The honest answer is a range, not a number. Most UAE small business websites we quote sit between AED 2,500 and AED 15,000 for the build itself. Anything under that is usually a template with your name pasted on. Anything over it, on a small business scale, is usually paying for people rather than code.
What actually moves the price
Four things do most of the work.
- How much of the writing you already have. Copywriting on a five-page site is a day or two of real work. If you can hand us the words, that time goes back into design and speed.
- Whether the design starts from a template or from a blank page. A custom design is not always better â but it is always more work.
- How many things the site has to do. A page that sends WhatsApp messages is one thing. A page that takes bookings, quotes prices, and syncs with your accounting system is four things.
- Whether photography is included. Real photos of your work will always beat stock ones. If you need us to bring a photographer, that lands separately.
Red flags in the quotes you get
If you are collecting quotes right now, watch for these:
- A single price with no breakdown. "AED 8,000 for a website" tells you nothing. What is included, what is not, and what happens when you want a change six months in?
- Ongoing monthly fees with no ceiling. Hosting and a domain cost less than AED 300 a year combined. A "maintenance retainer" needs to earn its keep every month, or it is a subscription you forgot about.
- Ownership sitting with the agency, not you. The domain, the hosting, the source files â all of it should be in your name. If it is not, changing agencies later becomes a hostage negotiation.
What to ask before you sign
Three questions clear most of the fog:
- Who owns the domain and hosting once we hand over?
- What is the price to add a page, or change one, three months from now?
- What happens to the site if we part ways?
If the answers are clear, the number attached to them is probably fair.
The short version
Cheap sites are usually template-based and quick. Expensive ones are usually custom and slow. Neither is wrong â the wrong one is the one that does not match what you actually need. If you are not sure which you need, message us on WhatsApp and describe the business. Ten minutes of conversation will save you a lot of guessing.