“How much does a website cost?” is one of the first questions every business owner in Islamabad and Rawalpindi asks — and one of the hardest to get a straight answer to. Freelancers quote one number, agencies quote another, and DIY builders promise it for nearly free. Here’s what actually drives the price, so you can tell a fair quote from an inflated one.
The three real price bands
DIY builders (Wix, Squarespace, WordPress.com): PKR 15,000–50,000/year. Fine for a very early-stage business that just needs a placeholder online. You’re trading cost for time, flexibility, and, usually, conversion performance — templated sites tend to look and function like every other templated site in your industry.
Freelancers: PKR 40,000–150,000 one-time. Wide range because quality varies enormously. A good freelancer can deliver real value at this price; the risk is availability — if they move on to another project or disappear, you’re often stuck without support or the technical knowledge to maintain the site yourself.
Small agencies: PKR 150,000–500,000+. This is where you’re paying for process: strategy before design, conversion-focused structure rather than just a nice-looking template, and ongoing support after launch. The range within this band depends heavily on scope — a 5-page business site sits at the lower end; e-commerce, custom functionality, or multi-language content pushes it higher.
What actually changes the price
Four things move the number more than anything else: the number of unique page templates (not just pages — ten blog posts using one template cost far less than ten uniquely designed pages), whether you need e-commerce or payment integration, custom functionality like booking systems or client portals, and how much of the copywriting and content strategy you want the agency to handle versus providing yourself.
The hidden costs nobody quotes upfront
A website isn’t a one-time purchase. Budget separately for domain renewal (roughly PKR 2,000–5,000/year), hosting (varies widely by traffic and performance needs), and ongoing maintenance — security updates, plugin updates, and the occasional fix. Ask any agency directly what happens after launch: do they charge for a broken contact form six months in, or is basic maintenance included? Get this in writing before you sign anything.
What a fair quote actually includes
A quote that’s worth trusting should specify: the number of unique page designs (not “unlimited pages”), whether the design is templated or custom, who writes the content, how many rounds of revisions are included, and what happens post-launch. Vague quotes — “a full website for PKR 30,000” with no scope attached — are the ones that end up costing more once the inevitable extras get added on.
If you want a clear, honest number for your specific situation rather than a generic price band, get in touch for a free website and SEO audit — we’ll tell you what your site actually needs before quoting anything. You can also see how we approach website builds in more detail, or read about the most common reasons websites underperform once they’re live — worth knowing before you spend on a new one.