"How much for a website?" gets answers anywhere from PKR 15,000 to several lakh, and both can be honest. The difference is what you are buying. This guide breaks a business website into its parts so you can compare quotes properly.
What you are actually paying for
1. The domain. Your address, like yourbusiness.com or yourbusiness.pk. A small yearly fee. Make sure it is registered in your name, not the developer's. If they own it, they own your address.
2. Hosting. Where the website lives. Simple business sites can be hosted cheaply or even free on modern platforms; sites with bookings, logins or online payments need more.
3. Design and build. The real cost. A template with your logo swapped in is quick and cheap. A site designed around your customers, written for them, fast on a phone and built to be found on Google takes more time and costs more.
4. Content. Words and photos. Many projects stall here because the owner is waiting for "the text". Ask who writes it and whether it is included.
5. Search basics. Page titles, descriptions, a sitemap, Google Search Console and a Google Business Profile. This is what decides whether anyone finds the site at all, and it is often skipped.
6. Upkeep. Updates, backups, small changes and someone to call when the contact form stops working.
Typical tiers
To give real numbers, here is what we charge at AIB Digital. Other firms will differ, but the tiers are similar everywhere:
- Starter, PKR 50,000. For a business whose only presence is a Facebook page: a one-page professional site, mobile first, with services, about, gallery, contact, a WhatsApp button and a contact form.
- Business, PKR 150,000. A multi-page site for a business that needs to explain what it does to different kinds of customer.
- Growth, PKR 300,000 and up. When the website does work for you: bookings, a customer portal, several languages, or integration with your systems.
Ongoing care plans start at PKR 10,000 a month. Everything is on our pricing page, in rupees and dollars.
Red flags in a website quote
- The domain will be registered in the developer's name. Insist it is yours.
- No mention of mobile. Most of your visitors will be on a phone.
- "SEO" as a vague extra with no details. Ask exactly what is done: titles, descriptions, sitemap, Search Console, Business Profile.
- No contact form or WhatsApp button that you can test. A website that cannot generate an enquiry is a brochure.
- You can't edit anything yourself and every change is billed. Agree up front how changes work.
- No examples you can open. Ask for live sites they built, not screenshots.
Questions to ask before you pay
- Will the domain and hosting accounts be in my name?
- Is the text written for me, or do I supply it?
- How fast does it load on a phone?
- What search setup is included?
- How do enquiries reach me: email, WhatsApp, both?
- What does a change cost after launch?
- Can I see three live sites you built?
Our examples
We would rather you judged our work than read our claims. Open kafeelmgt.com, a recruitment platform in English and Arabic that we built, or click through our demo sites for a dental clinic and a real-estate agency from the solutions page. Then, if it fits, tell us about your business. A name and one way to reach you is enough.
