The honest answer, from someone who charges premium prices for web design.
The range is enormous: from ₹15,000 to ₹15 lakhs or more. The reason for this range is that "a website" means completely different things at different price points. Let me break down what you actually get.
₹15,000 – ₹50,000: Template territory. Someone installs a WordPress theme, adds your content, and hands it over. You get a website. You do not get strategy, SEO, conversion optimisation, or any of the infrastructure that makes a website generate business. This is appropriate if you just need a digital business card.
₹50,000 – ₹1.5L: Freelancer range. You get custom design, usually 5-8 pages, and basic functionality. The quality varies wildly. Some freelancers in this range are exceptional. Many are not. The risk: you are managing the project. You need a domain, hosting, email, SEO, and analytics — and none of that is typically included.
₹1.5L – ₹4L: Strategic partner range. This is where you stop buying a website and start buying a business outcome. At this level, you should expect: brand clarity or positioning work before design begins, complete infrastructure (domain, hosting, SSL, email), SEO architecture, analytics setup, conversion-focused design, and launch support.
₹4L – ₹15L+: Agency range. You get a team: project manager, designer, developer, copywriter, SEO specialist. The output is comprehensive. The investment is appropriate for businesses where the website is a primary revenue channel — e-commerce, SaaS, large service firms.
The question is not "how much does a website cost?" The question is "what is the cost of NOT having a website that generates business?" If your average client is worth ₹2L over their lifetime, and a proper website generates even 5 new clients per year — the math is straightforward.
My recommendation: invest in the range that matches the seriousness of your business. If your website is your primary client acquisition channel, spending ₹25,000 on it is not frugal — it is negligent.