When you decide to rebuild or create a website, the first thing you're inclined to do is search Google for "how much does building a website cost".
The answer you'll find most often is: it depends.
It's not a comfortable answer, but it's the most accurate one. The cost of a website isn't a fixed price list: it depends on what the site needs to do, the number of pages, the level of customization, how much it needs to grow over time, and how central it is to the business.
In this article you'll find realistic prices for 2026 in Florence, without the "it depends" — while still respecting all the variables involved. We'll look at what genuinely drives costs and the difference between a ready-made solution and a custom-built site.
What a website really costs in Florence in 2026
These are the median price ranges from local freelancers and agencies. Excluding brand identity and all the work that should ideally be done beforehand by a good UI/UX designer.
| Project type | Indicative price | Suitable for |
|---|---|---|
| Basic showcase site (3–5 pages) | €900 – €2,500 | Artisans, professionals, local businesses with simple needs |
| Professional showcase site | €2,500 – €6,000 | SMEs, professional firms, businesses looking to generate leads |
| Site with CMS or restricted area | €5,000 – €15,000 | Structured companies, information portals, dynamic content |
| E-commerce | €4,000 – €25,000+ | Physical shops selling online or digital brands |
| Custom web application | €15,000 – €80,000+ | Startups, business software, custom platforms |
These costs include design, development and going live. Hosting, domain and maintenance are separate costs covered further below.
What drives the price of a website
Behind a quote, it's not just the number of pages. There are a few choices that have a much bigger impact than they seem.
Number of pages and content complexity
A five-page static site requires very different work from a project with dozens of pages, a blog, FAQs, forms or custom engines.
This complexity often only becomes clear once you start thinking seriously about the site structure and business objectives.
Selling vs informing
A site that only presents the business has completely different requirements from one that needs to generate leads, sales or bookings.
When user logins, payments, data management or integrations with external software come into play, the architecture, security and development time all change.
UI/UX design
As mentioned, before development there is significant work related to brand identity and a study of the business to understand the best way to communicate. It's not just about picking a random font and drawing a logo.
Who writes the content
This is one of the most underestimated cost factors. If the client provides the copy, the cost drops. If it's written by the agency or an SEO copywriter, the price increases.
In 2026, professionally written search-optimized content costs on average between €100 and €300 per page. On a medium-sized site that's a significant difference, but often a necessary one.
Template vs custom design
Many sites, unfortunately, are built starting from ready-made graphic templates, adapted with the client's colors and logo. It's a solution for tight budgets, but one that comes with various problems — security, performance and, obviously, less customization.
A design built from scratch requires more time and skills, but delivers a site that's coherent with the brand, more recognizable and more effective over the long term.
Wix, WordPress or a custom-built site
From the perspective of someone commissioning a site, these solutions look similar. In practice they produce very different results.
Performance
Off-the-shelf platforms and many WordPress themes load large amounts of generic, unused code.
This makes the site slower. Google measures this performance through Core Web Vitals and uses it as a ranking factor. A slow site loses visibility over time, even if the content is good.
A custom-built site loads only what's genuinely needed. Less code, fewer unnecessary requests and more stable load times.
Security
WordPress is extremely widespread, which is precisely why it's a frequent target of automated attacks. The problem isn't the CMS itself, but the accumulation of plugins, third-party themes and unmanaged updates.
Wix reduces this risk because it's a closed environment, but it also removes control. Deep customization isn't possible.
Technical SEO
In recent years platforms have greatly improved their SEO support, but important technical limitations remain.
With a custom site you can work from the start on correct semantic structure, structured markup, optimized images and server response times — all aspects that affect positioning over the medium term.
Accessibility
Since 2025, with the European Accessibility Act coming into force, many sites offering services to the public must comply with WCAG 2.1 Level AA.
Off-the-shelf themes are rarely compliant without additional work. Designing for accessibility from the start makes the site more inclusive and simpler to maintain over time.
Site ownership
With some platforms the site isn't truly the client's property. You can't move it freely or modify it deeply.
A custom-built site guarantees full ownership of the code and freedom to choose hosting providers, suppliers and future developers.
Annual costs to budget for
The initial cost is just part of the investment. Every site has recurring expenses.
| Item | Indicative annual cost |
|---|---|
| Shared hosting | €60 – €200 |
| VPS or cloud hosting | €200 – €600 |
| Domain | €10 – €20 |
| SSL certificate | often included |
| Maintenance | €400 – €1,500 |
| Software licences | €0 – €250 |
Maintenance is often overlooked but is fundamental. A site isn't a static product. Security, backups and updates require continuity.
How to read a quote without surprises
Before accepting a quote, it's useful to verify it clearly answers these questions:
- Are hosting and domain included or separate?
- How many revisions are included?
- Who owns the code once delivered?
- Is the site technically optimized for Google?
- Are images optimized?
- Does the site meet accessibility requirements?
- What happens if the maintenance contract is not renewed?
If any answers aren't clear, it's better to clarify them upfront.
Practical example: a restaurant in Florence
A typical restaurant needs a homepage, an updatable menu, bookings, a gallery and contacts.
A well-built project, with careful design, basic SEO and content management training, typically falls between €2,500 and €4,500.
With additional features like gift vouchers or online sales, the budget rises to €5,000 – €8,000.
Frequently asked questions
Why are quotes so different from each other? Because they often don't include the same things. A low price usually means a template, little customization and no in-depth technical work.
Is a custom site always worth the expense? No. For simple needs, a standard solution may be enough. When the site becomes a central tool for acquiring clients, the difference becomes apparent over time.
How long does it take to build one? A professional showcase site takes on average three to six weeks. More complex projects can take several months. Timelines often also depend on how quickly the client provides materials and feedback.
If you want to understand where your site stands today in terms of performance, security and SEO, you can analyze it for free with PerSeo Insights, the tool we use before starting every project. The analysis is free and requires no registration.