When a new entrepreneur tells me they want a website for €200, I always try to talk them out of it. Not because I want to charge more, but because after 10+ years in the industry, I know exactly what problems a solution like that brings.
Every week, I see stories of businesses that cut corners on their website and ended up paying far more than they originally thought. Let's walk through why a 200 EUR website simply doesn't cut it.
Hidden Costs That Will Catch You Off Guard
Hosting and Maintenance
A 200 EUR website usually assumes the cheapest shared hosting at 2 EUR per month. That sounds appealing, until your pages start loading in 8 seconds or crash completely under any real traffic. Quality hosting for a business website costs at least €20-32 per month.
Security
Cheap websites often lack basic security measures. An SSL certificate, regular backups, updates, all of this costs extra. When hackers hit you (and they will), the cleanup will cost thousands.
Changes and Expansions
Need to add a new page? Update contact info? Change photos? With cheap solutions, you'll pay for every little tweak because you either don't have access to the admin panel or it's so clunky you can't figure it out.
What You Actually Get for 200 EUR
Let's be honest, for 200 EUR you get a template-based website with your text and photos thrown in. It'll look like thousands of others, it won't be fast, it won't be truly responsive, and it definitely won't be optimized for search engines.
Template Design With No Personality
Your competitor could have the exact same site, just in different colors. How do you plan to stand out when you look exactly like everyone else?
Slow Loading
Loading speed is one of the signals Google takes into account, and above all it drives visitors away: the longer a page makes people wait, the more of them leave for your competition. Cheap websites are almost always slow due to poor code and bargain-bin hosting.
Zero SEO Optimization
Will anyone actually find you online? Without proper SEO, you'll be invisible to search engines. That means zero visitors from Google, and in today's world, that's business suicide.
Modern Websites Must Meet High Standards
Mobile Optimization Is Non-Negotiable
A large share of people browse the web on their phones today. If your website doesn't look and work well on mobile, you're losing a substantial share of potential customers.
Speed Matters
Every unnecessary wait lowers the chance that a visitor completes an order or an inquiry. Your customers are no more patient than anyone else.
Core Web Vitals
Since 2021, Google has included Core Web Vitals (speed, responsiveness, stability) in its evaluation. They are one of many signals and content relevance matters more, but a cheap template site on slow hosting starts from a worse position.
E-Commerce Needs Even More
If you're planning to sell online, the situation is even more demanding. A modern online store requires:
- Integration with an e-commerce platform or a custom solution
- Payment gateway connections
- Shipping carrier integrations
- GDPR compliance
- Advanced analytics
- Conversion rate optimization
A 200 EUR website can't handle any of this. And the difference between a well-built and a poorly-built online store can mean a big difference in revenue.
A Model Example
A model situation, not a specific client: an e-shop built for a few hundred euros, with no analytics, a slow template and no mobile testing. The owner can't see where customers drop off, and every change means finding someone who can work with someone else's code. Fixing it often ends up costing more than building the e-shop properly the first time, because you pay twice.
So What Does a Website Really Cost?
If you want a detailed price breakdown by website type, I've prepared a separate overview of how much websites cost.
Custom Website: from €800
Starter from €800, Business from €1,200, Corporate from €2,400. A responsive website with custom design, basic SEO optimization and analytics. See my website development services.
E-Commerce on Shoptet: from €3,200
Template customization, optimization, service integrations, and analytics setup.
Custom E-Commerce / Web App: e-shop from €5,600, web app from €3,200
A tailor-made solution with advanced features, highly optimized for speed and conversions. The same logic applies to e-shops, see why a cheap e-shop ends up being the most expensive.
Next.js, The Technology of the Future
I build modern websites on Next.js, a technology that large international websites run on too. Pages are pre-rendered and only the necessary code reaches the browser, which typically keeps the site within the speed thresholds Google rates as good (LCP under 2.5 s, web.dev). Learn more about my professional custom website development.
An Investment That Pays for Itself
A quality website isn't a cost, it's an investment. A model calculation: if it brings you just 5 new customers per month with an average value of €80, it generates €4,800 per year in additional revenue. That covers the cost of the website and then some.
What Should You Do?
If you're considering a 200 EUR website, ask yourself:
- Do I want a website as an afterthought, or as a tool for business growth?
- Am I prepared to risk losing customers because of a slow or broken website?
- How much will it cost me if the website doesn't work?
My Recommendation
It's better to wait and save up for a quality solution. A website that works, brings in customers, and grows with your business. Cheap today means expensive tomorrow.
If your budget is truly tight, start with at least the Starter package from €800. You'll have a site that doesn't look amateurish and won't hold back your growth.
Need advice on your website? Get in touch and I'll go through your options with you, no obligation. I build custom websites, e-shops on Shoptet, Shopify or custom code, and web applications.