What a Website Redesign Actually Costs in 2026 (And What Changes the Price)

Why quotes for "the same website" can differ by 5x

Two agencies can quote wildly different numbers for what sounds like an identical brief, because "redesign our website" isn't a fixed scope — it's shorthand for a dozen decisions that haven't been made yet. Before comparing quotes, it's worth knowing what's actually driving the number.

Page count and page complexity

A 5-page marketing site and a 40-page site with a resources library, pricing calculator and gated content aren't the same project even if both are "a website." Complexity per page matters more than raw count — one interactive pricing page can take longer than ten static content pages.

Custom design vs. a themed build

Starting from a template and restyling it is faster and cheaper than a from-scratch design system. Neither is wrong — a themed build is often the right call for a fast launch — but the two shouldn't be priced (or expected to look) the same.

CMS and backend complexity

A static marketing site is a different build than one with an admin dashboard, user accounts, a database-backed blog, or anything that needs to sync data in real time. Every "can the client edit this without calling a developer" question adds real engineering time — it's worth deciding upfront which parts actually need to be editable.

Content migration and existing assets

Redesigns rarely start from a blank page — there's old copy, old images, old SEO rankings to preserve. Migrating and cleaning up existing content is frequently underestimated in scoping, and it's one of the most common reasons a "6-week project" becomes a 10-week one.

Timeline pressure

Compressing a normal 8-week build into 3 weeks doesn't just cost more — it changes what's possible, since some decisions (custom illustration, a full CMS) simply take the time they take. Flagging a hard deadline early lets scope get shaped around it instead of blown past it.

These are exactly the variables we ask about in our own project brief — budget range and timeline aren't paperwork, they're what let us tell you honestly what's realistic before any work starts.