What does a custom website or web store cost?
Starting prices
Prices are shown in US dollars by default.
| Service | What it covers | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Custom website | Custom design, complete structured data, protected form, measurement report | from $500 |
| Web store | Custom product data model, own ordering flow, payment + invoicing, admin | from $700 |
| Automation | Connecting systems, scheduled processing, alerting | from $50 / hour |
| Managed hosting and VPS | Migration to a European server, secure SSD VPS, storage up to 20 TB, 24/7 AI-assisted monitoring, dedicated and GPU servers | server from $11 / month, storage $3.20 per TB / month, migration $99 one-off; dedicated and GPU: individual quote |
"From" means indicative, not fixed. These are the prices of the smallest project that still makes sense: the scope below which buying custom development is no longer worth it. A real quote is typically larger, because most tasks are more than the minimum — and it is better to say that at the start than to spring it on you in the quote.
Both currency amounts are set by hand and kept round. They are not converted at the exchange rate of the day, so the two figures are not exactly equal on any given morning — they are two prices, not one price in two currencies.
Where does this sit against the market?
The honest answer is that RootCR is not competing on the price tag, but on what the price contains and on what you own afterwards. Three differences are worth checking against any other quote you hold.
| The common arrangement | At RootCR | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | hourly estimate, final figure written by the project | fixed price and fixed date, itemized, in writing |
| After handover | monthly retainer, licence fees, credentials kept by the agency | full source code and every credential yours, no retainer required |
| Search and AI visibility | a separate package, usually billed monthly | part of the base price from day one |
What this means: a quote that looks cheaper is often not cheaper but smaller. The questions that reveal the difference are the same everywhere: who owns the code, what is not included, and what gets measured at handover.
That the visibility part is not a slogan is set out with numbers on the measured data page: zero third-party trackers on every site RootCR runs, and 24,949 AI-system downloads across 195 days of server logs (measured 25 August 2026).
When do you pay, and how much?
50% at the start, 50% on handover. RootCR does not ask for the whole amount up front, and there is no hidden item at the end.
The final invoice falls due when the source code, the server, the domain, every credential and the measurement report are already in your hands — you pay the second half at the point where the system is genuinely yours, not a promise.
What makes it more expensive — and what does not?
Pushes the price up: the number of subpages and page types; integrations (payment, invoicing, inventory, shipping, CRM); the depth of the admin interface; custom logic (calculators, booking, per-customer pricing); migration from an old system.
Does not push the price up: your feedback — two rounds on the design are included; technical search engine optimization and structured data, because that is standard equipment; the measurement report; handover and documentation.
What does the price always include?
- Fixed price and fixed deadline, in writing.
- A working demo every two weeks — not a screenshot, but a page you can open.
- Multi-layer form protection.
- Complete structured data.
- A measurement report at handover.
- The full source code and every access credential — no licence fee, no mandatory monthly fee, no success fee.
- Six months of free bug fixing.
- Content changes: if a price, a product, a text or an image needs rewriting, just tell me and I do it. I do not charge separately for it, and you do not have to learn an editor interface. (Developing new features, and ongoing operations and hosting, are not in this category — those are separate agreements.)
Why fixed price and not an hourly rate?
Because this way the risk of the estimate is mine, not yours. If I underestimated the work, that is my problem — you pay what the quote says. That is the difference between a fixed-price quote and a "roughly this much" estimate: with the latter the client carries the risk, often without knowing it.
This has a price of its own: before the quote, it has to be settled exactly what is included. That is why I ask a lot of questions in the first conversation, and why the quote also contains an itemized list of what is not in it.
When should you NOT choose me?
It is more honest to write this down here than to have it come out in the first email. Do not choose me if:
- you are looking for a $250–500 template business-card site — a template is the right tool for that, and it is good at it;
- you need it tomorrow;
- you are looking for the cheapest quote — I do not compete in that race.
Choose me if the site or the store either brings in money or saves working hours, and you want that measured.
Frequently asked questions about pricing
Are there hidden costs?
Running the site needs hosting: for a static site $10–20 a month, for a web store typically $30–70 — that is the provider's invoice, in your name. I take on operations, but it is not mandatory: the delivered system can run anywhere.
Why is it more expensive than a template site?
Because it is not the same thing being built. With a template site, someone else worked out the design and the behaviour, and you get the settings. The hidden operating cost of a template — plugin fees, patching, lost conversions — is calculated item by item in WordPress versus a custom website.
What do I get as proof alongside the price?
A measurement report: load times, Core Web Vitals values, indexing status, structured data error list — each with the method and date of measurement, so you can repeat it yourself six months later. Live examples: case studies.
When do you pay, and how much?
50% at the start, 50% on handover. RootCR does not ask for everything up front, and the final invoice falls due when the source code, every credential and the measurement report are already in your hands. The exact amounts appear in the quote as fixed figures.
How long is a quote valid?
Every quote states its expiry date. If the scope changes in the meantime, a new quote is issued — I do not quietly apply the old price to a bigger job.
Can I pay in euros?
Yes. Both amounts are on this page, and the invoice is issued in the currency we agree on. The prices are net; the company is US-registered, so there is no VAT on the invoice — where your country's rules require reverse charge, that is stated on the invoice.