The short answer
For a professionally designed small business website in Ireland in 2026, expect:
| Type of website | What it is | Typical price |
|---|---|---|
| Starter site | Up to 5 pages: home, services, about, contact | €749 to €1,000 |
| Business site | Up to 12 pages, content written for search | €1,450 to €2,500 |
| Online shop | Products, cards, delivery, VAT handled | €2,400 to €5,000 |
| Booking website | Any of the above plus appointments and deposits | add €400 to €800 |
| Custom systems | Portals, member areas, ordering, integrations | quoted per project |
Anyone quoting far below that range is usually selling you a template with your logo dropped in, and anyone far above it should be able to show you exactly where the extra money goes.
Ballpark your website in 10 seconds
Rough range including typical extras. Build a proper estimate with the full calculator, no email needed.
What actually drives the price
1. Custom design versus template
A template is cheap because nobody designed anything: your business gets poured into the same mould as thousands of others. Custom design costs more because someone sat down with your business, your customers and your competition, and made deliberate decisions. It is also the difference customers can feel, even if they cannot name it.
2. Who writes the words
Content is the most underestimated cost in web design. If you supply finished text, you save money. If your designer has to write every page so that it reads well and ranks on Google, that work is real and it is usually around €300 for a full site.
3. Features that touch money or time
The moment a website takes payments, bookings or orders, testing and security stop being optional. That is why a shop or booking site costs more than a brochure site: not because it has more pages, but because failure has a cost.
4. Speed and search work
Any site can be online. Ranking on Google is different: proper page structure, fast loading that passes Core Web Vitals, and content that answers what people search. Ask any designer quoting you: “will it pass Google’s speed test?” and watch the reaction.
The hidden costs nobody mentions
- Domain: €15 to €25 per year for a .ie
- Hosting: €10 to €30 per month for decent Irish or EU hosting
- Maintenance: updates, backups and small changes. Around €49 per month on a care plan, or your own time if you prefer
- Email: professional addresses like info@yourbusiness.ie, from about €6 per user per month
Cut the bill in half: the Online Trading Voucher covers 50% of your website cost up to €2,500 for qualifying small businesses. Check if you qualify in 30 seconds.
Questions we hear every week
Why is my nephew’s €300 offer a bad idea?
It usually is not a bad idea, until the site needs to rank, take bookings, or be updated in two years when he has moved to Australia. You are not paying for pages, you are paying for someone who answers the phone.
Is WordPress free? Why am I paying at all?
WordPress the software is free, the way an empty shop unit with no fit-out, stock or signage is free. The value is in what gets built with it.
Can I pay monthly instead?
Some designers offer subscription sites. They feel cheap at €50 per month until you realise you own nothing and have paid €3,000 over five years. We prefer you own your site outright.