Ask three providers about website redesign cost and you may get three answers that differ by ten times. That isn't because some of them are dishonest. It is because "redesign" covers jobs as different as a new colour scheme on the same pages and a full rethink of what the site says, how it is organised, how it looks and which platform it runs on.
This guide breaks the cost down by level, explains what each includes and who it suits, lists the things that move the price, and covers the costs owners most often forget. We run redesign projects ourselves, so where we give prices, they are our own published starting prices, and where we compare other options, the figures come from our own year-one comparison.
What a redesign actually costs, and why prices vary
Every redesign has the same ingredients: planning what the site should say and to whom, writing or reworking the words, designing the pages, building them, moving everything across and launching without breaking anything. The price depends on how many of those ingredients are included, how much of each there is and who does the work.
That is why comparing headline prices is misleading. A low quote that leaves out copy and migration isn't cheaper than a higher one that includes them. It just moves those costs onto you, or onto the enquiries you lose if they are skipped. The fair comparison is between quotes that cover the same work.
Entry level: a refresh you do yourself
What it includes. You keep your current platform and pages and update the look: a new template or theme, new fonts and colours, fresh photos and some tidied text.
Who it suits. Businesses whose site still brings in enquiries and says the right things, but has started to look dated. Owners with time and a good eye.
What it costs. Mostly your time. In our own comparison, building or rebuilding a site yourself costs around $300 a year in subscriptions plus 60 to 100 hours of work. A refresh is usually at the lower end of that, because the pages and words already exist.
The catch. A refresh can't fix a site that says the wrong things to the wrong people. It makes the same message look newer.
Mid range: a freelancer redesigns on a template
What it includes. A freelancer applies a new template or theme, adjusts the layout, moves your existing content into it and sets up the domain and forms. Some write copy; most expect you to provide it.
Who it suits. Small businesses that want a professional update quickly and already have words and photos they are happy with.
What it costs. In our comparison, freelancers typically charge $2,000 to $6,000 for a build, then hourly for changes afterwards. In our experience, owners usually spend $1,500 or more in unplanned changes in the first year.
The catch. Copy, redirects and search work are often outside the quote. Ask about each one.
Premium: a full redesign from a studio
What it includes. Discovery into your buyers, competitors and search demand, a new sitemap, positioning and copy for every page, custom design from a blank canvas, a separate phone layout, the build, a full migration with every old address redirected, and training and support after launch.
Who it suits. Established businesses whose website is a main source of enquiries, businesses that have changed since the site was built, and anyone moving platforms who can't afford to lose search traffic.
What it costs. Our Rebuild projects start from $9,500 and usually take eight to sixteen weeks. If your design direction and content are already settled and you mainly need the site built and moved properly, our Launch projects start from $5,000 and take four to eight weeks. Both are fixed price, paid 50% to book and 50% at sign-off or launch.
The catch. It costs more up front and takes longer. The return comes from a site that brings in better enquiries for years, rather than one that needs replacing again soon.
What pushes the cost up or down
The same few things move the price of almost every redesign.
Page count. A ten-page site and a forty-page site with a blog archive are different jobs. A good provider agrees the new sitemap before quoting, so you are priced for the site you will actually get.
Copy written versus copy moved. Writing pages from nothing takes far longer than tidying existing text. If your current words are the problem, budget for new ones; they usually matter more to results than the design does.
Migration complexity. The platform you are leaving, the size of your archive and how cleanly old addresses map to new ones all matter. A WordPress site with ten years of posts takes longer to move than a five-page Wix site. Our website migration checklist shows what a careful move involves.
Functionality. Booking systems, member areas, online stores, several languages and connections to your CRM or email tools all add build and testing time.
Photography and video. Real photos of your work, team and premises make a redesign far more convincing than stock images, but they cost time or money to produce.
How quickly you can review. Projects that wait weeks for feedback take longer and sometimes cost more. Agree review windows up front.
Hidden costs and red flags
These are the costs owners most often tell us they didn't plan for.
Lost search traffic. The most expensive hidden cost of a redesign is the one that never appears on an invoice: rankings lost because old pages weren't redirected or were deleted. Google's guidance on site moves with URL changes starts by mapping old URLs to new ones and redirecting them. If a quote doesn't mention redirects, ask.
Copy you have to write yourself. If the quote assumes you will supply all the words, add the hours it will take you, or the cost of a writer.
Changes after launch. Hourly billing for every change adds up quickly in the first year.
Platform and tools. New subscriptions for the platform, plugins, email or booking tools may come with the new site.
Training. If nobody on your team can update the new site, it starts going out of date on launch day.
Red flags: no written scope, no mention of who writes the copy, no redirect plan, the site built in the provider's own account, unlimited hourly billing and a launch date with no time for testing.
How to plan your redesign budget
Start with what the site needs to do in the next three years, not with a number. Write down who it is for, what they should do on it and which pages bring in enquiries today. Then check your analytics for the pages people actually visit and the searches that bring them in. That list tells you what must survive the redesign and where the money should go.
Next, split the budget into the parts every redesign has: planning, copy, design, build, migration and support after launch. If one of those parts gets nothing, ask yourself who will do it. Usually the answer is you, at a time you would rather spend on clients.
Finally, keep a small reserve for the things nobody knew about at the start: an old page that turns out to bring in half your enquiries, a form connected to a tool nobody remembered, or photos that need retaking. A fixed-price project removes most of this risk, because the scope is agreed in writing before work begins and changes to it are priced before they happen.
How to judge a quote
Line up the quotes and check each one for the same things.
Scope. Which pages, and is the sitemap agreed before the price?
Discovery. Does anyone look at your buyers, competitors and current analytics before designing?
Copy. Who writes it, and will you see it before the design is finished?
Design. Custom or template-based? Either can be fine, as long as you know which.
Phones. Is there a layout designed for phones?
Migration. Is there a written redirect map for every old URL?
Revisions. How many rounds, at which stages?
After launch. What training and support are included, and what do changes cost?
Ownership. Will the site, domain and content be yours?
A higher quote that answers all nine clearly is often better value than a lower one that answers half. Ask each provider what would make the price change, too. Clear answers to that question are a good sign the price will hold.
Is a redesign worth the money?
Compare the cost with what the current site is costing you. If it brings in fewer enquiries than it should, sends buyers the wrong message or can't be updated, those losses repeat every month. A redesign that fixes them pays for itself over time. If your site already works well and only looks a little dated, a refresh may be all you need. Our guide to when to redesign your website covers the signs.
It also helps to think about timing. Search results take time to settle after any change. Google's SEO starter guide notes that some changes take effect in hours and others take several months. Plan a redesign for a quieter period, not the start of your busiest season.
The short version
A website redesign can cost little more than your own time for a refresh, a few thousand dollars for a freelancer on a template, or $9,500 and up for a full rebuild from a studio that includes strategy, copy, custom design and a mapped migration. The price depends on page count, how much copy is written, how complex the move is and what features you need. The costs that hurt most are the ones left out of a quote: copy, redirects and changes after launch. Compare quotes that cover the same work, and get the scope in writing. Our guide to website redesign services covers how to choose a provider.
FAQ
How much does a website redesign cost?
It ranges from your own time for a simple refresh, to a few thousand dollars for a freelancer working on a template, to $9,500 and up for a full Rebuild with us that includes strategy, copy, custom design and migration.
Why do redesign quotes vary so much?
Because they include different work. Some cover only design and build. Others include discovery, copywriting, a full migration with redirects and support after launch. Compare quotes that cover the same scope.
How long does a redesign take?
Our Rebuild projects usually take eight to sixteen weeks, and Launch projects four to eight. The main factors are page count, how much copy is written and how quickly feedback comes back.
What are the hidden costs of a new website?
Lost search traffic from missing redirects, copy you have to write yourself, hourly changes after launch, new platform or tool subscriptions and training for your team.
Is it cheaper to redesign or build a new website?
A redesign that keeps your pages and platform is usually cheaper. A full rebuild costs more but can fix the message, structure and platform at once, which a cosmetic redesign can't.
How can I lower the cost of a redesign?
Agree the sitemap early, prepare your content and photos in advance, review quickly, and keep features you don't need out of the first version. Cutting the migration plan to save money is a false economy.
