After working on hundreds of website projects, I’ve noticed a pattern: the projects that go well almost always start with an informed buyer.
Not someone who knows how to code — just someone who walked into the conversation knowing what they needed, what to look for, and what questions to ask.
This guide covers the six things that matter most when buying a website, so you can make a confident decision, avoid the most common mistakes, and get a result you’re actually proud of.
How to know what your website actually needs to do
Before you talk to a single developer, get clear on one question: what do you need this website to accomplish?
This sounds obvious, but most buyers skip it — and it creates problems down the road. A website built without a clear goal tends to be built around what looks good, not what works. Those two things aren’t always the same.
Common goals for small business websites:
Generate leads. Contact form submissions, phone calls, inquiry emails. If this is your goal, your site needs to be built around conversion — clear calls to action, an easy path to contact, and content that builds enough trust to make someone reach out.
Build credibility. Sometimes a website’s main job is to answer the question “is this a real, legitimate business?” It supports word-of-mouth referrals and gives people something to find when they Google you.
Sell products or services online. eCommerce adds significant complexity. If you’re selling online, budget accordingly and make sure your developer has specific eCommerce experience.
Educate or inform. For businesses with a longer sales cycle, content-heavy sites that answer questions and establish expertise can be the right approach.
You might have more than one goal — most sites do. But knowing which one is primary will shape every decision that follows: the structure, the content, the design, and where the budget should go. If you’re not sure whether your current site is doing its job, that’s worth figuring out before you invest in a new one.
How much does a website cost?
Website pricing is one of the most confusing parts of the industry. You can get quotes ranging from $500 to $500,000 for what sounds like the same project. That range isn’t random — it reflects genuinely different approaches, skill levels, and scope — but it makes it hard to know what’s fair.
There are three things that drive cost more than anything else.
Design
Are you bringing a completed design, or does the developer need to create one? Custom design adds time and cost. If you’re providing brand guidelines, fonts, colors, and a clear visual direction, that helps. If you’re starting from scratch, expect that to be a significant line item.
Content
Words, images, graphics — whoever produces them, it costs time. If you’re writing your own copy and providing professional photos, you save money. If you need help with any of that, it needs to be scoped and priced. Content is almost always the most underestimated part of any web project.
Features and complexity
A straightforward informational site with a contact form is very different from a site with appointment booking, a membership area, eCommerce, or custom functionality. Every feature adds development time.
As a rough benchmark for the types of projects I work on: a small business site with 5–10 pages typically falls in the $6,000–$9,000 range. A larger professional services site runs $9,000–$15,000. eCommerce or complex custom functionality starts at $15,000 and goes up from there.
One thing that surprises most buyers: the quote you get at the beginning of a project is based on a specific scope. If that scope changes — you add pages, decide you need eCommerce after all, want a different design direction — the price changes too. That’s not a bait and switch; it’s how any professional service works. The better you define your needs upfront, the more accurate your quote will be.
What content does a website need?
Content is the #1 reason web projects get delayed — and the most underestimated part of buying a website.
The typical pattern: a client hires a developer, the developer builds the site, and then everyone waits. Weeks, sometimes months, for copy and photos that were supposed to be “almost ready.” The site sits in limbo. The developer can’t finish. The client gets frustrated.
You have three realistic options.
You provide everything
You write the copy, provide the photos, and hand it all over in an organized format. This is the most affordable option and can produce excellent results if you’re a good writer who knows your business well. The risk: most people underestimate how long this takes, and content becomes the bottleneck. If you go this route, consider whether writing your own copy is the right call before committing.
You collaborate with a writer
You provide the raw material — notes, talking points, existing content — and a professional writer shapes it into polished copy. You bring the expertise; they bring the craft. This is usually the fastest path to good content.
It’s done for you
The developer or their team handles everything. Most expensive, but removes the burden entirely. Worth it if your time is genuinely limited or if writing isn’t your strength.
Whichever path you choose, make this decision before the project starts — not after. Content has derailed more web projects than bad development ever has.
Common misconception: “Build it and they will come”
A new website does not automatically bring traffic. It doesn’t rank on Google just because it exists. It won’t generate leads unless people are finding it and the content gives them a reason to reach out.
Search engine optimization (SEO) is a long game that starts on day one of development — with the right site structure, fast load times, clean code, and properly optimized content. A poorly built site can actively harm your SEO; a well-built one gives you a foundation to grow from.
But even with a great site, traffic doesn’t appear overnight. What actually drives visitors to a new website:
Referrals from your existing network. Tell people about it. Send an email. Post on LinkedIn. The people who already know and trust you are the most likely to convert.
Search engines — over time. Well-written, well-structured content will gradually build search visibility. This takes months, not days.
Paid advertising. Google Ads and similar platforms can drive immediate traffic. It costs money, but it works if the landing experience is good.
Plan your marketing strategy before launch, not after. A great website with no traffic plan is a beautiful billboard in the middle of nowhere.
What are the ongoing costs of a website?
The website launch is not the finish line. It’s the starting gun.
A WordPress website requires ongoing maintenance to stay secure, fast, and functional. If nobody’s taking care of it, things go wrong: plugins become outdated, security vulnerabilities appear, performance degrades, and eventually something breaks.
Ongoing costs to plan for:
Hosting. Every website lives on a server. Quality managed WordPress hosting runs $25–$50/month. Cheap shared hosting saves money upfront and costs it back in performance and reliability.
Domain name. Typically $15–$20/year. A lapsed domain takes your site offline.
Plugin and theme licenses. Premium plugins often require annual renewals — usually $50–$200/year per plugin. Unlicensed plugins stop receiving security updates, which is a real risk.
Website care and maintenance. Someone needs to handle updates, monitor for issues, and keep things running. You can do this yourself, hire your developer to handle it, or sign up for a professional care plan. Expect $100–$200/month for professional management.
Content updates. Your website will need to change as your business changes. Budget time or money for this.
A realistic ongoing budget for a professionally maintained small business website is $200–$400/month when you add hosting, licenses, and care together. If someone quotes you $20/month for “everything included,” ask very specific questions about what that actually covers.
How to choose a web developer
This is where buyers make the most expensive mistakes — usually by optimizing for price and ignoring everything else.
Look at real work
Does their portfolio look good? More importantly, does it load fast? You can check any site at pagespeed.web.dev — a good developer’s work should score 90+ on performance, accessibility, best practices, and SEO. Understanding what those scores mean will help you evaluate candidates more objectively. If their portfolio sites score below 50, that tells you something about how they build.
Ask about their process
A developer who can’t explain their process before the project starts won’t communicate well during it. Ask: How do you handle revisions? What happens if the project goes over scope? How do you manage updates and maintenance after launch?
Ask about performance standards
This matters more than most buyers realize. A slow website costs you in search rankings, visitor trust, and conversions. Google’s Core Web Vitals are real ranking signals — and they reflect real user experience problems. Ask any developer what their standard Lighthouse scores look like on completed projects. If they don’t know what Lighthouse is, that’s your answer.
Look for specialization
A developer who builds on Wix, Squarespace, WordPress, Webflow, and Shopify simultaneously probably isn’t optimizing for any of them. Someone who specializes in a specific stack has developed real expertise in making that stack perform well.
Red flags to watch for
- Proposals that are vague about what’s included
- No clear revision process or change order policy
- Hosting and maintenance “bundled in” with no specifics
- Portfolio sites that score below 50 on PageSpeed Insights
- No contract or Master Services Agreement
- Pressure to decide quickly or lock in a special price
Questions worth asking before you hire
- Can you show me the PageSpeed Insights scores for a few recent projects?
- What happens if I need changes after launch?
- Who owns the website and all its files when the project is done?
- What do you recommend for hosting, and why?
- Do you offer ongoing maintenance, and what does that include?
The answers will tell you a lot about how the project will actually go.
You’re ready. Here’s the next step.
If you’ve made it through this guide, you’re already better prepared than most buyers who sit down with a web developer for the first time.
You know what your site needs to do. You understand what drives cost. You’ve thought about content, traffic, and ongoing maintenance. And you know what questions to ask.
If you’re ready to talk through your project specifically, I’d be glad to help — whether you end up working with me or not. Just reach out.
