How We Price Websites: Our Cost Calculator Methodology
Transparent pricing only works if you can see the logic behind it. Here's exactly what drives the cost of a website at The Web Makers, with no hidden markup or "it depends" hand-waving.
By Umair Ahmed Khan, The Web Makers · Updated July 2026 · All resources
Most web design pricing in the UAE is opaque by design — a vague "starting from" figure that expands once you're already committed. Ours isn't. This page explains the actual factors behind every quote we give, so you can see exactly why a project costs what it costs before you ever message us.
The three real factors that set the price
1. Platform. A static HTML site, a WordPress business site, and a WooCommerce or Shopify store all take genuinely different amounts of build time and technical setup. This is the single biggest factor in price, and it's why our three tiers exist.
2. Page count. Each tier includes a set number of pages as standard. More pages means more content structuring, more design decisions, and more time — so additional pages beyond the included count are quoted individually, not folded silently into a bigger number.
3. E-commerce functionality. A site that just presents your business is a different build from one that needs to process real payments, manage inventory, and handle checkout securely. That's why online stores sit in their own tier rather than being an "add-on" to a basic site.
The base tiers, and why each one costs what it does
AED 999 — 5-page Starter (static HTML). No CMS, no WordPress — genuinely faster to build, faster to load, and fewer moving parts to secure, which is exactly why it's priced lowest. The trade-off is honest too: you can't self-edit it, since there's no admin panel behind it.
AED 2,500 — Standard Website (WordPress, up to 6 pages). This includes real CMS setup — theme configuration, plugin setup, and an admin panel you can log into and edit yourself after handover. That setup work is the real difference between this and the Starter tier.
AED 3,500 — Shop Package (WooCommerce or Shopify). Covers product pages, secure checkout, and payment-gateway integration — the extra cost reflects the real technical work of building a functioning store, not just a markup for the word "e-commerce."
AED 299/month — Care Plan (optional). Backups, updates, security monitoring and a monthly allowance of content edits. This is priced separately because it's genuinely ongoing work, not a one-time build cost.
What actually changes the price from the base tier
Extra pages beyond the tier's included count — quoted per page, not bundled invisibly.
Arabic (or other language) translation — a real add-on because it means either translating content yourself or having us do it, plus a bilingual layout.
Custom functionality beyond a standard business site or store — booking systems, membership logins, complex third-party integrations — priced based on the actual development time involved.
Rush timelines — if you need something faster than our standard delivery window, that's a real scheduling cost, not an arbitrary surcharge.
Nothing on this list is hidden until after you've paid. If any of these apply to your project, they're part of the quote from the start.
What doesn't change the price
Your location within the UAE — Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Al Ain or Ras Al Khaimah — makes no difference to cost. The work involved in building your site is identical regardless of which emirate you're in, so the price is too.
What's quoted separately, and why
The one-time build cost and the ongoing cost of keeping the site running — domain renewal, hosting, and an optional Care Plan — are always shown as two separate numbers. Folding recurring costs into a single "total" would make the build look more expensive than it is, and hide the real ongoing cost. You should be able to see both clearly.
Pricing Methodology — Frequently Asked Questions
Price is based on three real factors: the platform (static HTML, WordPress, or WooCommerce/Shopify), the number of pages, and whether the site needs e-commerce functionality — not guesswork or negotiation.
A static 5-page site takes meaningfully less build time than a WordPress site with a CMS, plugins and admin setup, so the price reflects that real difference in effort. It also means faster load times and fewer security risks, at the cost of not being self-editable.
Extra pages beyond the included count, translation into Arabic or another language, custom functionality beyond a standard business site (booking systems, membership areas, complex integrations), and rush timelines are the main real cost drivers.
Yes — pricing is identical whether you're in Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, Ajman or anywhere else in the UAE. Location doesn't change the actual work involved in building the site.
The build price and ongoing hosting/domain costs are quoted separately and clearly, so you always see both the one-time cost and what it costs to keep the site running each year.
Want an exact quote, not just a methodology?
Tell us about your business and we'll send a clear, fixed price — usually within 24 hours.