Having a website built as a small business: cost and timeline
Expectations about price and timeline vary widely. An honest picture of what an entry budget buys, and why the timeline rarely comes down to the building itself.
Almost every small business now has a website, but expectations about price and timeline vary widely. Below is an honest picture of what you can expect from an entry budget, why a project sometimes takes longer than anticipated, and what part you play in that yourself.
What 800 euros gets you, and what it does not
For a budget of around 800 euros you generally get a well-made, professional website built on an existing theme, adapted to your branding, logo and copy. Think of a home page, a page about the company, an overview of services or products, and a contact page with a form. For many sole traders and smaller businesses that is more than enough to make a credible first impression online.
What is usually not included: a fully bespoke concept designed from a blank page, extensive functionality such as a web shop, client portal or booking system, several complete language versions, or editorial support such as copywriting and photography. Each of these takes additional time and therefore budget. Not because they are deliberately left out, but because they are simply more work.
A good rule of thumb: the more standard the structure can stay and the less bespoke functionality is involved, the closer you stay to an entry budget. As soon as specific requirements are added, the budget moves with them.
Why it sometimes takes weeks
Building the website, the technical work, often goes faster than people expect. What slows a project down are almost always the parts that do not sit with the builder.
Waiting for content. Copy, photos and logos still to be supplied or finished are by far the biggest delaying factor. A website only takes shape once the content exists, and that part sits with you.
Feedback rounds that take their time. After a first design comes a response, then changes, then another waiting period. Each round is short in itself, but together those days add up.
Internal decisions still to be made. In a business with several people involved, it sometimes takes a while before everyone agrees on colours, structure or copy. Entirely normal, but it affects the schedule.
Domain name and DNS still to be arranged. If a domain still has to be registered, or existing settings are managed elsewhere and access is not immediately available, that delays the final phase, exactly when everything else is nearly ready.
The building itself takes only a few days of actual work for an entry-level site. The rest of the timeline nearly always sits in waiting for content, feedback and decisions.
What you supply yourself
- Logo and branding, preferably in a usable format, along with the colours and typefaces the company uses if those are already set.
- Copy per page: who the company is, which services or products you offer, and what a visitor should do after reading. We help with structure and refinement, but the substance is best coming from you. Nobody knows the business better.
- Photos or imagery. Your own, recognisable photos always work better than generic stock images. If there are none, we look together at what makes a good alternative.
- Practical details: address, opening hours, phone number, links to social media, and legal information such as the company number and terms and conditions.
- Access to an existing domain or hosting, so everything can be moved across correctly without interrupting email, for example.
Why Belgian hosting
Speed for a Belgian audience. A server close to your visitors loads noticeably faster than one on the other side of the world. For a business whose clients are in Belgium and neighbouring countries, that makes a real difference.
Clarity on regulation. Belgian and European hosting providers fall under European privacy law, which makes it easier to demonstrate exactly where data sits and how it is protected. With hosting outside Europe that is often less transparent, and sometimes subject to legislation that does not align with European expectations.
Local support. When something goes wrong, it helps to deal with a party in the same time zone, communicating in Dutch or French, who understands the local context: Belgian domain names, invoicing requirements, particular DNS conventions.
Simpler management over time. When hosting, domain and email sit with the same local provider, management is clearer and a later change or move goes more smoothly.
Do you have a concrete idea for a website, or are you still weighing up the approach? Get in touch and we will look together at what fits your budget and expectations.