Why quotes vary so wildly
Ask five providers to quote the same website and you can get numbers that differ by a factor of ten. That's not because anyone is lying — it's because "a website" can mean anything from a template with your logo dropped in, to a fully custom build with e-commerce, copywriting, and a brand identity behind it. The quote reflects what's actually being made, who is making it, and how much of it is genuinely built for you.
So before comparing prices, compare scope: how many pages, who writes the content, is the design custom or a theme, does it sell anything, and who supports it after launch. A cheap quote for a template and an expensive quote for a custom build aren't competing offers — they're different products.
The ranges you'll typically see
Around Vancouver, website pricing tends to fall into four broad tiers:
Templates & DIY builders
A pre-made theme, lightly customized. Fast and cheap — but you'll share a design with thousands of other sites, and speed, SEO, and conversion usually take the hit.
Freelancers & small custom builds
Custom design on a smaller scope: a focused brand site or landing experience, done properly. The sweet spot for many small businesses.
Studio-grade custom work
Full custom design and development — multi-page brand sites, e-commerce, content strategy, motion, and performance work. Built around your business, not a theme.
Agency engagements
Large teams, account managers, longer timelines. You're often paying for process and overhead as much as for the site itself.
Notice the trap: at the top end you can pay for overhead, and at the bottom end you pay twice — once for the cheap site, and again when you replace it.
What actually drives the cost
- Number of pages and layouts — ten unique page designs cost more than three, but many "pages" can share one layout.
- E-commerce — products, payments, shipping, and taxes add real engineering.
- Content — who writes the words and supplies the images matters more than most people expect. Waiting on content is also the #1 cause of delays.
- Custom design vs. theme — designed-for-you costs more than dressed-up, and it shows.
- Branding — if your logo and identity need work first, that's its own (worthwhile) line item.
- After launch — updates, new pages, and tuning can be a care plan or a handover; either way it should be priced clearly up front.
Red flags in a cheap quote
- Hourly billing with no cap — you carry all the risk of overruns.
- No itemized scope — if it isn't written down, it isn't included.
- "Unlimited revisions" — usually means the first version won't be close.
- You don't own the site — check who holds the domain, the code, and the logins before you sign anything.
- No live preview during the build — a "big reveal" at the end is where budgets go to die.
Get a 30-second ballpark
Pick what fits and see the typical market range for it — no email required, no strings. Your actual JMD quote is one fixed number, prepared after your free call.
That's what the market tends to charge for this scope — not a JMD quote. Yours will be one fixed number, often below this range, and if anyone gives you a written quote, we beat it on review.
Turn this into a real quote →How JMD prices — and the guarantee
Every JMD project starts with a free 20-minute call and ends step one with a fixed, itemized quote — one number, every deliverable listed, in plain language. It doesn't change unless the scope does, and you'll have it within days, not weeks.
Already have a written quote from another studio? Share it, along with the details of what you want built — every page, every feature, everything you've imagined. Once we've reviewed it, JMD guarantees your price comes in below it — same scope, nothing trimmed. You should never have to choose between the better build and the better price.
You own everything at the end — domain, code, content — and you'll see the site on a live preview link from the first week. No mystery, no meter running.
Hiring soon? Bring the ten questions every web designer should be able to answer. Wondering whether your current site even needs replacing? Start with the seven signs it's costing you customers.