“How much for a website?” is the first question almost every business owner asks us, and the honest answer is: it depends on what the website has to do. A five-page site for a clinic and an online store with a payment gateway are different projects, even if both are “a website”. This guide explains what drives the price in Pakistan, what a sensible budget looks like, and which costs people forget.
The short answer
For a small business in Pakistan, a professionally built website usually falls into three bands:
| Type of website | What you typically get | DevSteem starting price |
|---|---|---|
| Starter (brochure) | 5 pages, mobile-friendly design, contact form, Google Map, basic SEO | PKR 45,000 |
| Growing business | Up to 10 pages, custom design, CMS, Google Business Profile setup, on-page SEO, blog | PKR 75,000 |
| Premium / custom | Custom layouts and animations, e-commerce or booking, advanced and local SEO, security and backups | PKR 150,000 |
These are the starting prices on our website development pricing page. Other agencies and freelancers will quote above or below this. What matters is understanding why quotes differ, so you can compare like with like.
7 things that change the price
- Number of pages and templates. Ten pages that share one layout cost less than ten pages that are each designed from scratch.
- Custom design vs a theme. A ready-made theme is quicker and cheaper. A custom design fits your brand and is usually easier to convert visitors with.
- Functionality. Online booking, payments, multi-language (English and Urdu), member logins and product catalogues all add development and testing time.
- Platform. WordPress, Shopify and custom code (Laravel, React, Next.js) have different build and running costs. We compare them in our upcoming WordPress vs custom guide.
- Content. Who writes the text and supplies the photos? Professional copywriting and photography are often quoted separately.
- SEO and speed work. Basic SEO (titles, descriptions, sitemap) is quick. Local SEO, schema markup and Core Web Vitals tuning take longer but bring in visitors.
- Revisions and timeline. More revision rounds and rushed deadlines add cost.
The costs people forget
The build is a one-time cost, but a website also has running costs:
- Domain name: a .com or .pk domain renews every year.
- Hosting: shared hosting is cheapest; a busy online store needs better hosting.
- SSL certificate: often free with good hosts (for example through Let’s Encrypt), but check.
- Maintenance: WordPress core, theme and plugin updates, backups and security monitoring.
- Premium plugins or apps: some page builders, booking tools and Shopify apps have yearly licences.
- Marketing: a website without SEO or ads is like a shop on a street nobody walks down.
Many of our packages include the first year of domain and hosting, but always ask any provider what you will pay in year two.
Cheap vs expensive: where the money actually goes
A very cheap website is usually cheap for a reason: a copied template, no mobile testing, no SEO setup, or a site you can’t edit yourself. Problems we often see when businesses come to us after a low-cost build include slow pages on mobile data, broken contact forms, no access to their own domain, and Google not indexing the site at all.
On the other hand, a high price does not guarantee quality. Ask to see live sites the agency has built (here is our portfolio), and check them on your phone.
Questions to ask before you pay
- Will I own the domain, hosting account and website files?
- Is the site mobile-friendly and tested on real phones?
- Is basic SEO included (titles, descriptions, sitemap, Google Search Console)?
- How many revision rounds are included?
- What are the yearly costs after launch?
- Who updates the site, and what does support cost?
- Can I edit text and images myself?
How to get an accurate quote?
Before you contact any company, write down: your business name and services, the pages you need, examples of websites you like, any features (booking, payments, WhatsApp chat), and your deadline. With that list, an agency can give you a firm price rather than a guess.
If you want a quote for your business, tell us about your project and we will reply with a fixed price.
FAQs
Here are some frequently asked questions given below:
Can I get a website for free?
Free website builders exist, but they usually show the builder’s branding, limit features and don’t give you full control. They are fine for testing an idea, not for a serious business.
How long does it take to build a website?
A simple five-page site can launch in one to two weeks once content is ready. Custom and e-commerce sites take several weeks.
Is WordPress good for small businesses in Pakistan?
Yes. WordPress powers a large share of all websites worldwide (W3Techs), is easy to edit, and has local developer support.
