or a CRM, with spam protection.
- Backups and security updates.
- Ownership. You should own the domain, hosting account and website files, and receive every login at handover.
- Training. Someone on your team should be able to update text and add a blog post.
How to compare website quotes
Photo by Carriza Maiquez on Unsplash
- Write a one-page brief first. List the pages, features, integrations and who provides content. Send the same brief to everyone.
- Ask for line items. Design, development, content, SEO setup, tracking and training priced separately.
- Ask how many design revisions are included and what happens after that.
- Ask for a timeline with milestones, and what the developer needs from you at each stage.
- Check live sites they have built and try them on your phone.
- Confirm what support costs after launch.
- Confirm ownership and handover in writing.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Starting design before the content exists. Designing around placeholder text leads to rework.
- Choosing a platform because it's popular, not because it fits. A blog-heavy service business and a store with thousands of products need different tools.
- Forgetting redirects when replacing an old site. Old pages with rankings or backlinks should point to their new equivalents.
- Skipping conversion tracking. Without it, you can't tell whether the new site produces more enquiries.
- Letting the developer own your domain or hosting. It makes leaving difficult and risky.
- Treating launch as the finish line. A website needs updates, content and small improvements to keep earning.
What TechGeekStudio charges
- Landing page design: ₹15,000 one-time. A conversion-focused, mobile-first page for one offer.
- Full websites, ecommerce stores and web applications are quoted after a free scoping call.
- Web design updates are included in our Scale plan (₹1,20,000/month, or ₹99,000/month billed annually), alongside SEO, ads and content.
Whoever builds your site, make sure mobile design, basic SEO setup and conversion tracking are in the quote, and that you own the domain, hosting and site files. A website you can't measure is a website you can't improve.
Your checklist before asking for quotes
- Decide the website type and list the pages you need
- Decide who will write the content and supply photos
- List integrations: payments, bookings, CRM, WhatsApp, email
- Choose a platform that fits how you'll update the site
- Ask every developer for line items, timeline and revisions
- Confirm hosting, domain and maintenance costs for year one
- Confirm you will own everything at handover
Get a website development quote
Tell us what you want the website to do: bring enquiries, sell products or run a process. We'll recommend the simplest build that does it and give you a clear, itemised quote. Get a website development quote, or start with a free website audit of your current site.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a landing page cost with TechGeekStudio?
A conversion-focused, mobile-first landing page is ₹15,000 one-time. Full websites are quoted after a free scoping call.
What recurring costs does a website have?
A domain renewal, hosting, any platform subscription such as Shopify, paid plugins or apps, maintenance and backups, and GST on services. Basic SSL certificates are often free through your host.
Is WordPress free?
The WordPress software is free and open source. You still pay for design and development, hosting, any premium theme or plugins, and ongoing updates.
Why are two website quotes so different?
Usually because the scope differs: number of unique page designs, who writes the content, SEO setup, tracking, revisions and support after launch. Ask for line items to compare them.
Who should own the domain and hosting?
You should. Keep the domain and hosting in your business's name and receive every login at handover, so you can change developers without risk.
