Ask five developers in Sri Lanka what a website costs and you will get five numbers that differ by a factor of twenty. That is not because four of them are lying. It is because "a website" can mean a one-page brochure or a full online store with inventory, payments and courier tracking. This article explains what actually moves the price, so you can judge quotes with confidence.

The four things that decide the cost

1. Scope: how many pages and how many features

A five-page company site (Home, About, Services, Gallery, Contact) is a very different job from a booking system or an e-commerce store. Every feature that stores data, takes payments or talks to another system adds development and testing time. Be honest about what you need on day one and what can wait for phase two.

2. Design: template or custom

Template-based sites are cheaper because the layout already exists; the developer adapts colours, images and text. Custom design costs more but gives you a site that looks like your business rather than a thousand others. For most small businesses in Kurunegala or Colombo, a well-chosen premium template with custom touches is the sweet spot.

3. Content: who writes and photographs it

This is the hidden cost nobody budgets for. If you provide text and photos, the price is lower — but the site often stalls for months waiting for them. Paying for copywriting and professional product photography usually gets the site live faster and performing better. As both a developer and a photographer, I can do both, which is why my projects rarely stall.

4. Hosting, domain and maintenance

A .lk or .com domain, hosting, SSL and backups are recurring costs. Cheap shared hosting is fine for brochure sites; stores and web apps need better hosting or a small VPS. Ask whether maintenance is included, and for how long.

Rough tiers you will see in the Sri Lankan market

  • Very cheap (student or side-gig prices) — usually a template with your logo dropped in, no SEO, no mobile testing, no support after launch. Fine for a hobby, risky for a business.
  • Freelancer professional — custom or semi-custom design, mobile-first, basic SEO, analytics and Search Console set up, some training. This is the best value for most businesses because you pay for skill, not office overheads.
  • Agency — more people involved, project managers, presentations and documentation. Good for large organisations; expensive for small ones, and you rarely talk to the person writing the code.
  • E-commerce and web apps — priced by feature list. Payment gateways such as PayHere, courier integrations, inventory and admin panels each add real work.

Questions that protect you

  1. Is the quote fixed, or hourly? Fixed quotes protect you from scope creep on a defined project.
  2. Who owns the domain and hosting accounts? It must be you.
  3. Will the site be mobile-first and tested on real phones?
  4. Is Google Search Console and Analytics setup included?
  5. Can I update content myself after launch?
  6. What happens if the site breaks after an update — is support included?

What I recommend

Spend money on the things that bring customers: clear structure, real photographs, fast loading and local SEO. Save on decorative animation and features nobody asked for. If you are unsure, send me a short description of your business and I will tell you what it genuinely needs — and what it does not — before any money changes hands.