How much does a website cost in Switzerland? The real numbers

You ask three agencies for a website quote. The first says "it depends". The second suggests a 45-minute call. The third says CHF 890, with a subscription to be discussed later. The question was simple: how much does it cost?

Here is the answer, with prices as they stand in French-speaking Switzerland, the costs quotes leave out, and the traps that end up costing more than the site.

The short answer

| Type of site | Typical price in western Switzerland | | --- | --- | | Do it yourself (Wix, Squarespace) | CHF 20 to 50 per month, plus your evenings | | Business site by a freelancer | CHF 2'500 to 6'000 | | Business site by an agency | CHF 6'000 to 15'000 | | Site with booking or online payment | CHF 8'000 to 20'000 | | Full online shop | CHF 12'000 to 40'000 |

The ranges are wide because two five-page "business sites" can be very different projects. Here is what actually moves the price.

What moves the price

Page count matters less than people think. Going from 5 to 8 pages barely changes a quote. What changes it:

The copy. If you supply finished text, the price drops. If the agency has to write it from interviews with you, add CHF 1'500 to 4'000. It is the most underestimated line in most quotes, and the one that decides whether the site convinces anyone.

The design. An existing theme adapted to your brand costs a fraction of a custom design. For most SMEs, a well-chosen theme is enough. Custom design earns its price when your image is your sales argument.

Languages. A French-English or French-German site does not double the price, but every translated page is one more page to write, proofread and maintain. Budget 30 to 50 percent more per language if the translation is done properly.

Search visibility. A site can be elegant and invisible on Google. Technical structure, page titles, loading speed and copy written for search are either part of the job or they are not. Ask explicitly what is included.

Features. Online booking, payment, client areas, forms connected to your invoicing tool: each one is real work. It is also where a site stops being a business card and starts saving you hours.

The costs quotes leave out

The domain: CHF 10 to 20 per year for a .ch. Hosting: CHF 10 to 40 per month depending on the stack. Maintenance: updates, backups and fixes, billed CHF 50 to 200 per month or hourly. Photography: free stock images are recognisable at a glance; a local photographer for half a day costs CHF 500 to 1'200 and changes everything.

And if you are replacing an existing site: redirects. Every old address must point to its new page, or the Google positions you built over years disappear with the old site. Make it a required line in any rebuild quote.

The three classic traps

The teaser price with a subscription. CHF 500 for the site, then CHF 150 per month, hard to cancel. After three years you have paid CHF 5'900 and the site is not yours: leave, and it disappears. Always ask who owns the domain, the content and the site itself.

The very low quote. The site will be delivered and it will exist. Nobody will find it, because search visibility, copy and speed were not in the price. An invisible site costs exactly as much to run as a visible one; the difference is in what was never billed.

The free option that costs your evenings. Tools like Wix work. The real invoice is your time: Sundays spent nudging blocks around, and a result that looks like what it is. If your hour is worth something, do that maths before you start.

What a serious quote contains

A fixed price, not an estimate. A list of what is included: copy, languages, basic search setup, training so you can edit it yourself. Who owns what once the site is delivered. The timeline. And what happens after launch: who does updates, at what price, and what you can change on your own.

If any of those five points is missing, ask before you sign. The answer will tell you more than the price does.

How we work

PHTM builds websites for SMEs in western Switzerland. The diagnostic is free: you tell us what the site needs to accomplish, we reply with a fixed price and a timeline. The domain, the copy and the site belong to you from day one, with no mandatory subscription. Once the work is delivered, it runs without us.

Already have a quote from another agency and want a second opinion? Send it over and we will tell you honestly what we think.

Book an audit · Our websites service

Frequently asked questions

How much does website maintenance cost?

Between CHF 50 and 200 per month for updates, backups and fixes, depending on the site's complexity. Some agencies include the first year. A well-built static site needs very little; an online shop needs a lot.

How much does SEO cost in Switzerland?

Monthly retainers run from CHF 500 to 2'500 depending on ambition and competition. For a local SME, most of the value sits elsewhere: a complete Google Business profile, pages that answer the questions your clients actually ask, and a fast site. Part of that work is done once, at build time.

Is Wix or Squarespace enough for an SME?

For testing an idea or a side activity, yes. For an established business whose clients check credibility online before calling, rarely: the site is recognisable, ranks worse and costs you your evenings. The switch usually happens when a business starts losing enquiries it never sees.

How long does it take to build a website?

Three to eight weeks for a business site, depending on how fast copy and approvals move. The calendar depends more on you than on the agency: projects that drag are almost always stuck on content, not technology.