You searched this because someone quoted you a number and you have no idea if it is reasonable. Or you have not asked anyone yet and want a ballpark before you start calling agencies. Either way, here is what websites actually cost in Calgary right now.
The short answer
A basic business website runs $2,500 to $5,000. A custom-designed site with multiple pages, animations, and a content management system lands between $5,000 and $15,000. E-commerce with payment processing, inventory, and shipping starts at $10,000 and goes up from there.
Those ranges cover most small to mid-size businesses in Calgary. If someone quotes you $500, they are using a template and swapping your logo in. If someone quotes you $50,000, they are building something enterprise-grade or padding the invoice.
What drives the price up
Custom design vs. templates. A template site costs less because the designer is not starting from scratch. Custom design means someone is drawing layouts, picking typography, and building a visual system for your brand. That takes time.
Number of pages. A five-page site takes less work than a twenty-page site. Each page needs design, content, and testing.
E-commerce. Selling products online adds complexity. You need a checkout flow, payment processing, inventory management, shipping calculations, tax handling, and order confirmation emails. Each piece needs to work without breaking.
Content creation. If you need someone to write the copy and source the photography, that adds to the cost. Most agencies assume you are providing your own content. If you are not, ask about it upfront.
SEO and analytics. Basic on-page SEO (titles, descriptions, headings, structured data) should be included in any professional build. If an agency charges extra for meta tags, find a different agency. But ongoing SEO work, keyword research, and content strategy are separate services.
What you should get at every price point
No matter what you pay, your website should load fast. Under two seconds on mobile. If it does not, you are losing visitors before they read a single word.
It should look good on phones. Over 60% of web traffic in Canada comes from mobile devices. If your agency shows you a desktop mockup and never mentions mobile, ask them about it.
It should have proper SEO basics. Title tags, meta descriptions, alt text on images, a sitemap, and clean URLs. This is not a premium feature. This is table stakes.
You should own it. Your domain, your hosting account, your content. If the agency disappears, you should be able to take your website and move it somewhere else.
Ongoing costs people forget about
The build is a one-time cost. But your website has recurring expenses.
- Domain name: $15 to $30 per year for a .ca or .com
- Hosting: $10 to $100 per month depending on the setup. Shared hosting is cheap but slow. Dedicated hosting costs more but your site runs faster.
- SSL certificate: Free with most hosting providers now. If someone charges you for this, question it.
- Maintenance: Software updates, security patches, backups, and bug fixes. Budget $50 to $200 per month or handle it yourself.
- Email: Professional email on your domain (you@yourbusiness.ca) costs $5 to $10 per user per month through Google Workspace or similar.
How to evaluate a quote
Ask what is included. A $5,000 quote that includes hosting setup, email configuration, analytics, and three rounds of revisions is a better deal than a $3,000 quote for just the design files.
Ask to see their previous work. Open those sites on your phone. Check if they load fast. Look at whether the design feels intentional or like a template with different colors.
Ask about the timeline. A good website takes four to eight weeks. If someone promises two weeks, they are cutting corners. If someone says three months, they are overbooked or overcomplicating it.
Ask what happens after launch. Do they offer support? Is there a maintenance plan? What if something breaks at 10 PM on a Friday?
Bottom line
Your website is the first thing most customers see. It runs 24 hours a day and never calls in sick. Spending $3,000 to $10,000 on something that works well and represents your business is one of the better investments you can make. Spending $500 on something that loads slowly and looks dated will cost you more in lost customers than you saved.