How much does a website cost in Switzerland?

Why prices range from 1 to 20

Two sites that look alike on screen can cost ten times more than each other. It is not a scam, it is that the price cannot be seen: it is in what was thought through beforehand, in what happens when you click, and in what is still standing two years later.

• The number of pages, and above all the number of different pages. Ten product pages built on the same template cost less than three pages each designed separately.
• The design: an adapted template or a mock-up made for you. The second is recognisable at first glance, and that is why it is sold to you.
• The content: who writes the copy, who takes the photos. It is the most underestimated item, and the one that delays the most launches.
• The shop: selling online adds payments, deliveries, VAT, terms and conditions and returns. It is no longer a site, it is a business.
• The languages: every language is a copy of the site to write, proofread and maintain.
• The connections: booking calendar, invoicing tool, newsletter. Every bridge to another tool has to be built and maintained.

What you really pay for

A serious quote is read line by line. Here are the ones you will find, in the order the work is done:

• The concept: understanding who is looking for you, what they need to find, and in what order. It is the site map and the plan of every page, before any drawing.
• The design: the mock-ups, on desktop and on phone, until you approve them.
• The development: turning the mock-ups into pages that load fast, read well on every screen and can be found on Google.
• The content: copywriting, photo, video, or integrating them if you provide them.
• The launch: the domain name, hosting, redirects if an old site existed, Search Console.
• What follows: updates, backups, small tweaks. A site nobody touches any more ages fast.

At Emerge Studio, we quote after a first conversation, never before: a price given without knowing the project is a price that will move.

The costs people forget

The build quote is not the total cost. You have to add what comes back every year, and what appears on no quote because you do it yourself.

• The domain name and hosting: a few dozen to a few hundred francs a year depending on the quality of the host. Swiss hosting costs a little more and is worth it for speed and data protection.
• Maintenance: security updates, backups, monitoring. Either a plan, or a surprise bill the day the site goes down.
• Your time: proofreading the copy, gathering the photos, answering questions, approving the mock-ups. A site where the client does not get involved takes twice as long to come out.
• Tweaks after launch: the first weeks always reveal things to adjust. Check whether they are included.

What brings the bill down, and what does not

What really brings the price down: arriving with written copy, recent photos and a clear idea of what the site has to do. Every decision made before the first mock-up is a decision you do not remake three times.

What does not bring the price down, even if it looks like it: skipping the concept phase, reducing the design to a template chosen in five minutes, or putting the content off until later. You save at the start, you pay in visitors who leave.

How to read a quote

Before comparing two prices, check that you are comparing two identical things. The questions to ask:

• How many pages, and which are designed separately?
• Will the site be yours, code and content included, if you change provider?
• Where is it hosted, and who has control over it?
• What happens after launch: how many tweaks, for how long, at what rate afterwards?
• Are the copy and photos included, or expected from your side?
• If an old site exists, are the redirects planned? That is what protects your rankings.

Conclusion

A website costs what the work inside it costs. The right price is not the lowest, it is the one that matches what the site has to bring in: calls, enquiries, orders. Ask the question that way round, and the quote becomes easy to read.