Straight answer: a professional small-business website in South Africa costs between R1 400 and about R15 000 in 2026, and most owner-run businesses spend between R3 500 and R7 500. Below is what we charge, what the wider market charges, and what actually drives the number up or down.
Havealot pricing
| Package | What you get | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | One page with sections, domain, hosting for 12 months, SSL, business email, WhatsApp chat, contact form, on-page SEO | R1 400 once-off |
| Business | Up to 5 pages, everything in Starter, Google Business Profile setup, basic speed optimisation | R3 500 once-off |
| Professional | 10–15 pages, everything in Business, service and location pages, structured data, 30 days support | R7 500 once-off |
| Online Store | WooCommerce, up to 50 products loaded, PayFast or Yoco, courier rates, order emails | from R9 500 |
Ongoing costs
- Hosting and SSL after the first 12 months — from R1 200 per year
- Maintenance (updates, backups, security, small changes) — from R450 per month
- SEO — from R2 800 per month
- Google Ads management — from R2 800 per month plus your ad budget
- Social media management — from R2 500 per month
What the South African market charges
Published prices from agencies around the country in 2026 broadly fall into four bands. Entry-level one-pagers sit between R1 200 and R2 500. Small-business sites of four to eight pages run R2 500 to R8 500. Corporate and multi-location sites start around R15 000 and climb past R60 000 in Sandton and Cape Town. E-commerce ranges from about R9 000 for a small catalogue to R80 000 or more for custom integrations. Monthly retainer models — roughly R1 500 to R2 500 a month with no upfront fee — are also common and usually work out more expensive over three years, so read the contract term before signing.
What actually changes the price
Page count is the obvious one, but it is rarely the biggest. Who writes the copy matters more: supplying finished text can cut a quote substantially, while asking the agency to research and write it adds real hours. Custom functionality — booking systems, member areas, quote calculators, CRM or accounting integrations — is where budgets genuinely escalate. Product count and variants drive e-commerce pricing more than design does. Design origin matters too: a template-based build is faster and cheaper than a custom design system, and both are legitimate choices depending on your market.
Questions worth asking any web designer
- Is the domain registered in my name, and do I get administrator access?
- What exactly happens at the end of month 12, and what does it cost?
- Is copywriting included, or am I supplying the text?
- How many revision rounds are included before extra fees start?
- Who hosts the site, and what is the uptime and backup arrangement?
- If I leave, can I take the site with me?
Get a fixed price for your project
Tell us the pages you need and what the site must achieve, and you will get a fixed quote in one working day. Request a free quote, or read about web design in Johannesburg.