Most people asking this question already have a website and a nagging feeling that it is costing them clients. The answer is a wide range, and the useful part is knowing what moves you up or down within it.
How much does a website redesign cost?
Published guides vary widely because they describe different kinds of work. One agency guide puts redesigns between $3,000 and $75,000, with freelancers at the lower end and agencies at the higher. Another says small business sites of 10 to 20 pages typically run $15,000 to $40,000, and a third gives $3,500 to $12,000 for a small business site. These are the vendors' own figures for their own way of working, not an industry standard.
Ours are published. A Basic Site, three well-made pages, starts from $3,000. A Signature Site of up to twelve pages, designed from a blank page with copywriting in your voice, starts from $12,500. A Full Commission, which adds an AI assistant behind the site, starts from $25,000. Every site ends in a fixed-price proposal. See them on the pricing page.
What is the average website redesign cost, and what drives it?
There is no meaningful average, because the price follows the work. These are the things that move it most:
- Page count. Each page type needs its own design and checking on phones.
- Words. Rewriting your pages is slower and more valuable than rearranging them.
- Photography. New photographs cost money; old ones can make a new design look tired.
- Features. Booking, shop, member areas or connections to other software.
- Moving existing content. A site with years of posts takes longer to carry across than a fresh one.
- Protecting your search position. Redirects and checks so you do not lose what you have earned.
Is a full website redesign better than a refresh?
A refresh keeps the structure and updates the look and wording. It suits a site that still explains what you do but looks dated. A full redesign suits a site that confuses visitors, works badly on a phone or is painful to update.
A good designer will tell you which you need, even when it is the cheaper one. If a proposal does not say which of the two it is, ask.
Does the platform change the cost: WordPress, Wix or Shopify?
Sometimes. Staying on your current platform can keep the cost down, but you stay within its templates and limits. Moving to a hand-built site costs more at the start and removes those limits. We compare the two routes in How much does a custom website cost compared with Squarespace or Wix?
Will a redesign hurt your Google rankings?
It can, if page addresses change and nothing points the old ones to the new. Google's guidance for moving a site is to use permanent redirects from old addresses to new ones, and its Search Console help says to keep those redirects for at least 180 days, longer if traffic still arrives through them. Ask any designer you are considering how they handle this, and whether it is included in the price.
What should you ask before you agree to a price?
- Is this a refresh or a full redesign, and what exactly changes?
- Is writing included, or do I supply the words?
- Will every old page be redirected to its new equivalent?
- How many revision rounds are included, and what does another cost?
- What are the ongoing costs afterwards: hosting, updates, support?
- Is the price fixed, and is it in writing?
Timing matters as much as price; we explain the schedule in How long does it take to build a website?
How we handle it
At Bay House Digital in Annapolis, every redesign starts with a conversation about what the site needs to do, and ends in a fixed-price proposal that names the pages, the words, the redirects and the launch date. Care after launch is optional, from $450 a month.
Common questions
How much does it cost to redesign an existing website?
It depends on how much changes. A refresh of design and wording on a few pages costs far less than a full redesign with new structure, copy and photography. At Bay House the range runs from $3,000 for three pages to $25,000 for a full commission, always fixed in writing before work begins.
Does a redesign hurt my Google rankings?
It can if page addresses change and the old ones are not redirected. Google advises permanent redirects from old addresses to new ones and keeping them in place for at least 180 days. A careful designer maps every old page to its new home before launch.
Is a full redesign better than a refresh?
A refresh suits a site whose structure and wording still work but looks dated. A full redesign makes sense when the site no longer explains what you do, does not work well on phones, or is hard to update.
