If you've asked three people what a website costs, you've probably heard three answers that are thousands of rands apart. They're not necessarily wrong. "A website" can mean a single page or a full online store, and the price follows.
This guide breaks down what you're actually paying for, so you can compare quotes properly.
The short answer
At Webmek, a focused small-business website starts from R2 000. Hosting starts from R200 a month, and business email from R25 per mailbox per month. Online stores, booking systems and custom features are quoted separately, because they vary too much for a sensible "from" price.
Other developers and agencies will price differently. What matters more than the headline number is what's included — and what you'll pay every month afterwards.
The four costs of a website
Every website has the same four parts. Quotes often only mention the first one.
| Cost | Paid | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Build | Once | Designing and developing the site |
| Domain | Yearly | yourbusiness.co.za |
| Hosting | Monthly | The server your site lives on |
| Monthly | you@yourbusiness.co.za mailboxes |
1. The build
This is the big once-off cost, and the one that varies most. What pushes it up:
- Number of pages. A five-page site is less work than a thirty-page site.
- Content. If you supply the text and photos, it's cheaper. If they need writing or shooting, that's extra time.
- Features. Online payments, bookings, customer logins and integrations with other systems add real development work.
- Design. A template tweaked with your logo costs less than a design made for your business.
2. The domain
A .co.za domain is inexpensive per year. The important thing isn't the price, it's whose name it's registered in. It should be yours. If a developer registers it in their own name and you part ways, getting it back can be painful.
3. Hosting
Hosting is where cheap quotes often catch up with you. Very cheap shared hosting can be slow, and slow sites lose visitors — especially on mobile data. Ask what's included: an SSL certificate (the padlock), backups, and who you call when the site goes down.
4. Email
Sending quotes from a Gmail address works, but an address on your own domain looks more established and is less likely to be ignored. Mailboxes are usually charged per person, per month.
Template builders vs a custom site
Website builders advertise low monthly fees and do work for some businesses. Before choosing one, check:
- The real monthly cost once you add a custom domain, remove their branding and add the features you need — and whether it's billed in dollars.
- Speed on a phone. Builders load a lot of code you don't use.
- Whether you can leave. Many don't let you export your site. Stop paying, lose the site.
A custom-built site costs more upfront, but you own it, it's usually much faster, and there's no platform subscription.
Red flags in a website quote
- No mention of who owns the domain and the site
- No monthly costs mentioned at all
- "Guaranteed first page on Google"
- No written scope of what's included
- Large payment upfront with no timeline
What to ask before you pay
- What exactly is included, page by page?
- What will I pay every month after launch?
- Is the domain registered in my name?
- How many rounds of changes are included?
- Who do I contact if the site goes down, and how quickly will they respond?
- Can I move the site elsewhere if I want to?
So what should you budget?
Work backwards from what the site needs to do. If its job is to make you look credible and make it easy to call or WhatsApp you, a small, fast site is enough — and money is better spent on your Google Business Profile and getting reviews. If it needs to sell products or take bookings, budget for that functionality properly rather than bolting it on later.
If you'd like a straight answer for your business, get in touch with what you do and what you need the site to achieve. You'll get a written quote with every monthly cost listed.