A shop owner in Riga came to us with three quotes for a “five-page website with a contact form”: €1,400, €3,200 and €7,800. Was one of them clearly wrong, or were all three honest, just for different things? It is a reasonable question, and we hear it often. We have seen clients pay a low price and then pay again, a year later, to fix what was done wrong at the start. We have also seen the opposite: an expensive project that achieved nothing specific.
What a low price usually buys
Typically a site that looks good in screenshots: built on a ready-made WordPress or Wix template, content dropped in, finished in about a week. That is not always wrong; some businesses only need an online business card. But a project at this price often does not cover:
- Mobile loading speed, which affects search visibility.
- Security. WordPress plugins are updated rarely, and the risk of a break-in is real.
- An SEO base: URL structure, technical tags, page structure.
- What happens in a year, when something needs to change.
We are not saying every cheap offer is bad. We are saying the price covers a defined amount of work, and you should know what is not in it.
Why a higher price is not automatically better
A high price guarantees nothing. Some expensive quotes turn out to be the same template with an extra presentation layer: “strategy sessions”, “branding workshops”, hours of project management. The client pays for process, not result. Ask:
- What exactly is built from scratch? A vague answer may mean you pay for someone else’s template.
- What happens after handover? A good studio’s answer includes support, documentation and a clear price for further work.
- Do they have experience in your sector? A generic portfolio is not enough.
What “custom development” means and when you need it
A large part of the price gap comes from whether the project sits on ready-made solutions or is developed to your requirements. Custom work is needed when:
- You have a specific process: order handling, a customer portal, integration with accounting or a warehouse. We have integrated Moneo, 1C and Jumis systems, and that work takes time no budget quote for a template site can include.
- The site is a sales tool, not a business card. An e-commerce project with a catalogue, price history and automated invoicing cannot run on a standard template.
- You need it to work in five years without a rewrite.
SEO belongs in the quote
Buyers often compare prices and forget that technical SEO starts at the design stage. A wrong URL structure, non-semantic HTML, slow loading or no Schema.org markup can be fixed later, but that is separate work and budget. A cheaper project often means these were left out. Ask the studio whether the site is planned to be found, not only to look good. For migrations, see redesign without losing SEO.
How to compare quotes so the numbers mean something
- Is the scope itemised? Not “a 5-page website”, but what is built, with which technology, and what testing includes.
- Is it clear what happens after handover? Support, warranty, the cost of changes.
- Does the studio have long-term clients? Ask for references. (More on this in 5 questions to ask a web studio.)
- Do the developers understand the business? The first conversation should include questions about your customers, processes and goals, not only about design.
Price is one criterion, and certainly not the most important.
When cheaper may be the right choice
Not every project needs an expensive build. If you are starting out, testing a concept or have a hard deadline and a tight budget, a simpler solution is sometimes sensible: win first customers, then develop the site. We say so to clients. It is better to find a solution that fits than to start a project that stalls halfway. But if your company is already running and the website is a real part of the business, saving at the start often means paying more later.
How we can help
If you are weighing several quotes and cannot see why they differ, that is normal. The comparison needs context, which is easier in a conversation. FSM Studio has worked since 2006. We offer a no-obligation call: we look at your situation, explain what you would actually get from each option and help you decide, in the way that suits you, not us. For a first estimate, see what a website costs in Latvia, our services, or write to us.
